Islam in Indonesia has always been multifaceted

Islam in Indonesia has always been multifaceted

Muhamad Ali, Manoa

An adequate understanding of the history and contemporary
nature of Islam in Indonesia has been and is still crucial in
dealing with national, regional and world affairs.

There have been two streams of thought on Indonesia's
religious character among the public, policy makers and scholars.
Many observe that hard-liners are still the most conspicuous
phenomena in the country. "Religious" problems are still a real
potential threat.

Intimidation, sweeping operations conducted against
foreigners, and overly religious politics (such as the war cry of
jihad) nationally and locally, which often feature Middle Eastern
dress, have contributed to the portrayal of actual and potential
radicalism in the country. Others, such as Giora Eliraz in his
book Islam in Indonesia: Modernism, Radicalism and the Middle
East Dimension, suggest that moderation and intellectual and
organizational pluralism are the true characteristics of
Indonesia's Islam. Islamic radicalism to which only a minority
adhere in Indonesia has historical and contemporary connections
with modernism in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and South Asia.

Yet, according to this viewpoint, in Indonesia radical Islam
never historically or contemporarily becomes a dominant or
influential actor in national and regional affairs.

There is still some argument that Indonesia's Islam reflects
the nature of Islam in the Middle East. Concerns for Palestine-
Israel conflicts and the Iraq war in the political scene, as well
as the international pilgrimage in Mecca, the traditional Islamic
schools (madrasah), and religious movements, have indicated that
Islam in Indonesia is simply a copy of Islam in the Middle East,
they argue.

Islamic radicalism that has often involved Arab faces and
symbols also supports this observation. Some scholarly works,
such as Globalized Islam by Gilles Kepel also pay much attention
to the globalized dimension of Islam including Indonesia. What
happens in the Middle East has some resonance among Indonesian
Muslims and what is there can always be found here.

National or more localized aspects of Islam in Indonesia have
now been given more emphasis. Islam in Indonesia is Islam within
the context of the state ideology of Pancasila, which combines
divinity, humanity, nationalism, democracy and social justice
within the context of local culture and history. Some elements of
national and local values have been Islamized, but more aspects
or teachings of Islam have been nationalized and localized. This
can be seen from the differences between Islam in Aceh and Islam
in Sulawesi, for example.

The Forum for the Indonesian Muslim Community, recently held
by national Islamic organizations, for example, has also
demonstrated how Islam should also be contextualized in
Indonesia. More local problems, such as corruption and poverty
deserve more attention, although international issues such as the
erroneous link between Islam and terrorism and the Palestinian
struggle gain attention.

Also more daily scenes of Islam in Indonesia can be seen on TV
programs and read in printed publications. More Islamic programs
are localized, dealing with local problems and issues. The past
cases of the Laskar Jihad in Ambon and the recent case of the
Islamic Defenders Front (FPI)'s allegation that Dewa, a local
band, had insulted Islam through using a symbol of God in their
new album, can be regarded as indicators of Islam being more
localized.

The difference between santri (good Muslims) and abangan
(nominal, syncretic Muslims) as systematized by American
anthropologist Clifford Geertz in the 1960s, also shows localized
Islam in Indonesia, although it has now become more complicated,
especially with the use of more Western global categories such as
fundamentalists, radicals, moderates, liberals, and so forth.

There is some truth in saying that fundamentalism, moderate
and radical, has emerged predominantly from and in "secular"
universities and institutions, rather than from Islamic
institutions, madrasah or pesantren. But the kind of
fundamentalism that they show is not necessarily similar to
fundamentalism in Pakistan, Egypt, Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Thus, Islam in Indonesia can be said to be both globalized and
localized. It can also be said that Islam in Indonesia is
sometimes more global and sometimes more local, depending on the
issues being raised. It follows that Islam in Indonesia has been
always complex and multifaceted.

In this regard, what is connected with globalized Islam should
not be understood as always negative. Globalization has multiple
impacts on religions. Global communications have facilitated a
globalized Islam, whether radical or moderate. Islamic moderation
is also part of international Islam through international
programs and publications that emphasize Islam as a blessing for
humanity.

By the same token, not all localized Islam is positive for the
people and the country. For example, the superstitious
religiosity has also gained some appreciations, as in some TV
programs and publications that stress short-cuts in dealing with
complex realities. Rational religiosity has been challenged by
the more superstitious, lazy attitudes in solving real problems.
Islam can also be localized in the wrong way by promoting
domestic and public violence, gender disparity and or
perpetuating local corrupt leaders.

Therefore, if one has to make some generalizations about Islam
in Indonesia, one should understand that such generalizations are
merely a simplification of complex realities. This is partly
because transmitters and interpreters of Islam in Indonesia have
increased considerably due to the availability of more means of
communication, more diverse educational backgrounds, and more
complicated human and social problems. Religious authority has
thus been dispersed. Islam in Indonesia is globalized, localized,
and even personalized, and therefore is a truly complex faith and
reality.

The writer is a PhD candidate in History at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa, a fellow at the East-West Center, Honolulu, and
a lecturer at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University,
Jakarta. He can be reached at muhali74@hotmail.com