ISLAMISM, GOVERNMENT REGULATION, AND THE AHMADIYAH CONTROVERSIES IN INDONESIA

• Main Author: Ismatu Ropi
• Format: Article
• Language: Arabic
• Published: State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga 2010-08-01
• Series: Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies
• Online Access: http://journal.aljamiah.org/index.php/AJ/article/view/12

<p><em>Over the past three decades, Ahmadiyah has been at the center of one of</em><strong> </strong><em>the most significant controversies within the Indonesian Muslim community,</em><strong> </strong><em>particularly after the issuance of MUI’s (</em>Majelis Ulama Indonesia<em>/The</em><strong> </strong><em>Council of Indonesian Ulama) Fatwas in 1980 and 2005 respectively. This</em><strong> </strong><em>paper undertakes a discussion of Ahmadiyah, reviewing its initial contacts with</em><strong> </strong><em>several Muslim organizations such as Muhammadiyah and Syarikat Islam,</em><strong> </strong><em>its roles in disseminating the idea of progressive and modern Islam among</em><strong> </strong><em>Muslim scholars in 1940s to 1960s. The second part will review internal</em><strong> </strong><em>and external factors contributing to the issuance of MUI Fatwa 1980 in the</em><strong> </strong><em>light of preserving orthodoxy within the Indonesian Muslim community. It</em><strong> </strong><em>will also highlight in brief the government response toward the Ahmadiyah’s</em><strong> </strong><em>case. The last part focuses mainly on the Fatwa 2005 and its impact on the</em><strong> </strong><em>more strained relationships within the Muslim community in Indonesia. It</em><strong> </strong><em>will examine socio-political conditions before and after the Fatwa 2005 in</em><strong> </strong><em>light of the steady rise of a new model of Islamism in Indonesia and the</em><strong> </strong><em>conservative shift within the MUI itself, particularly after the downfall of the</em><strong> </strong><em>New Order’s regime in 1998. The arguments ‘pro and contra’ Fatwa 2005,</em><strong> </strong><em>as well as the ‘awkward position’ of the new government on this issue, will</em><strong> </strong><em>be analysed in detail.</em><strong></strong></p> <strong>Keywords: </strong>Ahmadiyah, MUI, Fatwa, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad