A house divided the decline and fall of Masyumi (1950-1956)
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Authors
Lucius, Robert E.
Subjects
Indonesia
Islam
Islamist
Masyumi
Muhammadiyah
Nahdatul Ulama
Islam
Islamist
Masyumi
Muhammadiyah
Nahdatul Ulama
Advisors
Robinson, Glenn E.
Date of Issue
2003-09
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the rise and fall of Masyumi during the era of the provisional parliament in Indonesia (1950-1956). As the largest of the pre-Suharto Islamic political parties in a country with an overwhelming Muslim majority, Masyumi was poised in 1955 to achieve political ascendancy, and thus to achieve its primary objective of establishing an Islamic state. Ultimately, Masyumi's leaders failed to unify Indonesian Muslims, and they consequently lost much of their moral and political authority. In an important demonstration of the malleability of Islamic and ethnic identity politics, Masyumi's struggle was eventually submerged within a greater struggle by the Javanese to assert cultural hegemony over the entire Indonesian archipelago. This thesis describes Masyumi's role in precipitating not only its own fall, but also in helping to bring about the collapse of Indonesia's first attempt at parliamentary democracy. Indonesia's Islamist past contains many important lessons for US policymakers dealing with this largest of all Muslim countries, particularly in light of the war on terror. Understanding the contingent and variable nature of Masyumi's Islamic politics can help shed light on the present ideological battles in Indonesia.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
xvi, 235 p. ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.