Politics is the art of the possible, even though it defies natural logic.

Hence even in a “de facto” secular state such as Indonesia, it is possible, perhaps even natural, that several dozen of the country’s 471 regencies are governed by sharia law.

The demise of the secular republic?

Not quite yet.

Rising Islamization?

Maybe.

Popular direct elections on the local and national stages demand deliverables.

Candidates and parties are measured by the degree by which they can realize these campaign promises. When the economy and welfare become remote pledges, appealing to the innate moral voice becomes the sole alternative.

For the laymen voter, that voice is symbolically equated with Islam.

The rise of political Islam is not necessarily one of historical or ideological consciousness. It is a relatable populist issue for a mass which represents the world’s largest Muslim population.

Though disconcerting, the fact that one in 10 regencies is controversially subject to sharia law is a qualified political balance in a nation where nine in 10 claim to be Muslims.

With general elections just six months away, why were we so surprised legislators passed last month the anti-porn bill or that it was ratified by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono?

The genesis of the anti-porn is akin to sharia imposed in many regencies. It was conceived by misguided notions of moralism, but given life by non-Islamic political elements who needed to generate a novel platform to reinvigorate a waning constituency.

Would the anti-porn bill have been passed and ratified by the President if the Golkar Party had rejected it?

Unequivocally not.

Yudhoyono too must start cleverly gathering cache.

He plants roots beyond Golkar’s indecisiveness in selecting a presidential nominee. Supporting ratifying the anti-porn bill is a ploy that opens many doors.

The problem with political Islam in Indonesia has often been that politicians do not wish to entangle themselves in the sensitivities and intricacies of a secular vs Islam ideological battle.

Since 1955, Indonesia has not had an election based on ideology.

The eight elections since then have been polls based on nuance and personality rather than being referendums of ideology.

Islam rightfully demands space and a place on our political stage. During the Soeharto years, it was wrongly marginalized and often criminalized.

But if the adherents of political Islam seek to progress a religious-based agenda then it may be an inevitable consequence in our democracy that a showdown is forthcoming.

Adherents of the secular agenda then must stop beating around the bush and begin to see the events taking place as a zero-sum  ideological battle.

It is not a rejection of God or religion, but a clarification of the distinction between the state and religion.

It is a sacred line that other nations have painfully but necessarily drawn. An indistinct hem on which Indonesians still only hesitantly manage to scribble.

The wishy-washy approach will be the downfall of compromising ideologists. Evidence for this is the failure to suspend shariah law and religious bigotry.

The passing of the anti-porn bill is not an issue about civil rights, the protection of cultural traits in Papua and Bali or about moral standards.

It is unequivocally a victory for the Islamist agenda.

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