ABSTRACT
Throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s, Suharto’s corporatist strategy reinforced his efforts to neutralise Muslim political opposition. In addition to establishing the Islamic-oriented political party, PPP, Suharto’s regime developed a range of corporatist initiatives for the capture of target segments of the Muslim constituency, such as mosque, preachers’, intellectuals’, ulama (Muslim religious scholars/leaders), and women’s associations into non-party organisations. Among the organisations to be examined in this chapter, are the peak organisation, the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI), and Golkar affiliates, the Indonesian Dakwah Council (MDI) and the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI). These organisations were established during the 1970s when Suharto was trying to consolidate his corporatist control of organisations and when relations between the regime and Muslim political leaders were largely antagonistic. Through the incremental capture of Muslim interests, independent Islamic organisations like the NU and Muhammadiyah would run the risk of losing control over component member bodies which, in turn, would lose their distinctiveness and particularity. Additionally, enforced amalgams of this kind could engender internal contest between the constituent member organisations and cause a fragmentation of interests. The state therefore was engaged in a progressive capturing and simultaneous disorganising of the community’s autonomous associational life.
