Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, but Islam is not the state religion. Instead, the archipelago that is home to more than 273 million people rests on the foundation of Indonesia’s principle of Pancasilaa philosophical theory composed of five principles: monotheism, civilized humanity, national unity, deliberative democracy and social justice.
While Sunni Muslims make up 87 percent of the population and Christians 10 percent, Indonesia sometimes struggles to determine exactly how this religious harmony plays out. In recent years, Christians have been targeted in scattered locations. terrorist attacks, limit to build churches, and accused under blasphemy laws. Open doors ranked Indonesia as the 33rd most dangerous country to be a Christian. At the same time, President Joko Widodo has worked to promote religious tolerance and called on provincial and district leaders to ensure that all religions can practice freely.
For many, Islam and national identity are closely linked: a recent Pew Research survey found that 81 percent of Indonesians say that being Muslim is very important to being truly Indonesian. 64% believe that Sharia, or Islamic law, should be implemented as national law.
On the other hand, the Pew report also reveals that 60 percent of Indonesians view Christianity as compatible with local culture and values. Muslim Indonesians were also more concerned about the growth of Muslim extremism (54%) than the growth of Christianity (35%).
Do these nuances reflect a more open vision of religious pluralism within the Muslim population? And despite the complexities and challenges, is there potential for interfaith dialogue and genuine cooperation to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims?
CT interviewed three moderate Muslims and three Christians on a range of topics, including the role of Sharia law in society, the connection between religion and national identity, and how Christians and Muslims can work together for the good of Indonesia. Answers have been edited and shortened for clarity.
Muslim leaders included in this series participated in interfaith dialogues organized by the Leimena Institute, a Christian think tank in Jakarta. In Indonesia, moderate Islam differs from conservative Islam in that it focuses on compassion for all (rahamatan petit alamin) while rejecting ideas such as the caliphate (an authority over all Muslims in the world) and kafir (unfaithful). It also differs from liberal Islam, which goes further by giving priority to reasoning rather than revelation and to the spirit of the religious ethics of Islam rather than its literal meaning. Two of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, follow moderate Islam.
Answers have been edited and shortened for clarity.
Muslim leaders:
KH Halim Mahfudz
Head of Seblak Jombang Islamic Boarding School and Chairman of the Endowment Board of Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School in Jombang, East Java.
Inayah Rohmaniyah
Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and Islamic Thought at Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta, Central Java.
Amin Abdallah
Member of the advisory board of the Pancasila Ideological Development Agency in Yogyakarta.
Christian leaders:
Tantono Subagyo
Pastor and president of the Suluh Insan Lestari Foundation (mother tongue literacy program) and the Wijaya Kusuma Pratama Foundation (which oversees private schools) in South Tangerang, West Java.
Ferry Mamahit
Lecturer at the Southeast Asian Biblical Seminary in Malang, East Java, and Executive Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion and Culture in Semarang, Central Java.
Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta
Missionary of the Presbyterian Church (USA), lecturer at Duta Wacana Christian University and founder of the Griya Jati Rasa Foundation (a business cooperative) in Yogyakarta.
With reporting assistance from Maria Fennita.
