RT Article
T1 The ʿUlamāʾ, Fatāwā and Challenges to Democracy in Contemporary Indonesia
JF Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
VO 25
IS 4
SP 489
OP 505
A1 Nasir, Mohamad Abdun
LA English
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2014
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1562914324
AB This article examines the fatāwā issued by the Council of Indonesian ʿulamāʾ (Majelis Ulama Indonesia; MUI) regarding democracy, pluralism and religious minorities and explores their socio-historical contexts. The MUI emerges as having an ambiguous attitude towards democracy. The 1998 reform in Indonesia offered a backdrop that encouraged the MUI to be more independent from the state. This enabled the MUI to produce Islamic religious discourses that intersect with democracy, civil society, law enforcement, human rights, public security and elections. The MUI has accepted several principles that are prerequisites for a democratic society and state, such as equality before the law, good governance, protection of human rights, maintenance of public peace and security, and participation in fair elections. However, the Council is very conservative when comes to safeguarding Islamic faith and theology. It rejects pluralism, religious freedom and Muslim minorities such as the Ahmadiyya. The MUI's strict interpretation of Islam and support for Islamist ideology and conservatism prevent it from accepting democracy fully.
K1 Conservatism
K1 Democracy
K1 Fatwā
K1 Indonesia
K1 ʿulamāʾ
DO 10.1080/09596410.2014.926598