Da’wah and Politics Among Muslim Preachers in Contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

This paper discusses how politics shapes the landscape of Islamic
da’wah in Indonesia. In this context, Muslim preachers use da’wah as an
instrument of politics. One of the tools used by Muslim preachers to roll
political influence into da’wah is through preaching on digital media. Through
qualitative studies based on library data, websites and social media, this paper
shows that Muslim preachers in contemporary Indonesia can be seen from
the critical preaching to the existing secular government. They attempt at
Islamizing the state by criticizing the secular state. This article finds that the
discourse of globalization has allowed them to get information about Islamic
movements in other countries. Second, the rise of Muslim political preachers is
influenced by government policies towards the political, social and economic
fields. Third, their preaching for political Islam is not focused on normative
goals such as the formation of an Islamic state. Instead, they focus on pragmatic
goals. Politicians also support their popularity. On the one hand, it provides
the diversity of da’wah in Indonesia, but on the other hand, it challenges the
established political Islam model.