The Contestation of Iran-Arab Saudi Religious Soft Power: Implications for Shiah-Wahabi/Salafi Sectarian Politics in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24252/rir.v7i2.69529Keywords:
Religious Soft Power, Kontestasi, Sektarianisasi, IndonesiaAbstract
This study explores the competing influence of Iran and Saudi Arabia in propagating religious ideologies through education and diplomacy, and its impacts on sectarian polarization in Indonesia. Indonesia has turned into a battleground with educational institutions and religious networks as proxies for the export of Wahhabism backed by Riyadh and Shiism promoted by Tehran. The study uses a qualitative approach in which the literature review is employed to investigate the internalization of soft power (like financial assistance, scholarships and setting up educational institutions) by local actors at the grassroots level. The analysis demonstrates that the transnational narratives of both countries are not only reproduced but are institutionalized as tools to reinforce domestic political identities and interests, which affect social cohesion and national stability. The study also looks at how changes in the diplomatic architecture of the Middle East, such as the Vision 2030 initiative and the dynamics of confrontation and reconciliation between Riyadh and Tehran, continue to leave sectarian traces in Indonesia. The study aims to present a comprehensive framework on the Wahhabi/Salafi-Shia rivalry and to contribute to the mitigation of the risk of identity polarization.
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References
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Turan, Y., & Hoang, L. N. (2019). Beyond sectarian identity politics in the Middle East: The case of Iran-Saudi Arabia’s rivalry. Akademik İncelemeler Dergisi, 14(2), 77-120. https://doi.org/10.17550/akademikincelemeler.494934
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Arifianto, A. R. (2017). Practicing what it preaches? Understanding the contradictions between pluralist theology and religious intolerance within Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama. Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 55(2), 241-264. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2017.552.241-264
Azca, M. N., Ikhwan, H., & Arrobi, M. Z. (2019). A tale of two royal cities: The narratives of Islamists’ intolerance in Yogyakarta and Solo. Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 57(1), 25-50. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2019.571.25-50
Beck, M. (2020). The aggravated struggle for regional power in the Middle East: American allies Saudi Arabia and Israel versus Iran. Global Policy, 11(1), 84-92. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12778
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Commins, D. (2006). The Wahhabi mission and Saudi Arabia. I.B. Tauris.
Gause, F. G., III. (2014). Beyond sectarianism: The new Middle East Cold War. Brookings Doha Center.
Hannase, M., & Hamzah, I. (2025). Political diplomacy, religion and culture: Analysing Iran’s geopolitical and ideological interests in Indonesia. Al-Izzah: Jurnal Hasil-Hasil Penelitian, 14-23. https://doi.org/10.31332/ai.vi.10878
Hashemi, N., & Postel, D. (Eds.). (2017). Sectarianization: Mapping the new politics of the Middle East. Oxford University Press.
Humaini, H. (2019). Konflik Sunni-Syiah di Timur Tengah perspektif geopolitik dan dampaknya terhadap hubungan Sunni-Syiah di Indonesia. Jurnal CMES, 12(2), 156. https://doi.org/10.20961/cmes.12.2.37890
Ida, R., & Dyson, L. (2015). Konflik Sunni-Syiah dan dampaknya terhadap komunikasi intra-religius pada komunitas di Sampang-Madura. Masyarakat, Kebudayaan dan Politik, 28(1), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.20473/mkp.v28i12015.33-49
Kayane, Y. (2020). Understanding Sunni-Shi’a sectarianism in contemporary Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 48(140), 78-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2020.1675277
Khairifa, F., Sebayang, V. A., Asrul, A., Rambe, R. F. A. K., & Al-Mujtahid, N. M. (2023). Construction of Sunni-Shia thought and its manifestation towards geopolitics in Indonesia. Pharos Journal of Theology. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.1054
Mabon, S., & Wastnidge, E. (2019). Transnational religious networks and geopolitics in the Muslim world. Global Discourse, 9(4), 593-603. https://doi.org/10.1332/204378919x15718897501537
Makhsum, A., & Wafi, M. H. (2024). The dynamics of the anti-Shia movement: An analysis of international and national geopolitics. Contemporary Society and Politics Journal, 3(2), 101-114. https://doi.org/10.32939/cspj.v3i2.4876
Mandaville, P. (Ed.). (2023). The geopolitics of religious soft power: How states use religion in foreign policy. Oxford University Press.
Mandaville, P., & Hamid, S. (2018). Islam as statecraft: How governments use religion in foreign policy. Brookings Institution.
Matthiesen, T. (2013). Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring that wasn’t. Stanford University Press.
Morales, O. H. Q. (2018). Sectarianization: Mapping the new politics of the Middle East. Foro Internacional, 58(3), 581. https://doi.org/10.24201/fi.v0i0.2532
Muhtarom, A. (2017). The study of Indonesian Moslem responses on Salafy-Shia transnational Islamic education institution, Shiashia. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 17(1), 73-92. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v17i1.1645
Nasr, V. R. (2006). The Shia revival: How conflicts within Islam will shape the future. W. W. Norton.
Nye, J. S., Jr. (1990). Soft power. Foreign Policy, 80, 153-171. https://doi.org/10.2307/1148580
Nye, J. S., Jr. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. PublicAffairs.
Nye, J. S., Jr. (2017). Soft power: The origins and political progress of a concept. Palgrave Communications, 3, Article 17008. https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2017.8
Qurtuby, S. A. (2019). Saudi Arabia and Indonesian networks. I.B. Tauris. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781838602215
Sandjaya, M. I., & Siswanto, H. A. (2023). Religion turned “politics”: Saudi-Iran religious outreach. MANU: Jurnal Pusat Penataran Ilmu dan Bahasa, 34(2), 41-60. https://doi.org/10.51200/manu.v34i2.4769
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Syarif, D., Zulkarnain, I., & Sofjan, D. (2017). Anti Shi’ism in Indonesia: Genealogy, development, and methods. Harmoni, 16(1), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.32488/harmoni.v16i1.54
Thahir, L. S. (2021). Islam of the archipelago: Cosmopolitanism of Islamic civilization in Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 21(1), 23-42. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v0i0.5794
Turan, Y., & Hoang, L. N. (2019). Beyond sectarian identity politics in the Middle East: The case of Iran-Saudi Arabia’s rivalry. Akademik İncelemeler Dergisi, 14(2), 77-120. https://doi.org/10.17550/akademikincelemeler.494934
Wehrey, F. (Ed.). (2018). Beyond Sunni and Shia: The roots of sectarianism in a changing Middle East. Oxford University Press.
Yahya, M. W., & Rahmat, M. (2021). Building moderate Islamic thoughts in Indonesian students through dialogue-argumentative methods. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 10(3), 288-300. https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2021-0084Al-Rasheed, M. (2010). A history of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Arifianto, A. R. (2017). Practicing what it preaches? Understanding the contradictions between pluralist theology and religious intolerance within Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama. Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 55(2), 241-264. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2017.552.241-264
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Published
2025-12-15
How to Cite
Irfan, A. A. A. (2025). The Contestation of Iran-Arab Saudi Religious Soft Power: Implications for Shiah-Wahabi/Salafi Sectarian Politics in Indonesia. Review of International Relations (Jurnal Kajian Ilmu Hubungan Internasional), 7(2), 301–326. https://doi.org/10.24252/rir.v7i2.69529
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