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ublic support for Islamic-based parties is dropping due to their failure to consider the religious concerns of supporters, a survey says.

The survey, conducted by the National Survey Institute (LSN), said that overall support for Islamic parties was currently at 15.7 percent, down from 29.14 percent during the 2009 election and 38.39 percent during the 2004 election.

LSN said that respondents preferred to channel their religious aspirations through Muslim social and political organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah.

“People have moved to religious groups to deliver their aspirations,” LSN executive director Umar S. Bakry said on Tuesday.

An increasing preference for secular politics was expressed by respondents, Umar said. Although most Muslims surveyed were more religious, they had also drawn a line separating religion from politics.

Umar said that the survey indicated that Muslim voters were becoming more tolerant and moderate and no longer embraced sectarian politics. However, a distrust of opportunistic politicians had emerged, he added.

“Political parties claimed to represent the interest of Muslims. However, they now have changed themselves into open-based parties that use religion only as a symbol,” Umar said.

The respondents said that the behavior of political parties had become pragmatic and that parties failed to include Islam in their policies, according to the survey.

Islamic parties had also failed to accommodate the interests and aspirations of Muslims. “The people then choose religious groups to deliver their aspirations, instead of political parties,” Umar said.

“Unless they [Islamic parties] figure out what they want to do and make efforts to accommodate the aspirations and interests of the majority of their respondents, they will sink in the political sphere,” Umar said.

The survey group conducted face-to-face interviews with 615 men and 615 women from 33 provinces between June 10 and 20, which were supplemented by additional in-depth group interviews.

Islamic parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) were big players in previous elections.

“Islamic parties need to consolidate to regain their existence in politics, otherwise the remaining parties will collapse like the others,” Umar said.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) was the best-performing Islamic party, according to the survey, receiving support from 5.1 percent of respondents, just ahead of the secular National Democrat (NasDem) Party, with 4.8 percent.

The presidential prospects of potential candidates from Islamic parties were equally dim, led by PKS figure Hidayat Nur Wahid, who was backed by 4.6 percent of respondents.

Other Islamic politicians fared even worse, such as PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa with 3.9 percent, Crescent Star Party (PBB) founder Yusril Ihza Mahendra with 3.2 percent and PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar with 2 percent.

Nationalist parties fared much better, with Golkar backed by 20.1 percent of respondents, the PDI-P by 14 percent and the Democratic Party by 10.5 percent.

PDI-P chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri was the most favored potential nationalist candidate at 18 percent, followed by the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party founder Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto at 17.4 percent and Golkar chairman Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie with 17.1 percent. (fzm)