Islam and Pancasila: The Complexity of Religious Understanding on State’s Ideology in Modern Indonesia by Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir

A lot of articles and books have been written about the ideological debate surrounding the early constructing of Indonesian state. Mostly they show severe discussion between Islam and Pancasila, the five principle of Indonesian state’s ideology; the previous as opposing the latter, or the contrary. At the least, historiography of early Indonesian state discerns the differences, in the sense that Pancasila was introduced in the first time to chum up with Islam. The reason of change from the principle “Belief in God” (Keimanan Kepada Tuhan) into “The Great Unity of Deity” (Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa) to include monotheism of Islam (tawhîd) is well documented in the history.
None the less, members of Islam are not satisfied since the principle does not mention “Islam” instead of the Jakarta Charter which specifies that Muslims are obliged to follow Islamic Law. Recently, especially in the early of reformation era, the rising of “Islamic Parties” which bring the agenda to go back to the Jakarta Charter is seen as how “Islam” does threaten again the pluralistic national philosophy of Pancasila. I would rather argue that the perspective in seeing Islam should be widened to include diversity of understandings of it among Indonesian Muslims and be aware of complexity of political behaviors among them throughout the history of making modern Indonesia.
Not only the history already documented that non-Muslims also were not satisfied with Pancasila and some of them rebelled against the central government of Jakarta, but also we should recognize Sukarno’s effort of introducing Pancasila as his understanding on how Islam should be implemented in Indonesia. Islam in Indonesia, I would rather argue, is not only represented by those who struggle for the implementing of the Jakarta Charter and Islamic Law. Only few of Indonesian Muslims who elected “Islamic Parties” with the agendas of implementing Islamic Law in 1999, while the huge majority of them already elected the parties that did not bring those agendas. The National Awakening Party (PKB) and National Mandate Party (PAN), which are supported by Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammdiyah, also espouse a “religion neutral state ideology” (Pancasila) and are inclusive towards non-Muslims along their membership.
In the perspective of K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid, Islam in Indonesia can be seen from three categories; political Islam, cultural Islam, and socio-cultural Islam. It is only the first category, which is very few, that is interested in implementing “the ideology of Islam” instead of national ideology of Pancasila. However, all of them are contributing to shape Indonesian democratic society in all its aspects, “within the framework of achieving a national identity shared by all Indonesians in the future” (Wahid, 1994: 155). This is to argue, I think, that the matter is more complex than to say that Pancasila is opposed by Islam or the contrary.
Resources:
1. Abdurrahman Wahid, “Islam, Politics and Democracy in the 1950s and 1990s”, in Bourchier and Legge, eds. Democracy in Indonesia: 1950s and 1990s, (Clayton: Monash University, 1994), pp. 151-155.
2. Robert Hefner, Civil Islam, (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000), pp. 37-57.