Indonesia may be able to offer the Middle East useful tips

Suffering from an increase in radicalization and a certain level of religious exclusivity which has led to vigilante attacks against specific religious minorities, Indonesia is not always held up as a model for others. However, as a country that has had a relatively peaceful political transition and has successfully resolved tensions between Islamic principles of jurisprudence (Shariah) and constitutional democracy, lately Indonesia is being help up as an untapped resource for other Muslim-majority countries in transition.

With a population of over 200 million, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. It was unique in its political, social and cultural transformation from an authoritarian regime to a democracy in the late 1990s. Since the collapse of Suharto’s authoritarian New Order regime, brought to its knees by mass student protests, the country has held three consecutive democratic general elections (in 1999, 2004 and 2009), proving the compatibility of Islam and democracy.

The post-Suharto government issued a variety of new laws and regulations aimed at ensuring that people are free to voice their long repressed views and have the right to form political parties, contribute to a free press and vote in general elections.

In an effort to learn from these events, earlier this year the Center for the Study of Islam at the State Islamic University Syarief Hidayatullah in Jakarta, in cooperation with the Training Indonesia’s Young Leaders Program of Leiden University in The Netherlands, brought together scholars from around the world to look at Indonesian Islam from an international perspective. They tackled the question of whether Islam in Indonesia was different.

The gathering was held right after the ousting of former Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, which inspired citizens across the Middle East and North Africa to stand up against autocratic leadership and the failures of their government. In this way, it was timely.

One participant observed that while Indonesia has seen radical Muslim groups grow increasingly militant, systematic and organized, mainstream Muslims remain unorganized, weak and unassertive when it comes to voicing their perspectives. Radical groups have managed to express their view through books, radio and online media. They exploit every possible opportunity to garner public attention, including engaging in terrorist attacks. In addition, the “criminalization” of religious freedom both in the form of fatwas issued by Indonesia’s Muslim Religious Leaders’ Council and the arrest of liberal thinkers have put certain liberal groups, and their activities, in jeopardy.