40 islam, politics and change
‘post-Islamism’. He explains that, having gone through a period of politi-
cal experimentation and of establishing a comprehensive Islamic system
of life, political Islam was exhausted by both internal contradictions and
external pressures. However, in Bayat’s observation, instead of crumbling
or giving up its mission, the movement evolved into a new and more
open one by adapting to its environment and adopting critiques and
questions once directed to it – such as democracy, human rights, gender
equality, religious pluralism, etc. – as part of its new mission.²⁵
The present research has found that like Roy’s thesis, the jt and pks
are ensnared by their circular comprehensive agenda of Islamising the
Indonesian society and state. Although on paper the Muslim Brothers’
gradual Islamisation agenda adopted by the jt-pks seems to offer a
breakthrough to escape the vicious circle, in reality the circle and its vices
remain. It occurs, for example, when jt-pks members have to decide in
which phase of Islamisation they find themselves. Many of them believe
they have accomplished the Islamising of society and are now moving on
to Islamising the political system. However, there are just as many who
believe that they are still in the phase of Islamising the society, and are not
yet ready to Islamise the state. Since they all believe that for each phase of
Islamisation there are different priorities and different strategies, as well
as different leadership compositions, tensions and frictions emerge when
they argue about which priorities should be implemented, which strate-
gies should be pursued, and who should be in charge. And when money
and power are involved, conflicts and confrontations are inevitable.
However, also like what Bayat observed, the jt and pks have evolved
in terms of qualitative development, by adapting into a democratising
political system, and adopting new ideas and programmes – formerly
foreign to them – into their own. Previously holding the belief that the
existing secular democratic (albeit pseudo) system will gradually be
replaced by an alternative, comprehensive Islamic system of life, they
now see Islam more as a contributing system, which will improve the
existing democratic system, making it more religious and humane.
2 Historical Developments and Institutional Settings
This section deals with the historical development of the jt and pks,
starting from their inception and moving on to the contemporary
situation. The focus is on the interplay between three factors: the
ideas and ideals adopted from the Egyptian Muslim Brothers, the
Asef Bayat, ‘What Is Post-Islamism’,isim Review5, no. 16 (2005), 5.