The Circulation of Ideas in the Muslim World: Systematic Thought or Organizational Skills?

In my research on contemporary Islamic intellectual history, I focus on the more innovative and progressive, and therefore often controversial, currents of thought, which I have coined in provocative terms such as ‘cosmopolitan’ and ‘heretical’. In discussing the trans-regional aspects of these alternative Islamic discourses, I am increasingly drawn to the notion of the ‘circulation of ideas’. This in itself somewhat amorphous expression strikes me as suitable for capturing the complex, multi-layered – even messy – nature of these contemporary trends of Muslim intellectualism. Already fruitfully employed in, for example, Indian Ocean Studies, I have become more convinced that it can also be aptly applied in research on contemporary Islamic intellectual history when I had a chance to listen to the anthropologist Martin van Bruinessen, emeritus professor and former holder of the ISIM Chair at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands.

This week Aga Khan University in London hosted this specialist in the history of Islam in Turkey and Indonesia, as well as their present-day societies, for a talk entitled ‘Indonesian Muslims and their Place in the Larger World of Islam’. In his presentation, van Bruinessen concentrated on finding an explanation for the fact that Indonesian Islam still remains little known to Muslims from outside Southeast Asia. It certainly is not that the way Islam is interpreted, experienced and practiced in this largest Muslim nation-state is not interesting or has nothing to offer to the rest of the Muslim world, almost the contrary.

Van Bruinessen recalls an observation made in 1986 by the famous Pakistani scholar of Islam and modernist Islamic intellectual Fazlur Rahman (1919-1988). At the time, the latter was of the opinion that the two Muslim countries to watch for the emergence of innovative ideas and alternative trajectories in the Muslim world were Turkey and Indonesia. It was probably no coincidence that Fazlur Rahman, who was then Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago, was supervising numerous postgraduate students from these two countries, many of whom would rise to becoming prominent religious and political leaders in their respective home lands.

One of the possible reasons why the often interesting ideas developed by Indonesian Muslims did not catch on elsewhere is a matter of form. Generally, Indonesian intellectuals present their ideas in speeches, seminars, talks, newspaper columns, magazine articles and other forums. These are later published in often voluminous collections, but rarely – if at all – do they find their way into any systematic presentation of their thoughts. An explanation for this seemingly unstructured style is that many Indonesian Muslim intellectuals are also activists, who tend to live out their ideas rather than theorize about them. On the other hand, to have an impact new interpretations not only need ideational coherence but require also efficient dissemination. Here, as shall be seen below, the Indonesian Muslim knack for organization comes into play.

Also historically, Indonesia or, for that matter,  its predecessor -- the Dutch East Indies – never produced the equivalent of single, towering intellectual figures such as Shah Waliullah al-Dihlawi, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, or Abu Alaa Maududi. Yet, in the past, ulama from Southeast Asia, including regions which now form part of the Indonesian republic,  were present in the Haramayn for centuries, teaching and instructing visiting pilgrims and students in things Islamic. However, although they formed by far the largest contingent of non-Arab Muslims in the holy places, they did not profile themselves explicitly as ‘Indonesians’.

Also today, Indonesian Muslims continue to display a voracious appetite for learning about Islam. There is a vibrant ‘translation industry’ of books on Islam and the Muslim world written by Muslim scholars and other intellectuals from across the Muslim world, as well as Western scholars of Islam. According to van Bruinessen, knowledge from abroad has always been highly valued in Indonesia. One explanation for this eagerness for ideas from the outside – aside from centuries of participation in the Islamic scholarly networks connecting the region to centres of Islamic learning on the other side of the Indian Ocean, in India, Yemen, the Hijaz, and Cairo – is Indonesia’s colonial experience, when Western knowledge percolated into the Dutch East Indies, opening up yet another epistemological realm.

Martin van Bruinessen

Consequently, the traffic of ideas has remained one-directional -- from other parts of the Muslim world and the West to Indonesia, whereas the ideas of Indonesian Muslim intellectuals have had very little exposure abroad. The only exceptions cited by van Bruinessen are former President Ahmad Sukarno and the one-time leader of the now defunct Islamist Masyumi Party, Muhammad Natsir. These were Indonesian Muslims who -- at one tim --  had an international profile with a global reach: Sukarno as a founding member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in the 1950s, and Natsir as a key figure in the Muslim World League and most prominent Southeast  Asian representative of Islamic reformism of the Salafi schnitt. In Natsir’s view, the benchmark for what constitutes ‘real Islam’, is provided by medieval Middle Eastern Islam. In the lively debates in Indonesia between ‘Westernizers’ -- who saw no contradiction between Islam and modernity, nor any fundamental incompatibilities with the other Abrahamic religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity -- and the ‘nativists’ who took issue with both Islamic and European influences, Natsir actually disagreed with both, neither did he approve of the advocates of a culturally specific traditional Indonesian Islam.

This lack of interest in or attention for the development of Indonesian Islam, does not mean that the country has nothing to offer to the rest of the Muslim world.  To return again to Fazlur Rahman’s view of the potential of both Turkish and Indonesian Islam, van Bruinessen also notes that, when comparing the two countries, another factor that needs to be taken into consideration is the matter of temperament. As another prominent non-Arab segment of the Muslim ummah, Turks have been more assertive in establishing themselves as significant and distinct from the Arabs than the evidently more modest and subdued Indonesians. At the same time, as I have discussed elsewhere, there are remarkable parallels between the Turkish and Indonesian experiences with Muslim intellectualism and the place of religion in public life in these two countries during the last twenty five years or so. These developments contain important lessons for alternative trajectories in the post-Arab Spring Middle Eastern parts of the Muslim world (see my posts of 5 February 2011 and  30 July 2011)

Among the aspects identified by van Bruinessen as having something to offer to the wider world of Islam is first of all the high level of organization among Indonesian Muslims. The country is home to what are not only the oldest and largest Islamic mass movements, they also manifest a longstanding and rich democratic tradition reaching from the local all the way to the national level. The political and legal framework of the Dutch East Indies, enabled Islamic modernists and traditionalist Muslims to establish organizations which focussed on  emancipation through educational and charitable initiatives and steered well clear of explicit political activities.

On all levels, both the modernist Muhammadiyah, founded as early as 1912, and its rivalling traditionalist counterpart Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) established in 1926, are run by elected governing bodies. Thus they have gained lengthy experience with selecting and electing leaders at national congresses which are held every five years, and the chance to develop a tradition of grassroots level democracy stretching back decades. This makes the Muhammadiyah and NU much more transparent than, for example, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. In regards to the organizational and institutional dimensions of Indonesian Islam, another interesting example is provided by Hizbut Tahrir. In Indonesia, this movement can command a disproportionately large following among the country's vast Muslim student population. On the other side of the Islamic political and intellectual spectrum, van Bruinessen also observed a very widespread and solid presence of contemporary Sufi orders such as the Naqshbandi-Haqqani, whose leadership is currently based in the United States. He even ventured a speculation that, given the pressures on Muslims in America, it would not be inconceivable if the current leader, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, would decide to select Indonesia as the most suitable location for the organization’s future headquarters.

Then there is the flourishing of progressive and liberal interpretations of Islam. While it is true that, as explained earlier, the inspiration often comes from abroad, at the same time and in contrast to many parts of the Muslim world, Indonesian engagement with innovative and often controversial ideas is not only more intense, but also receiving  support from wider segments of society.  From the 1970s until the late 1990s, this was manifested through what Indonesians refer to as ‘cultural Islam’. During this period the ideas of thinkers such as Hasan Hanafi, Mahmoud Muhammad Taha, Muhammad Abid al-Jabiri, and Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, as well as Shi’ite intellectuals like Shariati and Mutahhari were translated into Indonesian and integrated into the Muslim discourses circulating in that country..

Martin van Bruinessen in discussion with Kathryn Spellman of Aga Khan University

If there is one area where it could be argued that Indonesia has actually managed to influence developments elsewhere, it would be Islamic feminism. Here again, the origins came from the outside, in this case from the American-Pakistani women rights activist Riffat Hassan. But Indonesia was the only Muslim country where she was permitted to give an address at an Islamic university. Aside from Riffat Hassan, also the ideas of the Sudanese jurist and theoretician of human rights Abdullahi an-Na'im, and the latter's mentor Muhammad Mahmoud Taha, are an important ingredient for Islamic feminist activism in Indonesia.

There is no Muslim country where Islamic feminism is so deeply rooted and supported on grassroots level than Indonesia. Its success does not depend on any prominent figures, but rather on the broad support and widespread activism by scores of Muslimas working in the women’s branches of mass organizations such as the NU and Muhammadiyah. The international dimension of Indonesian Muslim feminism is evidently visible in the Musawah network. Although a Malaysian and Iranian initiative, the Indonesian experiment with Islamic feminism soon caught the attention of the initiators and has left its mark on this international body for coordinating Islamic women’s rights activism worldwide.


What became manifestly clear from van Bruinessen's discussion of indonesia's Islamic scene is that, aside from a store of interesting, progressive ideas presented in a coherent and systematic fashion, the successful dissemination of such ideas also depends on effective organization, and here Indonesian organizations such as the NU and the Muhammadiyah have a track record that has -- so far -- remained unmatched in the Muslim world.


Hereunder are some of van Bruinessen's writings, for more materials also check his personal website.

Another Chance for ISIM?

The decision of the Netherlands' Ministry of Education to close down the world-renowned Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM)has resulted in hundreds of petitioners writing to Education Minister Ronald Plasterk to reconsider his decision (see also the post of 22 December 2008).

In its most recent issue, a Dutch-language magazine on the Middle East, North Africa and Islam, Zemzem, reports that options are under consideration to continue ISIM's activities in one form or another. The article provides also interesting background information on the decision-making process leading to the institute's closure.

Annelies Moors, incumbent of the ISIM Chair at the University of Amsterdam, published an edgy 'letter to the editor' in the reputable Dutch Newspaper NRC-Handelsblad, in which she expressed her irritation over the attitude of the Rector of Leiden University (one of the ISIM partners), who appeared to treat the whole issue as a political game. She was also very critical of the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University, who had been charged with developing a salvage plan for ISIM. Instead of presenting the minister with a financially viable plan to continue ISIM as semi-autonomous entity, he approached the ministry with an alternative Centre for Islamic Studies at Leiden University, staffed by university faculty working on 'things Islamic'. There would be no place for academic staff of the other ISIM universities - thereby effectively scrapping two-third of all ISIM-led research. In spite of Leiden's lobbying, the plan was not accepted.

Leiden Rector Van der Heijden, who is also chairman of the ISIM board, claims that his university has bent over backwards to salvage ISIM after it was abandonned by the other participating universities.

According to former deputy minister and current president of the University of Utrecht, Yvonne Van Rooij, the decision to stop funding for ISIM was taken about one and half year ago, when it became apparent that ISIM was financially no longer viable. But Professor Moors has a different reading: 'ISIM has no priority for the ministry or presidents of the universities involved. Because of its outstanding reputation, all parties assumed that others would come up with the financial means required to keep the institute alive'.

In November, Niek Biegman*, a former diplomat serving as a member of the ISIM advisory board, lashed out in the annual lecture on occasion of the institute's tenth anniversary, stating that 'If The Netherlands 'Inc' pulls the plug now, then this strikes me as unreasonable, absurd and outrageous'. Confronted with a statement from Leiden university that there were insufficient financial means to sustain ISIM, Biegman concluded that it was Leiden who pulled the plug, and that any alternative worthy of the name ISIM should not be reduced to an entity within Leiden University.

Martin van Bruinessen, ISIM professor in Utrecht, has his own analysis. According to his interpretation the first troubles started two years ago when his colleague in Nijmegen, Abdulkader Tayob, accepted a position in his native South Africa. For Nijmegen this seemed the right moment to leave ISIM by not appointing a successor. Moreover, 'ISIM was an initiative of the predecessors of the current presidents of the boards at the participating universities. Just like politicians, these university administrators are concerned with profiling themselves by introducing their own plans. Sustaining the initiatives of their predecessors is much less of a priority'.

According to Van Bruinessen the current heads of the universities attach only secondary importance to ISIM's international reputation, 'none of them has shown any interest in the social significance of ISIM's research, or the international appreciation for the institute's activities'. They have failed to see that ISIM is a nexus in the worldwide networks of researchers and has contributed significantly to setting new international research agendas for Islamic Studies as a field of scholarly inquiry.

Allegedly the ISIM partners were also critical of the fact that ISIM academics were not very visible in the media. Van Bruinessen: 'apparently they would like to see me every week in a talkshow' -- that seems to impress university presidents more than scholarly publications. He also adds that ISIM has contributed a great deal to bringing contemporary Islam and Muslim intellectuals to the attention of the public. ISIM was instrumental in introducing Tariq Ramadan, Olivier Roy and Abdolkarim Soroush to wider audiences. The institute also facilitated courses for special focus groups, and was frequently consulted by other ministeries and civil society organisations.

Because ISIM headquarters were located in Leiden, the institute always had a 'Leiden image', which may also have been a reason for the other universities to stop funding. 'They rather spend the money in-house', says van Bruinessen. Biegman too notes that Nijmegen, Utrecht and Amsterdam felt a bit 'invisible' within ISIM. Unfortunately this now means the end of ten years of very high standard research. In its latest international assessment ISIM received an 'A+'.

According to Van der Heijden the Education Ministry is now willing to make funding available for a national research school or some sort of research cooperation in the field of Islamic Studies. Apart from the 'ISIM universities, also the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and the Free University in Amsterdam have expressed an interest. The ball is now in the corner of Utrecht's Yvonne Van Rooij, who confirms she is currently investigating the possibilities of a 'interuniversitary research school'. Van Bruinessen, however, is sceptical: 'ISIM had an integrated research programme and a physical location where researchers could meet and interact'. He thinks the plan is just an attempt to resuscitate an earlier failed initiative for an in-house research school at Leiden University.

Advisor Niek Biegman has suggested contacting Louk de la Rive Box, rector of the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in the Hague, which is since January part of Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. In De la Rive Box's view ISIM's disappearance would be a ‘bloody shame’ and he confirmes that he is happy to assist in exploring alternatives.'ISIM has an excellent reputation abroad and too little has been done to save the institute. But the blame cannot be solely put with Leiden; the other universities are responsible as well and the minister should have acted much earlier'.

Annelies Moors has her own ideas: ‘ISIM could become part of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences [KNAW], which fits also with the recommendations of the assessment commission'. She finds it mind-boggling that the minister first asks for an assessment, which rendered a positive outcome, and then claims there is insufficient money for a restart.

To be continued?

* Biegman,a former ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative with United Nations, has produced some interesting (photo) books on Sufism and other aspects of the Muslim world, among others Living Sufis and Oil Wrestlers