-
6. The Later New Order Period
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
73 Chapter6 TheLaterNewOrder Period TheNewOrdergovernmenthadastrongholdonthepolitical systemofIndonesiaby1974andcontinuedtoruleuntiltheend ofthetwentiethcentury,whenitwasbroughttoanendinforced electionsafterthegovernmentwasunabletoweatherasevere economiccrisisin1997.Duringthequarterofcenturythatit ruledwithlittlechallenge,itupgradedtheeconomicconditions ofthepopulation.Mostindicatorsofprogress,suchaspercapita income, literacy, and graduation rates, indicated considerable improvement,buttheywerestilllowbyeconomicstandardsof Asia.Aswell,thesocietywasconcernedoverlackofrightsand corruptioningovernmentoperations.Manyelementsofsociety dislikedthepoliticalsystem,inlargepartbecauseitpredetermined electionresultswhilegoingthroughanunconvincingcharadeof publicparticipation.Whenthesystemunravelled,itlostsupport quickly.Butthroughoutmostoftheperioditwasastrong,vibrant, yetauthoritarianpoliticalsystem. THENEOMODERNISTS Thereconstructionistmovementdevelopedintoamoreadvanced stage that was sometimes referred to as the neomodernist 05IndoMuslimp73-90.indd73 2/20/069:51:58AM 74 IndonesianMuslimIntellectualsoftheTwentiethCentury movement. Actually the grouping of intellectuals concerned withthismovementwasquitelarge,probablysometwenty-five people,whoassociatedwithoneanotherandwroteonsimilar subjects.ThemostwellknownwerethecoregroupofNurcholish Madjid,DawamRahardjo(b.1942),andKuntowijoyo(b.1943), andtwoorganizationalleaders,AbdurrahmanWahid(b.1940) and Amien Rais (b. 1944), but included Abdul Mukti ‘Ali, mentionedabove,andTaufikAbdullah(b.1936),animportant Indonesianhistorian.Therewereotherlesswell-knownmembers, suchasAhmadSaefuddin(b.1940),SjafiiMaarif(b.1939),and Jalaluddin Rahmat (b. 1949). Significantly they were not all Muslimmodernists,asafewwerefromtraditionalistbackgrounds andsomewereclosertorevivalismthanmodernismperse.The educationsoftheseintellectualsdifferedconsiderably,although all had some form of Islamic training somewhere in their backgrounds.MosthadalsostudiedintheWest,oftenatleading universitiesintheUnitedStatesorEurope.Theycommunicated throughseminarsandspecialorganizations,i.e.,think-tanks,and discussedtheirideasthoroughlyatthesepresentations.Those presentationswerethendigestedfortheinformationmedia,and alsoissuedasarticlesinmagazines,journals,andbooksdesigned topromotethinkingintheIndonesianMuslimcommunity.An organizationcalledParamadinawasthemostnotedofthethinktanks ,setupasapiousfoundationinJakarta,whichattempted topromotestudyandeducation,castingawidernetthansimply theMuslimmiddleclass.SimilargroupsformedinYogyakarta, Bandung,andJakarta. DEFININGTHECOMMUNITY Apivotalpointofexaminationforboththereconstructionistsand theneomodernistswasthecompositionandnatureoftheIslamic 05 IndoMuslim p73-90.indd 74 2/14/06 7:27:54 PM [34.200.219.10] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 07:23 GMT) TheLaterNewOrderPeriod 75 communityofIndonesia.J.Rahmat,ascholarfromwestJava, formulatedscenariosforfivedifferentMuslimcommunitiesthat couldpossiblybeoperatinginthenation.Inthefirstpossibility thecommunitycouldincludeanyonecallingthemselvesMuslim and, consequently, this choice would encompass most of the populationofIndonesia.Inthatall-inclusivecommunitythere wouldbewideandoftendifferingviewsofbeliefandpractice existinginIslamandalargenumberofpeoplewhohadlittle knowledgeofIslam.Inthesecondpossibilitythecommunity wouldcomprisepeoplewhoperformedtheritesandpracticesof Islamandhadsomeknowledgeaboutitsteachings.Thisgrouping wouldbesmallerthantheverywidecommunity,butremoved fromconsiderationthosewhoweresimplynominalMuslims. Inthethirdpossibilitythecommunitywouldconsistofpeople whowerewellversedintheteachingsofIslamandobservedits practices daily. This grouping would constitute less than half thepopulationofIndonesiaandmightbeconsideredrestrictive sinceitwouldexcludeeveryonewhodidnotassociatedailywith Islaminsomemeaningfulmanner.Inthefourthpossibilitythe communitywouldconsistofpeoplewhowerewellversedin Islamicteachings,practiseditsritesdaily,andalsobelongedto mosqueassociations,committeestoraisefundsforthepoor,and otherreligiousassociationsandpoliticalpartieswithdefinitive Muslimgoals.Thisgroupingwouldconstituteonlytheactivists ofreligion,and,accordingly...