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Secularization theories argue that modernisation will lead to secularization and the abandonment of religion. These no longer apply. Social scientists such as Peter Berger, Jose Casanova, and Rodney Stark are arguing more and more for the greater role of religion in the public arena. Religion is not necessarily incompatible with modernity. Both Caatholics and Muslims can accept that modern concepts such as democracy, human rights, pluralism and freedom of opinion are compatible with their religious beliefs.

The vote in the House of Representatives supported President Bush’s decision to attack Iraq unilaterally. But the ratio of the vote result was 296:133. The vote in the senate held a few days later showed a similar proportion. The 133 objections have significant meaning. Furthermore when it is compared to the votes for Afghanistan’s attack a year ago, the votes were all for the war except for one abstention.

In that context, political Islam in Indonesia should learn from the failure of those groups on the international level. One of their main characteristic and weakness is because of their reactive nature. They seem to be present as a force to be distinguished from and for rejecting the West.

Bush’s response fails to explain the anti-Americanism that is growing in Arab countries. Bush statement even confirms one belief is frequently affirmed about America that it is increasingly inwardly oriented. Moreover their mass media is parochial rather than global, it is not sensitive to the outside world, especially the Islamic world. When they were attacked, their myth of isolation was destroyed.  Subsequently, their comprehension of global anti-Americanism remains insufficient as seen in George W. Bush’s response.

The message called on the Muslim community to reject the idea of a single view of Islam because this belief can be used to justify certain groups actions while denying other groups the right to hold their own views. The idea of a many-faceted Islam was designed to encourage pluralism and social diversity.

If the “sharia” state is positioned in the context of resistance to modernity, it might gain support of the people of the world since no one can side with global oppression. But the main problem is that the “sharia state” as a form of resistance to modernity is only a secondary target. The main target is its “maximal state” which has a political dimension, though the leader of Muhammadiyah, Syafi’i Ma’arif, is right to say that should that happen the pro -”sharia state” movement would only gain the cup of failure.

The radical religious movements in Indonesia are being born at the same time as the democratisation process is emerging. For instance, regional autonomy as the reflection of democracy, has resulted in the revival of the will to implement Islamic Sharia. In several regions such as West Sumatera, Aceh, Makassar and Cianjur, a number of regional regulations (Perda) have been arranged for implimenting Islamic Sharia. The emergence of the radical Islam social organizations on a massive scale as the part of a social movement has also occurred in tandem with the democratisation since May 1998, although its seeds were sown long before.

I envision Islam nowadays as akin to a supermarket with hundreds and even thousands of stores inside. There we find a store where Islam a la Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid) is sold. In another store we find Islam as interpreted by Cak Nur (Nurkholis Majid). In another store filled with “imported packages” and surrounded by students, especially youngsters, we find Islam as interpreted by Ustadz Ja’far Umar Thalib. Other stores sell Islam a la Hassan Hanafi, Mohamed Arkoun, Abid Al Jabiri, Nasr Hamid Abu Zeid, Abdullahi Ahmed Anna’im, Sayyid Qutb, Yusuf Qardlawi, Ali Syari’ati.

One of the most significant things in this context is the presence of a democratic culture. In most political science literature, as detailed by Roland Inglehart (Trust, well-being and democracy, 1999), it is shown that democracy could never grow up in a society that has no democratic culture. Inglehart believes that democratic culture is tightly related to interpersonal trust amongst citizens.

Yet Islam, in my opinion, is not a complex teaching, far above us in the sky, but rather is an inner-self religion, which is a part of our spirit. Among those teachings, which seems to be trivial, but which is very basic is how we can be at peace with our selves in order to spread peace upon the humans and environment. Ala’ bidzikrillahi tathmainnal qulub.