ABSTRACT
Islam has entered Indonesian foreign policy only in form rather than substance. That peculiarity in the relationship between Islam and foreign policy reflects the constraints imposed on foreign policy by the primary consideration of domestic priorities and the interests of the state and the regime. In more specific terms, such constraints stem from the dilemma of state identity and also the condition of internal weakness. During the period of Suharto’s New Order, Indonesian foreign policy towards the Arab-Islamic world or international issues with identifiable Islamic dimensions constituted a classic case of the use of foreign policy for domestic political purposes. It is also important to note that while Indonesian foreign policy is non-Islamic in character, that foreign policy has been described as non-contradictory and not detrimental to Islamic interests. This approach was adopted by President Suharto in order to avoid offence to the Muslim community. For many Muslim groups, however, Indonesian foreign policy has not adopted Islamic aspirations fully. In other words, there has been a gap between the substance of official foreign policy and the aspirations of the Muslim community.
