Indonesia's Islamic Revolution

The Indonesian Revolution (1945-1949) was rethought by Kevin W. Fogg as an Islamic struggle, with pious Muslims fighting and organizing in religious ways. Leaders convinced Muslims that they were fighting for a holy cause, but national leaders failed to write Islam into Indonesia's founding documents. This study highlights the ways in which Islam has functioned as a revolutionary ideology in the modern era.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 271 pages
Publication date: 20 October 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The Indonesian Revolution, spanning from 1945 to 1949, has been a subject of intense historical analysis, often characterized by depictions of grassroots fighters and elite politicians viewing it as a nationalistic or class-based conflict. In a groundbreaking new study, Kevin W. Fogg challenges this conventional narrative by reinterpreting the Indonesian Revolution as an Islamic struggle. Fogg argues that pious Muslims, who constituted nearly half of the population, played a central role in this revolution, organizing and fighting in religiously motivated ways. The leaders of the Muslim fighters, convinced by their proclamations that they were engaged in a holy cause, instilled a sense of religious fervor and commitment among their followers.

While the political sphere witnessed the absence of explicit incorporation of Islam into Indonesia's founding documents, national leaders nonetheless established revolutionary precedents that continue to shape the country's political landscape today. This study, focused on a decolonization war in the world's most populous Muslim nation, sheds light on the ways in which Islam has functioned as a revolutionary ideology in the modern era. It highlights the complexities and contradictions inherent in the intersection of religion, politics, and national identity during this period of significant historical transformation.

Weight: 398g
ISBN-13: 9781108738170