Publication

This report focuses on the effects the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East is having on Indonesian students studying in Egypt and Turkey. In particular, the text's authors look at how political unrest in Egypt and Turkey and the rise of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, have affected the students’ attitudes towards democracy, religion, political leadership and terrorism. Basically, the students 1) expressed strong support for democracy and continue to take pride in Indonesia’s democratic system; 2) demonstrated no interest in supporting IS or being radicalized in general; and 3) largely made clear distinctions between events in the Middle East and the current situation in Indonesia.