(Re) Writing the History of Political Islam in Indonesia

Abstract

The impact of Reformasi on Indonesia has extended beyond the realms of politics and economics, also leading to changing understandings of history. For example, the institutional and popular approaches to the Darul Islam movement (1947-65) and its leader Kartosuwiryo have shifted in Indonesian publications released between the 1940s and the 2010s. These approaches place varying degrees of emphasis on their rebellious or Islamic character. A trajectory from condemnation to glorification illustrates that, whilst formal political transitions are useful to gauge historiographical shifts, in the case at hand there is more continuity than change across regimes, and much nuanced variation within each politically defined era. Revisionism has also appeared in Indonesian military historiography.