Abstract
This chapter attempts to showcase the legacy of Nurcholish Madjid (1939–2005), an influential Muslim intellectual who championed religious pluralism in Indonesian Islam in the early post-independence era. Madjid argued for a rational and dynamic interpretation of Islam by promoting the use of Western social theory to reform the way traditionalist minds interpret Islam. With this approach, by the late 1980s, Madjid managed to build the basis for moderate views of Muslims, especially of those who come from the middle class background. The chapter first discusses briefly the making of Indonesian Islam that serves to give the historical background of the early role of Muslims from different periods. Then, it introduces how Madjid, also known as Cak Nur, emerges as a prominent figure that enriches the discourse of Indonesian Islam and its relevance today. Finally, it displays the recent challenges to the pluralist view of Islam from the rise of right wing groups and how to tackle them in order to preserve the religious diversity in Indonesia’s democracy.
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Notes
- 1.
Michael Laffan, The Making of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of a Sufi Past (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2011), 8.
- 2.
Robert W. Hefner, Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000), 15.
- 3.
Ibid, 38.
- 4.
Hefner, Civil Islam, 40–42.
- 5.
Greg Barton, “Indonesia’s Nurcholish Madjid and Abdurrahman Wahid as intellectual Ulama: The meeting of Islamic traditionalism and modernism in neo-modernist thought,” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relation s, 8:3 (1997), 323–350.
- 6.
Ibid, 328.
- 7.
Martin van Bruinessen, “What happened to the smiling face of Indonesian Islam? Muslim intellectualism and the conservative turn in post-Suharto Indonesia,” RSIS Working Paper, No. 222 (2011), 1–45.
- 8.
Jeremy Menchik, “Productive Intolerance: Godly Nationalism in Indonesia,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 56:3 (2014), 591.
- 9.
Nurcholish Madjid, Islam, Doktrin dan Peradaban: Sebuah Telaah Kritis tentang Masalah Keimanan, Kemanusiaan, dan Kemodernan [Islam: Doctrine and Civilization – A Critical Study on the Problem of Faith, Humanity and Modernity] (Jakarta: Yayasan Paramadina, 1992).
- 10.
Nurcholish Madjid, Indonesia Kita [Our Indonesia] (Jakarta: Yayasan Paramadina, 2004).
- 11.
Carool Kersten, Islam in Indonesia: The Contest for Society, Ideas and Values (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 110–115.
- 12.
Ibid. 237–239.
- 13.
Sidney Jones, Sisi Gelap Reformasi di Indonesia: Munculnya Kelompok Masyarakat Madani Intoleran, ed. Husni Mubarok, Irsyad Rafsadi (Jakarta: Pusat Studi Agama dan Demokrasi Yayasan Paramadina, 2015).
- 14.
Alexander R. Arifianto, “Quo Vadis Civil Islam? Explaining Rising Islamism in Post-Reformasi Indonesia,” 2018, accessed 02 October 2019, https://kyotoreview.org/issue-24/rising-islamism-in-post-reformasi-indonesia/
- 15.
Marcus Mietzner, “Fighting Illiberalism with Illiberalism: Islamist populism and Democratic Deconsolidation in Indonesia,” Pacific Affairs: Volume 91, No. 2 (June 2018) 261–282.
- 16.
Ahmad Syarif Syechbubakr, “Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah struggle with internal divisions in the post-Soeharto era,” 28 May 2018, accessed 10 December 2018, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/nahdlatul-ulama-and-muhammadiyah-struggle-with-internal-divisions-in-the-post-soeharto-era/
- 17.
A’an Suryana, “State Officials’ Entanglement with Vigilante Groups in Violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a Communities in Indonesia,” Asian Studies Review, 43:3 (2019), 475–492
References
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Barton, Greg. 1997. Indonesia’s Nurcholish Madjid and Abdurrahman Wahid as Intellectual Ulama: The Meeting of Islamic Traditionalism and Modernism in Neo-modernist Thought. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 8 (3): 323–350.
Hefner, Robert W. 2000. Civil Islam: Muslims and democratization in Indonesia. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Jones, Sidney. 2015. Sisi Gelap Reformasi di Indonesia: Munculnya Kelompok Masyarakat Madani Intoleran. Husni Mubarok, Irsyad Rafsadi, eds. Jakarta: Pusat Studi Agama dan Demokrasi Yayasan Paramadina.
Kersten, Carool. 2015. Islam in Indonesia: The Contest for Society, Ideas and Values. New York: Oxford University Press.
Laffan, Michael. 2011. The Making of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of a Sufi Past. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Madjid, Nurcholish. 1992. Islam, Doktrin dan Peradaban: Sebuah Telaah Kritis tentang Masalah Keimanan, Kemanusiaan, dan Kemodernan. Islam: Doctrine and Civilization – A Critical Study on the Problem of Faith, Humanity and Modernity]. Jakarta: Yayasan Paramadina.
———. 2004. Indonesia Kita [Our Indonesia]. Jakarta: Yayasan Paramadina.
Menchik, Jeremy. 2014. Productive Intolerance: Godly Nationalism in Indonesia. Comparative Studies in Society and History 56 (3): 591–621.
Mietzner, Marcus. 2018. Fighting Illiberalism with Illiberalism: Islamist populism and Democratic Deconsolidation in Indonesia. Pacific Affairs 91 (2): 261–282.
Suryana, A’an. 2019. State Officials’ Entanglement with Vigilante Groups inViolence against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a Communities in Indonesia. Asian Studies Review 43 (3): 475–492.
Syechbubakr, Ahmad Syarif. 2018. Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah struggle with internal divisions in the post-Soeharto era. http://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/nahdlatul-ulama-and-muhammadiyah-struggle-with-internal-divisions-in-the-post-soeharto-era/. Accessed 10 Dec 2018.
Van Bruinessen, Martin. 2011. What Happened to the Smiling Face of Indonesian Islam? Muslim Intellectualism and the Conservative Turn in Post-Suharto Indonesia, RSIS Working Paper No. 222, 1–45.
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Abdullah, M.A. (2021). Nurcholish Madjid and Religious Pluralism in Indonesian Islam. In: Hashas, M. (eds) Pluralism in Islamic Contexts - Ethics, Politics and Modern Challenges. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66089-5_11
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