Reconfiguring Muhammadiyah’s Intellectual-Political Thought in Strengthening Civil Society from the Jokowi Era to the Prabowo–Gibran Era
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jis.v6i2.55448Keywords:
civil society, Darul Ahdi wa Syahadah, Indonesian democracy, Islamic politics, MuhammadiyahAbstract
The relationship between religion and state in Indonesia since the Reformation era has been characterized by complex dynamics, with religious organizations playing a crucial role in balancing state power and civil society interests. In this context, Muhammadiyah has long served as a key actor in Islamic civil society, serving both as a counterbalancing force to the state and as a driver of social transformation. This study examines the transformation of Muhammadiyah's intellectual-political thinking in response to shifting power configurations and democratic dynamics during the Joko Widodo administration and the transition to the Prabowo Subianto–Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration. Using a qualitative approach based on desk research and limited interviews, the study finds that Muhammadiyah's political thinking has evolved into a more strategic and adaptive orientation. This transformation reflects Muhammadiyah's efforts to reinterpret its political role through social da'wah (Islamic outreach) and national responsibility while maintaining its identity as a progressive Islamic movement. It also strengthens civil society through critical, participatory, and collaborative engagement in public policy, social services, and humanitarian diplomacy. Overall, Muhammadiyah offers a constructive model of religion-state relations that combines organizational independence, public participation, and a commitment to democratic values and social justice.
References
Burhani, A. N. (2018). Pluralism, liberalism, and islamism: religious outlook of muhammadiyah. Studia Islamika, 25(3), 433–470.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Denzin, N. K. &, & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. sage.
Diamond, L. (1999). Developing democracy: Toward consolidation. JHU press.
Gramsci, A. (2020). Selections from the prison notebooks. In The applied theatre reader (pp. 141–142). Routledge.
Habermas, J. (2015). Between facts and norms: Contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy. John Wiley & Sons.
Hadiz, V. R. (2016). Islamic populism in Indonesia and the Middle East. Cambridge University Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2008). Making modern Muslims: the politics of Islamic education in Southeast Asia. University of Hawaii Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2009). Remaking Muslim politics: Pluralism, contestation, democratization. Princeton University Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2011). Civil islam: Muslims and democratization in indonesia. In Civil Islam. Princeton University Press.
Nakamura, M. (2012). The crescent arises over the banyan tree: A study of the Muhammadiyah movement in a Central Javanese Town, c. 1910-2010. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Nakamura, M., Siddique, S., & Bajunid, O. F. (2001). Islam & civil society in Southeast Asia (Vol. 23). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge university press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Yudaningsih Yudaningsih, Asep Saeful Muhtadi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).