Indonesia’s multicultural society founded on Islamic principles has been maintained through the Pancasila ideology, balancing religion and democracy even as recent shifts threaten this, necessitating localised solutions to address rising identity politics to preserve national unity
Indonesia’s multiculturalism is rooted in a history of intercultural and interreligious contacts. Contacts between locals and migrants helped form plural societies first in coastal areas and then inland. The acculturative propagation of Islam makes a majority of Indonesians open and moderate. Muslims account for 87% of the population but are a minority in Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sumatra, Papua, and parts of Sulawesi.
Muslims ruled many kingdoms that coalesced to form Indonesia in 1945 after a shared struggle against the Dutch occupation. These kingdoms were not strictly Islamic and acculturated Islam with local culture. Other diverse religious and ethnic groups also supported the Indonesian struggle for independence which preceded the formation of an inclusive nation.
Indonesia’s founding fathers found a common ground for a multicultural state. They forged national unity by establishing a moderate national ideology for multiculturalism—Pancasila—recognising the country’s religious and diverse nature.
Consensus mediated two extreme aspirations of a strictly secular and theocratic state. Indonesia became a country that acknowledges the primary place of religion or belief in God without giving one particular religion a dominant state authority under Pancasila, the five pillars of mostly universal values. Pancasila, which guided the Constitution, has since gained legitimacy across the major cleavages.
Consensus manifested in the choice of democracy and Pancasila as the foundation of living together in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society. It recognised the aspiration for the role of religion by making ‘belief in the oneness of God’ Pancasila’s first pillar. Guaranteed equal rights of citizens regardless of religion and ethnicity are among the other pillars of Pancaila.
Follow MyPluralist on WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook
The moderate consensus was not always uncontested. Over 70 years since the founding of the nation, Indonesia has faced military uprisings with socialists and Islamist ideologies. Multiculturalism in Indonesia faces a growing test from the rise of religious and ethnic sentiments made possible by political opening since the fall of President Suharto in 1998 after 32 years. It has been the key to national unity and needs a more grounded basis at the local level.
Enforced Promotion
Suharto rallied national unity by enforcing Pancasila. His regime required schools, universities, and state institutions to run training programmes on implementing Pancasila. The government provided a guidebook on the interpretation of Pancasila’s five pillars. This enforced promotion of Pancasila played an important role in raising nationwide awareness about its importance to the national fabric.
The state was central to controlling religious and social affairs. It offered simplified channels of political expression by limiting the number of political parties. Religious political aspiration was moderated and kept marginal. The government also controlled non-political religious activism. It ensured the leadership of key religious organisations remained under the government’s influence.
The state invented a taboo called ‘Sara’, an acronym for religious, racial, and ethnic sentiments, to prevent the use of communal identities in public or political affairs. This helped the government deal with communal polarisation and keep politicisation of religion on the periphery of politics. Political opposition based on religious grounds faced the choice of cooperating with the dominating state or marginalisation.
Role of Muslim Organisations
Multiculturalism became dominant because it gained legitimacy from civil society, including the two largest Muslim organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. The two organisations are the backbone of Indonesia’s multicultural orientation because they see Pancasila as a historical necessity and elevate it into a religious norm. The legitimacy of major religious organisations is crucial in sustaining the multicultural nature of Indonesia. These organisations have been the backbone of moderation and national integrity. Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest civil society, eschewed power politics due to the pro-democratic aspiration of many of its leaders.
Ethnicity and regional origin also play an important role in public life. Different experiences, contexts, and histories often affect the way religion is understood and practiced at the local level. Indonesia’s experience of ‘unity in diversity’ as the state’s motto, is partly grounded in the diverse sources of identities. The majority of Indonesians are religious, but religion is not always the only dominant source of identity. In many places, mixed cultures and families played an important role in civic engagement.
Blurred Boundaries
Cultural bonds often blur religious boundaries without making the members of the different religious communities less religious. Muslims in Fak Fak, West Papua, participate in the Christian Easter festival. Muslims join Christians in carrying the Cross. In this multicultural community, religious ceremonies became social events for all members. Easter in Fak Fak is also part of the cultural tradition.
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, one of the few Christian-majority areas in Indonesia, Christians participate in the organisation of a Quran reading competition called Musabaqoh Tilawatil Qur’an. The inclusion of Christians is not merely symbolic. Youth organisations of mosques usually mobilise communities to provide drinks and meals for the participants of the Easter parade. They ensure the security of the parade, especially on the routes that pass Muslim neighbourhoods. These examples of civic engagement are not a unique experience of Kupang.
Javanese Muslims in Lasem, for instance, believe that they have Chinese blood as the result of interethnic marriage common in the past. They acknowledge that many of the early Muslim preachers had mixed Arab, Chinese, and Javanese blood. The culture of peaceful coexistence in Lasem survived violence against the Chinese in 1965 and 1998.
The sustenance of multicultural societies needs strengthened moderate and peace-promoting leaders. Moderate voices have been the mainstream in Indonesia at least in terms of numbers. The experience of Indonesia shows that promoting multiculturalism from below at the social level is no less essential.
Pancasila, however, has not always resonated with communities with their own languages, histories, and narratives. Indonesia is a large nation and home to thousands of ethnic groups that speak different languages and have separate cultures. The archipelago is separated by seas and straits. The national language is spoken by almost all Indonesians, but the daily lives of local communities are often driven by their distinct cultures and traditions. Multiculturalism in one national language is not enough and localising the national fabric of unity is more relevant.
Resurgence Of Identity Politics
Suharto’s fall expanded political freedom and led to the resurgence of identity politics. Repressive or state-centered approaches were no longer feasible. There was also decentralisation of power. Social and political contests were often mobilised on communal grounds.
Muslim groups differ on the extent of the role of the state in public affairs. The conservatives demand the state enforce religious obligations and morality. The so-called liberals propagate separation between state and religion. The conservatives do not explicitly promote an Islamic state.
In 1965, Communists unsuccessfully tried to seize power. The proponents of Islamic state ideology have transformed their movement within the framework of democracy and Pancasila. They have repeatedly sought to re-insert a clause in the Constitution or ‘The Jakarta Charter’. mandating the state to ensure Muslims practice Islamic laws. But a majority of senators including those from Islamic backgrounds see the aspiration as harmful to national unity.
Democratisation that decentralises power results in politics of identity. There is a need for broadening the discussion about multiculturalism beyond political or government affairs.
The piece is a abridged version of a paper Mohammad Iqbal Ahnaf presented at a conference titled ‘Multiculturalism in Asia – Peace and Harmony’ at CRS International Center for Buddhist-Muslim Understanding, College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand in August 2016. Ahnaf is a faculty member at the Center for Religious and Crosscultural Studies, the Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.
