Modernization and purification of Islam: DII and Islamicist separatist movements, muhammadiyah, syari’ah;

Tri Harmaji
History of Religions in Indonesia Part II: from c. 1900 to the Present
Modernization and purification of Islam: DII and Islamicist separatist movements, muhammadiyah, syari’ah; Andi F Bakti, collective memories of the Qahhar movement, Robert Hefner, the modernist travail, John Bowen, Islam, law and equality in Indonesia.
Indonesia is a country comprise of so many diverse. There are many different ethnicity, customs, language, and religion. It looks that there is nothing same or similar among the people live in the area we call Indonesia now. The only cause of the similarity is history, but still not very long history; only about half and three centuries as the same people colonized by the Dutch. Usually and commonly a state is founded based on ethnicity or language. These two matters are the strongest tie to bind up people to live together as one nation in a state. Even religion is actually not strong enough to bind up people, because if so it is likely that in Europe will exist only one Christian state like Roman Empire at that time.
This problem is apparently has become so clearly interrupted Indonesian history. When independence from Dutch colonialism was finally achieved another colonialism, Javanese colonialism, was perceived by people in outer island of java. This feeling was generated by the centralized government in the Sukarno era. Like was expressed by people in south Sulawesi in accordance with DII/ Qahar rebellion, they were mostly perceived what they called as the ‘javanization program’ launched by Jakarta. This program was of course threatening their traditional custom and culture. What they could clearly perceived at that time was the displacement of their traditional governing system with Javanese governing system. This problem was and is emerging in the places in Indonesia. It is why we can witness that the rebellion emerged in many places and in different religions.
Another typical problem widely discussed in accordance with this problem is Islamic ideal of religious state based on syaria. The aspiration of Islamic people about the Islamic state even emerged before the Independence Day with the founding of Islamic party to strive for Islamic state after independence was gained. This aspiration apparently faced so many obstacles and the ideal has never been reached. Under Sukarno’s guided democracy where communist party got a lot of space in public as well as in political affair, Islamic people were continually disappointed. This situation is also the main cause of many Islamic rebellions at that time. It was then getting clearer for many Muslim that rebellion was not a fit way of challenging Javanese-nationalist governance although in a place like Aceh this was not ended until recently. The other ways of legal political party also faced very hard hindrance under Sukarno but more under Suharto. This made modernist to think of another way to pursue the goal; by dakwah.
What we can from the Islamic movement for syaria and also from many rebellions in the history of Indonesia is actually showing the fundamental problem in the founding of Indonesia as a state. From that things it is clear that among Indonesian there is no really a common ground where people can be tied together. Transmigration as a government program that is perceived by outer islander as javanesezation is may not totally wrong. It has become a way to bind scattered islands.