Islamic Defenders Front

Islamic Defenders Front
الجبهة الدفاعية الإسلامية
Front Pembela Islam
AbbreviationFPI
SuccessorIslamic Brotherhood Front (unrecognized) [1]
Formation17 August 1998; 26 years ago (1998-08-17)
FounderMuhammad Rizieq Shihab
Founded atCiputat, South Tangerang, Banten
Dissolved21 June 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06-21),[2] (De jure)
30 December 2020; 3 years ago (2020-12-30)[3] (De facto)
TypeMass organization
Legal statusBanned
PurposePolitic, social, economic and culture
HeadquartersPetamburan, Tanah Abang, Jakarta
Coordinates6°11′38″S 106°48′21″E / 6.193923°S 106.805825°E / -6.193923; 106.805825
Region served
Indonesia (especially in Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Lampung and Central Java)
Official language
Arabic, Indonesian
Grand Imam
Muhammad Rizieq Shihab
Chairman
Ahmad Shabri Lubis
Secretary-general
Munarman
Part of a series on the
Islamic Defenders Front
Figures:
Incidents:
Actions & Demonstrations:
Others:

The Islamic Defenders Front (Indonesian: Front Pembela Islam; abbr. FPI)[4][5] was an Indonesian hardline Islamist organization founded in 1998 by Muhammad Rizieq Shihab with backing from military and political figures.[6][7] Since 2015, Ahmad Shabri Lubis has been the organization's leader,[8] while Rizieq Shihab holds the title of Grand Imam (Indonesian: Imam Besar) of the FPI for life.[9] The FPI originally positioned itself as an Islamic religious police, mostly by conducting illegal and unauthorized vigilante operations.[10] It also acted as an Islamist pressure group with prominent social media activism and mass mobilizations against pro-government activists, ethnic Chinese, Christian minority, as well as liberal and reformist politicians.[11][12]

The organization staged a number of religious and political mass protests, including the November 2016 Jakarta protests and other rallies against the then-Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. The FPI also rallied outside the American Embassy in Jakarta in 2003 in order to condemn the Iraq War. The protesters were accused of committing hate crimes in the name of Islam[13][10] and religious-related violence.[14]

On 30 December 2020, the Indonesian government issued a joint ministerial decree in which it banned the FPI.[15] The government said that the FPI had threatened Indonesia's national ideology, committed illegal raids and atrocities including terrorism, and its organizational permit had expired.[16] The government also showed footage of Rizieq Shihab pledging the FPI's allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) and advocating the establishment of a caliphate.[17] The disbandment came a few weeks after six FPI members were shot dead by police.[18]

  1. ^ "Islamic Defender Front's General Secretary proclaimed the creation of the United Islamic Front". 31 December 2020. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Pemerintah Tunjukkan Video Anggota FPI Berbaiat ke ISIS, Jadi Pertimbangan". nasional.kompas.com. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Mahfud Md: Govt Officially Bans FPI". 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020.
  4. ^ Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders Front -- FPI Archived 5 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium.
  5. ^ Kassam, Nisan. Indonesia: The Islamic Defenders Front Archived 3 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Human Rights Without Frontiers.
  6. ^ "Indonesia: Implications of the Ahmadiyah Decree" (PDF). International Crisis Group Update Briefing (78). Jakarta/Brussels: International Crisis Group. 7 July 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference wi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Ini Ketua Umu FPI Yang Baru Ust. Ahmad. Archived 29 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine Muslimedia News. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Gelar Imam Besar hingga Capres 2014 untuk Habib Rizieq". Merdeka. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  10. ^ a b M Andika Putra; Raja Eben Lumbanrau (17 January 2017). "Jejak FPI dan Status 'Napi' Rizieq Shihab". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  11. ^ Sita W. Dewi (25 September 2014). "FPI threatens Chinese Indonesians". The Jakarta Post. Jakarta. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  12. ^ "FPI: Rising Radical Movement in Indonesia". Future Directions International Directions International. Future Directions International. 20 June 2012. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. ^ Frost, Frank; Rann, Ann; Chin, Andrew. "Terrorism in Southeast Asia". Parliament of Australia, Parliamentary Library. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  14. ^ Arya Dipa (18 January 2017). "Petition calls for disbandment of FPI". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  15. ^ "Indonesia bans hardline Islamic Defender's Front group". Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  16. ^ Berutu, Sachril Agustin. "Ini 7 Poin Keputusan Pemerintah Terkait Pelarangan FPI". detiknews (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  17. ^ dtv, detikTV. "Ini Video Dukungan FPI ke ISIS". detiknews (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Use of force in deadly FPI shooting must be independently investigated • Amnesty Indonesia". Amnesty Indonesia (in Indonesian). 7 December 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.