Moral citizenship and the repatriation of Indonesian former Islamic state combatants and families

Despite the defeat of the Islamic State (IS), the citizenship status of former IS combatants and families stranded in Syrian camps remains contentious. This issue has raised major questions about whether countries of origin should repatriate the IS fighters and their families or revoke their citizenship status. Using the concept of moral citizenship, which links individuals’ moral attitudes and responsibilities to their civic belonging, this article analyses how Indonesian society perceives the repatriation of ex-IS fighters and their families. Drawing on survey data from 1044 respondents, we find that in general, Indonesians tend to reject the repatriation of the ex-IS fighters. However, the level of rejection varies for different categories of IS fighters and their families. Taking into account these differences, therefore, we suggest the government take a non-singular policy considering the typologies of these IS returnees. Whatever the Indonesian government’s agreed policies are, minimising the drawbacks of the policies for its citizens should be the government’s priority.