“Digital Resources Are Not Reliable”: Peer-Group-Based Intellectualism among Muslim Youth Activists in Bima, Eastern Indonesia

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 The article titled "Digital Resources Are Not Reliable: Peer Group-Based Intellectualism Among Muslim Youth Activists in Bima, Eastern Indonesia" deals with an important issue and offers rich resources and content that pay attention to various nuances. The article maintains academic standards and is written in smooth and understandable English, with very few typos. This article argues that in modern times, as Islamic tendencies and orientations have diversified, young people in the Bima region engage with the production and use of religious knowledge under the umbrella of Indonesian Islam from many different aspects. After summarizing the historical process of Islam in the region, the author draws attention to ethnographic, democratic, economic, religious, and other differences, and summarizes the approaches of puritan and traditionalist groups. The most original part of the article discusses religious types and narratives. The author divides religious groups into two main frameworks (practical religious and ideologically religious) and analyzes the activities of these groups, their interaction with the masses, and their goals very well. While the first group internalizes general Islamic values and practices, the second group channels their energy towards establishing the Islamic state and implementing Sharia rules. The author's references to the dichotomy between local and international figures and the influences of international scholars are also important issues in terms of understanding the religious education of youth from Bima. There are many benefits to publishing this article.

 

Note: On the first page of the article, it is mentioned that "This qualitative research involved 47 young Muslim activists, who are also university students, 20 of whom were interviewed in-depth, while 27 others participated in focus group discussions." However, on the third page of the article, it states that "The main subjects for this study were forty-seven (47) people from senior high schools and university students, twenty-seven (27) of whom were in-depth interviewed informants, and twenty (20) others were involved in focus group discussions." I think, the numbers seem to have switched places.

Author Response

Thanks a lot for your detail reading and helpful reviews of our article. Your paraphrase of our main argument is very helpful to assist us in sharpening the arguments and illuminating our finding.

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper refers to a seemingly adequate data set, but makes almost no use of it. There is only one informant quote. The paper is full of extraneous details about local organisations. That does not advance the argument of the paper, in any case, I could not identify a particular argument. The claim that Muslim youth activists in Bima do not use the internet/social media is not supported by the evidence provided. The Muslim students are clearly middle class, or they would not be in senior secondary and university education. However this is not acknowledged. Bima is in Sumbawa, which has notable demographic features, but they were not included. The author(s) praise particular Muslim youth orientations over others, and use terms like better and best to do so. This is not sound academic scholarship. The English written expression is very poor indeed, and difficult to understand. I do not recommend publication of this paper.

The English written expression is very poor indeed, and difficult to understand. Any papers written in English for an international readership need to be in perfect English or readers from many different countries whose first language is not English will never be able to understand them.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

In general, the manuscript can be very informative and original because it is based on unique source material – more than 40 qualitative interviews with young Muslim activists based in the Bima region of Indonesia. So, it can be an invaluable source of knowledge on world-views and attitudes of people who are not frequent objects of research.

Taking all these positive aspects into account, one important and negative thing has to be underlined. The crucial terms, such as conservative thought, moderate Islam, radical Islamism, “ideological Islam” are used intuitively, without clear defining or theoretical elaboration. They should be defined in the context of Indonesian religious life, political theory and practice, as well as with references to more universal examples. Also, important categories for social-theological functioning of Indonesian Islam such, as halaqah and dakwah, are just introduced without further elaboration. Author(s) of the manuscript should think about the projected audience for this text, and not take for granted that all readers know terms used in the Indonesian Islamic discourse and understand them in the same way as the author(s) do. Terminological base of the text needs a real reformulation and elaboration.                    

One of the important aspect, not developed in the text, is also the nature of transnational character of the researched activities. It is just mentioned without further detailed analysis.    

As for the knowledge of the state-of-the-art, it seems to be the strong side of the proposed article

Some minor linguistic aspects need correction, for example inconsistency with pronouns related to Fitriani (his/her, pg. 8).   

Minor revisions are needed, for example inconsistency with pronouns related to Fitriani (his/her, pg. 8).    

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

 

I thank the authors for these excellent revisions, and I commend them on their perseverance.

 

The paper is very much improved. The author(s) have taken up all my suggestions and included both more data from the informants and background on Bima, as well as clarifying the role of social media. Controversial language has been removed as I recommended.

 

The English has been fully corrected and the paper is much easier to read and understand.

 

The table on page 12 needs a label.

 

This reference is incorrect. Nilan, Pam. & Feixa, Carles (eds.). 2006. Global Youth? Hybrid Identities, Plural Worlds. London: Routledge. 

 

It should be: 

 

Nilan, Pam. 2006. ‘The Reflexive Youth Culture of Devout Young Muslims in Indonesia’, in Pam Nilan & Carles Feixa (eds.) Global Youth? Hybrid Identities, Plural Worlds, pp. 91-110. London: Routledge.

 

Reviewer 3 Report

All the main points included in my first review were addressed by the author(s) and corrections were made, so I would like to express my acceptance for the text in the present form (of course, after all track changes will be entered into the text).