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.