On several occasions Indonesia has made
global headlines due to vicious terrorist attacks
and the presence of terrorist networks
(and training camps) that may be connected to
the militant Al-Qaeda group. It indicates the
existence
of a radical Muslim community that not only believes
Islam should be the sole guidance in life but is
also willing to use extreme measures to
reform and uproot established conditions.
With more than 200 million Muslim inhabitants
Indonesia contains the largest Muslim population
in the
world. This number is roughly equal to 13 percent
of the total number of Muslims in the world.
However, this group of 200 million people
does not represent a homogeneous
group. Much variety can be found in
Indonesian Islam as well as in their
perceptions regarding the role that Islam
should play within Indonesian politics and
society. Although around 88 percent of the
Indonesian population is Muslim, Indonesia
is not an Islamic state ruled by Islamic law.
As most Indonesians can be labelled
moderate Muslims, the majority thus approves
of a secular democracy and a pluralist society
This attitude is visible in the results of the 2009
legislative election when Islamic political
parties that stress the importance of a
dominating, stricter Islamic stream in the
government received few votes.
The secular political parties that support a
moderate and tolerant Islamic democracy and
society, on the other hand, proved to be very
popular. But this does not withstand the fact that
Indonesia has been experiencing a continuing
process of Islamization since
this religion first arrived in the archipelago many
centuries ago. However, this process
should not be confused with Islamism
or radicalism. Radical Muslims in Indonesia
only constitute a small minority.
