Agama Faktual: Pertarungan Wacana dan Dinamika Sosiologis Jemaat Ahmadiyah di Indonesia: A Review Essay

Abstract

Extract

State involvement in facilitating freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) has created a safe and conflict-free space for society, especially religious communities. However, state supremacy is also effective in constructing a single religious narrative, creating a dualism between the strong and the weak, or the majority and the minority. This power system enables the state to play a hegemonic role through normalisation and marginalisation, including in relation to FoRB. This debate is explored in this book, set against the social and theological backdrop of the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia. Mochamad Sodik and Bernando J. Sujibto explore how state supremacy has made the Ahmadiyah a marginalized minority group through a single narrative. Based on sociological analysis, this book adopts a chronological framework to highlight the shift in discourse from contestation to theological discrimination, which has implications for intolerant actions and violence against the Ahmadiyah.This book carefully analyses the issue of Ahmadiyah as a minority and target of intimidation and violence, which did not occur naturally, but involved a structured and solid dominant power. The book’s urgency is evident in its success in shifting the issue of Ahmadiyah, which initially focused on theological judgment, toward a sociological conversation. Additionally, the use of accommodative social theory, supported by extensive data analysis, underscores the primary publication’s significance.