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Indonesia's political Islam and liberalism
Can Islam, for that matter, political Islam, separate religion from the state? Is liberal individualism acceptable to more traditional societies like Indonesia?
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A show of tolerance: Jakarta governor Basuki (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
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recent article by Amika Wardana was intriguing in its call for political Islam to adopt liberalism. The analysis also came at an interesting time where President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently stated that democracy had gone overboard as radicalism and liberalism had taken a toll on Indonesia’s identity.
Liberalism in the political sense is rooted in primacy of individual liberty often associated with Western thought deemed “not Indonesian” by more conservative thinkers.
President Jokowi’s statement certainly sparked concerns among many intellectuals. But it was a politically savvy move. His concern was mostly radicalism and the Islamist groups hijacking Indonesian Islam. But nowhere in recent Indonesian history had a leading politician dare to criticize Islamist groups for fear of being accused anti-Islam.
Hence, Jokowi’s statement saying democracy had gone overboard and including liberalism was a blanket statement to show that he was concerned with anything considered against “Indonesian nature.” His primary concern was apparently Islamist thinking that is deemed not in line with “Indonesian Islam.” However liberalism is also not necessarily something many Indonesian leaders and politicians think as being compatible with Indonesia either.
Herein lies the complexity of Indonesian democracy. The reality and roots of Indonesian society is much too complex to adopt liberalism. It also begs the question whether liberalism works for Indonesia.
There are two principal issues with the call for Indonesian Islam to adopt liberalism. First, can Islam, for that matter, political Islam, separate religion from the state?
It is impractical to ask political Islam to adopt liberalism — whose core difference with conventional political Islam is the separation of church/mosque and state and also individual versus communal/ group rights.
