A Modern Interpretation of Islam in Indonesia Fuels a Push for 'Global Muslims'

Indonesia's stress on a modern interpretation of the Islamic faith is also drawing global attention.

- Ravi Velloor

In a world where religion and faith-based politics are gaining ground, what happens in Indonesia, the world's largest nation of Muslims, is critical. The sprawling archipelagic nation has more than 200 million Muslims, most of whom live peaceably with minority Hindus, Catholics and Protestants, and a smattering of other denominations.

Indonesians broadly follow their nation's founding philosophy of Pancasila—five principles which include a tolerance for other faiths given the belief in one God, and a just and civilized humanity.

That said, fringe radical elements are inevitable in a nation of its size. There are, for example, between 40 and 60 pesantrens—Islamic religious boarding schools—thought to be linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah, the disbanded terror group that was once linked to Al-Qaeda.

JI, as it is widely known, was outlawed in 2008 after a spate of attacks in the Philippines and Indonesia, including in Bali where more than 200 people, mostly Australians, were killed in a blast at a nightclub in 2002. In May, Indonesia freed Para Wijayanto, the last "Emir" of JI, from prison.

Indonesian authorities were reassured by Wijayanto's recent writings, which rejected theological justifications for violence, and argued that no individual can unilaterally decide the circumstances under which to take up arms in the name of religion.

And yet, while radical ideology may be in check, religiosity is visibly rising, especially in the vast hinterland.

A rising middle class, according to some observers, has also raised interest in religion—possibly because people tend to look for spiritual moorings during times of rapid change, a phenomenon that sociologists call a state of anomie.

Some politicians have been tempted to reach for the religion card.