Challenging Islamist Populism in Indonesia through Catholic Youth Activism

Pam Nilan,Gregorius Ragil Wibowanto

doi:10.3390/rel12060395

Abstract

This paper reports data from a study of young Catholic activists. They were concerned about the expansion of Islamist populism in democratic Muslim-majority Indonesia. They actively built inter-faith coalitions with local liberal Muslim youth groups and with pan-national Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest independent Islamic organisation in the world. Islamist populism prioritises religious identity over the national identity of citizenship. In framing their citizenship activism against the current tide of Islamist populism, the informants in our study selectively engaged aspects of Catholic theology. They articulated their religious identity as coterminous with a nationalist identity centred on multi-faith tolerance and harmony. That discourse in itself refutes a key principle of Islamist populism in Indonesia, which argues for primordial entitlement.

Highlights

In anti-colonial movements across the Southeast Asian region, religion has been a driving force of nationalist sentiment
We argue here that “Islamist populism” is widely regarded as a threat to democracy—and to the continued articulation of Pancasila—by numerous constituencies in Indonesia, including the mass Muslim organisations Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah
This paper has reported data from young Catholic activists concerned about the perceived dangers of growing Islamist populism in Indonesia

Summary

Introduction

In anti-colonial movements across the Southeast Asian region, religion has been a driving force of nationalist sentiment. We argue here that “Islamist populism” is widely regarded as a threat to democracy—and to the continued articulation of Pancasila—by numerous constituencies in Indonesia, including the mass Muslim organisations NU and Muhammadiyah (over 140 million members between them). Those constituencies are fighting back against the trend. Small in number, are enjoining that challenge at a grassroots level. They do so in part through making alliances with local moderate Muslim youth and organisations

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion