As we draw nearer to Election Day on April 17, 2019, the bright rays of the political contestation and “celebration of democracy” are growing ever dimmer. The sky over national politics seems to be clouded by the lust for power displayed by a highly vocal minority, rigid political stances, and absolutism of subjective truths. These small streams of extreme ideas may threaten our unity and the civility of our democracy. Their militant stance has infiltrated our daily lives and the political elite seems to have no problems with exploiting them. These small streams are significantly expanding their power as they exploit primordialist sentiments and emotions alongside faith-based doctrines, especially through social media.
Consequently, the chess game of national politics are disrupted by the waste from speeches that do not exalt the ideas of togetherness, but instead deepen social divisions and the “us versus them” mentality through rigid primordialism. Public debates stagnate with no clear direction, trapped in dichotomous dialectics. Among the grass roots, each side is convinced by the conviction of their own opinions.
For instance, Prabowo Subianto’s “gentlemanly” approach of recognizing the Joko Widodo administration’s successful development initiatives, to which the incumbent responded graciously, has not resonated among grassroots supporters. When the debate moderator asked Prabowo to elaborate on his arguments, as he still had time, he felt no need to do so. He said he did not want to be “pitted” against Jokowi, whose achievements should be recognized.
Unfortunately, after the debate, grassroots supporters did not capitalize on the narratives that could bring the two sides together. Political polarization has become purely Manichaean, with each side being convinced of the absoluteness of their own truths.
Manichaeism is a doctrine that breaks down everything into good versus evil, righteousness versus wickedness and light versus dark, to absolutize social divisions. Common sense has no place in such a mindset to realize its tasks of searching for meaning in exalted messages.
A few rays of hope have pierced through the thick fog of Indonesian politics, thanks to the “Nine Stars” (the Nahdlatul Ulama) and the “Sun that Shines Brightly” (Muhammadiyah). The nation’s two largest Muslim organizations have enlightened Indonesians and helped them identify the fundamental problems of the times.
For instance, vice presidential candidate Ma’ruf Amin has stressed that the Jokowi-Ma’ruf camp will not accommodate radical groups. The 2019 presidential election is a moment to strengthen and protect national unity and the Pancasila state ideology against the transnational radicalism aiming to replace the country’s political system (REPUBLIKA.co.id, 1/12/2019). The reaffirmation is a response to an earlier statement from GP Ansor, the Nahdlatul Ulama’s youth wing, which said that radical groups were among the supporters of a certain candidate in the 2019 presidential election.
Meanwhile, at the recent Muhammadiyah tanwir (enlightenment) meeting themed “Enlightening Religiosity”, Muhammadiyah chairman Haedar Nashir called on all Muslims and Muhammadiyah members to spread the practices of Islam to enlighten others. This was vital amid the spread of Islamic practices carrying extreme ideas, accusing other Muslims of apostasy, hoaxes, politicizing religion and hate speech – all of which could potentially cause a civil war.
Among the tales of Javanese wayang (shadow puppet) is the infamous story of a civil war between five brothers who destroy one another in their claim for power (the Kurusetra War). The Indonesian people must not follow the small streams towards Kurusetra (Kompas, Saturday, 2/16/2019).
Vice President Jusuf Kalla made a similar statement in his closing speech at the Muhammadiyah tanwir meeting. He pointed out that while religion had become embroiled in matters that caused good to diminish, the influence of religion could also create major problems. Enlightenment was necessary so that religious practices venerate relationships between people (Kompas.com, 17/2/2019).
Aksin Wijaya further explained the potential for chaos and conflicts during the 2019 general election, who said that the currents and cycles of violence, if neglected, would eventually become the norm, and even the primary foundation of a society’s logic, as people would begin to see violence as the most effective way of managing human relationships. At this point, violence would become religious, whatever the religion (Aksin Wijaya, Dari Membela Tuhan ke Membela Manusia: Kritik atas Nalar Agamaisasi Kekerasan/From Defending God to Defending Humans: Criticisms on the Logic of Religious Violence, 2018).
The warnings from the leaders of the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah prove that the two organizations, and Indonesian Muslims in general, naturally and culturally foster humanitarian values and a life of harmony. The two religious organizations have tirelessly spread soothing messages of peace as the pillar and stronghold of Indonesia’s national unity.
It is the immediate duty of all Indonesian people to counter the currents of the Kurusetra narrative in the 2019 election. Further, all must strive to remind the people that the political contest is a celebration of the people’s victory, because it is the people that must ultimately emerge the victor, no matter who wins the election. (J. KRISTIADI, Senior Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS))
