Talking about Islam and Democracy in Indonesia's Public Schools Legitimation and Qualification

Is Islam compatible with democracy? The answer to this question hinges immediately on the degree to which Muslims themselves embrace the concept. This study evaluates how democratic ideas are both legitimated and qualified in Islamic education classes in Indonesian public high schools. These classes, mandatory for all Muslim students under the national curriculum, include a chapter that specifically addresses democracy as well as wider material touching on related values. This study draws on extensive fieldwork in public high schools in the province of Yogyakarta, original survey data from multiple provinces, and analysis of state-written Islamic education textbooks from the New Order to the present. In state-written textbooks, the portrayal of democracy is found to noticeably evolve as the state itself is transformed from a dictatorship into a democracy, demonstrating increasing support-with certain qualifications-for the idea of democracy as an Islamically legitimate mode of governance. Within classrooms, most Islamic education teachers also demonstrate acceptance of democracy on Islamic terms, although they should not be mistaken for liberal democrats. Overall, this article argues that Islamic education classes in Indonesian schools contribute not only to popular acceptance of democracy but also to the articulation of a distinctively illiberal vision for democracy among Muslim students in Indonesia.