Indonesian progressive Muslims and the discourse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace: Soekarno’s, Abdurrahman Wahid’s and Ahmad Syafii Maarif’s thoughts

Hasnan Bachtiar; Muneerah Razak; Soni Zakaria

doi:10.21831/jss.v17i1.34843

Indonesian progressive Muslims and the discourse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace: Soekarno’s, Abdurrahman Wahid’s and Ahmad Syafii Maarif’s thoughts

Hasnan Bachtiar, Faculty of Islamic Studies, the University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Muneerah Razak, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
Soni Zakaria, Faculty of Islamic Studies, University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Indonesia

10.21831/jss.v17i1.34843

Abstract

Indonesia, as one of the largest majority Muslim countries, has had a consistent stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict since its inception. Despite the general pro-Palestinian stance, this article explores the discourse of three significant leaders of the Indonesian people - Soekarno, Abdurrahman Wahid and Ahmad Syafii Maarif. As presidents of Indonesia of different time periods of Indonesia, Soekarno and Wahid tended to be pragmatic in their articulation of their political stances, though it is articulated in different ways. Maarif, as the leader of Muhammadiyah, a popular non-governmental organisation on the ground, was more idealistic and concerned with anti-Zionism. This article highlights that the different nuances of the three leaders is due to their different capacities as leaders, their social and political contexts, and the intellectual leanings and experiences.

Keywords

Israel-Palestine conflict; Soekarno; Abdurrahman Wahid; Ahmad Syafii Maarif

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/jss.v17i1.34843