The Influence of the Middle East Conflict on Radicalism in Indonesia in the period 2022-2024: Daulah Islamiyah's actions in utilizing social media as a propaganda tool

Abstract

The conflict in the Middle East, particularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is a phenomenon that continues to this day. This conflict has direct implications for the Middle East but also has a significant impact on countries around the world, including Indonesia. This has a significant impact on the process of radicalism, particularly in Indonesia as the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. In Indonesia itself, conflicts in the Middle East have caused major changes that can accelerate the process of radicalization through various means, from social media to interpersonal networks. This essay aims to analyze the influence of the Middle East conflict on radicalism in Indonesia during the period 2022-2024, using the case study of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. The method used is a descriptive qualitative approach through document analysis and secondary data. This essay applies Radicalism Theory to explain how groups and individuals adopt extreme views that lead to violence to achieve their ideology, as well as Relative Deprivation Theory to explain the dissatisfaction felt by Indonesian Muslims regarding the situation in Palestine. The results of this essay show that the author found significant impacts, including the increasing number of people joining jihadist groups in Indonesia, the proliferation of radical campaigns promoting terrorist actions on social media that are increasingly difficult to control, as the target audience is the younger generation with higher social media engagement, and influenced by anti-Israel sentiments among Indonesian society, revealing complex impacts that demand serious attention from the government in addressing the threats and radical actions arising from such sentiments.