internal dynamics of the prosperous justice party and jamaah tarbiyah 49
values and behaviours through Muslim families, which would then
externalise into Islamising social structures and customs. After Islam
became the framework of society the Prophet would establish a political
system, a state, followed by the international expansion of Islam to other
countries.⁴⁴
Another typical ideological trait of the Muslim Brotherhood whichthe jt has adopted is concern and enthusiasm for international conflicts
involving Muslims, especially Palestine-related issues. This internation-
alism serves several functions for jt members. Firstly, it provides an
ideological foundation for the jt, as part of the Muslim Brotherhood
network, to struggle for Islam and Muslims and to fight against the ene-
mies of Islam – especially the Jews. For them, the Jewish people always
pose trouble for Muslims, and they – out of fear and hatred towards
Islamic prominence – have been involved in the downfall of all major
Islamic empires, from the conquering of the Umayyad dynasty by the
Mongols to the abolition of the Ottoman Empire by Atatürk.⁴⁵ Secondly,
international issues are very useful for attracting new recruits, especially
among students. Thirdly, they are also a strong issue for attracting public
attention and sympathies.
From this gradual programme, the jt also adopts evolutionary
political strategies, known as the ‘stages of dakwah’: the first stage is
‘foundation’ (tanzim) in which jt activists start to explore Islamic political
programmes and research the social and political environments in which
they operate. The second is socialisation (shaʾbi) in which they start to
socialise their political programmes and recruit and train members. The
third is institutionalisation of their resources (muʾassasi), during which
they encourage jt members to pursue careers in diverse professional
occupations (public, private and voluntary), utilising networks of alumni
from major universities, and achieving positions in their respective
vocations in order to extract resources to support jt programmes. The
last is participation in power struggles through political competitions
(daulah), during which they become involved in political competitions,
assume public office and implement policies.⁴⁶
jt activists believe that the first and second stages were passed through
during the 1980s, when the organisations carried out underground
activities formulating strategies, recruiting and training members and
Interview with Abu Ridho, Jakarta.
Interview with Yusuf Supendi, Jakarta.
Yon Machmudi, ‘Islamizing Indonesia’, (Canberra: anu e Press, 2008), 177–186.
Anis Matta,Menikmati Demokrasi: Strategi Dakwah Menikmati Kemenangan
(Jakarta: Pustaka Saksi, 2002), 9–11.