Why anti-Chinese rhetoric is likely to be a potent political force in the run-up to Indonesia’s 2019 election

In May, multiple suicide bomb attacks targeting three churches and the police headquarters in Surabaya highlighted long-standing concerns about the threat of Islamist militancy in Indonesia.

While these attacks demonstrated worrying trends in domestic Islamist militancy, they are also illustrative of broader problems regarding ethno-religious intolerance in Indonesian society and politics, particularly ahead of the April 2019 general election.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of some 30 people, including the 13 perpetrators, and at least 57 injuries. Indonesian authorities identified Jemaah Anshurat Daulah (JAD), a local Islamic State affiliate – reportedly led by imprisoned cleric Aman Abdurrahman – as being being responsible for the attacks.

Following the attacks, Indonesian authorities passed new anti-terrorism legislation, allowing security forces to detain suspects for up to 21 days without charge and expanding the role of the military in counterterrorism operations.

Most international commentary on the attacks focused on the disturbing fact that the perpetrators were members of individual families, arguing that this represents a shift in domestic militant tactics, and provided an overall analysis of the threat of Islamist terrorism in Indonesia.