As with many newly democratic countries, Indonesia faces common problems such as crisis of leadership, ethnic and communal conflicts, and the clash of Islam and the West. Indonesia, Islam, and Democracy: Dynamics in a Global Context brings fresh insight to the growing influence of Islam which is often ignored by foreign observers. Azyumardi Azra, a noted historian, breaks away from the common analysis of the current political situation and uncovers the lineages of the influence of Islam in Indonesian politics since the collapse of the Suharto era. Azyumardi Azra is Professor of History and Rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta. An internationally recognized scholar, he has presented papers in numerous conferences at home and abroad and has lectured at various universities such as NYU, Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, Leiden, Melbourne, Kyoto, Hawaii, at Manoa and many others. He is an honorary professor at Melbourne University (2004-9) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan. In April 2005 he was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa in Humane Letters from Carroll College, Helena, Montana, USA. He has written eighteen books, the latest is The Origin of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia.

This book explains how the leaders of the world's largest Islamic organizations understand tolerance, explicating how politics works in a Muslim-majority democracy.

Most scholarly works conducted within the period of post-New Order Indonesia have underlined the fact that Indonesian Islamists reject the notion of democracy; no adequate explanation nonetheless has been attempted thus far as to how and to what extent democracy is being rejected. This book is dedicated to filling the gap by examining the complex reality behind the Islamists' rejection of democracy. It focuses its analysis on two streams of Islamism: the two Islamist groups that seek "extra-parliamentary" means to achieve their goals, that is, MMI and HTI, and the PKS Islamists who choose the existing political party system as a means of their power struggle. As this book has demonstrated, there are times when the two streams of Islamism share a common platform of understanding and interpretation as well as an intersection where they are in conflict with one another. The interplay between contested meanings over particular theological matters on normative grounds and power contests among the Islamists proves to be critical in shaping this complexity.

Agonistic Democracy and Islamism in Indonesia offers an in-depth analysis of the dynamic relationship between Islamism and democratic governance in post-Suharto Indonesia. Drawing from extensive fieldwork in Cianjur, Indonesia, this book challenges prevailing assumptions about the inherent incompatibility between democracy and Islamism, offering new perspectives on how these forces can coexist through processes of contestation and compromise. By examining the complex socio-political landscape where Islamist and nationalist movements vie for influence, the book highlights the fluidity of both ideologies in adapting to local contexts. The study sheds light on the broader implications for democracy in Muslim-majority countries, emphasizing the importance of context-specific analysis in understanding the intersection of religion, politics, and governance. Ideal for scholars of political Islam, Southeast Asian studies, and democratic theory, Agonistic Democracy and Islamism in Indonesia provides a crucial contribution to debates on the future of democracy in pluralistic societies.

Politics in Indonesia describes the attitudes, aspirations and frustrations of the key players in Indonesian politics as they struggle to shape the future. The book focuses on the role of political Islam; Douglas E. Ramage shows that the state has been remarkably successful in maintaining secular political institutions in a predominantly Muslim society. He analyses the way in which political questions are framed with reference to the national ideology, the Pancasila.

This book starts with the prevailing idea of a conflicting relationship between Islam and the Western concept of democracy, both in theory and in practice. With this backdrop, the author addresses the crucial question—Is Islam compatible with democracy? The book offers very useful discussions in framing the contemporary debates surrounding Islam and democracy, treads through diverse theoretical Islamic texts like the ‘Quran’ and ‘Sunnah’, discusses the historical evolution of the concept of Shura—the primary source of democratic ethics in Islam, provides an assessment of the views and visions of some selected Muslim scholars (from 19th to 21st centuries) on Islam–democracy compatibility, and examines the elements of compatibility between Islam and democracy without ignoring the basic differences that exist between the Western approach to democracy and Islamic political thought.

"This is an excellent book which will have a major impact on the current debate about the relationship between Islam and politics in Indonesia. Its greatest strength is its innovative characterization of three Indonesian Muslim models of polity, as opposed to the normal two, Islamic state and secular state. Assyaukanie brilliantly delineates a third model, which he calls the Religious Democratic State, in the process greatly clarifying our understanding of the previous models, which he now proposes to label the Islamic Democratic State and the Liberal Democratic State. Another strength of the book is methodological. Each of its arguments is solidly grounded in the thoughts and actions of particular players, Indonesian Muslim thinkers and activists." - Professor William R. Liddle, The Ohio State University, USA

Islam's relationship to liberal-democratic politics has emerged as one of the most pressing and contentious issues in international affairs. In Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy, Nader Hashemi challenges the widely held belief among social scientists that religious politics and liberal-democratic development are structurally incompatible. This book argues for a rethinking of democratic theory so that it incorporates the variable of religion in the development of liberal democracy. In the process, it proves that an indigenous theory of Muslim secularism is not only possible, but is a necessary requirement for the advancement of liberal democracy in Muslim societies.

Islam and Citizenship in Indonesia examines the conditions facilitating democracy, women’s rights, and inclusive citizenship in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country and the third largest democracy in the world. The book shows that Muslim understandings of Islamic traditions and ethics have coevolved with the understanding and practice of democracy and citizen belonging. Following thirty-two years of authoritarian rule, in 1998 this sprawling Southeast Asian country returned to electoral democracy. The achievement brought with it, however, an upsurge in both the numbers and assertiveness of Islamist militias, as well as a sharp increase in violence against religious minorities. The resulting mobilizations have pitted the Muslim supporters of an Indonesian variety of inclusive citizenship against populist proponents of Islamist majoritarianism. Seen from this historical example, the book demonstrates that Muslim actors come to know and practice Islam in a manner not determined in an unchanging way by scriptural commands but in coevolution with broader currents in politics, society, and citizen belonging. By exploring these questions in both an Indonesian and comparative context, this book offers important lessons on the challenge of democracy and inclusive citizenship in the Muslim-majority world. Well-written and informative, this book will be suitable for adoption in university courses on Islam, Southeast Asian Politics, Indonesian and Asian studies, as well as courses dealing with religion, democracy, and citizen belonging in multicultural societies around the world. The book will be of interest to the general reader with an interest in Islam, citizenship, and democracy.