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f quick count results by many survey institutes are accurate, General Election 2009 will place the Islamic political parties as the second or third political parties in this country.

Based on the quick count results, only two Islamic political parties can place their representative in parliament: the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP). The two parties' votes have reduced while support for nationalist-secularist parties is increasing.

This data shows us that the parties with nationalism-secularism ideology are still very dominant. The unthinkable is that this happened even though religious fundamentalism has increased in the public sphere. At the same time, violent, radical actions have also become more familiar in many places.

The government and legislative councils have responded positively to the rise of fundamentalism, through law and bylaws like the anti-pornography law. In several schools in the region, boys and girls are separated in classrooms, and given instructions to eat with their right hands, among other things.

More political elites now wear turbans. They also frequently schedule press conferences after Friday prayers. Many celebrities announce their wedding plans after returning from their Mecca pilgrimage (hajj and umrah).

There is no problem in showing acts of devotion or displaying religious symbols. The problem is that the public interest for religious practices is not only through personal rituals, but also thought the act of exclusion of minority groups and others.

There is a lot of violence in the name of religion, like violence against Ahmadiyah. And the fanaticism does not only come from ordinary people but also from the elites.

Meanwhile, there are only few efforts - if any - to stop the Indonesian Ulemas Council's (MUI) discriminative fatwas. There was violence in the name of religion after MUI made fatwas against pluralism, liberalism, secularism, Ahmadiyah and others.

The main question is why most political elites do not positively respond to these actions that overwhelmingly opposes the nationalist-secularist parties?

As if the nationalist-secularist parties do not have the capability to propose their ideological ideas. The incapability shows us the real power in this political arena is not the nationalist-secularist parties, but the Islamic ones.

They are not the majority in the term of number of representative members in the legislative bodies. But their ideology and political agendas seem very dominant.

The anti-pornography law had majority support in the House of Representatives. Only the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) opposed the regulation.

That the nationalist-secular parties do not pay attention to their voters' actions shows us they have no interest in channeling their voters' aspirations.