Islam in Indonesian Politics

March 2009. Scarsdale High School AT Social Studies. Collaborating teacher: Gwen Johnson.

The AT Social Studies students explored the question about whether Islam and democracy are compatible. Using the case study of Indonesia, they learned about the role of Islam in Indonesian politics. They learned that the Islamic parties never dominated Indonesian politics. In fact, Indonesia was established as a modern democracy state. 

It was quite surprising for them to know that the world's largest Muslim nation is also the world's third largest democracy, that have a direct voting system for the presidential and parliamentary elections. Another fascinating fact was one of the six Indonesian presidents, the fifth president, is a woman. Her name is Megawati Sukarnoputri. In a country where almost 90% of its population are Muslims, women have been active socially, culturally, and politically, and it is not uncommon to find female leaders in many organizations, including the country's presidency. After studying about Indonesia, students made critical comparisons with Islamic communities in different parts of the world, such as in the South Asia, and the Middle East.