Indonesia s road to harmony means removing radical potholes
Government must follow up bans on extremist groups by destroying them completely
Members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) hold a protest in Jakarta in 2017. (Photo: Konradus Epa/UCA News)
Indonesia s most notorious hardline group, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), was officially disbanded at the end of last year. Its officials and members, however, are refusing to go quietly.
They started 2021 with a new group and with a slightly different name the Islamic Unity Front, also known as FPI for short but the same spirit, people and goals remain.
The question is whether, after all the legal pressure put on them, the new outfit will survive. That remains to be seen. The core of the matter is that the radicalism embodied in this notorious group and beyond has reached the age of maturity and can easily be transformed into new forms, even without any legalized structure.