TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Middle path Islam: Indonesia's experience
Indonesia is the third largest democracy with the biggest Muslim population in the world, but it is not an Islamic state.
Change Size
Protesters’ mecca: Muslims gather near the National Monument in Jakarta on Friday, Dec. 2 2016, as they rally against Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, whom the police have named a blasphemy suspect. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
T
he combined population of Muslims is about 1.6 billion, 23 percent of the world population as of 2010. Yet, as we all see, much of the Islamic world is mired in poverty, conflicts and the increased threat of radicalism.
There are many root causes of radicalism: economic, political, social and cultural factors combined. These factors then, as a rule, are justified by twisted interpretations of religious teachings. The radical groups were also the by-products of failed states that were mired in prolonged internal conflicts, as well as foreign interventions.
It is regrettable to note that most of the foreign military invasions launched were undertaken unilaterally or without a mandate from the United Nations. The worst among those was the fact that the attack on Iraq was based on false information regarding weapons of mass destruction.
These continuing political conflicts and economic crises led to the exodus of millions of people from Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan seeking a safer place and a better future, particularly in Europe. These destroyed countries are the places where terrorist organizations like alQaeda and the Islamic State (IS) movement have successfully recruited large numbers of supporters from various countries with the concept of fighting to regain the glory of Islam or dying as martyrs.
Radical ideologies oftentimes provide a safe haven and an alternative form of leadership. Through the misuse of the concept of jihad, ideologies like these sell the dream of living a better life in heaven because life on Earth has become too unbearable.
As a result, Islamophobia emerges. There are various causes for the fear of Islam. One of those is because of those terrorist attacks in which the perpetrators were identified as Muslim or related to an Islamic organization.
Indonesia is the third largest democracy with the biggest Muslim population in the world, but it is not an Islamic state. Our state foundation is Pancasila, the Five Principles, which places religion in a noble place as the first principle: “Belief in one supreme God.”
