Islam in Indonesia: The Contest for Society, Ideas, and Value by Carool Kersten (review)

For generations, scholars have hailed Indonesia as the bedrock of tolerance and diversity in the Muslim world, a trait usually connected to the archipelago's gradual Islamization and the characterization of its population's affiliation to Islam as a "thin, flaking glaze" laid over a much stronger Hindu-Buddhist substratum.¹ The national motto, Bhinneka tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), and the Pancasila state philosophy of five principles point in this same direction. As does the recent discourse on "Islam Nusantara" (Islam of the Archipelago).

However, the violence that followed the fall of the Suharto regime and more recent political developments question this narrative of embedded tolerance. The result has been to push scholars to further investigate the origins of Indonesia's acceptance of diversity, as well as its counter discourses. Intolerance and Islamic exclusivism seem to be emerging from political and religious establishments alike, as strong statements are made against diversity and "pluralism" (to borrow from Michael Peletz),² targeting groups such as the LGBT community, Ahmadi and Shi'a Muslims, and other religious minorities.

Taking as a point of departure the 2005 MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Indonesian Ulema Council) "Fatwa 7," which condemned the rising influence of "secularism, pluralism, and liberalism" as Western and un-Islamic, Islam in Indonesia explores young Muslim intellectuals' engagement with these concepts and their reverberations in politics and society. From the disciplinary standpoint of religious studies, Carool Kersten illustrates current epistemological approaches to shari'a laws and the debate on "secularism, pluralism, and liberalism" (often treated as a connected triad), focusing on the "liberal" side of the spectrum and placing these debates within their contingent political context.

Islam in Indonesia builds on Kersten's previous book, Cosmopolitans and Heretics.³ This connection is evident in his deployment of "cultural hybridity" as a key element in Indonesia's contemporary Muslim thought, and the intellectual genealogies that connect these twenty-first century thinkers to the previous generation. Although the theoretical contribution was stronger in the first book, Kersten's current concentration on much younger—and less known—intellectuals has the added value of making accessible materials usually not available in the English language.

Kersten's stated goal, as illustrated in the introduction, is to present an intellectual history "telling the story of those conceptualizing and formulating new ways of thinking about religion and translating these into agendas for reform" (7), with a focus on the "progressive" camp. Kersten rejects the goal of pursuing "a study of Islamic political ideas," pledging instead to "look beyond events and engage with the substance of these Islamic discourses" (10). That said, Kersten eventually argues that "both progressive and reactionary Muslim thinkers do not solely deal with religious questions, they also have secular vocations in dealing with Islam and politics; the place of Islamic law in contemporary Muslim societies; and finally, what this means for the country's religious plurality and the freedom of religion" (283). Hence, whereas the first half of the book delves into "religious questions," the second half looks into each of these "secular vocations," leaving for the last chapter to show how the two approaches have met in debates related to "Fatwa 7."

Chapter one sets the stage by guiding the nonexpert reader through the politicking of the late Suharto era, the "dynastic failures" of Reformasi and the years of Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono (2004–14), up to the formation of the Jokowi-Kalla cabinet. This story is followed by a brief excursus on the role of Islamic parties in the 1998–2006 period and the "intellectual-historical context" for the "dramatic changes" that affected the Muslim intellectual landscape, with a partial eye to those whom Kersten refers to as "progressive Muslims," as opposed to the "conservative and reactionary" groups (5). Although Kersten admits that these terms might be less than satisfying, they remain his operative labels throughout the volume. As he disengages from political events, this taxonomy remains abstract, without connecting the...