From Relational Transformation to De-Radicalization: Victims-Perpetrators Reconciliation on Terrorism Cases in Indonesia

AYU ERVIANA, Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Ahnaf

2026 | Tesis | S2 Agama dan Lintas Budaya

Pelaksanaan program deradikalisasi di Indonesia sebagian besar menerapkan pendekatan formal yang berfokus pada intervensi dan rehabilitasi para pelaku terorisme, sementara pengalaman para korban hanya mendapat perhatian yang terbatas. Program deradikalisasi secara umum bertujuan untuk mengurangi ideologi ekstremisme, namun pelaksanaan program tersebut sering kali mengabaikan proses yang lebih luas terkait pemulihan hubungan dan partisipasi korban, yang sangat penting bagi transformasi yang berkelanjutan. Jumlah kajian akademik mengenai terorisme dan deradikalisasi terus bertambah, namun penelitian empiris yang mengkaji bagaimana upaya kontra-terorisme dapat ditingkatkan melalui dialog dan keterlibatan langsung peran korban dan mantan pelaku dalam kerangka keadilan restoratif masih sangat terbatas. Penelitian ini mengkaji pentingnya pengakuan dan keterlibatan para korban terorisme dalam pelaksanaan program deradikalisasi untuk mengubah hubungan interpersonal antara para korban dan mantan pelaku terorisme, serta perilaku individu. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif berdasarkan wawancara mendalam dengan pelaku dan korban terorisme yang turut serta dalam kegiatan rekonsiliasi yang diselenggarakan oleh Forum Komunitas Aktivis Akhlakul Karimah (FKAAI) dan Aliansi Indonesia Damai (AIDA). Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa keadilan restoratif dapat melengkapi pelaksanaan program deradikalisasi konvensional sehingga program tersebut dapat mendukung strategi pencegahan deradikalisasi yang lebih luas dan berkelanjutan dalam mencegah dan menangani ekstremisme kekerasan di Indonesia dengan menciptakan interaksi yang bermakna dan transformasi hubungan jangka panjang.

Deradicalization programs in Indonesia have largely adopted punitive and formalistic approaches that focus primarily on the intervention and rehabilitation of perpetrators of terrorism while paying limited attention to the needs and experiences of victims. Although these programs seek to reduce extremist ideologies, they often overlook broader processes of relational repair and victim participation that are essential for sustainable transformation. Despite the growing body of scholarship on terrorism and deradicalization, limited empirical research has examined how counterterrorism can be advanced through dialogue and engagement between victims and former perpetrators within a restorative justice framework. This study explores the importance of victims' recognition and involvement within deradicalization initiatives in transforming their interpersonal relationships and behaviour between victims and former perpetrators of terrorism. Drawing on Howard Zehr's theory of restorative justice, the study conceptualizes reconciliation as an alternative pathway to deradicalization by emphasizing recognition, accountability, dialogue, and relational restoration by gaining authentic stories from the transformative experience resulting from the encounter process between the victims and the perpetrators of terrorism. This study employs qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with perpetrators and victims of terrorism who participated in reconciliation initiatives organized by the Forum Komunitas Aktifis Akhlakul Karimah (FKAAI) and Aliansi Indonesia Damai (AIDA). The findings demonstrate that restorative justice can complement conventional deradicalization as broader societal strategy to create meaningful encounter by promoting long-term relational transformation, strengthening community resilience, and supporting more sustainable approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism in Indonesia. 

Kata Kunci : Terrrorism, Reconciliation, Restorative Justice, Deradicalization