Shari'a and Constitutional Reform in Indonesia.

• Author: Butt, Simon
• Position: Book review

Nadirsyah Hosen, Shari'a and Constitutional Reform in Indonesia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2007, ISBN 978-981-230-402-5, $US49.90, i-x, 271 pages)

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world. It is hardly surprising, then, that over the years Islam in Indonesia has been the subject of serious scholarly attention. A significant focus has been Islamic law or Shari'a, given its centrality to the Islamic faith. (1)

Since the attacks of 11 September 2001, and bombings in Bali and Jakarta from 2002, work on Islam and Shari'a in Southeast Asia and Indonesia has intensified. (2) Nadirsyah Hosen's book is a very welcome and worthy addition to the growing body of work on Shari'a in Indonesia. Further, in light of the recent 'bad press' Islam has faced in the West, Hosen's book is a particularly timely contribution to the general literature on constitutionalism in developing countries, and in particular, the compatibility of Islam with constitutionalism, human rights and the rule of law.

Most of the literature on Shari'a in Indonesia has provided perspectives on the contest between the Indonesian state and Islam for predominance as the source of 'legal and social meanings'. (3) Many scholars have focused on Indonesia's 1974 Marriage Act and the tensions it created between some Muslims, who believe that marriage law should be largely Islamic, and the State, keen to improve the legal status of women and to stamp its authority on marriage law. (4) Other scholars have also focused on the 'contest' as it has been waged in Indonesia's Islamic courts, investigating the extent to which some Islamic court judges have applied traditional Islamic law and resisted State-sanctioned--some would say watered-down--versions of it as contained in the Kompilasi (Compilation of Islamic Law). (5)

The contest has arguably intensified since the fall of Soeharto, as many of the repressive measures his regime used against Islam have been broken down. However, the political aspirations of Islam have failed to find firm footing. This is partly because these aspirations lack widespread political support, as most Indonesian Muslims are relatively moderate in their beliefs; and partly because the State has largely retained structural control over the Islamic bureaucracy and judiciary. (6) Nevertheless, the State is almost constantly faced with vigorous attempts by more conservative Muslim groups to secure a larger role for Islam...