ISLAM WASATHIYYAH AND THE CHALLENGE OF RADICALISM IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The international community has witnessed the phenomenon of socio-political-religious life
which is absolutely in contradictory situation between the world view and the socio-political-religious Muslim
communities in the Middle East and the world view and the Muslims’ socio-political-religious life in Southeast
Asia, particularly in Indonesia. The changing of socio-political leadership in Indonesia from the New Order to
Reformation Order (1998) is relatively smooth, it is then followed by the legislative election and the Presidential
Election (2004; 2009) and the 2014 presidential election was the most peaceful election without violence, while
the changing of socio-political leadership in the Middle East countries (the Arab Spring) are always
overshadowed and followed by socio-political-religious violence causing a lot of casualties. Even now, the
political crisis in Iraq and Syria, have caused the emergence of a hard-line Islamic factions declaring the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Earlier, the political crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan led to the emergence
of al-Qaeda. Not only had both caused many civilian casualties in the country, but also had an external impact,
bringing international anxiety and worry. Socio-political life of the Muslim communities of Southeast Asia took a
different path from the Middle Eastern societies. And over the leadership transition in the country of Indonesia,
as a representative symbol of socio-political expression of Southeast Asian local religion, which is Islam as the
majority, can be run peacefully and successfully, without violence and casualties. How was the role of clerics,
scholars and intellectuals in Muslim Indonesia in guarding the constitution, democracy in the modern nationstate and its implications in building regional Asian and mondial-international relationship? What is the role of
the civil society and religious colleges, universities in this case the Islamic, in treating democracy, plurality of
culture, race, ethnicity, religion and belief and human rights which are the important pillars of the life of nationstate, Asian regional relations and international community relations in general? This paper will refresh back
the Indonesian Muslims’ intellectual contribution to the development of Southeast Asian Islamic thought and its
contribution in caring for diversity, inclusion, openness and peace in the context of the merging of the Asian
economic community (AFTA).