ad info




Asiaweek
 home
 intelligence
 web features
 magazine archive
 technology
 newsmap
 customer service
 subscribe
 TIMEASIA.COM
 CNN.COM
  east asia
  southeast asia
  south asia
  central asia
  australasia
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 SHOWBIZ
 ASIA WEATHER
 ASIA TRAVEL


Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek Time Asia Now Asiaweek story

RADICALS WANT THEIR SAY

Recognition of Muslim dominance is a start


Worldly Matters Islam is changing Indonesian politics

Nuances How Muslims divide themselves

Flashback Remembering the Tanjung Priok massacre

ISLAM IN INDONESIA HAS ALWAYS been moderate and pluralistic. But after Suharto a more radical Islam is also emerging from the chaos. Groups that only months ago were reticent to reveal themselves are now vying openly for support. Their goal: the creation of an Islamic state, or at least a state that recognizes the dominance of Muslims. Their message may well find followers among the embittered urban poor. It could be an explosive combination.

Fahri Hamzah, leader of the 250,000-strong Indonesian Muslim Students Association, says Indonesia should be governed by Islamic tenets. No nightclubs, alcohol or prostitution to start with. "It is true that the government is now largely in the hands of Muslims, but do they apply an Islamic way of thinking?" he asks. According to Hamzah, the answer is no. The head of an organization that surfaced only in March, but which played a strong role in the student push to oust Suharto, Hamzah believes the new president should treat all Indonesians fairly. He says: "A real leader will not only look after the Muslims. A real leader would understand that the test of his performance will come after death, and that should keep him honest."

Other young activists are less concerned with allaying the fears of minorities than the politically correct Hamzah. Dedi Amadsjah, a Muslim teacher from Bogor, south of Jakarta, says the Christian economic ministers who dominated the government in the 1980s failed the country by leading it into the present economic mess. Such people should not be trusted with positions of power again, says Amadsjah: "Even a donkey does not fall into the same hole twice." And on June 7 in a Jakarta mosque, a coalition of activist Muslims and groups of urban poor ominously declared their intention to battle "the minority group that tricks the majority."

The development of a more radical Islam has long been feared. The list of obscure, and defunct, sects is long. While mainstream Muslims describe such followers as "confused seekers," the government has considered them threatening. In 1989, Islamic idealists trying to establish communities in southern Sumatra were gunned down by soldiers; most reports suggest that at least 100 died. The Al-Arqam sect seemed harmless enough to outsiders. Its adherents wore Arab clothes and adopted strict Muslim practices as a refuge from the corruption of the last years of the Suharto era. Yet in 1994, after Malaysian authorities cracked down on the sect, Indonesian religious officials banned the group too.

Despite government scrutiny, and the risk of punishment, for some years religious teachers in poor communities throughout Indonesia have been promising the faithful that they would soon inherit the riches of the world. Many now believe the time has come for Islam to influence how the nation is run. They may have more say. But instead of riches, the poor of Indonesia have inherited yet more poverty. Their frustration could be dangerous. The government is weak; the military is uncertain how to deal with the emerging political forces. The first signs of a new Islamic moral rectitude are evident in Indonesia, and they are making many uncomfortable.

- By Dewi Loveard/Jakarta


This edition's table of contents | Asiaweek home

AsiaNow


   LATEST HEADLINES:

WASHINGTON
U.S. secretary of state says China should be 'tolerant'

MANILA
Philippine government denies Estrada's claim to presidency

ALLAHABAD
Faith, madness, magic mix at sacred Hindu festival

COLOMBO
Land mine explosion kills 11 Sri Lankan soldiers

TOKYO
Japan claims StarLink found in U.S. corn sample

BANGKOK
Thai party announces first coalition partner



TIME:

COVER: President Joseph Estrada gives in to the chanting crowds on the streets of Manila and agrees to make room for his Vice President

THAILAND: Twin teenage warriors turn themselves in to Bangkok officials

CHINA: Despite official vilification, hip Chinese dig Lamaist culture

PHOTO ESSAY: Estrada Calls Snap Election

WEB-ONLY INTERVIEW: Jimmy Lai on feeling lucky -- and why he's committed to the island state



ASIAWEEK:

COVER: The DoCoMo generation - Japan's leading mobile phone company goes global

Bandwidth Boom: Racing to wire - how underseas cable systems may yet fall short

TAIWAN: Party intrigues add to Chen Shui-bian's woes

JAPAN: Japan's ruling party crushes a rebel ì at a cost

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans need to have more babies. But success breeds selfishness


Launch CNN's Desktop Ticker and get the latest news, delivered right on your desktop!

Today on CNN
 Search

Back to the top   © 2000 Asiaweek. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.

ÿ