Indonesian Moslem intellectuals and democracy

Indonesian Moslem intellectuals and democracy

By Masykuri Abdillah

JAKARTA (JP): The Moslem intellectuals' concept of the
principle of liberty is not in line with the liberal view,
namely the absence of constraints or obstacles. They support
human liberty so long as the individual fulfills his duties and
responsibilities, either to God or to his fellow man. This means
that liberty is supported as far as it is not contrary to Allah's
orders.

Moslem intellectuals support the principle of pluralism in
both social and political spheres. According to them, the
plurality of human beings constitutes God's will, and hence it is
a natural law (sunna Allah) that will not change and cannot be
denied. They state the necessity of tolerance in order to protect
and to bring about social pluralism.

Meanwhile, many of them interpret shura (mutual consultation)
and al-amr bi al-ma'ruf wa al-nahu 'an al-munkar (enjoining good
and forbidding evil) as a form of political participation, which
is a manifestation of political pluralism. These two principles
can be a strong bulwark against state violation,
authoritarianism, despotism, dictatorship, and against any other
system that suppresses people's political rights.

In the light of the above theological perspective, most Moslem
intellectuals also respond to the basic concept of Pancasila
democracy, introduced by Indonesia's New Order government, as
being in line with Islamic doctrines. The similarity between them
takes the form of the limitation of the popular will, which
cannot be contrary to the principle of belief in God, and all
decisions must be accountable to the electorate and God.

Pancasila and Islam do not only emphasize rights but also
duties, and both of them emphasize the equilibrium between
individual and collective rights as well as between material and
spiritual interests. Although there is a conceptual similarity
between Pancasila Democracy and the Islamic doctrines expressed
by Moslem intellectuals, some operational differences exist
between the government's and Moslem intellectuals' interpretation
of Pancasila democracy.

The government has promoted a democratic system to a certain
extent since it came to power in 1966, and many policies have
been adopted that indicate a promotion of the democratization
process, especially the establishment of democratic institutions.
Yet Moslem intellectuals generally consider the democratic system
to be essentially incomplete, although most of them also
recognize that since 1990 the democratic atmosphere has been
better than previously.

Hence they support the substantive process of democratization,
which concerns the implementation of general elections, the
position of the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of
Representatives, the position of political organizations, the
position of the executive body, the rule of the law, freedom and
openness as well as social equality. This article cannot explain
these responses in detail.

The differences between the government's policies and
intellectuals' ideas are usually a reflection of certain charac
teristics of Indonesian society. The government supports
Soepomo's theory on an "integrationist society" in interpreting
Pancasila Democracy, while Moslem intellectuals are inclined to
support Hatta's theory on Indonesian society, especially his idea
on the central position of the first principle of Pancasila, the
belief in One and Only God, as well as on the citizens' rights
and duties.

The democratization process is not only determined by the
state but also by society. In this process, intellectuals have a
strategic role to play in founding a strong civil society,
especially in a situation where a political society does not yet
function properly. But not everyone is aware of the need to act
or take responsibility.

Moslem intellectuals have a more strategic role, because they
are also leaders of the Moslem community, which is one of the
most influential sectors of civil society in Indonesia. Their
role, of course, is not in the form of practical politics or
political actions, but in expressing critical views to the
government's policies as well as encouraging greater
enlightenment among the people by increasing their level of
education and economic well-being. Rapid democratization will
only be realized if the government displays the necessary
political will and if a large number of enlightened Moslems or
members of the Moslem middle-class come into being and actively
support such a process.

The number of enlightened Moslems as well as the Moslem
middle-class has increased, but in general the level of Moslem's
education and economic well-being is still low, while the
economic sector is still dominated by non-Islamic groups, which
have had opportunities ever since the colonial period to expand
their economic activities.

In Indonesia, the level of economic well-being effects the
level of education. Such a situation implies that most Indonesian
Moslems, even some local Moslem leaders, do not exactly know what
a democratic system actually implies in practice, even though
Moslem intellectuals have continually made an effort to spread
ideas of democracy. Most Moslem intellectuals therefore argue
that promoting a democratic system must take place simultaneously
with an improvement in people's education and economic well-
being. This would also transform certain elements of Indonesian
culture which are incompatible with a democratic culture, such as
paternalistic attitudes.

Moslem intellectuals' position in expressing democratic ideas
as well as in representing Moslem's aspirations and demands
cannot be separated from their attitude to the government. Many
of them express critical views of the government, but these
criticisms are usually expressed carefully, politely and
indirectly, because the government does not recognize the
existence of opposition groups. It is difficult to precisely
classify their responses and attitudes toward the government's
policies, but it is possible to establish three loose categories
describing such attitudes: accommodative, critical and
oppositional. Most of them are inclined to adopt an accommodative
attitude, although such an attitude is in some respects also
accompanied by critical views. Many of them are inclined to
express a critical attitude, but only a few of them are inclined
to display an openly oppositional attitude.

These critical views are generally still in existence today,
although since the late 1980s the government has been inclined to
cooperate with Moslems, and Moslem intellectuals are no longer
considered an oppositional group as was previously the case. This
is because their support for democracy is not merely intended as
a response to Moslems' aspirations and demands, but also because
they consider democracy to be a political system which is
compatible with Islamic teachings.

Masykuri Abdillah is a lecturer at the State Institute for
Islamic Studies (IAIN) Jakarta. He received his Dr.Phil. in
Islamic Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern History and
Culture, University of Hamburg, Germany (1995). This article is a
summary of his dissertation, titled Responses of Indonesian
Moslem Intellectuals to The Concept of Democracy (1966-1993),
published recently by Abera-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany (1997). This
is the last of two parts.