Page 47 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

Arnakim, 2019

another general he regarded as more sympathetic to Islam, such as General Feisal Tanjung, and
reshuffled other key positions by 1992 (Vatikiotis, 1993; Hefner, 2000). The Islamisation of
Indonesian politics came to be known as ‘ijo royo-roy’ (literally means all greens) in the armed
forces. Many middle-class Muslims, meanwhile, especially from the alumni of HMI, joined
Golkar and gained certain significant positions in the government. Consequently, the
Islamisation penetrated the ruling party along the same lines as the ‘greening’ process within
the army (Hamayotsu, 2002, p. 370).

This significant shift from a perception of antagonistic Islamic political tendencies to offering
political patronage to the Muslim community can also be explained by the changing personal
behaviour and attitudes of the elite. Suharto’s personal life changed from being an abangan to
a practising Muslim. As his confidant, and later successor, Habibie himself queried Suharto on
these suspicions. As Vatikiotis (1996, p. 132) notes, Suharto answered by saying, “I was born
a Muslim, I will struggle for the Muslim cause.” By reasserting his faith, Suharto seemed to be
marking a fundamental break with the New Order’s disregard for mixing religion with politics.
This is again supported by his intention to call on his family to perform the umrah and hajj to
Makkah in 1991 and his increasingly frequent calling on appearing at Islamic festivals (Tebba,
2001).

Suharto evidently had improved his relationship with the Muslim community. Suharto’s
policies also began to reflect Muslim aspirations and interests. It was only in 1989 that the DPR
approved the establishment of the Islamic court, and, in 1991, the compilation of Islamic laws.
The Presidential Decree No. 1 Year 1991 that covered three areas, namely, marriage,
inheritance (Mirath), and endowment (Waqf) was undertaken despite non-Muslim protests
(Effendy, 2003). As a matter of fact, the proposal for the Islamic court had been forwarded to
the government during the Guided Democracy of the 1960s. Under the New Order government,
the proposal was again shelved due to unsympathetic attitude towards Islam as noted above.
At the same time, laws that recognized the establishment of private Islamic schools were
approved by the government, thus helping to further the process of Islamisation by giving
increased educational opportunities for young Muslims (Effendy, 2003).

Certification of halal food was also approved in the late 1980s. The Majelis Ulama Indonesia
(MUI) collaborated with the Ministry of Religion and Ministry of Health to allow the
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inspection of the ingredients of products before the endorsement of the product as halal. Since
then, food, drink and cosmetics ingredients are ensured their permissibility before being sold
to the public. Later on, the government agreed to establish the first bank based on Shari’ah in
Indonesia known as Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI) in 1991 (Tebba, 2001).

In fact, the Muslim community had proposed the Islamic bank since the 1970s. The Islamic
Development Bank (IBD) endorsed this proposal but it was rejected by the New Order
government due to the conflict of interest between conventional banks and Islamic banks. The
reason was that the New Order government did not yet want to accommodate Islamic
aspirations. The emergence of BMI in 1991 led to other Islamic projects, such as takaful as an
alternative to conventional insurance, and the Islamic credit system (BPR- Bank Perkreditan
Rakyat) for small projects based on the Profit and Loss Sharing Scheme (PLS). BMI has been
successful in attracting Muslim customers. This was due to its reliability and its ability to
weather through the 1997 economic crisis. As a result, there have been increased research and
studies on the Islamic economic and banking system in Islamic universities and high schools
(Tebba, 2001).

9 Halal mark is an indication that foodstuffs, drinks, and cosmetics were examined and being certified as halal
(lawful) products to be consumed by Muslims.

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