The “State Islam” Nexus: Islam and the State in Indonesia and Malaysia, 1982-2008 by Trevor Wade Chueh Hui Preston A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of PhD Graduate Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Trevor Wade Chueh Hui Preston 2012 ii The “State Islam” Nexus: Islam and the State in Indonesia and Malaysia, 1982-2008 Trevor Wade Chueh Hui Preston PhD Graduate Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2012 Abstract My thesis argues that in 1982-2008, “state Islam” created a pluralistic Indonesia and an anti-pluralistic Malaysia. The rubric of “state Islam” is a political alliance of secular politicians, religious bureaucrats, and Islamic socio- religious organizations. During these twenty-five years, state policy in Indonesia repressed Islam through the political marginalization of the formal and informal institutions of Muslim piety and practice. On the other hand, state policy in Malaysia accommodated Islam through promoting similar institutions. The rise of Islamic political and cultural consciousness in 1979 had triggered leadership transition and elite factionalism in 1982 in Malaysia and in 1989 in Indonesia, during which a new Islamic-centric force of entrepreneurs drove policy change. iii From 1982 to 2008, Indonesia and Malaysia created new state religious bureaucracies that regulated Islam, persecuted minority Islamic sects, and curbed the political autonomy of socio-religious organizations embedded in Islam. Chapter 1 constitutes a literature review and outlines my argument and key variables, while Chapter 2 provides the historical context of Islam in pre and post- independence Indonesia and Malaysia. The next chapter takes us to Indonesia in 1982-1994, when the Suharto government embarked on its institutional repression of Islam. Chapter 4 demonstrates how in 1982-1994 the Mahathir government in Malaysia launched its parallel institutional accommodation of Islam. Returning to Indonesia, Chapter 5 shows how Suharto’s institutional repression from the late 1990s directly created the conditions for a pluralist Indonesia today. Chapter 6 examines how the Mahathir government, previously locked in a close relationship with Islam through institutional accommodation in the late 1990s to early 2000s, produced a contemporary Malaysia resolutely hostile to political and socio- cultural pluralism. The final chapter explores the concept of unintended consequences and suggests comparative and cross-regional implications for my findings. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I take the opportunity to express my thanks to Dr. R. S. Milne for first inspiring my lifelong interest in Southeast Asia. I am perpetually grateful to Dr. Jacques Bertrand, who shaped my disciplinary training and has been exceptionally patient and supportive during this long journey to bringing the dissertation to its conclusion. I cannot ever thank enough the intellectual inspiration and emotional support that Dr. Diane K. Mauzy provided to me for the past fifteen years. I want to thank all my interviewees in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta who generously gave of their time to assist my project. Dr. Shamsul A. B. of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at the National University of Malaysia was invaluable for my fieldwork in Malaysia. I owe a debt of gratitude to Jakarta Islamic State University for technical support and assistance. My thanks also go to Dr. John Wood, Dr. H. B. Chamberlain, and Dr. Tineke Hellwig, who helped guide my studies at the University of British Columbia. I gratefully acknowledge the University of Toronto’s Department of Political Science for financial and academic support. My academic studies and teaching have benefitted greatly from working with Dr. Jacques Bertrand, Dr. Michael Donnelly, Dr. Victor Falkenheim, and Dr. Edward Schatz. Thanks are also due for the financial support that I received from the Dr. David Chu Program in Asia Pacific Studies, the School of Graduate Studies at the University of v Toronto, and the Ethnicity and Democratic Governance project at Queen’s University. My love of Indonesia came from Saleh Umar, Dr. Yasmine Shahab, Maryam Umar, and Hussein Umar; I thank them all for their hospitality in Jakarta. My love of Malaysia first came from a family friend, Ong Beng Hin and his family in Petaling Jaya. Special thanks to Dr. Laurence W. Preston. Finally, I would like to thank my family - my dear wife Cicik (Murnilawati) Preston and our daughter Amira Preston, my mother, Dr. Jennifer Jay, and my brother Graham Preston - for all their love and sacrifices to bring this dissertation to completion. I am solely responsible for all the errors that remain in my dissertation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................. vi ARABIC, MALAY, AND INDONESIAN TERMS ....................................... ix CHAPTER 1 THE TOPIC AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .. 1 1.1 “State Islam” as a Concept and Term of Analysis 1.2 Historical Institutionalism 1.3 Political and Socio-cultural Pluralism 1.4 Muslim Politics in Indonesia and Malaysia 1.5 Question, Variables, Thesis, and Alternative Arguments CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO 1982 ................................ 34 2.1 Coming of Islam to Southeast Asia 2.2 Islamic Modernism and Reform 2.3 Islam, Independence, and the Secular State in Indonesia 2.4 Islam, Independence, and the Consociational Compromise in Malaysia 2.5 The Nature of the Islamic Revival in Indonesia and Malaysia 2.6 Post Independence Politics of Indonesia and Malaysia to 1982 vii CHAPTER 3 SUHARTO AND THE INSTITUTIONAL REPRESSION OF ISLAM, 1982-1994 ....................................................... 59 3.1 Historical and Institutional Legacies of Suharto and Islam, 1982 3.2 The Failures of Pancasila as Ideological Hammer, 1984 3.3 Critical Juncture: Islam and Suharto Post-1990 3.4 Islam and State Subterfuge: Undermining Wahid, 1994 CHAPTER 4 MAHATHIR, ISLAM, AND THE POLITICS OF INSTITUTIONAL ACCOMMODATION, 1982-1994 101 4.1 Critical Juncture: Dakwah and the Rise of Mahathir, 1982 4.2 Mahathir and Anwar: Overt State Islamization and Islamic Values, 1982-1987 4.3 The Political Challenge to Mahathir, 1987-1993 4.4 Darul Arqam vs. UMNO: Malaysia at Brinkmanship, 1994 CHAPTER 5 THE RISE OF MUI AND THE CRISIS OFAHMADIYAH, 2003-2008 ............................................................................. 155 5.1 Post-Suharto Indonesia, 1998-2001 5.2 The Rise of MUI 5.3 The Crisis of Ahmadiyah CHAPTER 6 ISLAM HADHARI BLOCKED: JAKIM AND MALAYSIAN STATE ISLAM, 2003-2008 ...................... 196 6.1 The Rise of JAKIM: Islam’s New Bureaucrats 6.2 The Emergence of Abdullah Badawi and Islam Hadhari, 2003 6.3 The Triumph of JAKIM and State Religious Institutional Anti- Pluralism, 2008 viii CHAPTER 7 STATE ISLAMIC POLICYMAKING AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.................................. 236 REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 248 ix ARABIC, MALAY, AND INDONESIAN TERMS Agung Malaysia’s Constitutional Monarch Ahmadiyah Minority Muslim sect in Indonesia Al’ Maunah Minority Muslim sect in Malaysia BAKORPAKEM Body under the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office to monitor sects and beliefs Barisan Nasional National Front (formerly The Alliance), governing coalition of Malaysia since 1957 Dakwah Student based Islamic revivalist movement in Malaysia Darul Arqam Minority Muslim sect in Malaysia Fatwa Recommended, but not obligatory, advice to individual Muslims ICMI Association of Indonesian Islamic Intellectuals, Suharto era institution Islam Hadhari Civilizational Islam, initative of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah JAI Ahmadiyah, largest representative lobby of the sect JAKIM Malaysian Islamic Development Department, equivalent to Ministry level institution dedicated to the regulation of Islam Khalwat Close Proximity, enshrined in Malaysia’s sharia code regulating non-married couples Menteri Agama Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs Muhammadiyah Followers of Muhammad, modernist Muslim-based socio- religious organization in Indonesia MUI Indonesian Ulama Council, newly influential quasi-state religious organization post-1998 Nahdlatul Ulama Renaissance of Islamic Scholars, Muslim based socio- religious organization in Indonesia, traditionalist New Economic PolicyAffirmative Action for Malaysia’s Malay community, c. 1970-present New Order Authoritarian political regime of Indonesia led by Suharto, 1966-1998 Pancasila Five Principles, governing ideology of Indonesia PAS Islamic Party of Malaysia, opposition political party of Malaysia Piagam Jakarta Jakarta Charter, proposed (and unsuccessful) preamble to Indonesian constitution enshrining sharia for Muslims PPP Unity Development Party, Islamic based political party of the New Order x Reformasi Democratic/civil society movement in Indonesia and Malaysia c. 1998 Sarekat Islam Islamic Association, First proto-Muslim based/nationalist political party in Indonesia Sharia Islamic law UMNO United Malays’ National Organization, dominant Malay party of Malaysia’s governing coalition 1 CHAPTER 1 THE TOPIC AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 “State Islam” as a Concept and Term of Analysis My dissertation presents a comparative historical and institutional analysis of Islam and Muslim Politics,