Islamist Parties and Terrorism: Hidayat Nur Wahid?s Inanity and Why He Deserves a Second Look

By Zachary Abuza

In April 2004, Indonesia held parliamentary elections, deemed as the freest and fairest in the country�s history. The surprise in that election was how well the Islamist parties did. In the 1999 elections held in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the strongman Soeharto, Islamist parties only carried 14 percent of the popular vote and 16 percent of the seats, and most analysts assumed that they would fair no better in 2004. Yet in last year�s election, depending on how you categorize the parties (Islamist, Islamist but becoming more moderate, Muslim but not Islamist, etc), they garnered 21.3 percent of the vote. The party that did the best was the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) with 7.3 percent of the vote, including in the capital of Jakarta. For more on the role of Islamist parties in Indonesian politics see the author's study Uncivil Islam: Muslim, Politics and Violence in Indonesia available here link

Many people asserted that PKS� share of the vote increased by 650% between 1999 and 2004 because they down played their Islamist agenda. They never spoke publicly about establishing an Islamic state, or the imposition of sharia. The Muslim Brotherhood-linked cadre party focused on anti-corruption and good governance; incredibly popular in a country that year after year is ranked as one of the world�s most corrupt. But their commitment to sharia and the gradual imposition of Islamic law remains unchanged. The party expects to make significant gains in 2009, and publicly states that their goal is to attain the presidency in the 2014 election. Though PKS is a member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono�s ruling coalition, they have a vested interest in thwarting progress of the secular state.

Many people have hoped that by being part of the ruling coalition, by being engaged in electoral politics PKS would have to temper � if not completely abandon - their Islamist agenda. They have done nothing of the sort, and instead injected Islamist aspects into all pieces of the legislation. They can�t have the whole salami at once, so they are doing it a slice at a time.

The former head and spiritual leader of the PKS (and their likely presidential candidate), Hidayat Nur Wahid, is a Saudi trained cleric, who has never made a secret of his financial and theological links to the Kingdom. Following his party�s success in the 2004 election, he became the speaker of the upper house of parliament.

And yet he is a man who has gone and met with Abu Bakar Bashir the spiritual head of JI in prison in a show of Islamic solidarity. It was his influence that many believe led to Bashir�s appalling light sentence of 30 months, despite his acknowledged role as the head of JI.

One might not expect Hidayat Nur Wahid to come out and condemn the bombing, though one would wish he did. For that matter, the Ulama�s Council of Indonesia has made nary a peep about the attacks. Recently they have issued hard-line fatwahs attacking progressive Muslim organizations and scholars, such as the Liberal Islam Network, while Islamic militants have recently attacked Ahmadiya mosques.

But what is most galling is Hidayat Nur Wahid�s comments in today�s Sydney Morning Herald link link in which he blamed the bombings on rivalry within the tourism industry:
"I have valid information that these acts may be related to interstate competition in the tourism industry," he said.
This is an outrage. Indonesian Muslims should not stand for this inanity. This was the work of a violent Islamist organization committed to brining about an Islamic state in Indonesia through violence and fear. Indonesians should stand up for the progressive, tolerant Islam that has promoted democracy, tolerance, women�s and human rights.

And the Indonesian government must ban JI. Under the current law, membership within JI is technically not illegal. They cannot keep on hiding behind the claims that since JI is not registered, it cannot be banned, nor can they claim that it is pointless to ban something that "is not a formal organization with card-carrying members."

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