Islam—Indonesia

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Islam has made important contributions to nation-building and socioeconomic development in Indonesia. Since the dawn of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago in the seventh century, the ulama (religious scholars) have played a significant role in the integration of its many ethnic communities. Successions of Western rulers caused various Muslim communities to band together to resist and repel the infidels (kafir) who, it was believed, only came to exploit the archipelago's economic resources and erode local cultural and religious values. Having been exposed to the Western way of life, twentieth-century Indonesian Muslims were acquainted with the concept of modernism, with "modern" social structures, schools, and print media. Islam became a bonding force against the imperial system, spurring communities to set aside cultural differences and work toward a common goal. Muslim organizations became keenly concerned with sociocultural, economic, and political life.

Three successive processes led to the Islamization of the country: the arrival of Muslim traders who propagated Islam (seventh to twelfth centuries CE), the integration of foreign settlers into local communities (eleventh to twelfth centuries), and the creation of states ruled by Muslim sultans (thirteenth to seventeenth centuries). The religious landscape into which Islam came was one of indigenous beliefs: Hindu-Buddhist religions. But Islam that came through Hindu-Buddhist areas had already adapted to specific circumstances before coming to the archipelago, notably between Islamic Sufism and Hindu-Buddhist Sufism. Islam that was brought by traders whose approach was Sufistic was more tolerant; that made Islam easily welcomed. Furthermore, local traditions were soon Islamized, and Islamic teachings were localized. This made Islam in Indonesia different from Islam in other parts of the world.

Since Islam was introduced by Muslim traders in the archipelago, it has been the basis for cultural integration. Several factors facilitated this integration, primary among them being internal and international trade, the preaching of religious teachers, and the use of Malay as the common language. Wandering teachers guided local sultans in the teachings of Islam. Their writings were disseminated across the country, creating an Islamic culture in the archipelago.

Dutch colonialists, who arrived in the seventeenth century, were perceived as a threat to the authority of local rulers and also affected the intellectual activities of the ulama. Islamic resistance to foreign rule became unavoidable, particularly as urbanization took place. Dutch rule began to be perceived as imperialistic exploitation and as an attempt to forcibly Westernize the country. As a result, Muslims were determined to overthrow the Dutch government. The ulama, along with students from their network of traditional religious schools (pesantren), rose in support of this resistance. Peasant revolts broke out across the country. Local social associations were set up, including the Islamic Trade Association (Sarekat Dagang Islam, or SDI) in 1905, which became the Islamic Association (Sarekat Islam, or SI) in 1912, the first mass organization to participate in the indigenous economy and in the struggle for independence. In its anticolonialist activities, the SI was active at various levels. It campaigned against the suppression of Indonesians, and Islamic ideology became the foundation of its political struggle.

Muslims did not concentrate solely on politics, however. They were also concerned with social issues, primarily poverty and illiteracy. The "modernist" Muhammadiyah and "traditionalist" Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) were active in education and social development during their establishment in 1912 and 1926, respectively.

Furthermore, the unification of Indonesian communities as a result of the Dutch colonization provided new opportunities for solidarity among ethnic and Islamic groups that had different backgrounds and polities, and adhered to different approaches and strategies. At the time, during the last days of Japanese rule in 1945, Islamic political ideology could not provide a strong enough unifying focus, and secular nationalists eventually claimed the most powerful heroes and created the most powerful myths, pushing Muslim nationalists into the background.

As a result, Muslim nationalists experienced a crucial shift in their relationship with Japanese and Dutch rulers. From a position of subordination with the Dutch to one of favor with the Japanese, the secularist nationalists took over the leadership role. Both the secular and Muslim nationalists agreed to endorse the Pancasila ("Five Principles": belief in one God, humanitarianism, nationalism, democracy, and social justice) as the basis of the new state; the Muslims believed that Pancasila was based on Islamic law. Yet the Muslim nationalists soon realized that they were in fact marginalized, their factions fragmented, while secularists were in control of the government.

This became even clearer when the government used a divide-and-rule approach in dealing with Islamicfactions. Sukarno (1901–1970), the first president of Indonesia, banned the Masyumi Party, the party of the Masyumi, a modern comprehensive confederation of Islamic organizations, in the belief that it supported Darul Islam, a movement for the establishment of an Islamic state, which continued in Aceh, West Java, and South Sulawesi. Instead, he created a new idea, Nasakom, which was meant to unite nationalists, Muslims, and Communists, an idea that was tolerated by the NU but not by Masyumi members. For the next two decades, the NU established its presence in the religious ministries and bureaucracy. After the 1965 alleged coup by Communists, the NU worked with Suharto (b. 1921) to expel not only Communists, but also other radical nationalists from the political arena. After Suharto replaced Sukarno as president in 1967, the NU was amalgamated with the Development Union Party (PPP), which Suharto controlled.

During the Suharto presidency, Islamic parties, as opposed to sociocultural Islamic organizations, remained marginalized. In particular, Suharto's economic modernization of the nation created discontent among Muslims, who were wary of the possible negative effects on the community. Suharto made Pancasila mandatory for all parties, thus preventing the revival of Islamic parties because no parties were allowed to be founded on religion, including Islam. Although the NU was the first to accept, it broke away from the PPP, renounced politics, and returned to its original mission as a socioreligious organization.

In 1990, Muslims established the All-Indonesian Association for Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI). Wanting to return to the center of power, intellectuals gathered in Malang, East Java, and appointed Bacharuddin Habibie (b. 1936), a figure close to Suharto, as president of the association. Cooperation with Suharto served the purposes of the Muslims, but Suharto's power had dwindled. After Suharto's dramatic fall from power, Habibie became president in 1998 and implemented democratic measures on behalf of the Muslim majority. He established a multiparty system, and several Islamic parties emerged, including the National Awakening Party (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa, or PKB), which was founded by Abdurrahman Wahid (b.1940), leader of the NU. However, because of his closeness to Suharto and probably his non-Javanese origin, Habibie lost the 1999 presidential elections, which went to Wahid. Wahid remained in power until 23 July 2001, when the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the highest legislature of the nation, impeached him, and his vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri (b. 1947), from a secularist group, was elected president by members of the MPR in its special session.

To what extent the government under Megawati will address the aspirations of the Muslim majority remains to be seen. The rivalry between the secularists and the Muslims is ongoing, and Islam continues to be a decisive factor in Indonesian politics. Having contributed to the evolution of modern Indonesia, Islam remains an important actor in the social and cultural identity of the nation.

Andi Faisal Bakti

Bakti, Andi F. (1993) "Islam and Nation Formation in Indonesia." M.A. thesis. McGill University.

Forrester, Geoff, ed. (1999) Post-Suharto Indonesia: Renewal or Chaos? Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Jones, Anthony H. (1987) "Indonesia: Islam and Cultural Pluralism." In Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics, and Society, edited by John L. Esposito. New York: Oxford University Press, 202–229.

Noer, Deliar. (1973) The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia 1900–1942. Singapore: Oxford University Press.

Manning, Chris, and Peter van Diermen, eds. (2000) Indonesia in Transition: Social Aspects of Reform and Crisis. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

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