Islamic state or state Islam? Fifty years of state-Islam relations in Indonesia

Abstract

In what appeared like a dramatic reversal of previous policies towards organised Islam, President Soeharto in December 1990 gave his personal endorsement to the establishment of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Se-Indonesia, ICMI), a body in which former regime critics, associated with the banned Muslim party Masyumi, played leading roles. Led by the man who believes himself to be Soeharto's preferrred candidate for succession, technology minister B.J. Habibie, ICMI remained in the limelight and pioneered various activities of symbolic importance to many Muslims. It established an Islamic (i.e., interest-free) bank and a Muslim quality newspaper that was meant to break the hold of the leading Christian-owned newspapers on the reading public.[1] In the new government, established after the 1992 elections, the Christian ministers who had long controlled the economic ministries were replaced by Muslims with ICMI connections. There was a notable decline of influence of Christians in the higher echelons of the intelligence services and the armed forces.