Democracy and Islam in Indonesia Religion Culture and Public Life

In this volume, political scientists, religious scholars, legal theorists, and anthropologists examine the theory and practice of Indonesia's democratic transition and consider whether it can serve as a model for other Muslim countries. It looks at the events of 1998, when Indonesia's military government collapsed, igniting fears that economic, religious and political conflicts would complicate any democratic transition. It shows that, despite these concerns, in every year since 2006, the world's most populous Muslim country has received high marks from international democracy-ranking organisations. Indonesia's military government collapsed in 1998, igniting fears that economic, religious, and political conflicts would complicate any democratic transition. Yet in every year since 2006, the world's most populous Muslim country has received high marks from international democracy-ranking organizations. In this volume, political scientists, religious scholars, legal theorists, and anthropologists examine the theory and practice of Indonesia's democratic transition and its ability to serve as a model for other Muslim countries. They compare the Indonesian example with similar scenarios in Chile, Spain, India, and Tunisia, as well as with the failed transitions of Yugoslavia, Egypt, and Iran. Essays explore the relationship between religion and politics and the ways in which Muslims became supportive of democracy even before change occurred, and they describe how innovative policies prevented dissident military groups, violent religious activists, and secessionists from disrupting Indonesia's democratic evolution. The collection concludes with a discussion of Indonesia's emerging "legal pluralism" and of which of its forms are rights-eroding and rights-protecting. -- Amazon.com Indonesian democratization in theoretical perspective / Mirjam Künkler and Alfred Stepan -- Indonesian democracy : from transition to consolidation / R. William Liddle and Saiful Mujani -- How pluralist democracy became the consensual discourse among secular and nonsecular Muslims in Indonesia / Mirjam Künkler -- Christian and Muslim minorities in Indonesia : state policies and majority Islamic organizations / Franz Magnis-Suseno, SJ -- Veto player no more? : the declining political influence of the military in postauthoritarian Indonesia / Marcus Mietzner -- Indonesian government approaches to radical Islam since 1998 / Sidney Jones -- How Indonesia survived : comparative perspectives on state disintegration and democratic integration / Edward Aspinall -- Contours of sharia in Indonesia / John Bowen -- Unfinished business : law reform, governance, and the courts in post-Suharto Indonesia / Tim Lindsey and Simon Butt In 1998, Indonesia's military government collapsed, creating a crisis that many believed would derail its democratic transition. Yet the world's most populous Muslim country continues to receive high marks from democracy-ranking organizations. In this volume, political scientists, religious scholars, legal theorists, and anthropologists examine Indonesia's transition compared to Chile, Spain, India, and potentially Tunisia, and democratic failures in Yugoslavia, Egypt, and Iran. Chapters explore religion and politics and Muslims' support for democracy before change