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“A Conservative Turn in Indonesian Islam? The Politics and Future of Shari`a Legislation” - Sponsored by the Indonesia East Timor Studies Committee
Organizer: Robert William Hefner, Boston University
Discussants: Donald K. Emmerson, Stanford University; Andree Feillard, CNRS Paris, France; William Liddle, Ohio State University; Greg J. Barton, Monash University, Australia; Robert William Hefner, Boston University
In recent years Indonesian Muslims have acquired a reputation for being religiously observant but politically moderate. The upsurge in religious piety that characterized Indonesian Islam from the 1980s on did not translate into significant gains for Islamist parties promoting the implementation of Islamic law (shari`a) in the national elections of 1999 and 2004. Since 2003, however, conservative Islamists have developed a new strategy, promoting the implementation of shari`a through district- and town-government. Dozens of districts have implemented shari`a regulations requiring Muslim women to veil, men to attend Friday prayer, and unmarried couples to avoid proximity. Morals police have begun to operate in some districts. Islamist supporters of shari`a legislation have pointed to these achievements as a legitimate expression of grassroots democracy and Muslim public ethics. Liberal critics have decried the trend as an abuse of democratic procedure and a threat to human rights. This round table will discuss the political and cultural significance of this trend toward shari`a regulation. Speakers will discuss the trend’s impact on the situation and rights of women and non-Muslims. They will also analyze the implications of the turn to shari`a for Indonesia’s ongoing democratic transition and for the future of Indonesian Islam itself.