RELIGIOUS & NATIONAL

That other Islamic Revolution in Indonesia

 

By Dr Farish A Noor

Friday, 21 November 2008 00:01

FOR A rather long time, the form and content of normative Islam in Indonesia has been cast in exotic and colourful terms by scholars and spectators alike. This holds particularly true in the wake of the events of Sept 11, 2001, after which media pundits and securocrats busied themselves with the task of differentiating between what was called "militant" Islam and "friendly" Islam.   Boys play among the Muslim faithful praying in Jakarta on the morning of the first day of the Eidul Fitri festival. Credit: Newscom This rather simplified dichotomy was soon given some meat to it as all sorts of examples were cited to suggest that both categories were not merely the imaginings of a novella writer. Not surprisingly, countries like Pakistan, Iran and many Arab states were singled out as examples of Muslim polities where the "bad" version of normative Islam thrived. Indonesia, however, was singled out as a case where "good" Islam was prospering and where there were Muslims who were indeed living in peace with themselves and others.   Now as much as I would like to take issue with the former claim, I do have to concede that there appears to be some element of truth in the latter. The case in point came to me while celebrating the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan and the coming of the Muslim festival of Eidul Fitri in the Central Javanese city of Jogjakarta last month.   Though Indonesia still labours under the heavy yoke of a financial and structural crisis that has yet to resolve itself, it is important to note the fact that the month of Ramadhan and the coming of Eid was indeed a joyous occasion for many — not because of their poverty and hardship, but despite of it.   On the final night of Ramadhan when Eid was about to be celebrated, I watched in amazement as thousands of people crammed the streets and alleys of Jogjakarta. Thousands of motorbikes ruled the roads, spontaneous celebrations erupted, marching bands played their music while kids gambolled the night away. Fireworks were everywhere, the churches of Jogja were likewise lit and Christians and Muslims celebrated the end of the fasting month way past midnight. Significantly, among the many symbols that were on display then was one that was anything but religious: the Indonesian flag.   Three days later, I happened to be present before the kraton (palace) of the King of Jogja, just in time to witness the gunungan ceremony where offerings from the palace in the form of food and vegetables piled into the form of a mountain (gunung) was taken from the palace to the grand mosque to be distributed to the people. The symbol of the gunung predates the coming of Islam and any historian will tell you that its origin is in fact Hindu-Buddhist, dating back to the time when Java was one of the centres of Hindu and Buddhist power in the region. Yet not a single person hesitated to take part in this eclectic ritual that was both Islamic and Hindu at the same time. How is this practice — deemed almost heretical in so many other Muslim countries — possible in Indonesia?   The answer perhaps lies in part in the fact that Indonesians are first and foremost Indonesians, and are very proud of that fact. I recall during the course of one of my interviews with one of the most notorious Muslim radical clerics of Java — Jaafar Umar Tholib, leader of the former Laskar Jihad — that even he did not wish to see Java's ancient Hindu-Buddhist monuments like Borobudur and Prambanan destroyed, because these were formerly places of worship and that they were proof of the cultural achievement of the Javanese, and by extension, Indonesian people.   Indonesia's future remains in the balance as next year's coming elections will tell us if the radicals of the conservative fringe are poised for even more power and prominence in the coming years. But, certainly, Indonesia's success in nation-building has thus far prevented the country from slipping down the dangerous slope of religious communitarianism where religious identity comes before national identity.   Even the most conservative Muslims and Christians of the country still accept the reality of the Indonesian nation-state, and whatever their political and religious ambitions may be, they have nevertheless kept their faith in the idea of the Indonesian republic still.   In this respect — more so than the colourful images of smiling Indonesians we see in postcards and tourist ads — Indonesia remains a success that has to be studied and taken seriously. What Indonesia shows is that one of the best safeguards against religious conservatism is not a heavy dose of liberalism, but rather a strong belief in the nation state and universal citizenship as the one thing that binds us all.   Dr. Farish A. Noor is Senior Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.    HHH says: I'd following Dr. Farish's article for quite sometimes now as his writing more onto humanity and social reports. What do we see then in Indonesia after recent PEMILU 2009?