Islamic Conservatism in the Intellectual Discourse of Modern Indonesia

Abstract

The paper analyzes the features of development and the main vectors of transformation of the political ideology of Muslim conservatism in modern Indonesia. It is shown that the activity of right-wing Muslim intellectuals contributes to the formation and development of a unique discourse in modern Indonesian political culture. The author analyzes the contribution of the intellectuals of the conservative segment of the Ummah to the functioning of the rightist ideology. It is assumed that Muslim intellectuals actively use religious arguments for political mobilization. The article shows the role of ideological contradictions in the pluralistic Indonesian society, which influence significantly the strategies of conservative Muslim intellectuals as participants in the political imagination. It is assumed that the political model of Muslim conservatism in modern Indonesia is based on the development and reproduction of several narratives, including 1) the activity of Muslim conservative intellectuals resulting from the processes of political modernization and secularization contributes to the re-Islamization of Indonesian society, 2) an important component of the modern political imagination is Shariatization based on rejection secular Indonesian nationalism and the ideology of pancasila as one of its derivatives, 3) the Muslim call and the ideas of Islamization occupy a special place in the political imagination of the conservative segment of the Indonesian ummah, whose representatives insist on the need to both protect and promote Islam. In general, the presented article shows that Muslim conservatives and traditionalists in modern Indonesia generate alternative political concepts based on the rejection of modernization and secularization, consistent criticism and condemnation of their results, which are defined as negative and destructive for Indonesia as a country with a Muslim majority.