Security, Islam, and Indonesia: An anthropological analysis of Indonesia’s national counterterrorism agency

This article provides an anthropological analysis of counterterrorism in Indonesia. In doing so, it draws on several complementary ideas which have shaped anthropological scholarship on security, addressing ‘states of exception’, ‘securitization’, ‘governmentality’, and ‘human security’. The article develops its analysis through the first ethnographic study of Indonesia’s national counterterrorism agency. Data comes from special access to the agency’s facilities and events as well as interviews with agency personnel and ex-terrorists. The article also argues that post-9/11 security agencies frequently embrace a distinctive ‘Muslim security strategy’ built upon several contestable assumptions. Hence, it is assumed that Islam poses extraordinary threats to physical safety, human rights, and national identity. These threats justify suspending ordinary laws, making enormous investments in security measures, and extending such measures across the globe. It is also assumed that measures to prevent threats should focus on combating radical Islamic ideas, especially in educational institutions and on the Internet.