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| Aaron Vance Class of 2017 |
Listening
to Dr. Jeremy Menchik discuss his book Islam and Democracy in Indonesia:
Tolerance without Liberalism I was intrigued to learn of the social and
political dynamics of a nation like Indonesia. Given its composition, Menchik
called Indonesia a ‘Democratic success story’ and as he elaborated on his
reasoning, I was nothing short of fascinated by this ‘success’ and by how such
a homogenous, rising nation recognizes and orders itself around group rights.
Noting
that Indonesia geographically stretches a distance comparable to the distance
from Baghdad to Britain, Indonesia’s population is spread across a large
archipelago. As an extensive archipelago, Indonesia’s first trial as a
democracy is faced. Facing such diversity in any nation isn’t easy, but for
Indonesia their success in combatting that issue while not stifling democracy
is remarkable. Secondly, in a rapidly developing nation with a fluctuating
economy, issues of intolerance are to be expected. A nation of 200,000,000
Muslims, 95% of the population, Indonesia’s measures of intolerance were, as
presented by Menchik, considerably low. With favorable opinions on both sides
between Muslims and non-Muslims, many questions concerning political
involvement, even in some of the less diverse areas produced generally
favorable results.
In
turning to the logic of this success, Menchik pointed to the government’s
deference to group rights in Indonesia as the case for success in Democracy and
in tolerance as not being a markedly liberal society. For Indonesia, religion
is promoted critically as profound aspect of life and society. With such a
strong deference to group rights Menchik discovered in his field-work that
Indonesians saw their nation as segmented, but due to the tenets of religion,
and what can only be a derivation of religious respect. Saying that one native
Indonesian believed that their nation should never be like Gado Gado, or
a mixed salad, this strong imbuing of groups rights is obvious. Menchik was
quick to note the respect offered by the Muslim majority limiting interfaith marriage
as not a standard of the Quran but per the double standard it might have
created.
This
belief in the group dynamic is interesting and concept that I have been
thinking about since leaving the lecture. Employing a need for comparative
political thought, it is hard as an American to move beyond the singular and
the individual rights we value, and into the thoughts of another culture who’s
value of group rights, gives tolerances en lieu of liberalism. Maybe an
exercise like this would be good for anyone exploring the political arena, and
especially trying to understand another nation’s politics. And while Indonesia
may never become like a Gado Gado, our world has been since it’s creation a
Gado Gado, and as Americans, Westerners, or whatever we are, it can easily be
forgotten when exploring politics.
Aaron Vance is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville studying political science.