Contrary to popular notion, there seems to be a convergence between the emerging and the established Islamic movements in Indonesia. This could indeed intensify activism in matters pertaining to religiosity in the civil society sphere.
Eurasia View: By Vinay Kumar Pathak
AN OBSERVER of Islamism in Indonesia recently argued that the country’s Islamist politics is “more symbolic in nature than substantive”. While this might hold true in terms of Islamist appropriations of cultural symbols for political purposes, it will be simplistic to dismiss the postulations of Islamists’ movements such as Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) and the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) as being merely “symbolic”.
Indeed these Islamist movements particularly the PKS and the HTI, though inspired by transnational ideologies, have established a pronounced presence and clout in post – New Order Indonesia through various channels.Read more