Reconciling sharia with “Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia”: The ideology and framing strategies of the Indonesian Forum of Islamic Society (FUI)

Abstract

This study attempts to examine the ideologies and framing strategies of an active yet insufficiently studied Islamic revivalist movement in Indonesia that seeks to implement sharia (Islamic law) called Forum Umat Islam (FUI, or the Indonesian Forum of Islamic Society). Research in Islamic revivalist movements that emerged after the demise of the authoritarian Suharto regime in 1998 has been largely focused upon movements such as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI, or the Indonesian Party of Liberation), Forum Pembela Islam (FPI,or Islamic Defenders Front), and Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI, or the Council of Indonesian Holy Warriors). This is unfortunate because since its emergence in 2005, FUI has been playing an active role in social movement activities such as mass protests, public gatherings, media statements, and so forth. The study analyzes the ideology and framing strategies of FUI as it engages in a contestation of meaning in the country’s contemporary socio-political milieu. Based upon qualitative fieldwork in Indonesia, this study suggests that the manner in which FUI frames its pro-sharia issues is deliberately oriented toward convincing the Indonesian public that its pro-sharia programs and agendas are indeed for the betterment of the Republic of Indonesia—“NKRI” (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia which is The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia). This is done through, for example, reinterpreting and redefining Pancasila (Five Principles), which serves as the basic philosophy of the Republic of Indonesia.