From ideological to political sectarianism: Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and the state in Indonesia

ABSTRACT

This contribution applies the sectarianisation thesis of Hashemi and Postel to analyse renewed political sectarianism between Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the two largest Indonesian Islamic organisations. It finds that while distinct ideologies and rituals do distinguish these organisations one from another, recent conflicts between the two organisations can be attributed to political-based sectarianism rather than an ideological-based one. The contribution also shows how sectarianism can be effectively politicised in Indonesia – a formally democratic nation – due to weak state capacity and other societal problems. Such problems led to a legitimacy challenge against the Joko Widodo (‘Jokowi’) regime from senior Muhammadiyah leaders and other Islamist-leaning groups through the 2016/17 Defending Islam movement. In response, the regime aligns itself with the NU, which utilises sectarian rhetoric to discredit these groups. However, in the process NU renews the long-standing sectarianism between itself and Muhammadiyah.

KEYWORDS:

• Sectarianisation
• Islam
• Indonesia
• Nahdlatul Ulama
• Muhammadiyah

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest is reported by the author

Notes

1. This contribution is based entirely upon non-interventional research utilising historical and other secondary data sources. It does not utilise any data collected from any human subjects or informants. Hence, no ethics approval from my institution’s Institutional Review Board is required prior to its publication.

2. A growing number of scholars have argued that, in recent years, Indonesia is undergoing a decline in basic civil rights such as freedom of assembly and expression, particularly under the Jokowi regime (Aspinall and Mietzner 2019; Power 2018; Warburton and Aspinall 2019). Others have pointed out how the illiberal features of Indonesian democracy have curtailed the rights of Indonesia’s religious minorities (Menchik 2014; Schäfer 2019).

3. See Rosser (2018) for a critical assessment of Indonesia’s public education system. Indonesia’s underfunded public health system crumbled during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged the country over the past year. The health sector’s inability to cope with the crisis has forced the Jokowi administration to mobilise the military to enforce pandemic-related mitigation measures (Sambhi 2020).

4. These practices include community feasts to commemorate important events such as marriage or the birth of a child (selametan), prayers to commemorate anniversaries of the death of close relatives (tahililan), visitations and prayers over the graves of close relatives and famous ulama (ziarah kubur) (Bush 2009, 59 [fn. 18]; Federspiel 1970, 66).

5. Despite claiming to follow no madhabs, Muhammadiyah has established a Council of Opinion (Majlis Tarjih) as the official institution which issues religious rulings (fatwas) on behalf of the organisation and to mediate controversies over the interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah among its members. Hence, some Muhammadiyah members have referred to their organisation as followers of the ‘Tarjih Madhab’, since the council’s rulings have become the theological rulings for Muhammadiyah members (Burhani 2006, 10).

6. Masyumi was originally formed in 1942 by the Japanese colonial forces in Indonesia to merge all existing Islamic organisations into a single organisation so they could be controlled more easily by the Japanese. Masyumi endured as an organisation after Indonesia declared its independence in 1945. However, sectarian differences between modernists and traditionalists finally resulted in the latter’s split from the organisation in 1952, with most traditionalist clerics rejoining Nahdlatul Ulama (Feith 1962).

7. There were two NU-affiliated political parties in Yudhoyono’s cabinet. The National Awakening Party (PKB) received three ministerships under Yudhoyono’s first cabinet and two ministerships under his second cabinet, while the Muhammadiyah-affiliated National Mandate Party (PAN) had three ministerships.

8. English translations of Indonesian-based references – e.g. those from newspapers and digital media outlets such as Kompas.com, Detik.com, CNNIndonesia.com, Tempo.co, and Tirto.id – are made by the author.

9. The six ministries occupied by NU-affiliated ministers during roughly the first half of Jokowi’s first term (October 2014 to January 2018) were: 1) Ministry of Manpower, 2) Ministry of Rural Affairs and Transmigration, 3) Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education, 4) Ministry of Social Affairs, 5) Ministry of Religious Affairs, and 6) Ministry of Youth and Sport. On 17 January 2018 Khofifah Indar Parawansa resigned as Minister of Social Affairs, reducing the number of NU-affiliated ministers to five for the rest of the Jokowi’s first term.

10. The two Muhammadiyah-linked ministers are: Muhadjir Effendi, Minister of National Education (assumed office 27 July 2016) and Asman Abnur, Minister of Civil Service and Bureaucratic Reform (in office between 27 July 2016 and 15 August 2018). Upon the latter’s resignation the ministry was led by a non-partisan official, reducing the number of Muhammadiyah-affiliated ministers to just one person.

11. These ministers are: Agus Suparmanto (Minister of Trade), Ida Fauziyah (Minister of Manpower), Abdul Halim Iskandar (Minister of Village Development), and Mahfud, MD (Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal, and Security Affairs). In the cabinet reshuffle announced on 22 December 2020, Suparmanto was replaced. However, GP Ansor chairman Yaqut Cholil Qomas – who is also a PKB MP – was appointed as Minister of Religious Affairs, leaving the total number of NU and PKB-affiliated ministers in the cabinet unchanged.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexander R. Arifianto

Alexander R. Arifianto is a research fellow with the Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.