Organizer: Indonesia Project, Australia University College of Asia and the Pacific

Type/Location: Hybrid / Canberra, Australia

Image: Prayer begins / Flickr / Portable Soul

Description:

During Jokowi’s presidency, religious diplomacy has become a major element in Indonesia’s foreign policy. In particular, Indonesia has cast itself as a bastion of Islamic moderation which other Muslim-majority nations should emulate. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation, has become a key partner in this process and its concepts of Islam Nusantara and Humanitarian Islam have featured prominently in official diplomatic messaging. The NU-organised R20 conference which preceded the November 2022 G20 in Bali was the highpoint in this process. Both Western and Middle-Eastern political leaders routinely praise Indonesia for its putative moderate Islam and often engage in collaborative programs promoting religious moderation.

This seminar will critique this form of diplomacy and will argue that moderation is in fact being used for the purposes of political control, both by the Indonesian government and many of its ‘partners’ in the Middle East. It contends that Indonesia and other states, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are engaged in ‘moderation washing’ as they use Indonesia’s reputation for moderation to improve their own reputation in the global community.

About the Speaker:

Greg Fealy is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Political and Social Change, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU. He specialises in Indonesian Islamic politics and history and has written extensively on Islamist parties, jihadism, commodification and religious diplomacy.

Registration Links:

To attend the event in person, please register here.

To attend the event online, please register here.