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lthough most young Indonesian Muslims see religion as a salient identity emphasizing Islamic values and attitudes, they approve democratic values, a survey shows.

The survey came amid increasing concern about radicalism among young Muslims, as students are reportedly the primary targets of radical Islamic movements.

An Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll found that 47.5 percent of the 1,496 Muslim respondents, aged between 15 and 25 years old and distributed across all 33 provinces, felt they were Muslims first and Indonesians second. Only 40.8 percent answered otherwise.

However, it was not a cause for concern, Burhanuddin Muhtadi of LSI said. “A similar survey recently conducted in Malaysia saw even more surprising numbers. About 80 percent of the respondents said they saw themselves as Muslims before Malaysians,” he told a press conference at the German culture center, the Goethe-Institut, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Initiated by the Goethe-Institut and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the LSI conducted the survey in November last year.

The numbers should not lead to questions about youth nationalism but be seen as an indication of their emphasis on Islamic values, which was further represented in other questions, according to the LSI.

Of the respondents, 96.2 percent said they disapproved of pre-marital sex, 88.7 percent rejected drinking alcohol and 68.5 percent agreed that those who did drink should be caned.

Of the youth surveyed, 98.8 percent said it was wrong to be gay and 95.6 percent rejected pornography. When asked if they would mind wearing bikinis or tank tops, only 10.9 percent of female respondents said yes.

Regarding religious routine, Muslim youth do not seem as strict, with 28.7 percent of respondents saying they pray five times a day and 10.8 percent saying they read the Koran regularly.

The annual Ramadhan fasting was the most popular ritual, which 59.6 percent of the respondents claimed to observe.

“There is always a gap between awareness and behavior. The gap for these young respondents could be seen as a signal that they are still establishing their identities,” Burhanuddin said.

The respondents’ emphasis on Islamic values did not correlate to their optimism for the country’s democracy, even though most respondents refused to become politicians.

“This survey shows that Islamic youth see Islam as part of the solution rather than the problem, ensuring that Indonesia is a good example of a Muslim democracy,” Rainer Heufers of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation said.

Although 29 percent of the respondents said they had no interest in politics and none had political aspirations, the survey showed that Islamic youth embraced democratic values.

“So much literature says that Islamic values contradict democracy … Well, it is not the case in Indonesia,” Burhanuddin said.

Sixty-six percent of the respondents agreed that opposition parties were needed for a good democracy and 89 percent agreed on the value of free speech.

Some 70 percent of the respondents said they would not object to a woman as the country’s leader.

Burhanuddin said that the survey should bring optimism to the country’s political prospects, which were currently being tarnished by scandals and corruption allegations.