Page 43 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

Arnakim, 2019

al-Islami) in which Natsir himself was one of the vice-chairmen. Consequently, the DDII has
been one of the beneficiaries of Saudi Arabia’s financial contributions (Bruinessen, 2002, p.
123).

The DDII uses its own media to convey its message to the masses. This included a weekly
known as Media Dakwah. Since it was partly sponsored by the outside Muslim world,
especially Saudi Arabia, the DDII also followed the developments in the Muslim world. As
such, in the late 1980s, a committee was created in order to organise demonstrations of
Indonesian Muslims’ solidarity with Palestine, Bosnia, Chechnya, and so forth (Hefner, 2000,
p. 110). This committee is known as the Indonesian Committee for Solidarity with the Islamic
World (KISDI- Komite Indonesia Untuk Solidaritas dengan Dunia Islam). On the other hand,
KISDI was also very concerned with external threats against Islam especially towards
Indonesian Muslims. Its founders belonged to the most fundamentalist group of DDII, who
were firm believers in the Western Jewish and Christian conspiracy to weaken and destroy
Islam (Hefner, 2000). Therefore, they supported Suharto during his last years. They also
extended their support for Habibie’s transitional government and defended him from the leftist
and non-Muslims threats who wanted to topple his government (Hefner, 2000).
It also should be noted that from the beginning of the 1980s, there were many books on Islam
that were published, not only those authored by Indonesian scholars, but also translations from
foreign works, especially from the Middle East countries such as Iran, Egypt, and other Arab
countries (Tamara, 1986, p. 6). In 1982 a publishing house in Bandung was set up using an
Iranian name ‘Mizan’ which emphasised Islamic teachings, including the shi’iate school of
thought. The publishing house of the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB- Institut Teknologi
Bandung), Pustaka Bulan Bintang, and later on Gema Insani Pers, also publish Islamic books
(Tamara, 1986).

The books from outside Indonesia that were translated include those such as the writings of
2
Hassan al-Banna, Abu’l –A’la Mawdudi and several works of Syed Qutb. Inevitably their
thoughts have been influential among the Indonesian Muslims. Several works of Iranian
intellectuals behind the Iran revolution such as Ali Shari’ati and Khomeini, whose writings
were very popular during the revolution in Iran, and later, Mustafa Muthahari, were also
translated into the Indonesian language. As such, discussions on Islam spread throughout the
country. Publications on Islam easily sold out and thus Islam emerged to predominate the
intellectual and cultural life of the Indonesian middle class. The Shiite school of thought also
3
emerged in Indonesia, especially in Bandung, as a result of the publications.
Upon Suharto’s domestic political consolidation in 1978, the government introduced the
Normalisasi Kehidupan Kampus (Normalization of Campus Life, NKK) (Ridjal & Karim,
1991; Widjojo, 1999). It was used to control students’ activities while emphasising that
campuses should be places for studying and not an arena for political discussions. Nevertheless,
the NKK had a significant and surprising side effect. Universities, in fact, were at the forefront
of political discussion and activities. In the 1950s and 1960s Indonesian national universities
were controlled by secular nationalist groups, whereas committed Muslims were the weaker of
the factions in the student body. However, in the late 1970s, there was a rapid growth of several

2 The books that were translated are, Hassan al-Banna, Risalah (Letter); Sayyid Qutb such Ma’alim fi al-tariq
(Signposts on the Road), his Ma’rakah at Taqaaliid (Struggling Against the Blind Imitation); and Abu’a –A’la
Mawdudi, Understanding Islam. These are being translated and published in the 1980s.
3 Jalaluddin Rakhmat was known as one of the Muslim scholars who have been associated with the spreading the
Shiite teaching in Indonesia. He established the al-Mutahariyah in Bandung. Indonesia has been the most liberal
Muslim country in the region, in which the government does not control religious thought. As such the Shiite has
been to some extent, accepted by some Muslims in Indonesia.

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