McDonald's, Islam have something in common, scholar explains

Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

What do McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken have in common with Islam and democracy in Indonesia? According to one scholar, there is a link.

To cater to local tastes, the fast food chains' Indonesian outlets have added rice and soup to their menus, something that has not happened in most other countries.

"For Indonesians, lunch is not lunch without rice," scholar Bahtiar Effendy said in a seminar here on Tuesday.

Bahtiar was talking about the "contextualization" or "indigenization" of Islam in Indonesian democracy, and was using the fast food chains as an example.

"I believe we can embrace the values of democracy without necessarily saying so. For example, don't betray your trust, don't steal, in essence this means good governance and democracy," Bahtiar told a gathering of Asian and European editors at the Dharmawangsa hotel here.

"What is important is that the goal is achieved," he said.

Asked what the "rice" is in the context of democracy and Islam, he said, the question should be where the chicken is.

"As long as the chicken is there, there is no problem," he said.

The scholar said it was not easy to promote the idea of a civil society in the context of Islam.

Taking the issue of prostitution as an example, he said, in Islam, the issue could not be voted on.

"In Islam you cannot vote (on the issue). In government you can vote," he said, adding that the same went for gambling.

A European participant, however, said that it was the same in any society. Citing an example, he said, that you could not put certain things like discrimination and inciting hatred in the Constitution.

Citing prominent Indonesian scholars like Nurcholish Madjid, who passed away on Monday, Bachtiar said that scholars like Nurcholish had attempted to "contextualize" and indigenize" Islam in an Indonesian context.

Such an adjustment should be made, he said, because Islam was not fully compatible with democracy.

"If it is thought that Islam can be indigenized, why is it that the indigenization of democracy is (thought) impossible?" he asked.

Islam's teaching, not to betray the people's trust, is one example, he said, which is in effect the core of democracy.

Bachtiar said both liberal and conservative Muslims were extremists. "Liberal Islam itself is not enough and can't provide the whole answer," he said.

A participant from Malaysia, Zainah Anwar, said that among the problems in Asian countries was the weak democratic culture and institutions."In this kind of atmosphere, there are those who decides what is Islamic and what is not Islamic, what is democratic and what is not democratic," she said.

She described this authority to say what was right in Islam as a totalitarian claim. "To get democracy right, everything must be open to democratic debate," she said, "Dissenting opinion is important (for society) to change and to evolve.

A participant from Pakistan, Mahfuz Anam, said that Muslim leaders should rise to the challenges of the present day, look at their own behavior and address their shortcomings.

"What do Muslim leaders do in Muslim countries? They are despotic, exploitative and authoritarian. Not a single ideal Islamic society exists," he said.

If they say that Muslim countries are good, he said: "Why are Muslims lining up at Western embassies to leave their countries?"