Freedom of Religion in Indonesia ― Renegotiating Islamic Thought and the Nation

Indonesia, widely known as the ’world’s largest Islamic nation’ and ’a tolerant’ and ’democratic’ nation, has been going through major changes in the post-New Order era. This era is known as ’reformasi’ and is marked by the removal of President Suharto in May 1998. Reformasi remains as a movement that is considered to be driving contemporary political change. This is despite the many failures of the movement’s aspirations and goals. Corruption remains as a source of daily political controversy. The free media and freedom of expression has allowed for radical and antagonistic voices to prosper. Decentralisation has given governors and regional representatives the power to implement laws that limit the religious freedom of minorities. Providing an analysis of recent developments of religious freedom in Indonesia in relation to the study of Islamic thought and theology, Freedom of Religion in Indonesia discusses religious freedom with an understanding of the history of Islamic thought and how it has developed, changed and diversified depending on time and place.

Abdullah Saeed is the Sultan of Oman Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Since 2010, he has been elected as a Fellow of Australian Academy of Humanities. Prof. Saeed is one of the leading experts on contemporary Islamic thought, the negotiation of text and context, Qur’anic hermeneutics and reform of Islamic law. Prof.Saeed has published a range of important books, including: Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam (Ashgate, 2002), Islamic Thought (Routlege, 2006) and The Qur’an (Routledge, 2008) and Islam and Human Rights (edited, 2012). Andy Fuller is a researcher based at Kunci Cultural Studies Center in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. His PhD is from The University of Tasmania (2010). Fuller’s first book is on the Indonesian writer, Seno Gumira Ajidarma (Insist Press, 2011). His second book is translations of the poetry of Afrizal Malna (forthcoming, Lontar Foundation, 2013). Fuller has written numerous articles on freedom of religion in Indonesia, including in Platzdasch’s forthcoming book, Religious Minorities in Muslim-Majority Localities of Southeast Asia: Areas of Toleration and Conflict.