• Home
  • About RSIS
    • Introduction
    • Building the Foundations
    • Welcome Message
    • Board of Governors
    • Staff Profiles
      • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
      • Dean’s Office
      • Management
      • Distinguished Fellows
      • Faculty and Research
      • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
      • Visiting Fellows
      • Adjunct Fellows
      • Administrative Staff
    • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
    • RSIS Endowment Fund
    • Endowed Professorships
    • Career Opportunities
    • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
    • Research Centres
      • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
      • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
      • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
      • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
      • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
    • Research Programmes
      • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
      • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
    • Future Issues and Technology Cluster
    • [email protected] Newsletter
    • Other Research
      • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
    • Graduate Programmes Office
    • Overview
    • MSc (Asian Studies)
    • MSc (International Political Economy)
    • MSc (International Relations)
    • MSc (Strategic Studies)
    • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
    • PhD Programme
    • Exchange Partners and Programmes
    • How to Apply
    • Financial Assistance
    • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
    • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
    • Alumni
    • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
    • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
    • International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
    • SRP Executive Programme
    • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
    • RSIS Publications
      • Annual Reviews
      • Books
      • Bulletins and Newsletters
      • Commentaries
      • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
      • Commemorative / Event Reports
      • IDSS Paper
      • Interreligious Relations
      • Monographs
      • NTS Insight
      • Policy Reports
      • Working Papers
      • RSIS Publications for the Year
    • Glossary of Abbreviations
    • External Publications
      • Authored Books
      • Journal Articles
      • Edited Books
      • Chapters in Edited Books
      • Policy Reports
      • Working Papers
      • Op-Eds
      • External Publications for the Year
    • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
    • Great Powers
    • Sustainable Security
    • Other Resource Pages
    • Media Highlights
    • News Releases
    • Speeches
    • Vidcast Channel
    • Audio/Video Forums
  • Events
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSISVideoCast RSISVideoCast rsis.sg
Linkedin
instagram instagram rsis.sg
RSS
  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • Future Issues and Technology Cluster
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
      • MSc (Strategic Studies)
      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Assistance
      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
      • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
      • Alumni
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
      • International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
      • SRP Executive Programme
      • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
      • RSIS Publications
        • Annual Reviews
        • Books
        • Bulletins and Newsletters
        • Commentaries
        • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
        • Commemorative / Event Reports
        • IDSS Paper
        • Interreligious Relations
        • Monographs
        • NTS Insight
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • RSIS Publications for the Year
      • Glossary of Abbreviations
      • External Publications
        • Authored Books
        • Journal Articles
        • Edited Books
        • Chapters in Edited Books
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • Op-Eds
        • External Publications for the Year
      • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
      • Great Powers
      • Sustainable Security
      • Other Resource Pages
      • Media Highlights
      • News Releases
      • Speeches
      • Vidcast Channel
      • Audio/Video Forums
  • Events
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
  • instagram instagram rsis.sg
Connect

Getting to RSIS

Map

Address

Nanyang Technological University
Block S4, Level B3,
50 Nanyang Avenue,
Singapore 639798

View location on Google maps Click here for directions to RSIS

Get in Touch

    Connect with Us

      rsis.ntu
      rsis_ntu
      rsisntu
    RSISVideoCast RSISVideoCast rsisvideocast
      school/rsis-ntu
    instagram instagram rsis.sg
      RSS
    Subscribe to RSIS Publications
    Subscribe to RSIS Events

    RSIS Intranet

    S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
    Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University

    Skip to content

     
    • RSIS
    • Publication
    • RSIS Publications
    • CO07022 | The Rise of Religious Bylaws in Indonesia
    • Annual Reviews
    • Books
    • Bulletins and Newsletters
    • Commentaries
    • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
    • Commemorative / Event Reports
    • IDSS Paper
    • Interreligious Relations
    • Monographs
    • NTS Insight
    • Policy Reports
    • Working Papers
    • RSIS Publications for the Year

    CO07022 | The Rise of Religious Bylaws in Indonesia
    Luthfi Assyaukanie

    29 March 2007

    download pdf
    RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due credit to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected].

    Commentary

    TERROR and violence may be declining in Indonesia, but there is another development that Indonesians –particularly the non-Muslims and the secular Muslims — are following with concern. This is the emergence of religious bylaws. Coming on the back of new regional regulations known as “Perda” (peraturan daerah), such religious bylaws have now been adopted by no less than 35 Indonesian regions.

    The Perda themselves are a response to the regional autonomy law that was enacted in 1999. This regional autonomy law stated that local governments at the district level are entitled to have their own implementation regulations. The central government will no longer interfere in the local administration. The law that introduced Perda itself was part of the reform agenda put forward in 1998 following the fall of the Suharto regime.

    Some Perda are purely secular as they deal with administrative matters such as the formation of the parliamentary system, the rules of elections, and the constitution of local government. Others deal with economic matters such as tax and fiscal regulations. There are, however, some Perda that distinctly bear an ideological agenda to Islamize the local governments. They are referred to as “religious bylaws” or in Indonesian “Perda bernuansa syari’ah” (Perda with Shari’ah nuances).

    The Failure of Political Islam

    Apart from the regional autonomy law, the emergence of religious bylaws in the last five years has been triggered by the current political situation. Since 2002, the trend in Islamization at the central level has suffered a setback. The 2002 annual meeting of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the highest policymaking body in Indonesia, annulled a proposal to insert the Jakarta Charter into the Constitution. The Jakarta Charter is a constitutional amendment dating back to the 1940s. Had it been adopted, the Jakarta Charter would have obliged Muslims to implement the shari’ah in the country. Throughout the history of the Indonesian nation-state, many Muslims have been struggling for this charter.

    Islamists consider the 2002 MPR meeting as a disastrous event. The proposal to implement shari’ah was only supported by two small political parties; major Islamic organizations such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) were ironically against the proposal. This setback was worsened by the failure of the Islamic political parties to win the majority of the votes in the 2004 general election, even collectively.

    The limited support for the Islamization agenda at the central level forced the Islamists to turn their attention to the level of the local government. An impetus for this reorientation is Aceh, which has been given the status of a special region (daerah istimewa) to implement its own local government and laws. For many regions, Aceh has become the role model for the implementation of shari’ah in the country.

    There are other factors why such religious bylaws are now in high demand. The secular government has been considered to have failed in managing the country. Corruption is still rampant, crime and social malaise have shown no signs of abating, poverty is everywhere while disasters seem to have become frequent. All these factors are influencing Muslims to seek solace in shari’ah.

    Freedom Issue

    The application of shari’ah through Perda has been carried out by several regions at the district level. It should be noted that apart from Aceh, the autonomy system in Indonesia is not at the provincial level, but at the lower level of the district. Currently, about 35 districts have implemented or are in the process of implementing the religious bylaws.

    Each district implementing the religious bylaws have different concerns, but generally they address seven issues; (i) the obligation to implement the shariah; (ii) decency in dressing and moral conduct; (iii) the obligation to read the Qur’an; (iv) male and female interaction; (v) gambling; (vi) the drinking of liquor; and (vii) alms giving.

    Some of these issues are embedded in a general bylaw, such as the issue of gambling – – a social habit which has been opposed by the Indonesian government at the central level. Others, however, are distinctly religious. Some critics say that there are aspects of the religious bylaws that have created problems not only with regard to Indonesian culture and tradition but also to the Constitution. A bylaw in Tangerang (Perda No 8/2005), for instance, prohibits women to go out at night. This Perda has stirred controversy amongst many Indonesian women who have to work till late night.

    Some Muslim scholars openly state that certain religious bylaws discriminate against women. Musdah Mulia, a Muslim intellectual and activist, criticizes such a Perda as achieving nothing but encroaching women’s rights. In Padang, West Sumatra, a Perda on Islamic dress (busana muslimah) is said to impinge on people’s freedom as the Perda is not only applied to Muslims but also to non-Muslims. The Bishops Conference of Indonesia reported that several Christian students in Pasaman Barat, West Sumatra, complained that they had to wear Islamic dress to school even though theirs is a public school which is supposed to be faith-neutral.

    Bylaws and Politics

    The trend towards shari’ah implementation in some regions is not always driven by pure ideological impetus. Some politicians see shariah as beneficial for their own political standing. Thus, support for the shariah bylaw comes not only from the Islamic political parties but also from secular ones such as the Democrat Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Golkar Party of Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

    These trends are the background for the repeated warnings by Muslim leaders from the liberal camp, such as former president Abdurrahman Wahid and former chairman of Muhammadiyah, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, to Indonesia’s politicians that they risk turning their country into another Afghanistan.

    About the Author

    Luthfi Assyaukanie is a Post-doctoral Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. 

    Categories: Commentaries / Religion in Contemporary Society / Southeast Asia and ASEAN

    Last updated on 07/10/2014

    RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due credit to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected].

    Commentary

    TERROR and violence may be declining in Indonesia, but there is another development that Indonesians –particularly the non-Muslims and the secular Muslims — are following with concern. This is the emergence of religious bylaws. Coming on the back of new regional regulations known as “Perda” (peraturan daerah), such religious bylaws have now been adopted by no less than 35 Indonesian regions.

    The Perda themselves are a response to the regional autonomy law that was enacted in 1999. This regional autonomy law stated that local governments at the district level are entitled to have their own implementation regulations. The central government will no longer interfere in the local administration. The law that introduced Perda itself was part of the reform agenda put forward in 1998 following the fall of the Suharto regime.

    Some Perda are purely secular as they deal with administrative matters such as the formation of the parliamentary system, the rules of elections, and the constitution of local government. Others deal with economic matters such as tax and fiscal regulations. There are, however, some Perda that distinctly bear an ideological agenda to Islamize the local governments. They are referred to as “religious bylaws” or in Indonesian “Perda bernuansa syari’ah” (Perda with Shari’ah nuances).

    The Failure of Political Islam

    Apart from the regional autonomy law, the emergence of religious bylaws in the last five years has been triggered by the current political situation. Since 2002, the trend in Islamization at the central level has suffered a setback. The 2002 annual meeting of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the highest policymaking body in Indonesia, annulled a proposal to insert the Jakarta Charter into the Constitution. The Jakarta Charter is a constitutional amendment dating back to the 1940s. Had it been adopted, the Jakarta Charter would have obliged Muslims to implement the shari’ah in the country. Throughout the history of the Indonesian nation-state, many Muslims have been struggling for this charter.

    Islamists consider the 2002 MPR meeting as a disastrous event. The proposal to implement shari’ah was only supported by two small political parties; major Islamic organizations such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) were ironically against the proposal. This setback was worsened by the failure of the Islamic political parties to win the majority of the votes in the 2004 general election, even collectively.

    The limited support for the Islamization agenda at the central level forced the Islamists to turn their attention to the level of the local government. An impetus for this reorientation is Aceh, which has been given the status of a special region (daerah istimewa) to implement its own local government and laws. For many regions, Aceh has become the role model for the implementation of shari’ah in the country.

    There are other factors why such religious bylaws are now in high demand. The secular government has been considered to have failed in managing the country. Corruption is still rampant, crime and social malaise have shown no signs of abating, poverty is everywhere while disasters seem to have become frequent. All these factors are influencing Muslims to seek solace in shari’ah.

    Freedom Issue

    The application of shari’ah through Perda has been carried out by several regions at the district level. It should be noted that apart from Aceh, the autonomy system in Indonesia is not at the provincial level, but at the lower level of the district. Currently, about 35 districts have implemented or are in the process of implementing the religious bylaws.

    Each district implementing the religious bylaws have different concerns, but generally they address seven issues; (i) the obligation to implement the shariah; (ii) decency in dressing and moral conduct; (iii) the obligation to read the Qur’an; (iv) male and female interaction; (v) gambling; (vi) the drinking of liquor; and (vii) alms giving.

    Some of these issues are embedded in a general bylaw, such as the issue of gambling – – a social habit which has been opposed by the Indonesian government at the central level. Others, however, are distinctly religious. Some critics say that there are aspects of the religious bylaws that have created problems not only with regard to Indonesian culture and tradition but also to the Constitution. A bylaw in Tangerang (Perda No 8/2005), for instance, prohibits women to go out at night. This Perda has stirred controversy amongst many Indonesian women who have to work till late night.

    Some Muslim scholars openly state that certain religious bylaws discriminate against women. Musdah Mulia, a Muslim intellectual and activist, criticizes such a Perda as achieving nothing but encroaching women’s rights. In Padang, West Sumatra, a Perda on Islamic dress (busana muslimah) is said to impinge on people’s freedom as the Perda is not only applied to Muslims but also to non-Muslims. The Bishops Conference of Indonesia reported that several Christian students in Pasaman Barat, West Sumatra, complained that they had to wear Islamic dress to school even though theirs is a public school which is supposed to be faith-neutral.

    Bylaws and Politics

    The trend towards shari’ah implementation in some regions is not always driven by pure ideological impetus. Some politicians see shariah as beneficial for their own political standing. Thus, support for the shariah bylaw comes not only from the Islamic political parties but also from secular ones such as the Democrat Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Golkar Party of Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

    These trends are the background for the repeated warnings by Muslim leaders from the liberal camp, such as former president Abdurrahman Wahid and former chairman of Muhammadiyah, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, to Indonesia’s politicians that they risk turning their country into another Afghanistan.

    About the Author

    Luthfi Assyaukanie is a Post-doctoral Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. 

    Categories: Commentaries / Religion in Contemporary Society

    Last updated on 07/10/2014

    Back to top

    Terms of Use | Privacy Statement
    Copyright © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. All rights reserved.
    This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By continuing, you are agreeing to the use of cookies on your device as described in our privacy policy. Learn more
    OK
    Latest Book
    CO07022 | The Rise of Religious Bylaws in Indonesia

    Commentary

    TERROR and violence may be declining in Indonesia, but there is another deve ...
    more info