This research article, published in The American Ethnologist, examines how activists linked to Indonesia’s largest Salafi organisation build influence at the community level. By offering Qur’anic classes and religious services, they create local networks that foster new forms of Islamic authority.
Their presence in mosques goes beyond religious teaching—it draws on history, law, nationalism, and everyday moral concerns to shape ideas of authority and community. The study highlights how contemporary religious leadership emerges through these local, collective experiences.
