Robert W. Hefner: Indonesians Are Hungry for Democracy
By Redaksi
The 2004 Election will be the second election after the reformation. The battle between 24 political parties implies a fragmentation partly based in religion. In this case, fragmentation in Islam is interesting to observe. The use of Islamic symbols in politics, dragging has become a “commodity” for the parties. Focusing on democratization and Islamic dynamic in Indonesia, mainly the relation between Islam and politic and Islamic groups and political party, Ulil Abshar-Abdalla from Liberal Islam Network interviewed Dr. Robert W. Hefner. Also known as Bob Hefner, a researcher and politician from Boston University, he has conducted research on Islamic progress in Indonesia and published a book, Civil Islam.
Post a Comment
Im writing now a paper about Civil Islam, particularly regarding the role of MUI in creating civil Islam in Indonesia. I use Hefner theory about civil Islam, particularly the part that highlighted how Islam can permeate in public life even without the existence of Islamic state.
My critic to Hefner is that, he overlooked the paradox of civil Islam, that by validating civil Islam eventually, it will produce a serious challenge for Indonesia government and perhaps for the civil society itself to maintain and promoting pluralistic society in Indonesia. We can see the domination of MUI through its fatwa and recommendations they gave to Indonesia government, and the tendency of MUI to be ‘listened’ by many Muslims and Indonesia government itself as an institutional preference of islamic regulation and source of interpretation of Islamic teachings. Regarding this issue, sadly Indonesia government has not yet showed clear and determined attitude about the unclear status of MUI in the society and the nation life as well. Thus, if we perceive this by Hefner’s theory we can say that all of these are the result of civil Islam and democracy process in the same time. But paradoxically, it tends to threat the plurality of Indonesia society since civil Islam tend to do Islamization of public spheres-borrowing Habermas theory- which indirectly it becomes a threat to democratic life itself.
Hafner also overlooked that to be democratic society, it requires not only the existence of democratic institutions, but also democratic culture and values. It is more than peaceful election and less ethnical or religious conflicts to be perceived as the signs of democratic society.
Comments (1)
(Displaying all comments, ascending. 20 comments per page)