Abstract
Although nearly 90% of Indonesian population is Muslim, Islam and Islamic issues have not become central subjects of interest permeating Indonesian politics. In the past, Islam in Indonesia has usually been portrayed as moderate, pluralist and tolerant in contrasts to parts of the Middle East . Indonesia has never adopted Islam as its official ideology and significant minorities of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists have freely practiced their religion, sheltered under the national ideology of "Panca Sila". Since President Suharto's rule, this nationalist vision of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society bound together by citizenship has remained at the core of national ideology . Yet, in the wake of Al Qaeda attacks on New York in 2001, and following the Bali Bombing attacks in 2002, foreign observers quickly focused on the rise of "radical Islam" or "fundamentalism" and started describing Indonesian Muslims as being increasingly pious and violent . Islam amongst political parties in Indonesia, though, seems to remain more characterized by its diversity and pragmatism than it used to be over the past decades.
