Keywords
Democratic decline
Islam
Muhammadiyah
Nahdlatul Ulama
How to Cite
Abstract
What factors lead religious civil society organizations to either consistently cooperate or challenge (semi) authoritarian administrations? How do increased religious competition help to shape their decisions? This article aims to answer these questions by examining the political responses of Indonesia’s two largest Islamic organizations - Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Utilizing comparative case studies to closely analyze the two organizations, the article argues that the organization’s differing responses toward the democratic decline under Joko Widodo presidency are determined by how different their ideologies from the newer Islamist groups are and how many of their followers are switching to the Islamists. Given its distinct ideology from the Islamists and large loyal followers’ base, Nahdlatul Ulama aligns itself with the administration in its effort to repress the Islamists. However, facing more pressure from competitors amid a similar ideology and a shrinking followers base, Muhammadiyah resists the administration’s democratic decline and defends other Islamist groups which face state repression.
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