From ideological to political sectarianism: Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and the state in Indonesia

Abstract

This contribution applies the sectarianisation thesis of Hashemi and Postel to analyse renewed political sectarianism between Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the two largest Indonesian Islamic organisations. It finds that while distinct ideologies and rituals do distinguish these organisations one from another, recent conflicts between the two organisations can be attributed to political-based sectarianism rather than an ideological-based one. The contribution also shows how sectarianism can be effectively politicised in Indonesia–a formally democratic nation–due to weak state capacity and other societal problems. Such problems led to a legitimacy challenge against the Joko Widodo (‘Jokowi’) regime from senior Muhammadiyah leaders and other Islamist-leaning groups through the 2016/17 Defending Islam movement. In response, the regime aligns itself with the NU, which utilises sectarian rhetoric to discredit these groups. However, in the process NU renews the long-standing sectarianism between itself and Muhammadiyah.