Militant and liberal Islam: The unwanted twin children of modernization – an Indonesian experience

Abstract

This paper examines Islamic militancy and liberalism as particular phenomena resulting from a complex interplay between Islam and modernity within the context of Indonesia. The development of both groups is highly conditioned and shaped by modernization. The difference in backgrounds leads further to different directions in understanding and practicing Islam among both groups. Nevertheless, the present day contest between the liberals and the militants over the ‘right’ place of Islam in Indonesia has deep roots in the past and reflects Muslims’ theological, historical, socio-political and intellectual struggle before modernity. Accelerated by the huge modernization project, the emergence of militancy and liberalism articulates the dynamics of Indonesian Muslims’ negotiation with Islam, the modern world, and their social reality. This paper examines the dialectical interaction between the two different groups of Muslims, in response particularly to the relationship between Islam and modernity.