Overcoming the crisis: Coming to terms with modernity

Overcoming the crisis: Coming to terms with modernity

German Muslim scholar Bassam Tibi, a professor of international
relations at the University of Gottingen, has said Indonesia
could be a model democratic Muslim nation, a theory he elaborates
in a number of books, such as The Challenge of Fundamentalism.

The following is an excerpt of an interview with The Jakarta
Post's Ati Nurbaiti on changes in the country. The professor was
a speaker at the international seminar on Islam and the West held
at the Center for Languages and Cultures at Jakarta's Syarif
Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN).
Can Indonesia still be a model of a democratic Muslim nation
following the various crises that the country has gone through?
What about what many see as the rise of radicalism?

I am worried that it is changing for the worse. It is not only
radicalism ... being radical is not simply being a scripturalist.
In a situation of crisis, any crisis, (people) become
scripturalists. Indonesia seems to be disintegrating and I hope
that will stop.

You have a consensus ... (the state ideology) Pancasila, but
many here view it as no longer important. It is a contract among
Indonesians to commit themselves to the five principles, which
stress pluralism. (He had said to the audience earlier, regarding
the principle of the belief in one God, "In Pancasila I find
world religions being placed on an equal footing"). That is
important.

Gus Dur (former president Abdurrahman Wahid) knows the
scripture well but is not a scripturalist. I am afraid people
here who approach Islam like he does are being lost.

Indonesia could be a model democratic Muslim nation for two
reasons: Cultural, because the Islam developed here is open-
minded, nonscripturalist and tolerant; and economic -- the
economy was fairly successful before the crisis. It is still
better than Algeria or Egypt, though Malaysia is even better
(economically) and hopefully things will change.

Some may consider Pancasila no longer important because it was
used in the past as a tool of repression.

Anyone can abuse anything. But there is no alternative (for
Indonesians); political Islam (politicization of Islam) would be
a setback. What is most important is inner peace, a consensus of
inner peace. Saying that Muslims who adopt the adat, the customs,
are not real Muslims is provocative.
But "modernist" Muslims here may say that a return to a literal
interpretation of the Koran is crucial, given that many here
combine Islam with traditional beliefs. Your comment?

There are various interpretations of "modernist" Islam: it
could mean returning to (a literal interpretation of) the Koran;
or it might be how to rethink Islam with modernity, how to place
Islam in harmony with democracy and human rights.

Renewing Islam in a dogmatic way is not what we need.
But it is simpler and clearer for many Muslims to go by a literal
interpretation of the Koran.

(A literal interpretation) closes many doors, while we have to
come to terms with globalization; it places you in a ghetto. It
would be to the detriment of Islam and Muslims if Muslims put
themselves in a ghetto. We need to go beyond the scripture. I
don't always go back to the book to see (for instance) how to
carry on relations with others ...
So was it mainly the economic crisis that led to (what you say
might be) a change for the worse in Indonesia?

Not only an economic crisis, but a cultural one too. It is not
necessary to impose modernity. Make it easy for Muslims to
embrace modernity. Unless Muslims come to terms with modernity
the crisis will not be overcome.
What Islamic countries have you visited recently?

The Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan; also India, Pakistan and
Malaysia. In Africa in the 1980s the issue was similar to
Indonesia now as there were fundamentalists, while many there
were not fundamentalists. In Malaysia two years ago I met
Malaysian Muslims from America who were fundamentalists and I
spoke of an Islam that is open-minded. I was embraced by some
nonconservative Muslims there who said that their understanding
of Islam was not accepted (in that community) ...