Global Seminars 2025

Salafi is recognised as one of the most conservative Muslim groups, adhering to the strictest interpretations of Islam, which often differs from the typical practices observed in Indonesia. Because of its conspicuous presence within the Indonesian religious public expression, the movement has become a subject of scholarly inquiry. Many studies on Salafism in Indonesia have tried to understand the movement by focusing on its young followers in urban settings, but there is less emphasis on how the group is articulated by young women living within relatively underdeveloped and peripheral areas. This research specifically focuses on the experience of young women within the Salafi community in Bima. Based on four months of ethnographic fieldwork, this study found that for these young women, Salafism provides a sense of certainty, distancing them from doubt and ambiguity in life.