Sharia and Islamist-Civilizational Populism in the 2024 Election: The Case of the Defenders Front of Islam (FPI) in Indonesia

The Defenders Front of Islam (FPI), an Islamist civilizational populist movement in Indonesia, instrumentalizes sharia in its populist political mobilization during the 2024 general elections in support of Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar. By deploying sharia discourse, Muslim jurisprudence (fiqh), and legal opinions (fatwa), FPI seeks to persuade Islamist voters to back its populist agenda through electoral channels. It does so through three main strategies: reinforcing a legal-centric interpretation of the Islamist doctrine of “commanding good and preventing evil” as a dominant sharia principle; issuing specific fatwas that endorse its preferred candidates; and promoting Muslim legal ideas that justify resistance to political fraud.