Maintaining Democracy
If we see Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah as representatives of Muslims in Indonesia, we can say the pattern of sociality developing among the Muslim population is conducive to upholding democracy.
Ulil Abshar Abdalla
In recent years, several experts have expressed concern over a global phenomenon known as democratic backsliding. The spread of democracy increased significantly since the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, then stagnated globally since the mid-2000s. As Rizal Sukma wrote in this column (Kompas, 22/12/2022), signs of this decline have also been observed in Indonesia.
But that is not what I want to discuss. What I want to point out are the efforts that various parties in Indonesia, especially Muslims, have made to maintain democracy. One question that has often been subject of debate in the last two decades, especially among Western societies, is: Is Islam compatible with democracy?