Islamism in Indonesia: Politics in the Emerging Democracy

Preface

Preface This book is a revised and updated version of my PhD thesis from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. It is an analysis of Islamist political behaviour during the early democratic years in Indonesia, concentrating on the period between 1998 and 2003, yet with large attention given to related historical developments. The book, at the same time, draws on some more recent data which had not been part of the original thesis. I used some of this material for the “closing remarks”, which conclude most of the chapters, and especially for the Postscript. The idea of this study came to me in late 1997, after I graduated from the University of Hamburg. Indonesia was approaching the peak of economic and financial turmoil at the time and there were signs that the authoritarian regime under President Soeharto might crumble soon. During my undergraduate studies, I had become increasingly interested in Islamic politics in Indonesia. The fall of the New Order in May 1998, then, enabled the establishment of Islamist parties and organizations for the first time in nearly forty years. How popular would Islamism turn out to be after this long break? Where would it stand ideologically? Would it fit fully into democratic structures? These were among the initial questions that led me onto my PhD. Almost ten years later Indonesia is one of the few functional democracies in the Muslim world. The bulk of the book’s material draws on documentary evidence and interviews as the main sources of information. Between May and August 1999, July 2000 and May 2001, October and November 2001, November 2002 and January 2003, I conducted more than one hundred interviews with members of Islamist political parties and organizations. The bulk of these interviews were done in Jakarta. Most of the print material comes from the headquarters of Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (“Unity Development Party”, PPP), Partai Keadilan (“Justice Party”, PK, later renamed as “Justice Prosperity Party”, PKS), Partai Bulan Bintang (“Crescent Star Party”, PBB), and Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia (“Indonesian Islamic Propagation xv Council”, DDII). This material includes records of party congresses and official statements by party boards. Other valuable material comes from the PBB, PK/PKS, and PPP party journals Buletin Bintang (“Star Bulletin”, later Abadi) and Suara Keadilan (“Voice of Justice”) and Media Persatuan (“Unity Media”, later Petiga). In addition, I use newspaper reports and articles, most of them of Indonesian origin. The records of the post-New Order constitutional debates of the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (“People’s Consultative Assembly”, MPR) are also frequently cited. A note on terminology is in order: I use the term Islamism for those Muslims who are committed to the formal and legal aspects of Islamic politics, both in political parties and non-party organizations and groups. Islamism, therefore, is Islam understood and promoted as a political ideology. Islamism’s central agenda is for the state to become active in the enforcement of shari’ah (Islamic law) and to uphold Islamic principles. Some Islamists advocate the restoration of a supranational caliphate as the ultimate ideal. By definition, Islamists differ from Muslims who don’t share these ideals, that is, are pluralist and secular Muslims. As the most basic denominator, Islamist groups have adopted Islam as their ideological base. Islamism, at the same time, denotes different degrees of ideologically driven devotion. It covers both more formalist and symbolic types of commitment to ideological ideals, and also fuller, integrated forms of ideology, and greater ideological drive. I will return to these differentiations in various parts of the book. Most of the book is structured thematically. The introduction discusses vital terminology and historical subjects that the later chapters will address. It also critiques some of the prominent literature on Indonesian Islamic politics. The topic of chapter I is the re-formation of Islamist politics in 1998 and 1999. It illustrates the significance of expediency in political practice and the declining importance of what I term the “Masyumi tradition” in Indonesian Islamism. Chapter II depicts the frustration among Islamists from defeats and concessions to non-Muslims since Indonesian independence in 1945, the continuity of this discourse in the New Order, and its impact on the mindset of Islamists in the democratic period. Chapter III covers the motives and doctrinal approaches of Islamist parties to Islamize state and society, and discusses the quality of their shari’ah agendas. Chapter IV examines the political strategies of Islamist parties during post-New Order elections. It will describe the oscillation between Islamist concerns and...