Muhammad Syafiq is the PhD Candidate of School of Social Science. He is doing his PhD research on a multidisciplinary perspective including Criminology and Social Psychology under the supervision of Prof. Adrian Cherney (Criminology) and Prof. Winnifred Louis (Social Psychology). His research focuses on stigma and identity transformation of ex-terrorist convicts in Indonesia in the process of disengagement and social reintegration.

Start: January 2022

Funding:

The Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education (LPDP), Indonesia

Qualfications

Master of Science in Social Psychology, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Airlangga University, Indonesia

Research Interests 

  • Social Psychology
  • Criminology
  • Terrorism Studies
  • Countering Violent Extremism
  • Social identity issues

Publications

Syafiq, M. (2019). Deradicalisation and disengagement from terrorism and threat to identity: An analysis of former Jihadist prisoners’ accounts. Psychology and Developing Societies, 31(2), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971333619863169

Syafiq, M., & Putri, N. (2022). The Identity Threat and Coping among the Followers of the Indigenous Javanese Religion. Journal of Health and Behavioral Science4(2), 308-331. https://doi.org/10.35508/jhbs.v4i2.5680

Featured project:

Disengagement from terrorism in Indonesia: How former terrorists transform their identities and reintegrate into society

Duration: 2022-2026

Abstract:

The disengagement from the extremist groups is the transitional process which often requires the former violent extremists to face their past self and identity before being able to move forward to establish new roles and identity in the new social relationships away from their previous extremist networks.  Thus, this project will address the identity transformation during the process of disengagement and social reintegration among the former terrorist convicts in Indonesia with specific focus on how they negotiate their identities in dealing with their past involvement in terrorism and social challenges such as stigma or social exclusion. Studying this issue will allow us to understand the complex relationship between personal and social factors that determines the successful struggle to reintegrate into society after leaving terrorism behind. 

Advisors:

Primary advisor: Prof. Adrian Cherney, Professor of Criminology, School of Social Sciences, the University of Queensland. https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/1532

Associate advisor: Prof. Winnifred Louis, Professor of Social Psychology, School of Psychology, the University of Queensland. https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/1171