The Future of Secularism THE FUTURE OF SECULARISM Edited by T.N. SRINIVASAN 1 1 YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110 001 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in India by Oxford University Press, New Delhi © Oxford University Press 2007 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Oxford University Press. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer ISBN 13: 978-0-19-568378-3 ISBN 10: 0-19-568378-1 Typeset in Minion 10.5/12.5 by Sai Graphic Design, New Delhi 110055 Printed at .......................... Published by Manzar Khan, Oxford University Press YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110 001 Contents 1. Introduction T.N. S RINIVASAN 1 2. Secularism in India Why is it Imperilled? JAGDISH BHAGWATI 11 3. The Distinctiveness of Indian Secularism RAJEEV BHARGAVA 20 4. The Blindness of Insight Why Communalism in India is about Caste DILIP M. MENON 60 5. Is Secularism Alien to Indian Civilization? ROMILA THAPAR 83 6. The Future of Secularism and the Promise of Diversity in India An Historical Prospectus LAMIN SANNEH 114 7. The Shifting Qiblah Islamization under General Zia Ul Haq and Secularism under General Pervez Musharraf—The Pakistani Experience F.S. AIJAZUDDIN 124 8. Secularism, ‘Revivalism’, Mimicry GOENAWAN MOHAMAD 161 vi Contents 9. The Clash of Religio-Political Thought The Contest Between Radical-Conservative Islam and Progressive-Liberal Islam in Post-Soeharto Indonesia M. SYAFI’I ANWAR 186 10. Islam and Secularism—Plato and Khomeini Questions concerning the Open Society and its Enemies NUR YALMAN 257 11. When Secularism Opposes Nationalism The Case of the Former Yugoslavia AMILA BUTUROVIC 284 186 The Future of Secularism 9 The Clash of Religio-Political Thought The Contest Between Radical-Conservative Islam and Progressive-Liberal Islam in Post-Soeharto Indonesia1 M. SYAFI’I ANWAR Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, but it is definitely not an Islamic state. Although Muslims are the majority of Indonesian populace, from the very beginning Indonesia is a pluralist society based on Pancasila (Five Principles) as a state ideology. The first principle of Pancasila is ‘Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa’ (Belief in One Supreme God). In this regard, Indonesia’s founding fathers agreed that Indonesia is neither a secular nor theocratic state.2 Indonesia’s Constitution (Undang-Undang Dasar 1945—The 1945 Constitution) is not to be based on shari’a. Moreover, history also shows that the agenda of imposing shari’a within the state constitution has failed since Indonesian independence in 1945 and the subsequent years. Given the above historical and political facts, it is understandable that the strong demand for imposing shari’a voiced by the radical- conservative Islam groups in post-Soeharto era raised a big question and yet it adequately shaken many people. There is no doubt in arguing that such demand was related to the performance of political Islam and the spread of radical Islamic groups in post-Soeharto Indonesia. Scholars have discussed such political phenomena through various approach and analysis, but mostly they did not specifically focus on the shari’a issue.3 Therefore, it is understandable that the Indonesian societies and foreign observers are still very curious concerning the ongoing political agenda of radical Islamic groups for imposing shari’a in a post-Soeharto era. Not only because this agenda is controversial, but also due to the fact that the radical Islamic groups define shari’a based on literal, strict, and exclusive interpretations which tend to develop anti-pluralism and anti- The Clash of Religio-Political Thought 187 democratic spirits. Furthermore, there is also strong evidence that the radical Islamic groups transform religio-political thoughts from the Middle East, especially ideology of radical salafism. This evidence can be observed from the ideology of radical salafi movements (RCI) such as Majelis Mujahiddin Indonesia, Hizbut Tahrir, Lasykar Hizbullah, Lasykar Jundullah, Darul Islam, Lasykar Jihad, Ikhwanul Muslimin Hammas, and the like.4 The problem lies in the fact that the shariahization agenda often manipulates religious sentiments or politicizes issues appealing for ordinary and public Muslims support. Most importantly, such a tendency tends to neglect the existing condition of Indonesia as a pluralist society. Although Muslims are the majority of the Indonesian populace, Indonesia is de facto a pluralist society, which contains religious, ethnic, custom and cultural diversities. Therefore, any laws and regulations should be based on the recognition of pluralism, human rights, democracy, and respect of ‘the others’ (non-Muslim groups). Furthermore, problem lies in the fact that such an agenda is imposed along with the Indonesia’s ongoing economic turbulence, weak state, uncertain political condition, and lack of law enforcement. Indeed, most radical Islam groups believe that shari’a is the only solution in solving Indonesia’s multi-dimensional crisis. In this regard, shari’a is perceived as a panacea that would be able to solve the ongoing economic and political crisis, but also creating a better and prosperous Indonesia in the future. Problems arise as they often carry out violence in demanding the implementation of shari’a, which sometimes creates victims either of their fellow Muslims or non- Muslims. As a result, this kind of agenda is not only upsetting the non-Muslim communities, but also worrying the majority of moderate Indonesian Muslims. There is also a tendency for the RCI to capitalize certain religio-political issues for the sake of their own interests. Considering the fact that emergence of RCI groups and their actions has created serious problems to the Indonesian society, a group of young Muslim intellectuals established the so-called JIL (Jaringan Islam Liberal—The Liberal Islam Network) in early 2001. The reason of establishing JIL was not only due to the conservative ideas of RCI, but also related to the way the RCI groups carried out their radical actions using violence approach. Along with other proponents of progressive-liberal Islam groups, JIL have tried to 188 The Future of Secularism challenge the agenda of RCI. To a certain degree, they are able to stem the efforts of RCI in imposing shari’a. However, recent political development in Indonesia shows that the RCI have developed offensive strategies in implementing their agenda. In this regard, they capitalize edict of MUI (The Indonesian Ulema Council) to pressure and attack the other groups, Muslim and non-Muslim. This is really shocking and it is a serious and offensive action of radical Islam groups. While the MUI’s edict itself is a controversial issue, the action of RCI groups is also a form of dangerous Islamic resurgence in a post-Soeharto era that needs to be taken into consideration. This article attempts to map problems relating to the socio- historical background, political context and, more importantly, the clash of religio-political thought between RCI and PLI groups in post-Soeharto era. In this regard, it will also discuss the ideological and intellectual transmissions from the Middle East that influence both RCI and PLI. Furthermore, it will demonstrate the characteristic and agenda of RCI groups concerning the implementation of shari’a in Indonesia as a nation-state and pluralist society. Finally, it this paper will thrash out political developments relating to MUI’s controversial edict and its implication to the Indonesian society. LEGAL-EXCLUSIVE AND SUBSTANTIVE APPROACHES ON POLITICAL ISLAM Before elaborating further about the contest between RCI and PLI in post-Soeharto era, it would be useful to discuss the theoretical framework related to political Islam. In general, I shall formulate two normative approaches on political Islam : (1) the legal-exclusive approach, and (2) the substantive-inclusive approach. The legal- exclusive approach to political Islam refers to the idea that Islam is not only a religion, but also a complete legal system, a universal ideology, and a perfect system of guidance that can provide solutions to all problems in life. Proponents of the legal-exclusive approach to political Islam strongly believe that Islam is an integrated totality of the three famous ‘Ds’: din (religion), dunya (life), and dawla (state). Consequently, as Nazih Ayubi suggests, this paradigm is designed for application to every