From Civil Islam towards NKRI Bersyariah? Understanding Rising Islamism in Post-Reformasi Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract-The successful Defending Islam campaign against former Jakarta governor Basuki TjahajaPurnama is clear evidence that Islamism is rising in post-Reformasi Indonesia, something that is not wellanalyzed in recent scholarships on Indonesian Islam. Influenced strongly by Civil Islam thesis, they have failed to study hardline Islamic movements due to its premises that: 1) the dominant mode of Islamic discourse in Indonesia is the moderate Islam represented by organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, and 2) hardline Islamism represents a fringe element to the moderate theological discourses embedded in Indonesian Islam.I argue that rising Islamism in Indonesia is attributed to the following factors: Hardline Islamist groups are able to promote their exclusivist public theologies using the following mechanisms: 1) Appealing for solidarity and common experiences as Indonesian Muslims to persuade more moderate Muslims to join their activities, 2) Using religious propagation (da'wa) institutions such as campus da'wa groups, state companies and bureaucratic institutions, and social media outlets to promote their theological viewpoints to Indonesian Muslims, and 3) Seeking out allies in national and local government in order to have their policy agenda (e.g., restrictions against religious minorities) implemented at both national and local levels. Meanwhile, moderate civil Islamic groups are losing their appeal because these groups (particularly NU and Muhammadiyah) have moved their central focus from religious propagation to social activism and politics.

On the Road of Hijrah: Contesting Identity through Urban Mobilities in Contemporary Indonesian Muslims

“…Although Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the two major organizations of Indonesian Muslims, have agreed to accept the Pancasila state (Barton et al, 2021), some Muslims still resist it, by promoting their own interpretation of its first precept, Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (Belief in One Godhead). Moreover, when the successful campaign against the Chinese-Christian Governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, fuelled Islamist protests, the sharia idea of the Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia/ NKRI) was constructed by the leader of the Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders Front/ FPI), Habib Rizieq Syihab (Facal, 2020;Sebastian & Arifianto, 2017). In short, the group, which was one of the mobilizers of the 212 Islamic Defense Action, accepted the NKRI concept but added the term sharia to become NKRI Bersyariah.…”

Relasi FPI dengan Dayah dalam Penegakan Syari’at Islam di Aceh

“…Kesamaan itu terletak pada agenda yang diperjuangkan oleh FPI dengan kalangan dayah tersebut, yakni agenda penegakan syari'at Islam. Slogan paling terkenal FPI terkait hal itu adalah apa yang paling sering dikemukakan Rizieq Shihab, "NKRI Bersyari'ah" (Sebastian & Arifianto, 2018). Sementara kalangan dayah menilai bahwa pelaksanaan syari'at Islam di Aceh merupakan identitas masyarakat Aceh yang tidak boleh diabaikan apalagi dilemahkan.…”