The Struggle of Indonesian Muslim Modernists (1970–2020) with WesternModernity

This article examines five responses by Indonesian modernist Muslims to Western modernity from 1970to 2020. Using several approaches, including cultural studies, history, and Islamic thought, it appearsthat their responses generally took the form of critical negotiation or a kind of creative synthesis. Whilethere is some resistance, this rejection is not absolute. Islamic modernism in its critical-philosophicalsense is not a mainstream view in Indonesia, but Islamic modernism in the sense of moderate Islam hasbeen embraced by many Indonesian Muslims. Another interesting finding is that the struggle betweenWest and East (Indonesia and Southeast Asia) over the last 50 years has produced a “globalrecomposition” and new configurations. Western countries still command the power and wealth tomaintain and extend their hegemony. Yet the resistance of certain conservative Indonesian Muslimmodernist groups and the model of critical negotiation advanced by other groups have openedpathways for new forces in Southeast Asia that the West cannot ignore. This study identifies a newsynthesis in which “Western universality” and “modernity” find expression in new forms, in creativevernacular religious languages, and in modes of bricolage that pose a significant challenge.