Radical ideology in universities: Palopo students’ perceptions

Abstract

This study aims to examine students’ perception on radicalism dealing with religion and state ideology at State Islamic Institute and three private universities in Palopo (a developing regency in South Sulawesi – Indonesia). It applied a descriptive qualitative research. Then, the subjects of this study were the students who are active in Islamic studies organizations such as Wahdah Islamiyah, Hidzbut Tahrir Indonesia, and others. The findings showed that the students do not dichotomize between religion and state, but rather integrate the values of these two things to create safe and peaceful social lives. It was found that; 1) 94 percent of respondents are categorized as having anti-radical perspective; 2) 6 percent of respondents are categorized as having perspectives tending to be radical; and 3) none of respondents are categorized as having slightly and very radical perspectives. All parties must work together to continuously oversee and control the students to not be tainted with radical ideology by providing positive and beneficial activities such as social activities involving the students.