Gender Bias in the Reconstruction of Knowledge on Radicalism and Intolerance

As a multicultural nation, Indonesia faces issues of radicalism and intolerance. This phenomenon occurs not only in society but also in higher education, which can threaten social cohesion and lead to the emergence of religious exclusivism. This research aims to examine how radicalism and intolerance are responded to in higher education. The research was conducted over a 2-year period using a mixed methods approach combining quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, observations, and focus group discussions (FGDs). The first year of the study analyzed perceptions and practices of intolerance on campus through a survey of 120 students, 50 lecturers, and 45 administrative staff at three Indonesian universities participating in the Indonesian Collaborative Research. The results showed that although the majority of respondents supported national values and diversity, 20–30% still exhibited intolerant tendencies and sympathy for radical ideologies, including aspirations to establish a religious state and the justification of violence in the name of religion. The research also found that gender bias persists within the structure of religious activities and is a glaring issue in the understanding of radicalism and intolerance. Strategic positions within religious organizations are predominantly male, while women are often placed in administrative or symbolic roles. The research also produced a model for reconstructing knowledge of radicalism designed to integrate humanitarian values and inclusivity, with five learning syntaxes: value information, value selection, presentation, elaboration, and reflection. This model is expected to eliminate the spread of radicalism and intolerance in higher education. In this article, we will focus on the lack of a gender perspective in the religious education and Pancasila curriculum, which reinforces the rise of radicalism and intolerance as a result of this inequality, as it does not provide reflective space for students to understand gender-based power relations in religious and national contexts from a socio-religious perspective.