Do We Need Nusantara Criminology? International Guest Lecture with Dr. Mohammed Ilyas on Decolonizing Criminology

August 25, 2025 — On Monday (8/25), the Department of Criminology held an international guest lecture featuring a criminologist from the University of Derby, England. The session which was held in Room 303 of the Nusantara 1 Building, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, began with an introduction to Dr. Mohammed Ilyas, a criminologist who works in the fields of deradicalization, the terrorism industry and its eradication, as well as various issues related to criminology in the Middle East and Islamic countries. On this occasion, he presented the major theme of the decolonizing criminology. This theme is important to explore further because, generally speaking, the various knowledge and sciences we currently study are still heavily oriented towards knowledge created by countries in the global north.

Dr. Ilyas began his explanation by emphasizing the ideas popularized by Edward Said, author of the book Orientalism. Published in the 1970s, this book focuses on how Western countries have planted and perpetuated a perspective that depicts Middle Easterners as inferior and powerless. This has given rise to stereotypes that support and justify all forms of imperialism and colonialism by Western countries. Unfortunately, this Orientalist thinking has taken root too deeply; its impact is also evident in the process of knowledge production.

Knowledge and sciences that are still too focused on epistemology and methodology developed by Western countries has produced academics who are trapped in colonized thinking. Dr. Ilyas uses the term intellectual imperialism to describe this, underlining how colonialism is still present and deeply rooted in the minds of people in countries that are supposedly have gained their “independence.” Therefore, decolonization is an important step that must be taken by various disciplines, including criminology.

What exactly is “decolonizing”?

Decolonizing is the process of decolonization, which involves questioning and dismantling the various influences of colonialism that still exist in institutions, laws, and even our ways of thinking. Dr. Ilyas emphasized that concepts such as crime, criminality, punishment, and so on are still steeped in colonialism. For example, the Criminal Code (KUHP) used in the Indonesian criminal justice system is still filled with the influence of laws and regulations used by the Dutch colonial government. Therefore, decolonization is important in order to break free from the shackles of colonialism that have taken root.

However, decolonization is not an easy task. The main goal of decolonization is to rearrange ways of thinking that are not influenced by Western supremacy, and are not subject to colonialism and imperialism. When we begin the process of decolonization, we will realize how deeply rooted colonialism has been for so long.

Therefore, the first step in the decolonization process must also begin from its roots. Concluding the hour-and-a-half guest lecture, Dr. Ilyas explained that decolonization can be initiated by developing independent epistemology and methodology that is not fixated on the thinking of global north countries. “Decolonization is a hard process, but does that mean we should stop trying?” he remarked.