Islam and citizenship

Abstract

Islamic organisations have formed an integral part of Indonesia’s social fabric since the early part of the twentieth century. Organisations such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama are broad social bodies whose activities focus on Islamic propagation, education and welfare. Inevitably, they also play an important role in informing how their members come to synthesise national and religious identities. Their reach across the nation, vast member base, and political influence ensure that they have historically been at the heart of national developments. After the fall of Suharto, a much wider range of Islamic organisations started to gain strength and prominence. They have become vocal commentators on national debates concerning religious minority rights and morality – often eclipsing their larger and more established counterparts in doing so. The recent mass protests against former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known by the name ‘Ahok’, made clear that various new groups carrying the banner of Islam have developed a mobilisational capacity of their own. Among them were the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Hidayatullah, and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).