In Search and Reflection of the Madani State
The term madani, which began to emerge among Muslim intellectuals in the 20th century, is not an entirely new term. It has in fact long been known. One example can be found in Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah through the expression al-insaan madaniyyun bi al-thab’i, which indicates that humans are by nature social beings who cannot fulfil all their needs individually. In the context of Ibn Khaldun’s thought, the term madani relates to the concept of ’umraan, meaning life. According to the author, this idea resembles Aristotle’s famous statement that the human is a political animal, affirming that humans are essentially creatures living in social and political life.
At the end of August 2026, a gathering of Muslim intellectuals from Malaysia and Indonesia was held in Jakarta. The meeting was part of an annual agenda initiated by Prof M Din Syamsuddin as Chairman of the Center for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilizations (CDCC) and Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister of Malaysia, who entrusted its implementation to Malaysia’s Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli bin Hasan.
Taking that meeting as its starting point, the author will examine the ideas and thinking produced by Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim intellectuals at the forum. This study also aims to see how the concept of madani has developed and been constructed among Muslim intellectuals of the two countries, while reflecting on the goals of the initiative.
THE ISTIQLAL FESTIVAL, MALAYSIA MADANI, AND PARAMADINA
If we may flash back to 1995, the Istiqlal Mosque held a major festival featuring national and international Muslim figures, one of whom was Anwar Ibrahim, a figure from Malaysia’s Muslim youth organisation Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM).
On that occasion, Anwar Ibrahim delivered a speech that popularised the idea we know as madani. Besides Anwar, Nurcholish Madjid popularised the notion of masyarakat madani (civil society) in the 1980s.
The idea of a civil society or madani state later became a campaign tagline and ultimately the governing vision of Anwar Ibrahim known as Malaysia Madani, an acronym for ‘prosperity, well-being, creativity, respect, conviction, and compassion’.
Interestingly, according to John L Esposito in his article in Frontier magazine titled ‘Anwar Ibrahim: Reformist Islam and the Ethics of Governance in a Postcolonial State’ (25 December 2026, p. 57), Anwar Ibrahim’s use of the term madani is not merely a technocratic slogan or cultural artefact, but a normative project. For Anwar, the madani concept seeks to position Islam not as an instrument of state control, but as a source of ethical consideration in governance and public policy formulation.
In Indonesia, the madani idea was also developed by Anwar Ibrahim’s close friend, the Indonesian Muslim intellectual Nurcholish Madjid, affectionately known as Cak Nur. He transformed the madani concept into an educational institution we now know as Paramadina University. Paramadina began as a religious study club and later developed into the Paramadina Waqf Foundation and University.
Cak Nur’s views on civil society inspired the naming of Paramadina. The name ‘paramadina’ can be formed in two ways: (1) from par (Latin: equal, harmonious, or like-minded) and madina (Arabic: city/civilisation). Interestingly, the campus established an Islamic madani studies programme.
THE MADANI STATE AND THE ASPIRATION OF A MALAY ISLAMIC CIVILISATIONAL RENAISSANCE
Indonesia and Malaysia share relatively similar histories and cultures. It is therefore unsurprising that the term ‘kindred nations’ is so attached to the two countries. Interestingly, relations between the two have not always run smoothly; sometimes they go well, at other times they are marked by various problems. Nevertheless, efforts continue to strengthen and improve ties between the two countries.
The Madani Malindo forum is one vehicle bringing together Muslim intellectuals from Malaysia and Indonesia as part of this effort. The forum is a programme of the Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM), an institute under the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department, with the CDCC as its main partner representing Indonesian Muslim intellectuals. Notably, some participants are scholars who have held or currently hold strategic government positions, such as ministers, members of parliament, and even a former vice president. Their presence shows the forum brings together not only academics and intellectuals, but also figures with direct experience in policymaking and governance.
Madani Malindo serves as a space to discuss the problems faced by Muslim communities in Malaysia and Indonesia. The forum also examines the concept of madani as an idea in state and social life, and its relevance in addressing contemporary issues.
On one occasion, Din Syamsuddin invited participants to jointly build a state or society grounded in madani values. From this idea emerged the tagline ‘Negara madani cita-cita bersama’ (the madani state, a shared aspiration). Din also called on Indonesia and Malaysia to work shoulder to shoulder in carrying out the mission of the ummah to build a new civilisation born of Southeast Asia and grounded in Islamic values. For him, the Middle East and other parts of the Islamic world that were once centres of Islamic civilisation have completed their historical task. It is therefore time, he argues, for Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim societies to take a role in building and continuing Islamic civilisation from Southeast Asia.
This view is interesting given that Southeast Asia has often been placed only as a peripheral region in the history of Islamic civilisation. Yet Malaysia and Indonesia have large Muslim populations and a long history of Islamic development traceable through various centres of power and civilisation, such as Samudra Pasai, Demak, Malacca, Aceh, the Islamic Mataram, and various other Islamic kingdoms. These civilisational centres have left diverse legacies, both physical and non-physical, such as intellectual traditions, culture, education, and socio-religious life. Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, therefore possesses strong historical and cultural capital to play an important role in the development of Islamic civilisation.
Yet amid this grand aspiration, a question arises: can this noble ambition to build a madani state and spark an Islamic civilisational renaissance from Southeast Asia be realised given the current conditions of Malaysia and Indonesia?
WILL THIS IDEA BECOME REALITY?
Perhaps we can emulate Anwar Ibrahim’s experience of bringing the madani idea into the real world. But can this idea, discussed and studied for decades, ultimately make Malaysia and Indonesia the epicentre of Islamic civilisation in Asia, or even the world?
The aspiration to establish Islamic civilisation is indeed a mission of the ummah. As we know, the ummah is currently in decline. Moreover, today’s uncertain, multipolar world has resulted in numerous wars and instability across various sectors. It is therefore not impossible for a great hope to emerge of establishing an Islamic or madani civilisation in line with the characteristics of the society of Medina, regarded as the ideal community.
Consequently, several Muslim states have begun campaigning as nations that will revive a new civilisation aligned with Islamic values or carrying the banner of Islam. Iran, Turkey, and even Saudi Arabia, for instance, appear to compete as nations destined to bring Islamic glory.
We should also consider the experience of Hizbut Tahrir, which since its founding has sought to establish a unified Islamic state under a caliph following the prophetic method. Likewise the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS), which carried the banner of an Islamic state through violent, uncivilised means, as if such methods would raise Islam into a great civilisation capable of resisting the hegemony of its enemies. Yet both experiences have so far proved failures. One merely voices its message loudly through rallies and the distribution of leaflets and narratives; the other appeared practical, but its methods contradicted Islamic and human values.
It is therefore essential for Muslim intellectuals and policymakers to think hard and cooperate in realising this noble aspiration. For the author, making a state madani does not mean establishing an Islamic state, but rather building a state or society that is civilised, knowledgeable, cultured, cooperative, and tolerant — values rooted in Islam that are expected to form a great Islamic civilisation.
The madani state as an aspiration is ultimately expected to establish a tamadun, a truly civilised civilisation that must embrace all groups. Building a madani civilisation means being genuinely present for everyone, requiring support from all groups regardless of religion, ethnicity, political party, or profession. Because a great aspiration must be present for all, it must not appear as a political project favouring only one group, nor should it remain at the purely theological and philosophical level, which would ultimately lead the idea into a utopian trap.