Nationalism, Islam, ‘secularism’ and the state in contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

This article seeks to explain the impact of Muslim politics on the Indonesian nation and, in particular, why Islamism has found so little political traction. It argues that Islamist ideas were late in emerging in modern Indonesia, and long remained marginal to Indonesians' ideas of what their nation should be and do. It notes, however, that Indonesia's deepening Islamisation has resulted in a sense of growing sectarianism and a developing accommodation of Islamic agendas by Indonesia's pseudo-secular state that requires careful management if respectful pluralism and mutual tolerance is to be maintained.

Acknowledgements

The research for this article was funded by a Discovery Program grant from the Australian Research Council. I should like to thank John Butcher for his helpful comments on an earlier draft.

Notes

1. In a famous speech at Amuntai in 1953, Sukarno asserted that ‘if we establish a state based on Islam, many areas whose population is not Islamic … will secede’ (quoted in Effendy 2003: 39).

2. According to Madjid (2007: 492), ‘the Qur’ân essentially teaches the concept of religious plurality’.

3. The Christian-led Republik Maluku Selatan, unwilling to be part of the infant Republic of Indonesia, declared independence in 1950 and sought to maintain close relations with the Netherlands. Its rebellion was defeated by the Indonesian army.

4. A 2006 ministerial decree required the support of the broad local community for a permit to be granted for the construction of a place of worship.

5. This rationalisation remains strong; a number of important figures expressed such a sentiment to me in interviews (Habibie 2008; Sudarsono 2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

R.E. Elson

R.E. Elson is Professor of South-East Asian History at the University of Queensland. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of Indonesia, and is currently completing a research project on the persistence of quasi-secularist thinking in modern and contemporary Indonesia