11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

(æs)
Society Journal Conversations
ABOUT READ FEATURES
JOIN SUBMIT NEWS
AWARDS MASTHEAD MEETINGS

  

Piety, Celebrity, Sociality

Tweeting Religion in Indonesia

When Political Arenas Go Viral
 John Potill and Leonard Chrotomo pafra

Nov 08, 2017

John Potill (Roal Melourne Intitute of Technolog

Univerit) and Leonard Chrotomo pafra (Gadjah
Mada Univerit)
The popularit of ocial media in Indoneia, comined with the rie of political Ilamim
in recent ear, are changing the wa in which people engage with religiou matter in
the world’ larget Mulim countr. One igni cant change i the wa that religiou and
political gure incorporate a comination of online and of ine audience in
maintaining their pulic authorit.

Take the entrepreneur, peace activit and enator Fahira Idri. orn in 1968 into
Indoneia’ political and religiou elite, Fahira’ father held everal miniterial pot,
while her late mother wa the daughter of a former chairman of the Indoneian Ulema
Council (MUI). Fahira wa an earl adopter of Twitter and other ocial media. In 2010 he
wa voted “The World’ Mot Inpiring Tweeter” in an international poll. The tweet

https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 1/7
11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

credited with etalihing her reputation wa addreed to the Ilamic Defender Front
(FPI), a hardline group often linked to violent incident. It read (our tranlation): “Dear
FPI, i that how Ilam wa taught  the Prophet Muhammad?”

A recent picture of the Indonesian entrepreneur, peace activist

and senator Fahira Idris. Source: Twitter.
https://twitter.com/senatorjakarta

Thi tweet wa widel interpreted a a reference to a recent violent attack, reportedl 
the FPI, on a atak Chritian Protetant Church (HKP) congregation in Wet Java. It
parked intene deate online etween upporter of Fahira and the FPI. Fahira poed an
open quetion, channelling what he called “the magic of Twitter” (Kritanti 2010) 
aking if an of her 260,000 follower knew the addre for the FPI national
headquarter, information that wa not pulic. he quickl received multiple repone
offering the addre, a well a other tweet adviing caution (Patung 2010).

The exchange led to a high pro le meeting etween Fahira and Hai Rizieq, the FPI
leader, at the FPI headquarter in central Jakarta. On arrival, Fahira handed Hai Rizieq
a printed cop of over 1,200 email from people acro Indoneia, including victim of
https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 2/7
11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

FPI linked violence, with comment and quetion for him. In the meeting, Fahira
treed the importance of dialogue and the rule of law in a multi­faith ociet like
Indoneia’, and inited that “Ilam i a religion of peace” (uara Pemaruan 2010).

Two viral arena

The Fahira v. Hai Rizieq controver i a textook example of two Turnerian “arena.”
Victor Turner de ned an arena a “a ounded patial unit in which precie, viile
antagonit, individual or corporate, contend with one another for prize and/or honour”
(Turner 1974: 132­133). In an arena nothing can e left unaid or “merel implied” (1974:
134). Rather, “all actor drawn into the drama […] mut tate pulicl where the tand on
the dipute at hand” (Potill 2011: 96).

When Fahira pulicl interpellated FPI on Twitter, Hai Rizieq and hi inner circle felt
the had no option ut to repond. Remaining ilent would have meant loing face.
Agreeing to ee Fahira in peron when he pulicl announced her intention of meeting
with them wa the onl reaonale choice to make. A a reult, two arena were
aemled in rapid ucceion: one on Twitter, the other face to face. Overnight Hai
Rizieq and Fahira ecame “precie, viile antagonit” ving for the heart of mind of
Indoneia’ vat Mulim population at a time of heightened inter­faith tenion.

Turner argued that arena come in man different form: “[a] political or legal arena ma
range from an actual attle eld to the etting of a trial or veral deate” (1974: 133). In the
Fahira v. Hai Rizieq cae, each of the two arena afforded thee political actor a
ditinct et of communicative poiilitie: while their in peron encounter offered a
richer repertoire of veral and non­veral ocial cue and immediate feedack, Twitter
preented ordinar citizen with an opportunit to participate in the deate and the
propect of the iue going viral – which it did.

Thi epiode illutrate how Twitter ha come to function a a central ite for hort­lived
arena within Indoneia’ increaingl politicized religiou pace. In other word, thi
immenel popular platform ha ecome a highl viile tage where pulic gure are
compelled to unamiguoul declare their tance on a current religiou iue.

ut what make a Twitter arena come into eing and go viral? Three factor appear to e
crucial: the timing of the initial challenge, the core ocietal prolem it addree, and the
pulic tanding of the lead actor drawn – or dragged –into the arena.

Firt, the timing of Fahira’ now famou “Dear FPI” tweet wa igni cant, a it came
immediatel after the alleged FPI aault on the Protetant congregation. With temper
riding high, Fahira’ rhetorical quetion aout the Prophet Muhammad truck a chord

https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 3/7
11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

with moderate Indoneian and wa widel retweeted. The impact came a much from
the content of the tweet a from the fact that Fahira had dared to confront an
intimidating organization, generating a David v. Goliath cenario.

econd, mot current affair are in fact recurrent affair, for the addre un nihed
uine within a ocial pace or ociet. In Indoneia, one political prolem unreolved
ince independence in 1945 i the relationhip etween Ilam and the tate. In term of
Turner’ ocial drama theor, the FPI attack wa a reach in the etalihed order of
thing; the rt tage in a ocial drama triggered  Fahira’ tweet that rought out into
the open thi perennial national iue. There followed a crii phae in which Hai
Rizieq ought damage control. In effect, he wa reluctantl acknowledging the tate’
monopol over the mean of phical and molic violence. Thi led to a protracted
phae of Turnerian re­integration etween Fahira and Hai Rizieq, a phae that
continue to thi da, rather than a rupture or chim – the other poile outcome –
etween them.

The third crucial factor in the making of a viral arena i the tanding of the main actor
involved. Fahira’ entrepreneurial ucce and religiou elite ancetr, together with her
ocial media avv, were equall intrumental in etalihing her crediilit a an FPI
interlocutor. imilarl, Hai Rizieq wa alo known a a controverial “hardliner’ with a
large following acro the archipelago. Differing in their life trajectorie and location
within the countr’ religiou pace, Fahira and Hai Rizieq repreent a new genre of
religiou actor familiar to anthropologit of religion around the world. New religiou
mediator exploit the opportunitie afforded  emergent media to further their
amition in competition and/or cooperation with an incument religiou cla.

References Cited
Kritanti, .Y.
2010 "aa Tidak Takut FPI, Karena aa enar", Viva.co.id, 30 Augut 2010,
http://foku.new.viva.co.id/new/read/174089­tweeter­paling­inpiratif

Patung
2010 Top Tweeter: Fahira Idri. Indoneia Matter, 30 Augut 2010,
http://www.indoneiamatter.com/10721/fahira­idri/

Potill, John
2011 Localizing the Internet: An Anthropological Account. Oxford: erghahn.

Repulika Online
2016 enator DPD v Aktivi JIL, Fahira: Akhmad ahal Ingin Pendukungna ull aa,
17 March 2016, http://naional.repulika.co.id/erita/naional/umum/16/03/17/o46ek6377­
https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 4/7
11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

enator­dpd­v­aktivi­jil­fahira­akhmad­ahal­ingin­pendukungna­ull­aa

uara Pemaruan
2010 Fahira Fahmi Idri Ilam Mengajarkan Damai’ 22 eptemer 2010
http://www.uarapemaruan.com/home/fahira­fahmi­idri­ilam­mengajarkan­
damai/74.

Turner, Victor W.
1974 Drama, Field and Metaphor: molic Action in Human ociet. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell Univerit Pre.

Cite a: Potill, John and Leonard Chrotomo pafra. 2017 "Tweeting Religion in
Indoneia: When Political Arena Go Viral" In "Piet, Celerit, ocialit: A Forum on
Ilam and ocial Media in outheat Aia," Carla Jone and Martin lama, ed., American
thnologit weite, Novemer 8.
http://americanethnologit.org/feature/collection/piet­celerit­ocialit/tweeting­
religion­in­indoneia

American Society Journal Conversations

Ethnological About Read Features
Society Board Journal Interviews
 Home History Browse Reflections
Leadership Forums Collections
 Contact
Bylaws Supplements
 Search Meetings
Publications Subscribe
Spring
Editorial Interns
Submit Conference
Join Kinds of AAA Sessions
Awards Submissions Social Media
Sharon Stephens Writing  Twitter
Prize Stylesheet  Facebook
Senior Book Prize Tables and  YouTube
Elsie Clews Illustrations
Parsons Prize Submission
Guidelines
Books for Reviews
Partnership with
SAPIENS
AAA Author
Agreement Form
Masthead
Editorial Staff
Editorial Board
https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 5/7
11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

Past Editors

© 2017 American thnological ociet

https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 6/7
11/9/2017 Tweeting Religion in Indonesia | American Ethnological Society

https://americanethnologist.org/features/collections/piety-celebrity-sociality/tweeting-religion-in-indonesia 7/7