Development, Democracy, and Post-Islamism in Indonesia

Abstract

The democratization of Indonesia since the late 1990s has inspired an unprecedented atmosphere of openness and inclusion in the country. Accordingly, many political organizations including Islamic parties and movements have liberalized their organizational philosophies to accommodate a wider and more diverse range of issues and concerns. Several Islamist groups too, while maintaining their Islamic identity, have since transitioned toward secularizing their goals and objectives as a means to adapt to the changing political environment. Political analysts refer to this development as Post-Islamism. To understand  Post-Islamism in Indonesia, this article analyzes the historical  development of political Islam  through the interplays between changing global-historical currents and local cultural-political conditions.