The Religion and Public Life in Indonesia - Research Paper Example

Introduction Religion has significant place in the Indonesian culture as well as other areas of life including politics. The overall ideology of Indonesia as a country is also based upon the fundamental principle of believing in one God therefore indicating the overall place of religion in the affairs of the State and Private and public life of the country. What is also significant to note that the discussion of how the religion affects public and private life in Indonesia also needs to be viewed from the perspective of the Islam and its relationship with different political systems specially democracy. It also needs to be viewed from the historical perspective of the country itself and how the significant political changes affected the way religion influence the ordinary life. A closer look at the cultural history of the country also indicate that Indonesia remained under the occupation and as such this also affected the way its culture has developed over the period of time. Over the period of time, Indonesian society was developed and socially influenced based on the non-Islamic lines therefore in order to understand the influence of religion on Indonesian society, it is really important to carefully separate the different social and cultural elements in order to study the influence of religion on Indonesian society. (Suryadinata, 2003) This paper will therefore attempt to discuss the religion and contemporary politics in Indonesia and will offer insight into various political transitions which country made and how religion influenced the overall outcomes in the Indonesian society. Occupation Indonesia remained under four different occupations from different colonial powers including Dutch, Portuguese and Britain. It also remained under the occupation of Japan till its struggle for the independence was successful. Dutch occupation was probably the longest colonization of Indonesia as it lasted for more than 350 years. During these years, Indonesian society went through many changes and as such religious sentiments and values were mixed with the intrusion of new set of values implemented by Dutch during their occupation of the country. Dutch occupation however, also brought forward some critical policy changes in the way how the Indonesian government was run. From influencing the way how agriculture produce was to be distributed between rural and urban areas of the country to the establishment of solid economic administration, Dutch set up most of the physical infrastructure in the country and allowed it to develop a growing economy in the world. (Simons, 2000) Similar situation prevailed during the occupation of Portuguese and Britain also as the country was basically exploited for its natural resources. However, the significant changes started to emerge during the Japanese occupation of the country which started after the World War II. Though the period during the Japanese occupation was also brutal in its true sense however, it brought significant cultural and political changes in the region. Japanese reduced the racial implications of the previous occupying eras as well as allowed the emergence of unique Indonesian identity which finally resulted into the independence of the country. It is argued that the Japanese occupation was welcomed by Indonesian as it was perceived as the end of colonial era for the country. This was despite the fact that there were certain political and nationalistic groups in the country which opposed the Japanese occupation also however, Japanese occupation led to the emergence of strong nationalistic ideologies in the country and gave the necessary momentum to the independence movement of the country. It is argued that the World War II proved the turning point in the history of Indonesia as it was able to get rid of the centuries of exploitation. What is significantly more critical is the way in which Japanese occupation contracted the previous occupations of the country. Due to this reason, the overall public image of Japanese occupation was relatively more favorable as compared to earlier occupations. Though Japanese more or less continued the policies of Dutch however, Japanese were seen as someone who was distinctively unique from Europeans. Further, it was during this era that the urge to have and develop a unique Indonesian identity emerged very strongly and provided the necessary catalytic force to the independence movement. (Rabasa & Chalk, 2001) After the end of the Second World War and defeat of Japan at the hands of allies, Indonesia declared its independence and Sukarno and Hatta emerged as the leaders of the new country. Though at the time of its declaration of Independence, Indonesia was not completely free from occupation as Dutch were controlling some parts of the country. It was during 1950 that country was finally able to get complete independence. Independence and afterwards In order to discuss the influence of religion on the modern and contemporary politics of the country, it is important that an impartial discussion of country’s history after its independence is discussed in more elaborative manner. After Indonesia achieved its complete independence, Sukarno emerged as the first President of the country. However, his rule also proved to be one that of the brutal dictatorship. During his era, the overall significance of religion – especially Islam- started to emerge in mainstream politics of the country. Sukarno government was constantly being challenged by radical Islamic groups and other political opponents. During his tenure, Sukarno also invaded and occupied different territories including Papua New Guinea, Malaysia as well as East Timor. It is also important to note that during his era religious groups were not the significant challenge. Though appeared as a potential threat however, Sukarno was able to control them and at the same time maintain the essential harmony and balance within Indonesian society. What is also important to note that Sukarno’s rule left the country in hands of dictatorship and country remained as a region which was heaven for the non-democratic forces and his period remained one of the tough periods for Indonesia in terms of its economic progress? Under his rule, Indonesian army also increased its influences and therefore became one of the permanent source of rule in the country and influenced strategic decision making process in the country. (Drakeley, 2005) Modern Politics Suharto occupied the presidency of the country for 32 years and he was the second president of Indonesia after Sukarno’s removal from the power. His rule is much debated era in the history of Indonesia as his New Order promised to bring the reforms in the country especially in terms of bringing in better economic progress as well as allowing masses to participate into the overall political process in the country. He assumed the power during 1965 based on the promise of overthrowing the old order of Sukarno and brought forward the change required to make the country more like an Indonesia which it should have been. What is also critical to note that the Suharto attempted to maintain cordial relationships with the West and took all the efforts to protect the American interests as well as ensured that he maintain a secular government. However, from the start of 1970s, process of Ismalization of the country started to emerge and it was during this era that the use of the Islamic symbols on bodies started to became more prominent and religion started to take its firm roots within mainstream politics of the country. Sukarno’s era was also considered as the era of political change and masses were encouraged to participate into the political process and due to this political space, the use of religious symbols started to increase within the public domain. Most important the use of women wearing Islamic veil started to increase which was previously relatively rare. Suharto’s rule is also significant due to the fact that it was during his era that the Islamic forces started to take their roots. One of the reasons of him leaving the government was the increasing influence of Islamic forces in the political process of the country and therefore increasing the influence of Islamic values and norms in mainstream public domain as well as ushering the way for their use in private life also. The increasing use of veil by the Indonesian women also signified a radical shift in the Indonesian society despite the fact that Indonesia, after its independence, remained a secular country and its overall character was built around this notion. This was due to the fact that despite having majority population of Muslims, Indonesia, like India, was also a hub for different other religious minorities therefore it attempted to maintain a very secular character of its State. However, as the Indonesia drifted towards the modernity, the Islamic forces became stronger and their role in the politics as well as the way they affected the ordinary life in Indonesia became more magnified. The roots of the Islamization of the country therefore were started to develop during the reign of Suharto. (Vatiklotis, 1989) One of the significant events during his rule was the killing in East Timor which forced American Congress to pass sanctions against Indonesia. Further, the financial crisis of the region during 1990s further weakened the rule of Suharto and he was forced to resign. Islam Political dissent with Suharto was one of the main reasons as to why the religion started to become one of the significant forces in Indonesia. Apparently the rule of Soharto was one that of the secular era of the country however, underlying this secular character of the country was the emergence of Islamic forces to dominate the political future of the country. The growing dissent over the rule of Soharto was the result of the economic mismanagement of the country which marginalized the youth and made it easier for the Islamic forces to gain the required level of political support in the Indonesian society. The rise of the Islamic forces in the country shall also be therefore viewed from the perspective of the political gap left behind by the democratic forces of the country. Though country remained under the dictatorship however, due to the political vacuum fundamentalism started to become significant force in the country and Islamic parties started to affect the ordinary lives of the Indonesians in their political sphere also. Over the period of time, Indonesia maintained a particular level of sympathies for America and the resultant exploitation therefore was also one of the key reasons as to why the Islamic forces within the country started to become stronger. The fall of Soharto was therefore also the result of the gradual decline of the country’s existing political forces and the widening economic disparities which forced youth specially to become more attracted towards the parties with fundamental orientation. The depiction of religion in private life of the Indonesian has to be viewed from the perspective of the degree to which Indonesian women followed the religious practices and dress code. With the increasing Islamization of the country, Women started to wear veil and started to follow other religious practices. However, the issue of veil and how it influences the fundamental rights of women need to be viewed from the perspective of how the overall status of veil is viewed within the society. It has been argued that wearing the veil in any Muslim society is an indication of the marginality of the women rather than the symbol of their protection. This line of thinking therefore suggests that the depiction of religion in public as well as private sphere may be a sign of repression especially for women rather than allowing them to express themselves freely. The issue of veil therefore is also explored from the perspective of how it creates the self consciousness and the cultivation of the self as the women attempt to guard themselves against the evils of the society. Thus the more critical form of religious symbols used in both the private as well as the public domain of the Indonesian society is the wearing of veil by the women. Apart from this, there is also a general tendency towards wearing the kind of cloths which are according to the religious doctrines and the principles of religion and can provide complete protection to the women from exposing their bodies. Religion in public and private life With free elections in the country and removal of Suharto from the power, Indonesia took some critical steps towards opening up its society for more religious participation. Till 1990s there was ban on wearing the headscarves and other religious symbols in schools, places of work etc however, once the democratically elected government came into power it lifted the ban and allowed the free use of religious symbols in private as well as public life. Though schools still insist upon their students to remove their headscarves of veil for some administrative purposes however, there are no official restrictions on the wearing of veil or headscarves in Indonesia now. Further, the opening up of the society also allowed Muslim women to become part of the workforce of the country and directly compete with the male members of the society. This has been done while keeping in view the religious freedom given to the women specially in post-Soharto era. (Wichelen, 2010) It is also important to note that Post-Soharto era also witnessed a growing role of Islamic organizations within the society. This is not just limited to the politics only as the different organizations advocate and lobby for the inculcation of Islamic values within the society including the advocacy for the moral control over how the youth of the country act and behave. This is in a sense a counter-attack on the increasing influence of Western values and culture in different Islamic countries. (Sitorus, 2003) The overall role of Mass Media in terms of discussing different religious issues is significant also. After the resignation of Soharto and elections, the existing laws for the communication and information were abolished and replaced with new set of rules which allowed Media a relatively higher degree of freedom. It was because of this reason that Media started to openly discuss about religion and religion and its influence on Indonesian society became one of the most debated topics on media. (Crouch, 2000) The more recent socio-political phenomenon in the Indonesian society also indicate towards the growing influence of how religion is enticing the ordinary individuals of the society to protest for the religious freedom of Muslims living in other parts of the world also. There were widespread demonstrations by the women students on the issue of France banning the wearing of veil and headscarves in the schools. This indicates that the overall religious sentiments and their expression became a significant source of political awareness and maturity within Indonesian women also. This was despite the fact that the religious parties were exercising significant influence over the different aspects of living. However, women became more participative in the overall political process in the country while at the same time maintaining their religious values and sanctity. (Wichelen, 2010) It is also however, important to note that there is a general increase in the fundamental tendencies in the society also. The incident of Bali is one glaring example of how extremist forces in the country can disrupt the society and impose their own version of the religion on masses of the country. There is also a growing tension between the Muslims and other religious minorities in the country. (Aznam, 1992) The above discussion therefore leads to the conclusion that though the religion has became prominent in both the private as well as public life however, it still allowed women specially to become part of the overall political process in the country. Conclusion Indonesia has rich history and culture which is very diverse and colorful and being the largest Muslim country in the world in terms of population, it also enjoys the special importance. A critical look at the historical past of the country would suggest that it remained under the control of Dutch, Britain as well as the Japanese and were only able to gain its freedom after Second World War. After its freedom, efforts were made to run the affairs of the country on more secular footings however, over the period of time, religion has became a significant force both in private as well as public life. Religious parties have gained success during election as well as there is a general tendency towards following the religious practices in their true spirits. More recently, Indonesian women have increased the use of wearing the headscarves and veils as a result of the lifting of ban by the government. Apart from this, religion has also started to became a point of debate on the Media as well as in private gatherings therefore indicating the increasing influence of religion in dominating the different spheres of both the public as well as private life. Bibliography 1. Aznam, S. (1992). Fires of religious dissent. Far Eastern Economic Review , 155 (51), 15. 2. Crouch, H. (2000). INDONESIA: Democratization and the Threat of Disintegration. Southeast Asian Affairs , 50-60. 3. Drakeley, S. (2005). The History of Indonesia. London: Greenwood Reference. 4. Rabasa, A., & Chalk, P. (2001). Indonesias Transformation and the Stability of Southeast Asia. New York: Rand. 5. Simons, G. (2000). 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