Islam and the Social Construction of Risk: A Discourse Analysis of the Fatwa to the Muria Nuclear Power Plant in Indonesia

This thesis analyzes Badan Tenaga Atom Nasional (BATAN, the Indonesia National Nuclear Energy Agency and the the Ulama of Pengurus Cabang Nahdlatul Ulama (PCNU, the Islamic scholars of District Branch of Nahdlatul Ulama) Jepara’s different risk assessments of the purposed nuclear power plant in Muria, Indonesia. Using a discourse analysis combined with the social construction of risk from a science and technology studies (STS) perspective, this thesis focuses on the Ulama’s risk assessments, and looks at how the Islamic interpretations of fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and the knowledge of perceived risk of the State’s nuclear inexpertise, environmental degradations, the type of the reactor, and foreign technological dependence are used simultaneously by the Ulama of the PCNU Jepara to construct maslahah (benefits) and mafsadah (disadvantages) on the fatwa to the proposed Muria nuclear power plant. I argue that the different risk assessments converge on the proposed Muria nuclear power plant, which are based on not only scientific and political discourse but also Islamic beliefs. In contrast to alternative forms of knowledge, Islamic belief not only has orientations to the social world but also the afterlife. I found the Ulama’s concerns regarding perceived risk of the State’s nuclear inexpertise did not change whether from the authoritarian regime to the democratic model. Across the contesting political regimes, the Ulama articulated their concerns of perceived risk of the State’s nuclear inexpertise through distrust of the State’s capacities and capabilities in handling a commercial nuclear power plant. Furthermore, the different ways of constructing risk through BATAN and the Ulama depict the contested meaning of national identity after the Indonesia independence. Lastly, this thesis offers a unique view of studying Islam and the social construction of risk from a non-Western context.