These slides are part of the 2nd day teacher training course on Indonesia and Islam. They show that in the world\'s largest Muslim nation, voters consistently show lack of support for Islamic political parties. The inclusive nature of the secular parties seem to attract the support of the majority of Indonesian voters.

1. Islam in Indonesian
By: Iwan Syahril
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2. INDONESIA
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3. Historical background
Traders (Arabs, Indians, Chinese,

others).
 Intermarriage.
 Buddhist and Hindu elites and
royalty were attracted to “sufism,”
the mystical teachings of Islam.
 Strategic relationships between
rulers and merchants.
 A ruler adopted, the whole
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4. Religions in
Indonesia
Islam – 86.1%.

 Protestant – 5.7%.
 Roman Catholic –
3%.
 Hindu – 1.8%.
 Buddhism – 1%
 Others – 1%
(Indonesia is the 4th
largest country in
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5. Inclusive and compassionate
Less severe/literal interpretation of

religion.
 Religious tolerance.
 Women have active societal roles.
 Women are allowed to initiate
divorce.
 Women have emerged as leaders.
Indonesia has had 6 presidents,
one of them is a female president.
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6. Islam in Indonesian Politics
Three forms of state among

Muslims:
◦ A modern democratic state.
◦ An Islamic state.
◦ A universal Islamic political entity.
Indonesia was founded in 1945 as

a modern secular/quasi secular
democratic state.
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7. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika
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8. INDONESIAN POLITICS
OLD ORDER (1950-1965)

◦ Parliamentary system.
◦ Guided Democracy (President Sukarno)
NEW ORDER (1966-1998)

◦ Pancasila Democracy (President
Suharto)
REFORM ORDER (1998-present)

◦ Democracy
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9. THE INDEONESIAN PRESIDENTS
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10. Indonesian Major Political
Parties (1)
Sukarno’s era, election 1955.

◦ PNI (Indonesian National Party) –
22.3%.
◦ Masyumi (Council of Indonesian
Muslim Association) – 20.3%.
◦ NU (Nadhlatul Ulama – traditionalist
Sunni) – 18.4%.
◦ PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) –
16.4%.
38.7% voters

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11. Indonesian Political Parties
Suharto’s era, 1971elections

◦ Golongan Karya (The Functional
Group) – 62.80%.
◦ Nadhlatul Ulama (The traditionalist
Sunni) – 18.67%.
◦ PNI (The Indonesian National Party) –
6.94%.
1977-1997 elections

◦ Golongan Karya – 62%-74%.
◦ PPP (United Development Party) –
15%-29%.
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12. Indonesian Political Parties
Post Suharto Era, election 1999.

◦ PDIP (Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle) –
33.76%.
◦ Golongan Karya (Functional Groups) – 22.46%.
◦ PKB (National Awakening Party) – 12.62%.
◦ PPP (United Development Party) – 10.72%.
◦ PAN (National Mandate Party) – 7.12%. (Total:
30.46%)
Election 2004.

◦ Golongan Karya – 21.6%.
◦ PDIP – 18.5%.
◦ PKB – 10.6%.
◦ PPP – 8.1%.
◦ Partai Demokrat (Democratic Party) – 7.5%.
◦ PKS (Prosperous Justice Party) – 7.3%.
◦ PAN – 6.4% (Total:
32.4%)
Notes: Since 2004 Indonesia Copyright@IwanSyahril2009
adopted a direct
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13. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika
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14. Pancasila
Pancasila as the oficial state

ideology (1945), secular but
religious.
 Pancasila as the sole political
ideology (1978) and organizational
ideology (1989). – Led to strong
oppositions from Muslim and
Christian groups.
 Forced adoption of Pancasila as the
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15. Abdurrahman
President (1999-2001).

 A prominent Muslim cleric in
Indonesia.
 The leader of the largest Muslim
organization in the world.
 Grew up in Islamic boarding school
environment - a madrasah-type.
 A strong proponent of democracy,
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16. The late Nurcholish
Madjid /
A very popular Indonesian Muslim

scholar.
 Grew up in Islamic boarding school
tradition - a madrasah-type.
 Proposed the controversial jargon
“Islam Yes, Islamic party No.”
 Founder of a progressive modern
university in Jakarta.
 A strong advocate for democracy,
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17. Conclusions (1)
Islamic parties have never been

popular among Muslims. Belief and
rituals is one thing, political
behavior is something else. “Islam
Yes, Islamic party/state No.”
 No Islamic parties support the idea
of formal Islamic politics, thus not
subscribing to an Islamic state.
 Despite having a poor image after
Suharto era, Pancasila is still seen
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18. Conclusions (2)
Islamic formalism and symbolism

have become popular due to the
absence of Pancasila in political
and societal discourse.
 Islamic formalism and symbolism
have been motivated by the
“struggle for power” by the Muslim
political leaders.
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19. Remaining crucial issues
Good governance.

 Better quality of law and order
enforcement.
 Education and economic
prosperity.
 Feudalistic culture.
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20. “Thank you
for listening”
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