“Islam and Citizenship in Indonesia” Podcast with Robert Hefner

Professor Robert Hefner has a tremendous new book, “Islam and Citizenship in Indonesia: Democracy and the Quest for an Inclusive Public Ethics”. It’s one of my favourite books of the year, drawing on thirty years of ethnographic research. Today, he joins “Rocking Our Priors”.

We discuss:

Indonesia’s religious history

• Why have Hinduism and Buddhism have largely faded in Indonesia?

• Why were madrasas were rare until the 19th century?

What explains the rise in normative Islam?

• I asked Bob about the comparative importance of

  • Economic development and technological advances;

  • Backlash against secular schooling,

  • Criminality and demand for moral order,

  • Saudi funding, and

  • Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

• SPOILER: Hefner downplays the influence of Saudi Arabia. Instead, he suggests that that economic development, communications and mass education have enabled Indonesian Muslims to learn more about their faith. This sharply contrasts with Modernisation Theory, that economic development catalyses secular-scientific values.

Has Indonesia become more patriarchal?

The episode is 2.5 hours long:

• Listen to “Rocking Our Priors” on Spotify and iTunes

• Watch on YouTube

• Read the full transcript, below.

Transcript