Indonesia's ulama and politics. Caught between legitimising the status quo and searching for alternatives

Abstract

The relationship between ulama, ‘men of Islamic learning,’ and umara, ‘holders of political power,’ has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, ulama at least in the Sunni tradition have always provided religious legitimation for the de facto power holders. On the other hand, there is also a general awareness that power corrupts and that proximity to those in power impairs the ulama’s moral authority and the integrity of their learning. There is a well-known hadith to that effect, often quoted in popular sermons: “the worst among the ulama are those who go and see the umara, while the best among the umara are those who come and see the ulama.” It has been pointed out that this hadith is actually ‘weak’ (da`if), meaning that its attribution to the Prophet is considered very dubious.[1] The fact that it is frequently quoted by ulama and popular preachers in Indonesia nevertheless indicates that the saying expresses something about which they have strong feelings.