Religious Conflict: From Political to Intellectual Disputes

Kristanto Budiprabowo (Tatok)


Political arena is the most strategic sphere for religions to bargain their idealism of society, culture, and social system. In many cases of religious conflict, political reason is the most reasonable causes. In the history of Indonesian religious conflict, religion not only often use as a tool to propagate people but also as a strategic way to get bargaining power in the political arena. Politic became the most debatable terms among religious organizations. It is because there is at least three pole positions that represented by Islamic group local leader, by the modernist Islamic scholars, and by the government affair on religion. This assumes that Islam in Indonesia, as well as apparent until now, always in confusion because it still wants to maintain the local culture both in Islamic religious practices and in the political and economic system of modern occupiers. Of course there are exceptions here, but it seems clear that it is generally accepted that there always struggle between cultural and religious identity in the socio-political struggles.

As an example, Islam in Java is a “true story” of the long life contestation and transformation the entire human life dynamic between religion(s), culture and tradition, and the political circle. It is sometime can forms a mystical way of religion but still has attracted from the rest of the life aspects. If the mystical way is the dominant figure of the Islam in Java, it doesn’t mean that Islam lost some of the important aspects. In contrary, Islam can find the actual formation in the practical way of religion even though the practices of tradition come from particular local belief system. In my opinion, religious conflicts that appear whether in the political arena or in the intellectual disputes are the consequent of religious engagement in particular society. It cans influent both to the social change and also to the religious formation.


Modernization and Purification of Islam:
DII and Islamic Separatist Movements, Muhammadiyah, Syari’ah

Kristanto Budiprabowo (TATOK)

Through the history of Islam in Indonesia we see that modernization and purification of Islam mostly correlated with the Islamic political struggle in the social and political arena. On one side, the dynamic of social change increase Islamic people’s awareness to the idea about society. Because the idea of society in the Islamic tradition is still in the process of transformation and influenced by many factors, Indonesia Islamic political struggle is often faced with the problem of consensus between Islamic organizations and between senior and junior Islamic scholars. On the other side, the Islamic leaders who engage in the political arena usually have a strong connection with Islamic organization. In some cases an Islamic organization are built as a reaction to the political and social situation, in some another cases Islamic organization used as a political tools to get political power and to built a bridge between government and the Muslims. In my opinion, some of the political party based on Islam was built in this circumstance. It is very difficult to differentiate the religious movement that use this method whether as a religious political party or religious social movement.

The forms of modernization and purification of Islam in Indonesia is just same as modernization and purification of all religions worldwide. Modernization and purification can come from religious organizations internal affairs such as the discussion on religious teaching, and also from external influence such us popular culture and modern trend on religious attitude. So, it is not only certain political situation that causes these movements, but also the dynamic of social change and contemporary way of life that accepted socially. The challenges of modernity dynamically faced by the need of authenticity and somehow create a new concept of society, religious organization and religious role in social affairs. In my opinion, the core of modernization and purification of Islam is placed at Indonesian Muslim struggle in the rapid change of socio-political situation and the need to build particular identity in the Islamic circle.