When Ideology Meets Local Reality: Qom Alumni and the Contemporary Indonesian Shia Dilemma

Abstract

This paper examines how the influence of Qom, Iran, has influenced the Indonesian Shia community through alumni networks established since the mid-20th century. Building on Keiko Sakurai's analytical framework of al-Mustafa International University (MIU), this paper argues that Qom's influence in Indonesia did not occur as a unidirectional ideological transfer, but rather as a multi-layered negotiation process between Iran's institutional framework and the local Indonesian context. Using a qualitative approach based on literature review, the analysis is conducted through three layers: a historical exploration of the Indonesia-Qom relationship, an institutional analysis of MIU's transformation, and a profile study of representative alumni figures. The results show that while MIU structurally promotes doctrinal standardization and what Sakurai calls “Persianization” Indonesian alumni have developed diverse negotiation strategies between the Qom legacy and the demands of the Indonesian socio-political context. These findings demonstrate that the globalization of Shia Islam through the Qom network has not resulted in ideological uniformity, but rather has given rise to new localities that cannot be fully controlled from the center.