JSPES, Vol. 40, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 2015)
pp. 3–26

Muslim Sects in Indonesia and the Emergence of Intolerance

Laode Ida

Jakarta State University

Jakarta, Indonesia is distinguished not only by being home to the largest Muslim population in the world, but also to one that comprises a multitude of diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural communities spread out across the vast Indonesian archipelago from Aceh province in the west to Papua province in the east. One of the prime forces holding this large, widely-spread population together is its dominant Muslim religion. This paper seeks to describe the major Muslim groups in Indonesia, with particular reference to those that incite the social and political unrest that has characterized the country since its inception in 1945.