The Roots of Terrorism in Indonesia: From Darul Islam to Jema'ah Islamiyah

$28.00 SGD

By Solahudin, Translated by Dave McRae

This groundbreaking book shows with rare clarity that Indonesia's current terrorist problems have a long and complex history. Based on a remarkable array of sources, many of which have never been publicly cited, Solahudin's account fills in many gaps in our knowledge of jihadist groups, how they interacted with the state and events abroad, and why they at times resorted to extreme violence, such as the 2002 Bali bombings.

Dave McRae's translation offers a complete account of the development of jihadism from the earliest years of Indonesian independence to the terrorist bombings of the past decade, for an English-speaking audience.


"The book has become something of a phenomenon in Indonesia. It has become the subject of television talk shows and public discussions in mosques and universities. Pirated copies are circulating among former insurgents in West Java. The police, intelligence agencies and military have bought up hundreds of copies, because no other book so completely explains the intellectual antecedents of Indonesian terrorism today. In fact about the only person to have a sharp negative reaction to the book so far is a JI leader who was hurt because he wasn't interviewed." - Sidney Jones


Solahudin is a Researcher and Journalist, and a leading expert on the jihadi movement in Indonesia.

Dave McRae is a Researcher Fellow in the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Sydney, Australia.


Publication Year: 2013
256 pages, 229mm x 152mm
ISBN: 978-9971-69-776-1, Paperback

NUS Press