Civil Society in Indonesia: The Potential and Limits of Muhammadiyah

With the help of two case studies a hospital and a school this article looks at how grassroots initiatives can be a key impetus for the growth in health and education services provided by the Muhammadiyah movement. Such local initiatives are partly driven by a sense of competition with the Christians as well as other Islamic movements. They also come with their own internal politics that are free of external interference in that sense the growth of Muhammadiyah activities constitutes a civil society space independent of the state. Independence does not mean that such activities need to be in conflict with the state. In effect there is a mutually reliant and complementary relationship between Muhammadyah social services and the state that subsidizes them to varying degrees. These factors describe Muhammadiyahs potential for growth as a civil society actor. However the movement also faces limitations such as the paucity of economic resources. Ultimately there also remain major dilemmas such as the contending claims of religious tenets and modernity or to uphold Islam through power politics or cultural politics. (authors)