ABSTRACT
The twentieth century saw an increasing engagement of Indonesian Muslims with the Qur’an at the hermeneutical level through translation of the Qur’an. The involvement of the state in the production of these translations had a significant, yet hitherto understudied, impact. This chapter discusses the production and politicization of Qur’an translation, using Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya, a translation produced by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, as a case study. The chapter discusses two interrelated aspects. The first part explores the production history of the translation, including paratextual elements such as stylistic and layout decisions. The second part elaborates on the ways in which translations of the Qur’an and the history of their production have influenced “popular hermeneutics” in the Indonesian context, that is, the hermeneutical reception of these texts by their readers. I argue that the constant presence of Qur’an translations, especially after 1990 when mass production began, has led to the rise of vernacularism, which further contributed to the conservative turn in the post–New Order era. Translation functions, metaphorically speaking, as fuel for the embers of conservatism, which are periodically fanned into flame by the gusts of socio-political disputes.
