Understanding the Oppressed: a Study of the Ahmadiyah and Their Strategies for Overcoming Adversity in Contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

The Ahmadiyah is a highly controversial Islamic reformist movement that is persecuted throughout the Muslim world. In Indonesia, the movement’s situation has become increasingly precarious with the growth of conservative Islam. This article examines the everyday experiences of oppression suffered by individual Ahmadis at the hands of the state and their Muslim opponents in Indonesia, and looks at their responses to these experiences. I found that Ahmadis employ six diverse strategies to emotionally, socially, and spiritually withstand adversity. These strategies are conceptualised under the following labels: ‘Fortitude through faith and spirituality’, ‘Rationalising oppression’, ‘Ideological manoeuvring’, ‘Acts of resistance’, ‘Harmonising identity’, and ‘Satisfying the need to belong’. I argue that the agency of Indonesian Ahmadis is embedded in these strategies, which mitigate their suffering, and at times seek to change oppressive social environments. (author's abstract)