Public sphere contestation: configuration of political Islam in contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

Argument in this paper draws upon Habermasian understanding of the distinction
between private and public sphere. Public sphere is understood as open
space that various social and cultural forces seek to define and occupy by ways of
rational interests and public reason. Such attempts take place on daily basis and
taken by groups of different backgrounds and interests. Private sphere, in contrast,
is conceived of as having domestic or individual characteristics and, more
or less, non-political. It is within this framework that the continuing presence of
multiple variants of political Islam in Indonesia has been a manifestation of contestation
over public sphere. Diverse variants of Indonesian political Islam reveal
the difference between actors and issues in the dynamics of their contention.
However, evidence makes clear that variants of both political and popular Islam
have been more dominant than other Islamic variants such progressive and neotraditionalist
Islam. This study argues that mode of Islamic articulations in Indonesia
is now more diverse as the it has developed not only in the articulatory
forms of modernist, revivalist and traditionalist but also progressive, neo-traditionalist
and popular Islam.

Tulisan ini didasarkan pada kerangka ruang publik Jurgen Hubermas yang
membedakan ruang privat dan ruang politik (publik). Ruang publik merupakan
ruang yang terbuka untuk diperebutkan oleh siapa pun dan kapan pun. Sementara
ruang privat merupakan ruang yang bersifat domestic (individual) tidak berdimensi
politik secara dominan. Dalam persepktif semacam itu, hadirnya varian-varian
Islam Indonesia merupakan bentuk kontestasi atas ruang publik yang terbuka
untuk siapapun. Dari varian-varian Islam Indonesia, ada perbedaan aktor dan
isu yang dikembangkan dalam kontestasi publik. Hanya saja kontestasi varian
Islam politik dan popular mendapatkan ruang lebih dominan ketimbang varian
Islam lain seperti progresif atau neo-tradisionalisme. Kajian ini menunjukkan
bahwa Islam Indonesia tengah mengalami perkembangan format artikulasi yang
sangat beragam. Islam Indonesia tidak hanya berkembang dalam format
modernis, revivalis, tradisionalisme, tetapi sekaligus progresif, neo-tradisionalis
dan popular Islam.