Supriyanto Abdi
The University of Melbourne
The politics of regulating religious freedom: The political and religious origins of (anti)-blasphemy discourse in the post new order Indonesia
This paper examines the construction of state’s discourse on ‘blasphemy’ and its ongoing reconfiguration in the post-New Order Indonesia. It will be divided into three main parts: The first part briefly traces the historical and political origins of state’s discourse of ‘blasphemy’ and related discourse of ‘recognized religion’ in Indonesia and how it has been perpetuated, used and abused by various political regimes. The second part analyses the extent to which these two state discourses have remained intact and retained their political and ‘disciplinary’ power in the post-New Order Indonesia. The third part examines the extent to which religious colour has been added to the debate over blasphemy and religious freedom in the post-New Order era with the rise of two competing religious trends: ‘Islamism’ and ‘Islamic liberalism’. Particular attention will be payed to the way each group frames and negotiates their competing discourses on Islam-state relations and religious freedom in this discursive contest. The paper will be concluded by a theoretical reflection on the possibility and limits of negotiating a liberal mode of governing religions within the context of competing trends of Islamization and political liberalization.
Retrieved from: http://international-conference.unp.ac.id/presenter-abstract/supriyanto-abdi.html
Islam, Religious Freedom and the Appropriation of Liberalism in the Post-New Order Indonesia
The configuration of Islam-state relations and religious freedom in the post-New Order Indonesia has been subject to ongoing contestation and negotiation among various religious and ideological groups. Focused on a recent public debate over the adequacy of the Presidential Decree No.1/1965 on the prevention of misuse of and/or blasphemous action towards religion, this paper will examine this ongoing dircursive contest over religious freedom in Indonesia and the extent to which competing conceptions of state-religion relations and religious freedom are appropriated and negotiated by competing actors (state agents and various civil society forces, including Muslim groups). In particular, this paper will discuss the extent to which liberal discourses on religious freedom such as state neutrality and public-private divide have been negotiated and appropriated by certain ‘liberal' Muslim intellectuals and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) activists. The discussion will be framed within two particular challenges that confront these ‘liberal' Muslim intellectuals and activists: the rise of Islamists' discourse of Islamizing political and public sphere and the existing state's ideological and political discourse. The paper will argue that while the democratization discourse has broadened the discursive zone for liberal discourse on religious freedom, the accompanying discourse of Islamization and the existing state's ideological discourse has set some discursive limits for it.
Supriyanto Abdi is a PhD student at the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne. He obtained his Bachelor degree (Sarjana) in Islamic Studies from the Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta (2000) and Master of Contemporary Asian Analysis from the University of Melbourne (2005).
Retrieved from: http://sekadarpendapat.blogspot.com/2010/11/cils-conference.html
The University of Melbourne
The politics of regulating religious freedom: The political and religious origins of (anti)-blasphemy discourse in the post new order Indonesia
This paper examines the construction of state’s discourse on ‘blasphemy’ and its ongoing reconfiguration in the post-New Order Indonesia. It will be divided into three main parts: The first part briefly traces the historical and political origins of state’s discourse of ‘blasphemy’ and related discourse of ‘recognized religion’ in Indonesia and how it has been perpetuated, used and abused by various political regimes. The second part analyses the extent to which these two state discourses have remained intact and retained their political and ‘disciplinary’ power in the post-New Order Indonesia. The third part examines the extent to which religious colour has been added to the debate over blasphemy and religious freedom in the post-New Order era with the rise of two competing religious trends: ‘Islamism’ and ‘Islamic liberalism’. Particular attention will be payed to the way each group frames and negotiates their competing discourses on Islam-state relations and religious freedom in this discursive contest. The paper will be concluded by a theoretical reflection on the possibility and limits of negotiating a liberal mode of governing religions within the context of competing trends of Islamization and political liberalization.
Retrieved from: http://international-conference.unp.ac.id/presenter-abstract/supriyanto-abdi.html
Islam, Religious Freedom and the Appropriation of Liberalism in the Post-New Order Indonesia
The configuration of Islam-state relations and religious freedom in the post-New Order Indonesia has been subject to ongoing contestation and negotiation among various religious and ideological groups. Focused on a recent public debate over the adequacy of the Presidential Decree No.1/1965 on the prevention of misuse of and/or blasphemous action towards religion, this paper will examine this ongoing dircursive contest over religious freedom in Indonesia and the extent to which competing conceptions of state-religion relations and religious freedom are appropriated and negotiated by competing actors (state agents and various civil society forces, including Muslim groups). In particular, this paper will discuss the extent to which liberal discourses on religious freedom such as state neutrality and public-private divide have been negotiated and appropriated by certain ‘liberal' Muslim intellectuals and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) activists. The discussion will be framed within two particular challenges that confront these ‘liberal' Muslim intellectuals and activists: the rise of Islamists' discourse of Islamizing political and public sphere and the existing state's ideological and political discourse. The paper will argue that while the democratization discourse has broadened the discursive zone for liberal discourse on religious freedom, the accompanying discourse of Islamization and the existing state's ideological discourse has set some discursive limits for it.
Supriyanto Abdi is a PhD student at the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne. He obtained his Bachelor degree (Sarjana) in Islamic Studies from the Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta (2000) and Master of Contemporary Asian Analysis from the University of Melbourne (2005).
Retrieved from: http://sekadarpendapat.blogspot.com/2010/11/cils-conference.html
No comments:
Post a Comment