Manufacturing religious cleavages for the 2019 presidential election?
Conventional wisdom tells us that with the appointment of Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate for the 2019 presidential election, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has shielded himself from religious-based attacks for the campaign. Instead, the economy, Jokowi hopes, will become the key campaign issue. However, several Indonesian cities have seen a series of demonstrations, collectively known as Aksi Bela Tauhid (Defending Tauhid [Oneness of God] Action), which appears to be an effort to exploit Islam for political purposes and undermine Jokowi’s support base by attacking one of his main supporters, the NU (Nahdlatul Ulama).
Flag-burning and demonstrations
The spark for these demonstrations was a two-minute clip depicting members of Banser [Barisan Ansor Serba Guna], the paramilitary wing of the NU, burning a black flag bearing the Islamic declaration of faith [shahāda] during the National Santri Day [Hari Santri] in Garut, West Java, on 22 October 2018. What was initially believed to be an act of nationalism in burning a flag associated with the HTI (Indonesian Hizbut Tahrir), a transnational movement outlawed by the Jokowi government, has now been framed as insulting to Islam or an act of blasphemy.
Various individual Muslims and organizations, including Muhammadiyah and the MUI (Council of Indonesian Ulama), have expressed regret over the incident and have demanded that Banser apologize to the Muslim community. The chairman of GP Ansor, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, said that he would issue a stern warning to Banser members who burned the flag, but refused to apologise for the incident since he believed that the flag symbolised the HTI.
His refusal to apologise led to the series of demonstrations attended by thousands of people in several cities after Friday prayer on 26 October 2018 and 2 November 2018. Protesters at the rally in Sukabumi, West Java, demanded that the flag burners be prosecuted and that Banser apologize to the Muslim community. If Banser did not comply, they would demand that the government ban this group. During the rally in Jakarta on 2 November 2008, one of their demands was for NU to apologize for the incident and for the purification of the NU from liberalism and any other deviant beliefs. The organizer of the rallies is the same as the organizer of rallies against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) in 2016 and 2017, namely the GNPF (National Movement to Safeguard Fatwas), which includes people such as Yusuf Martak.
Conclusion
In response to the escalation and politicisation of the issue, Vice President Jusuf Kalla invited leaders of mainstream Muslim organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, Al-Wasliyah, and Persatuan Islam (Union of Islam), to meet in his office on 26 October 2018. These leaders then issued a joint statement, calling on all Muslims to be united and not allow any provocations to divide them. The meeting was followed by a similar meeting between leaders of Muhammadiyah and NU in the headquarters of Muhammadiyah in Menteng, Jakarta on 31 October 2018, which also issued a similar statement.
The issue of the controversial flag-burning shows that religion can still be politicized during the presidential electoral contest. Although Jokowi has sought to shield himself from sectarian issues by appointing Ma’ruf Amin as vice-presidential candidate, the Indonesian President is still vulnerable to attacks based on the politicization of cleavages within the Islamic community.
Dr Ahmad Najib Burhani is Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute. This is a condensed version of a Commentary piece which can be found here: https://www.iseas.edu.sg/medias/commentaries/item/8521-aksi-bela-tauhid-manufacturing-religious-cleavages-for-the-2019-presidential-election-by-ahmad-najib-burhani