Kiblat and The Mediatic Jew Author(s) : James T. Siegel Source: Indonesia, No. 69 (Apr., 2000), Pp. 9-40 Published By: Stable URL: Accessed: 25/06/2014 04:51

Kiblat and the Mediatic Jew
Author(s): James T. Siegel

Source: Indonesia, No. 69 (Apr., 2000), pp. 9-40
Published by: Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University
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KIBLATAND THE MEDIATICJEW'
JamesT. Siegel
ofMecca (atthetimeofprayer)
kiblat 1. direction
aim;compasspoint,esp. one fromwhichthewind
2. direction;
arises
directedtoward... ; e.g.,politicsdirectedtowardtheinterests
berkiblat:
ofinternationalcommunism.
FromW. J.S. Poerwadarminta, KamusUmum
BahasaIndonesia
(GeneralDictionary of
Balai
Indonesian)(Jakarta: Pustaka,
1966)
speaking,thereare no Jewsin Indonesia.Nor do Indonesiansusually

Practically
claimthatthereare.Butit is now said thatthereis strongJewishinfluencecorrupting
Islam,sometimesdisguisedas orthodoxIslamictruthand producingpoliticalunrest.
There has long been anti-Semitism in Indonesia,but the amount of anti-Semitic
materialincreasedgreatlyduringtheregimeofPresidentSuharto.The Protocols ofthe
EldersofZionhave been republishedseveraltimes,as well as muchelse in theway of
anti-Semiticliterature.2Nor is it unusual to hear Jewsreferredto as the cause of
Indonesia'spresenteconomiccrisis.
1 want to thankAnne
I Bergerand Michael Meekeer as well as the membersof the conferenceconvened
by Samuel Weber and Hent de Vries fortheircommentson thispaper. In particularI am strongly
indebtedto Sam Weber forremarkswhich enabled me to rethinkthe issues thatfollow.
2 Martinvan Bruinessen,"Yahudi sebagai Simbol Dalam Wacana PemikiranIslam Indonesia Masa Kini"
("Jewas Symbol in the Discourse of Indonesian Islamic Thinkingat thePresentTime"), in Spiritualitas
Baru:Agamadan AspirasiRakyat(New Spirituality:Religionand the People's Aspirations),ed. Y. B.
Mangunwijaya,et al. (Yogyakarta:InstitutDian/Interfidei,1994),pp. 253-268.Van Bruinessenpoints out
thatthe ProtocolsoftheEldersofZion were not republishedin Indonesia fromEuropean sources but from
Arabic. He tracesthe tendencyto blame Jewsforconspiracyin Indonesia not to Europe but to Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt.Ibid., pp. 254-255.He notes foureditionsof the Protocolsin Indonesian, the
earliestof which was published in 1982.
Indonesia69 (April2000)

10 JamesT. Siegel
In Europe and AmericaJewsare thoughtto be knowableby theirnames.But in

myexperience, even Indonesianswho have spentlongperiodsin Americaor Europe
oftendo not recognize"Cohen" or "Siegel" as indicatorsof Jewishorigins.Nor do
facesprovidea clue. I was told severaltimesby Indonesians,forinstance,thatmy
nose, long and pointedparticularly by Indonesianstandards,was admirable.It was
admiredin particularbecause it resembledthe noses of Arabs. A Jewarrivingin
Indonesia,then,is likelyto go unrecognizedunlesshe sayshe is Jewish.Buteventhis
Once in SumatraI toldsome MuslimfriendsI was ofJewishorigin.
is notdefinitive.
They offeredto take me to a coreligionist.Arrivingat a house I saw throughthe
window a large orthodoxcross.The religiousidentityof theJew,if thisanecdotal
evidenceis worthanything, mergesintothatoftheChristian, whilethefaceoftheJew
dissolvesintothefaceoftheArab,thelatteradmired,theformer feared.A Jew,even
whenhe is presentin thecountry, ofhis own. Even as
is withouta faceor an identity
he announceshimselfto IndonesianswithinIndonesiahe seemsto disappear.
TranslatingAllah
It seemsusefulto look at someexamplesofcurrent usage. The firstof
anti-Semitic
these was stimulatedby a proposal fora new foundationfortolerancebetween
religions.NurcholishMadjid had been theleaderoftheIndonesianMuslimStudents
Association(HMI) duringa criticalmomentin theestablishment oftheNew Order,the
termSuharto gave to his regimeto distinguishit fromthat of Indonesia's first
president,Sukarno.Nurcholishis well knownamongstthe figureswho speak for
Islam on the Indonesiannationalstage. In December1992,he gave a talk about
tolerancewhicharouseda furoramongstmanyMuslimsand led to his beingcalled a
Zionistagentand a memberoftheInternational JewishConspiracy.3
Nurcholishprovokedhis audience in the firstplace by claimingthatreligion
(agama)was a danger.It stimulated and violence.He had recently
intolerance returned
fromAmerica,and he reliedon the self-designated "futurologists"of the moment,
Media Dakwah,a journal which I shall discuss shortly,published tractsattributedto BenjaminFranklin
and MartinLutherKing warningagainstthe danger ofJews.It quotes Napoleon saying,"The Jewsare the
Master robbersof the modernage. The evil ofJewsdoes not stemfromindividual but fromthe
fundamentalnatureof thispeople" (speech to theCouncil of State,April 30 and May 7, 1806),p. 53. (Media
Dakwah,ResearchTeam, "Fakta dan Data UntukWilliam Liddle" [August,1993]) It also published
translationsof Roger Garaudy in theissues of March 1986,May 1986,and July1986. For a commentaryon
Garaudy as seen by a certainIndonesian Muslim opinion,see Daud Rasyid,"Geraudi [sic] Vs. Sindikat
Zionisme" ("Geraudis versus the ZionistSynidicat"),Media Dakwah,June1997,pp. 17-18.Garaudy was
frequentlyquoted also by NurcholishMadjid.
Following conventionalEnglishusage I use "anti-Semitic"to mean "anti-Jewish."
3 A descriptionof the institutionalbackgroundof thistalkcan be foundin Douglas Ramage, Politicsin
Indonesia(London and New York: Routledge,1995),pp. 75-122.See also RobertW. Hefner,"Islamization
Politics
inIndonesia,"in Islaminan EraofNation-States:
and Democratization inMuslim
andRenewal
SoutheastAsia, ed. RobertW. Hefner(Honolulu: UniversityofHawai'i Press,1997),pp. 75-129.Hefner
speaks explicitlyof NurcholishMadjid and describesthe distributionof Islamic leadership,but he
minimizesthatleadership's complicatedrelationswiththeIndonesian militaryand makes no mentionof
theirvirulentanticommunismwhich renders,as we will see, theextensionof tolerancequite limited.It is
hard to finda Muslim leader of nationalstaturewho openly opposed the rule of General Suhartountilthe
last years of his regime.NurcholishMadjid was not an exception.His effortsrather,as Hefnersays, were
to gain influencewiththe regime.

Kiblatand the MediaticJew 11
people such as AlvinToffler, to warnagainstcertaindangers.Religionas he saw it

needed to be saved fromitself.He repeatedsomethinghe had said twentyyears
earlier,whenhe had recently returnedto Indonesiaafterstudyingin theUnitedStates
at theUniversity ofChicago.At thatmomenthe coineda slogan,"Islam,Yes; Partai
Islam,No" (Islam,Yes; IslamicParty,No). In sum,theproblemwithreligionwas its
organizedelement.The religiousspiritwas valuable,but the institutionalizationof
religionprovoked conflict
and other In
difficulties. thecontemporary in
scene, 1992,he
thoughtthedangerwas cults.Cults-meaningthebands ofsometimesviolentdevout
thena concernin America-were the resultof a pervertedreligiousimpulse.They
were an effectofthe "alienation"(a termhe borrowedfromEricFromm)caused by
industrial society. They produced intoleranceand even violence. Cults, said
Nurcholish, representtheflightofthespiritual,
forthespiritualhas beendrivenout of
industrialsocietyby its characteristic
confusionand loneliness.Organizedreligion
cannotassuagethiscondition.
No one,Nurcholishadded, claimsthatcultsexistin Indonesia.RatherNurcholish
fearedthat,giventhenatureofreligionand givenalso Indonesiansocial conditions,
cultscould arise:
But in Indonesiaup tillnow,preciselytheunevendistribution [ofwealth]and
inequality are characteristic; this emerges clearly in the distribution of
information, opinion, and opportunity.Thus the crisis here
[krisis] would be in
factmuchworsethanin America,were it not forotherfactorswhichworkto
containit. This crisiscan takedifferentformsof expression.One amongthem
whichcan threaten and at theveryleastdisturbstability[stabilitas] and national
security.In otherforms, itcan be theemergenceof cultsand fundamentalism.4
There could be cults. They would arise just at the point where anotherdanger
threatened.When he speaks of threatsand disturbanceshere,Nurcholishechoes
conventionalphrasesemployedby the New Order,whichrepeatedlywarned the
nationaboutdangersto "stability and nationalsecurity."The New Order's"danger"
referredto themenaceofresurgent communism afteritsdefeat,and afterthemassacre
of hundredsof thousandsof those accused of being communistsin 1965-66.The
dangerarisesfromthemaldistribution of opportunity and particularly of incomein
Indonesiathathas come withtheincursionsof theinternational market.Nurcholish
here expressesa distrustof destabilizinginfluencesthathe shareswithhis Islamic
opponents,as we shall see. This opinion grows out of a warningspread by the
government, thewarningthatboththegovernment itselfand theIndonesianpublic
mustbe forever on guardagainsttheattempted returnofcommunists to power.Those
who broadcastthiswarningpoint to the factthatin 1948,duringthe revolution,
communistsfoughttheforcesofSukarno.Despitetheirdefeat,theCommunistParty
subsequentlyregainedits position,reclaimingpower to such an extentthatin 1965
manyexpectedthemto wincontrolofthegovernment throughelections.It was justat
thismomentthatcommunistswere massacred.Now, it is feared,communistswill
emergeagain.
4 NurcholishMadjid, "Beberapa Renungantentangkehidupan Keagamaan di Indonesia untukGenerasi
Mendatang." Nurcholish'stalkand responsesto it were republishedby his opponents.See H. Lukman
Gerakan
Hakiem,ed.,Menggugat Pembaruan
Keagamaan: Islam'(Jakarta:
DebatBesar'Pembaruan Lembaga
Studi InformasiPembangunan,1995), p. 47.

12 JamesT. Siegel
Nurcholishspeaksofthedangerofcultsratherthanthedangerofcommunism as a
of his of
way introducing criticism religion.Cults,in his view,are a stuntedformof
religion.One mustopen religionup; he proposedmakingit as inclusiveas possible.
He suggesteda way forMuslimsto accept the religiouslifeof others.The Koran
recognizestwo otherpeople of the book, Jewsand Christians,to whom prophets
appearedbearingthewordofGod. Mohammedis theseal ofprophecy,thebearerof
theperfectedmessage.ButMuslimmen are allowed to marryJewishand Christian
womenin acknowledgment oftheline ofprophecycommonto theirreligions.In the
interestof inclusionand ofthespiritof religion,Nurcholishwantsto show thatthe
God oftheMuslimsis also theGod ofothers.It is in thefirstplace a questionofthe
nameofGod.
Because "Tuhan" [the Indonesian word for"God"] and "Tuhan" can have
differentmeanings.As an example,the "Allah" ofArabsbeforeIslam differed
fromthe "Allah" of Islam. Amongotherthings,the "Allah" of the Arabs had
childrenand associates[in English]who were all "served"withofferingsand
by humans.Whilethe"Allah"ofIslamhas thesense ofGod who is
prostration
theonlyGod, who is pure;accordingto Max Weberit is "puremonotheism"-
strictmonotheism[inEnglish]as is cogentlystatedin theKoran,thewell-known
Al
Surat Iklhash.5
The name ofGod confuses.Nurcholishclaimsthatthename is notrelevant."Allah"
once meantnot the monotheistic god of Islam,but a god of the polytheistictribes
beforethe foundationof Islam. Whatis important is thatthereis a singlesourceof
truthregardlessofthenamegivenit.
Everything thatis truecomesfromthesame source,thatis Allah,theTruest[al-
haqq]. And all prophetsand apostles [rasul] bring the same message. The
differenceis onlyin theformoftheresponsedependingon thetimeand place of
theapostle.Thusthereareno differences ofprinciple... 6
It is a questionofidentifying "thesame source."And thatis onlyin parta questionof
prophetsand apostles.Thusitis notonlyChristians and Jewsto whomdivinemessage
was brought.It is also Buddhistsand Hindus and others.For thosewho have iman
-faith-there are no greatdifferences. Nurcholishfollowsan Arabicinterpretation
whichgivesMuslimstherightto marrynotonlyJewsand Christians-peopleofthe
book-but Chineseand Japaneseand othersbecause"theytoohave holybookswhich
containthebasis ofTauhid[unicity] ofGod who is uniquelyOne."7
The namesofGod canbe confusing. Theimportant thingis to understandthatone
cannotknowGod in his uniqueness,his lackofduplication.To tryand do so is to fall
intotheerrorknownin Indonesianas berhala, whichmeansto picturegod,to createan
image of him, and perhaps a materialimage. This forNurcholishis the Muslim
equivalentofalienation.Man worshipswhathe creates;thismeansthatmanno longer
controls his own productions; they control him. This he calls alienasi as he
Indonesianizestheword"alienation"thathe borrowsfromEricFromm.
5 Ibid.,p. 51.
6 Ibid., 55.
p.
7 Ibid.,p. 59.

NurcholishMadjidhad somedefenders. Theyformed, in fact,one groupofMuslim

intellectuals
on theIndonesianscene.It is his opponents,however,aboutwhomI want
to speak.Theywerenumerous,but forthemostparttheargumentstheyput forward
to challengeNurcholishcoincided.One assertionwas thatNurcholish,in accepting
thatreligionhad undesirableeffects and citingWesterners who made thesame claim,
no longerspokefromIslamicsuppositions. AccordingtoDrs.NabhanHusein,
It meantthathe put in place a principleof use to measurea truth.This is the
same as puttingreligionin thepositionofa tool [instrumen] subordinateto the
criteriaof the societyconcerned.When the societyis flooded by change, a
religion[Nurcholish thinks]has tobe reexamined. And so on throughtheages.A
foundation ofthinking ofthissortmightbe compatiblewithcertainreligionsbut
notwiththeMuslimreligion.8
Suchthinking, accordingto LukmanHakiem,was based on a faultyunderstanding of
the unknowability of God. Allah cannotbe known,but He can be experienced.The
resultof workingthroughcontradictions, as he says Nurcholishdoes, by a method
Lukman Hakiem labels Hegelian,is thatit leads those who are naive into doubt,
philosophy,and secularism.He claimedthatNurcholish'smisunderstanding is based
on his inadequatetranslation
fromArabic.
Anothercritic,HM Hasballah Thaib,MA, warned,as did many others,of the
dangerof raisingdoubtsthroughtheuse of inappropriate methodsforthe studyof
secular
Islam,particularly ones.
Manypeople are alreadymade nervousabouttheirfaithwhenla ilahilallah[the
firstphrase of the confessionof faith]is analyzed to mean "Thereis no god
[tuhanwitha small't'] exceptGod [Tuhanwitha capital'T']." Not to mention
sayingthat"God nevernamedhimself Allah;onlyhumansdid that."9
NurcholishforusingCartesianmethods:
Hasballahgoes on tocriticize
Imagineifsomeonewhobelievedin Islamwantedto lookforthetruth.Wouldhe
have to leave Islam first?What would be the result?He would clearlybe an
[in Englishand italics]raises
research
apostate.In thisway we see thatscientific
realdangerwhenitis used in thearea offaith.10
He concludesby findingfaultwithNurcholish'stranslations ofthesuratAl Imranand
otherpartsoftheKoran:
In his piece, NM frequentlyplays with Arabic words which have multiple
meaningsto thepointwherechangingthemeaningjusta triflecan deceivethe
Muslimcommunity, especiallythosewho do notreallyunderstandthelanguage
of the Koran.11
8 Drs. Nabhan Husein, "Membedah PemikiranNurcholishMadjid," in

MenggugatGerakanPembaruan
Keagamaan,pp. 144-173,160. Most of the articlesin thiscollectionwere originallypublished in Media
Dakwahin April,May, and June1993.
9 HM Hasballah Thaib, "Mengkaji Gagasan Nurcholish,"in MenggugatGerakanPembaruanKeagamaan,pp.
112-123,originallygiven as a talk in Medan on July27, 1993.
10 Ibid., 114.
p.
11 Ibid., p. 118.

14 JamesT. Siegel
IfNurcholishis at fault,so tooareWesterners

whostudyIslam,usuallyreferredto
in these writingsas "orientalists."Hasballah Thaib enumeratedtheirfaults.Like
Nurcholish:
a. TheyarenotwillingtoacceptthetruthofIslam.
b. Theyhave an insufficient
graspofArabic.
c. Theydo notunderstand Islamiclaw.
d. Theylookat Islamthrough JewishorChristian lenses.12
Anothercriticexplainedwhyitis thatorientalists
areso influential:
AftertheWestfeltitselfdefeatedin itsattempt to controltheIslamiccommunity
throughpoliticalimperialism, the West struckout on anotherpath.Amongother
things,they launched an attackfrom "within."For thattheymade an analysisof
Islamin orderto finditsweaknesses(accordingto theirassumptions). Thenthey
disseminatedthiswidelywithintheirown areas and in themidstoftheMuslim
communityitselfin orderto shake the faithof the Muslim communityin its
religion.13
This writerpointedout thatvariousMuslimswho studiedin theWesthave exposed
theirstrategy.The term"orientalists" lacked thespecificityit has in Said's famous
book,and, in fact,has littleto do withSaid's notionofscholarsoftheMiddle Eastern
In theworksofthesewriters,
tradition. onlyoccasionallywereorientalists named,and
even thenthe line of connectionbetweena particularscholarand his influenceon
particularMuslims,or, forthat matter,the ideas of particularorientalists,went
unmentioned."Orientalists"as a termused by theseauthorswas vague. Western
scholarsof Islam such as JacquesBerque,who are knownto be defendersof Islam,
went unmentioned.Vagueness of referencedid not preventthe termfrombeing
consistentlypejorative.
Several criticsleveled the chargeof orientalistinfluenceagainstNurcholish.A
couple of themchargedthathe did not acknowledgehis sources.Werehe to do so,
said Abu Ridho,itwould meanacknowledging thatmanyMuslimscholarswho were
studentsofWesternorientalists arestillunderthecontroloftheirteachers.One has to
understandthat
the studentsof orientalists
are theirtools,scatteredthroughout everyMuslim
and
country, continuously held in control
by force
oftheseorientalists.14
Misquotationand mistranslation oftenwere said to be resultsof the influenceof
Daud Rasyid,MA, pointedout thatMuslimsin theirstudyoftheKoran
orientalists.
12 Ibid., p. 119. Hasballah liststhe factorswhichcause a Muslim to be influenced the
by understandingsof
orientalists:1. They do not understandthe legacy (Legaci)or thetrueheritageof Islam and do not look at
research(Cartesiantheory)used in the
the truesources of authenticIslam; 2. They are deceived by scientific
area of faith;3. They want to thinkfreelyratherthanthroughreligiousinterpretation (taqlid);4. They are
influencedby desire. Ibid., p. 119.
13 Daud Rasyid, "Meluruskan Akidah,Menangkal Mu'tazilah," in
MenggugatGerakanPembaruan
Keagamaan,p. 240. (Originallypublished in Media Dakwah,June1993).
14 Abu Ridho, "Hikmah Lain dari PolemikItu" in
MenggugatGerakanPembaruanKeagamaan,pp. 208; 195-
213. (Originallypublished in Media Dakwah,April 1993).

and Hadithshave a certainmethod.Theyfollowtheetymologyof Arabicwords in

whereasNurcholishdoes not.
ordertobe preciseabouttheirmeanings,
Rasyidclaimsfurther
that:
Those who are not disgustedby thecontentsof thethoughtlaunchedat them
will be stunnedby the feverishuse of foreigntermsand the philosophical
delivery.15
They"willbe stunnedand accepttheideas."
It is in this contextthat anti-Semitismarises. Daud Rasyid points out that
Nurcholishis notthefirstto returnfromabroadwithshockingideas. Therehave been
others.And therehave been secularistsofthissortin theArabworldas well. One of
theseis theEgyptianThahaHusein,who claimed,Daud Rasyidsays,thatMohammed,
ratherthanreceivingtheKoranfromGod, wroteit himself.Thaha Husein,he says,
claimsthatthereis important Jewishinfluence on theKoran.He made theseassertions
the
"following suggestions of his teacher,Durkheim of the SorbonneUniversityin
France, who was thedirector ofhis doctoralthesis."16
Daud Rasyidrepeatsthechargeoforientalism. He quotesProf.Dr. IsmailRaji al-
Faruqi from in
TempleUniversity Philadelphia, whom he claims"felldirectlyintothe
of
clutches Jewish[Yahudi] Zionists in the of
study Islam, from the giving of
scholarshipsand professorships, and who was murderedby Zionistagentsand who
advisedMuslimsnotto studyIslamin theWest."The problem,Faruqiexplained,was
thatAmerica"was accustomedto takingin exiledintellectuals who wentagainstthe
mainstreamin Muslimcountriesand who were latergiven positionsin the US as
universityprofessors.""17 Rasyid concludes that Westernorientalistsdo not use
scientificmethodologywhich would insiston objectivity(obyektif) and an honest
approach to Islam.
Returningto Nurcholish,he says thatNurcholishhas mistranslatedimportant
wordsand has notfollowedtheetymological methodsthatpertainin thestudyofthe
Koranand Hadiths.The resultscouldbe seriousif,forinstance,one translated in such
way thatit was no longernecessaryto fast.RasyidnotesthedeclarationofAllah that
exposes thetricks(trik-trik) oftheJewsand ofthosewho studyIslam withtheJews,
who twist the lines of Allah with devious turns of the tongue and stunning
philosophicalstatements so thatpeople will acceptthemas thetruth.Maybe thisis
Nurcholish'saim so thateveryonewill thinkthatthedutiescontainedin thesyari'ah
are unimportant and itis no longernecessarytocarrythemout.18
15 Daud
Rasyid,MA, "Kesesatan Dikemas dengan Gaya Ilmiah" (Deviation Put RightThrough
Knowledge), in MenggugatGerakanPembaruanKeagamaan,p. 93. Originallygiven as an address on
December 13, 1992 in themosque ofTIM where Nurcholishgave his talk.
16
Ibid., p. 94.
17
Ibid., p. 95.
18 The Koranic verse he alludes to reads:
Some of theJewspervertwords fromtheirmeanings
saying,"We have heard and we disobey"
and "Hear, and be thou not given to hear"
and "Observe us," twistingwiththeirtonguesand traducingreligion.

16 JamesT. Siegel
He goes on to criticize-Nurcholish forhis claimthatthedesignated"people ofthe

book" whosewomenMuslimscan marryincludenotonlyJewsand Christians butalso
Buddhists,Hindus,and others.This conclusion,he says,is theresultof anotherof
Nurcholish'smistranslations. Hereis Rasyid'sconclusion:
Finally,how difficult it is to [have to] say thatNurcholishforceshimselfto be
arrogant toward Islam buthe does nothave thecapacity[modal]forit.It is even
harderto say thatNurcholishwho claimsto be renderinga serviceto Islam in
Indonesiain factactuallydamagesIslamicthinking. The mostdifficultthingto
say is thatNurcholishis a Zionistagentwho ruinsIslamfromwithin.19
Daud Rasyid assimilatesNurcholishto otherswho have returnedfromstudy
abroad.LukmanHakiemblamesNurcholishforhavingstudiedat Chicagoat length.
"It was at ChicagothatNurcholishmade theacquaintanceofProf.LeonardBinder,a
fanaticalJewwho proposed to thisIndonesianMuslimintellectualthe titleDoctor
providedhe denytheroleoftheMuslimcommunity in Indonesianlifein thepastand
thefuture."20
CertaincriticschargedthatNurcholish spokeas a secularist. Butsecularismin their
estimation merely delivered Nurcholish into thehands ofJews. Ifwe assumethatthe
secular,by contrast to the is to
sacred, open argument, then a close examination ofthe
criticismsleveledagainstNurcholish us
show that his critics
do notreallylocatehim in
a "secular" tradition,but in an alien,blasphemous"sacred" tradition,a systemof
falsifiedfaith.It maybe thathe is open to argument withinthelimitsofCartesianism,
but he is outsidethepossibility ofargumentwithgenuineMuslims,orientedas they
are to the sacred word and understandingit accordingto prescribedprinciples.
Nurcholishis not merelyweak in his commandof sacred Arabic,theysay. His
weaknessis itselfa signthathe translates thesacredbooksbyotherprinciples, thoseof
orientalists.He is relocatedor reorientedelsewhere,towardanothersacred,in the
sense ofanotherfoundationoftranslation and methodofthinking, thoughof course
only a secularist could speak of "another sacred."Nurcholish's deviationfromkiblat
opens onto the secular;thesecular is another another
kiblat, set ofprinciplesthatmake
it impossibleforhim to exchangeviews withthosewho thinkin genuinelyIslamic
terms.At thesame timehe continuesto communicate withthosewho are unawareof
whatinforms histhinking. He can onlycorrupt belief,accordingtothisview.
If theyhad said, "We have heard and obey"

and "Hear" and "Regard us," it would have been
betterforthem,and more upright;but God has
cursed themfortheirunbelief,so theybelieve not excepta few.
A. J.Arberry,trans.,TheKoranInterpreted, vol. 1 (New York:Collier Books, 1955),p. 107 (Surah IV,
"Women").
19 D.
Rasyid,MA, "Kesesatan Dikemas dengan Gaya Ilmiah," p. 105.
20 Lukman Hakiem, "Nabi Gagal Menjalankan
Missinya?Meuguji pemikiranNurcholish"("Was the
Prophetdefeatedin CarryingOut his Mission?: AnalysingthethoughtofNurcholish")Media Dakwah,
December 1992,p. 4. Nurcholishis reportedto have said laterthatLeonard Binderwas neverin a position
to make such an offer.R. William Liddle, "Media DakwahScripturalism:One Formof Islamic Political
Thoughtand Action in New Order Indonesia," in Towarda New Paradigm:RecentDevelopments in
ed. Mark Woodward (Tempe: Arizona StateUniversity,1996),p. 353,
IndonesianPoliticalThought,
footnote18.

Some writersin themonthly magazineMediaDakwah,wheremuchofthecriticism

of Nurcholishwas published,no longerconsiderNurcholishto be a Muslim,but no
one claimshe is a Jew.21Accordingto his critics,Nurcholishis theagent,moreoften
thannotunwitting, oforientalists.
He is in theirpower,unreachableby argument.In
thatsense,too,Nurcholish'sunderstanding oftheKoranis a mistranslationonlyfrom
one pointof view. The Jewswho have,in theunderstanding of Nurcholish'scritics,
mistranslatedtheKoranhave done so willfully. Theirintentions,
thoughnefarious, are
fullytransmitted in Nurcholish'sdiscourse. The Koran be
may mistranslated, but the
words ofJewishorientalists are not.Generationsaftertheirstudieswere made, their
workshows up intactwithoutany slippagein translation fromEnglishor Frenchor
GermanintoArabicand fromthereintoIndonesian.Unwitting IndonesianMuslims,
duped by thesestudies,repeat the intentions ofJews who lived beforeon
generations
different
continents.
Thereis no mistranslation
at all. On thecontrary thereis a pathoftranslation that
is alwaysaccurate,preserving theinimicalintentions at itsorigin.Thesebad intentions
differ fromthoseone encounters in dailylife.One can replyto or even correctthreats
in dailylife.Buttherecan be no exchangeofviewswiththoseofanotherorientation.
Theyare underthecontrolof othersfaraway in timeand place. Nurcholishat best
could repentratherthan modifyhis opinions.For theirpart,his criticscould be
influencedby him only at the cost of acceptingsomethingwhich would remain
witheverything else theythink;alternatively theycould changetheir
incompatible
entire mannerof thinking.Words which originatefromanotherkiblatcannotbe
assimilatedwithinthetrueIslamicunderstandings ofNurcholish'scritics.Takenin,
theydestroyone's capacitytounderstand correctly.
Many of thosewho respondedto NurcholishstressthatIslamis itselftolerantand
thatJewsand Christiansfarewell underMuslimrule.The converse,theysay, is not
true.Theydo notfearthepresenceofnon-MuslimswithinIslamicsociety,theysay.
Theyfear,rather,thatsomeoneor somethingshows up throughthe intervention of
Nurcholishand otherstrainedby orientalists;thatsomeone,the originatorof the
dangerousmessages,remainsabroad.It is not thepresenceofJewsthemselvesthat
theyobjectto. For all practicalpurposesthereare no Jewsin Indonesia,and it is not
claimedthatthereare,as I have said.22Theyfear,rather, Zionistinfluence,and they
conflateZionistsand Jews.Furthermore, Zionistinfluencehas nothingmuchto do
withIsrael.The misconceptions oforientalistsoriginatein Europeor America,notin
Israel,and itis notclearwhatpoliticalbenefittherewould be to Israelif,forinstance,
NurcholishMadjid gainedinfluencein Indonesia.23 Zionistinfluencemeansharmto
21 See Hadiyanto, "Nucholish Itu Neo Marxis"
("This Nurcholishis a NeoMarxist"),Media Dakwah,
December 1992,p. 49; Muchlish Abdi, "Angap Saja Angin Lalu" ("Simply thinkof him as wind thathas
passed by"), Media Dakwah,December 1992,p. 50.
22 There are some who know of theJewish
communityin Surabaya or who have heard thatthereis a Jew
who lives in a certainpartof Jakarta.But thesepeople are not thoughtto be a threat,whereas Jews,always
abroad, are.
23 The closest one comes to a politicalnotionin this
thinkingis when threereportersfromJakarta
newspapers, including Islamic papers, went to Israel. It was said thattheywanted to prepare the way for
the recognitionofIsrael by Indonesia. The otherpoliticalevent came when a Jewishdiplomat was
nominatedas Americanambassador to Indonesia, evokingmuch protest.

18 JamesT. Siegel
IndonesianMuslimsthroughthe actionsor speech of thosetakento be Indonesian

Muslimscontrolled
by thoseat a distance.24
MediaDakwah,to whichI wantto turnnow in orderto discussitsanti-Semitism, is

not an organof "fundamentalists" insofaras thatword meansreligiousfigureswho
insiston a scripturalist
interpretationoftheKoran.25MediaDakwah,rather, is an organ
of"modernists"; itschiefancestralfigureis MohammedNatsir,who was an important
Islamicreformer. An Islamicmodemistin theIndonesiancontextmeantsomeonewho,
in the 1930s,in the name of Islam and of the Indonesiannation,advocated the
establishment ofWestern-style educationratherthanKoranicschools;who workedfor
the emancipationof women,meaninghe favoredmodem dress and educationfor
them; and who, with independence,preferredthe inclusionof all groups of the
archipelagoin thenationto theestablishment ofa stateruledby Islamiclaw.26Media
Dakwahcontinuedto welcomechangesin Indonesiansociety.It looked on the new
conglomeratesto be foundin Jakartaas promisingvehiclesforthe spread of Islam.
Media Dakwah introduced prayer sessions and religious instructionin those
conglomerates runby Muslimsand in certaingovernment banksas well.On theother
hand, theythoughtcorporateenterpriselargelyfavoredIndonesianChinese at the
24 "Distance" can be historical.One Media Dakwaharticleclaimed thatNurcholish's
proposals closely
resembledthose of Annie Bessantand theTheosophical Society.The Theosophical Societywas active in
the earlypart of the centuryin Indonesia. The ResearchTeam ofMedia Dakwahresponsibleforthe article
sees it as stilloperatingin an importantway. In theiropinion,theTheosophical Societywas a branchof
BritishFreemasonrycontrolledin theearlypartof thecentury,at least,fromMadras. They believe it is
particularlydangerous as a frontorganizationnot only forFreemasonrybut forJews:
It is here thatthe Islamic communityhas to be particularlyon the alert.And fromnow on no
longerthinkof Nurcholishas theperson who was once head of theHMI [Muslim Students
Organization].Nurcholishnow, whetherhe is aware of it or not,is Nurcholishwho, directlyor
indirectly,is campaigning[mengampanyekan] forthethinkingof theTheosofischeVereeniging
which veryclearlyformspartof the netof theJewishInternational.
They go on to say thattheTheosofischeVereenigingin colonial timesdid not seek to spread its teachings.
It is all the more deplorable thatNurcholishis thoughtto be an Islamic figure;he uses his extensive
knowledge of Islam to spread Theosophical thinking."This is most effectiveforthegroup of Orientalists
and Islamacistsin misleadingthecommunity."See Tim Laporan Utama, "Penyerahandiri,"Yes, Islam,
'No,'" Media Dakwah,December 1992,p. 47; 44-47.They conclude: "We have to be verycarefulabout
whateverNurcholishlaunches at us. He can zig-zag in the astonishingway peculiar to the characterof
Jews.Islamic community,beware." p. 47. See also theaccompanyingarticleby theTim Riset,"Nucholish
Madjid dan Annie Besant,"Media Dakwah,December 1992,pp. 44-45.
25 For anotherview, see William
Liddle, who indeed thinksof thisstrainof Indonesian Islam as
scripturalist."Skripturalisme Media Dakwah:Satu BentukPemikirandan Aksi PolitikIslam Masa Orde
Baru," Ulumulal-Qur'an,July1993.
26 On the question of the Islamic
headdress,jilbabin Indonesian,Media Dakwahreportsvarious Islamic
opinions as to whether or not it is requireddress. The periodical is most concernedwithcases where in
public schools and factories,the wearingof thejilbabhad been banned. See the issues of February1983,
April 1984,September1985,November 1985,March 1989,January1991,February1995,and March 1995
fornumerous articleson the subject.For a discussion of theplace of thejilbabin Indonesia today see
Suzanne Brenner,"ReconstructingSelfand Society:JavaneseMuslim Women and the Veil," American
Ethnologist 23,4 (1996): 673-697.For a general discussion of theissue see Anne Emmanuelle Berger,"The
Newly Veiled Woman: Irigaray,Specularityand theIslamic Veil," Diacritics28,1 (Spring 1998): 93-119.

expense of small-scaleMuslimtraders.Theirobjectionsto "capitalism"seem to be

linkedto theirconcernsabouttheChinese.27
The genealogyofMediaDakwahis foundin theIndonesianelite;thatis,itsancestry
comprisespeople who had benefitedfromWestern-style educationand who had
workedfortheenlargement ofopportunity ofthoseconsideredless privileged.In the
1930sand in the1950stheywereeagertohave thebenefitofWesternlearning.Iftheir
attitudein thisregardhas changednow,itis in partbecause thenotionoftheforeign
whichimpingeson Indonesiahas changed."The foreign"is no longerthe sourceof
ideas whose assimilationby Indonesians led to independenceand promised to
generateeconomicand social development. It is now identifiedin thefirstplace with
themarket.The writersofMediaDakwahare notagainstthemarketas such,but they
recognizethatneithertheeliminationofthecommunistsnor the introduction of an
internationalizedeconomy has closed the gap between themselves and "the people,"
now theunderclass,in whosenametherevolution was fought;rathertheoppositehas
happened.The assumptionthatothers,foreigners, knewhow to construct a justsociety
and thatthe adoptionof methods,means,and ideas fromabroad would lead to a
unitednationalcommunity, has beenshaken.28
NurcholishMadjid addressed himselfpreciselyto such reformist, modernist
Muslims,saying thatit was time to go beyond them. In turn,Media Dakwah devoted
muchspace to Nurcholish.The coverofone issue largelygivenoverto himbearsthe
title"WhereNurcholish'sThoughtComes Out" and has a designshowingsomeone
enteringa maze. At the end of the maze is a Starof David. This reference is to the
hidden twistsof the tongue whose effects,transmitted at a distance,issue from
Nurcholish'smouthand to thosemisledby such tricksand twists,who end up as
JewishZionistagents.
MediaDakwahby no meanshas a monopolyon Indonesiananti-Semitism, but it is
nonethelessnoteworthy forits positionnear thebalancingpointof a debate about
Westerninfluencesand Indonesia. The writersand audience of Media Dakwah
a groupthatis (orwas once)opento Westernideas,thatdoes notabsolutely
constitute
oppose the introductionoftheglobalmarketand thechangesitbrings,and thatfavors
technologicalchange.And it is also anti-Semitic.MediaDakwahpointsto anothersort
of anti-Semitism, one whichdoes not issue fromcommunaltensionnor fromthe
suspicion of traders in a peasant society,but rather from the conditions of
communication thatfallundertherubric"globalization."
27 See the articlesin Media Dakwahon conglomeratesas an

opportunityforIslamic activities,October 1991.
Regardingthe Chinese and capitalism,see the collectionof articlesin Media Dakwahin August 1991 and
May 1993.
28 Of course therewas always the fearin the Sukarno regimethatIndonesia would be dominated by
foreignideas. This, however,was an effectof Sukarno's attemptat syncretismas he sought a basis in the
stateby acceptingdiversenon-Indonesianideologies,includingMarxismand "religion"(agama). Today,
by contrast,the idea ofa model forthe nation is not at issue. It is assumed that"development"
(pembangunan)is firstof all economic,and theeconomyis thatofthe market.In thisview, foreign
influenceloses its particularityoforigin;capital and technologyhave no smell. Or at least thatis trueup to
the point where capital becomes "Chinese" and occasionally "Jewish."Cf. Sobirin,"SindikatCina dan
Islam dalam Dunia Bisnis" ("Chinese Syndicatesand Islam in theWorld of Business"), Media Dakwah,May
1993,pp. 47-48.

20 JamesT. Siegel
PerhapstheleadingWesternauthority on thecurrentstateofIndonesianMuslim
thought and Martin
organization, van Bruinessen,suggeststhatIndonesianMuslim
support forthe Palestinian
cause,particularlysincetheSix Day War,is one reasonfor
the greatincreasein anti-Semitic materialduringthe Suhartoperiod. He is surely
correct,thoughas he notes,the conflationof Jewsand Zionistsis inaccurateand
unnecessary, makinganti-Semitism aberrant.
Withthedefeatofthecommunists in 1965-66,Muslims,who wereinstrumental in
the overthrowof PresidentSukarnoand who supportedthe efforts of his eventual
successor,Suharto,hoped to findtheirinfluenceincreasedin the state.Theywere
disappointedfora longtime.PresidentSuhartopromoteda numberofChristiansto
important positionsin themilitaryand thegovernment, a move thatsome Muslims
resented, and when Suhartoalso grantedconcessionsto IndonesianChinesein orderto
attracttheircapital,thesesignsof favorled some to complainthatthoughMuslims
formedthe majorityof the nation,theywere politicallymarginalized.As the New
Ordercame to an end,Suhartoturnedmoreand moreto Muslimgroupsforsupport,
but resentmentabout being kept out of power persistsamong certainof them,
particularly thosewho writeforMediaDakwah.29 OtherMuslimgroupsand leaders,
including Nurcholish Madjid, found a place forthemselveswithSuharto.30One has to
takeintoaccountthechangedplace ofreligionin theIndonesianstate.BeforetheNew
Ordertherewas muchlessconflict betweenreligionsthancertainMuslims,at least,felt
to be the case in the 1990sand thathas developed intoseriousviolencein certain
regionssincethen.
In general,religioussentimentor at least activityhas gained in strengthin
Indonesia as the lefthas been eliminatedfromthepoliticalscene. Therewere also
reportsofmany(one cannotsay how many)former leftists
who becameChristians or,
less often,Muslimsto avoid theconsequencesofhavingbeenpartymembers.One has
to add as well thatwiththeend of populismas practicedby Sukarno,some of that
29The Media Dakwaheditorialofficesare in the
yard ofa mosque not farfromthe Universityof Indonesia,
in the same building as thatof the formerIslamic politicalparty,Masjumi, headed by Mohammed Natsir,
which was banned duringthe Sukarno period and failedto reestablishitselfin the Suhartoera. A good
deal of Media Dakwah'sresentmentstemsfromthebitternessof itspoliticalfailure,in my opinion. In the
post-Suhartoperiod it hopes to make up forthisfailure.This was made clear to me when I, along with
Henri Chambert-Loirof the Ecole Franqaisesd'Extreme-Orient, spoke at lengthwitha numberof Media
Dakwahwritersin June1998.
I mightnote here thatwhile theMasjumi was modernistin its orientation,Mohammed Natsirwas an
anti-Semiteof long standing.Here, forinstance,is a statementfroma book of his published in 1970.
Describing "the characteristicsofJews,"he says "It is in theircharacterno matterwhere theyare to be like
worms on the leaves ofbanana trees.The leaves are destroyed,riddled withholes theymade, while their
bodies get fat,just like worms on leaves. For thatreason,theyare a people who forcenturieshave been
hated everywhere.Thus a few decades ago, beforethe Second World War,theywere chased fromWestern
Europe and EasternEurope. They became a hated people. WhenHitlerwas in power theywere put into
camps where,it is said, several millionwere killed." He goes on to say thatnonethelessJewswere allowed
to lived in Arab countries.M. Natsir,Masalah Palestina(Jakarta:PenerbitHudaya, 1970),pp. 12-13.
30 Nurcholish,forinstance,was a memberof ICMI, the group ofMuslim intellectualsformedby Habibie
when he was vice president.

movement'sideologicalfervorpassed intothemodeofreligion.Atthesame time,new

divisions have separatedMuslims fromeach other.In the Sukarnoera the main
distinctionswerebetweenMuslimscloselytiedto local traditions and theproponents
of "modernization."NurcholishMadjid directedhis remarks,we have noted,at the
latter,notin thename ofregionalismbut ofa changedworldin whichthe"modem"
no longer could comprehendIndonesianrealities.In my opinion he reflectsthe
segmentofthepopulationwhosepointofreference is firstofall thelargecityand for
whomthecontention betweenreformers ofanotherperiodand theirruralopponentsis
withoutmuchrelevance.
This does not mean thatthemajorityof Indonesians,neitherthoselivingin the
regionsnortheurbanlowerclasses,have been forgotten. MediaDakwah,forinstance,
sometimessees themwithinthecontextofa certainembourgeoisement; itreportsthat
the conglomerates who supportIslamicactivitiesin theirbusinessesappreciatethe
"increaseddiscipline"thatregularprayerand sermonsproducein theiremployees.31
Forthemostpart,however,itregrets thatthegreatunderclass,assumedto be Muslim,
is not representedin nationalor even local affairs.Nurcholish'sremarks,in fact,
addressthe failureof Islam in itspresentconditionto appeal to thesesame people,
people he wishesto raisein thesocialscale and whoseactionshe fearsifthesituation
remainsas itis. He speaksoftoleration ofChristians,
Buddhists, Hindus,and so on. In
doing so, he calls on the power of a certainIslamic belief to encompass others,
this
including neglected underclass. His tolerationwould make possibletheinclusion
of everyonecurrently a citizenby law in the nation.The dangerhe sees when he
speaks ofcultsis notfromBuddhistsor Christians, but fromthose,underprivileged,
who mightdisruptnationalsecurity becauseofthe"gap" betweenthemand people in
Nurcholish'sown class. Those who are potentialdisruptersof the social orderare
usuallyreferred to as themassa,themasses,and theyare thoughtto be Islamic.The
powerofthestateand thenationto encompassitscitizensis moreseverelychallenged
by theirdiscontent thanit was by theregionalismoftheearlyperiodoftherepublic.
The implicitassumptionof the debate on toleranceis the lessened abilityof the
Indonesiannationto encompassits citizensthroughtheassumptionsat workin the
foundingofthenation.Islam,in someformor another,is neededto accomplishwhat
people fearthestatecan no longeraccomplish.
In theview ofMediaDakwah,theIndonesianChinesepose a problembecausethey
incitetheunderclass.The writersofMedia Dakwahalso fearthe "gap" betweenthe
middle class and the underclass.They,and many Indonesians,focus on division
caused by theinequitiesbetweenwealthyIndonesianChineseand poorMuslims.This
formulation concealsthenon-Chinesemiddleclass to whichthewritersthemselves
belong.It perceivesthe IndonesianChineseas the cause of disruptionand popular
discontent. The writersofMediaDakwahbothjustifiedtheanti-Chinese riotingof1998
in termsof theneed and long suffering of thepeople, and, at the same time,they
fearedit. In theiropinion,once theunderclasshas properMuslimleadership,which
was blockedundertheNew Order,theproblemwillbe solved.
31 In anotherexample,the "managementof Bank BNI in factfeelsitbenefits-even though [prayer]takes

time away frombusiness hour-it has the certaintyof firmerbeliefof its employees and thatwill lessen
dishonesty,corruptionand manipulation."FromAru SyeifAssad, "Bias Dakwah di LingkunganBisness,"
articleto a serieson dakwahin business.
Media Dakwah,October1991,p. 41. This is the introductory

22 JamesT. Siegel
ForNurcholish, toleration ofChristiansand Buddhists,meaning"Chinese,"is one

issue; the question of cults is not altogetheranother.The cults he fearswould be
Islamic,appealing to the underclass.Many middle-classMuslims themselvesfear
Islamic"fanaticism" in a way thatis notalwaysdifferent fromthesentiment ofsome
Americans.To includeand tolerateIndonesianChinesein thenationwould ideally
makethemless alien,and thusneutralizethemas an objectofunwantedattraction for
the underclass.IndonesianChinese would no longerinciteenvy and desire,and
thereforeno longer incitefanatical,"fundamentalist" Islamic notionswhich are
actuallyexpressions of that To
envy. propose a more tolerantformof Islam is to
oppose cultsand to preventIndonesianChinesefrom(indirectly) playinga role in
theirformation.
Nurcholishwishesto renewIslam so thatit mayplay itsnecessarypoliticalrole.
His opponentswish to returnMuslimsto power by overcomingthose who have
preventedtheiraccessiontopower-particularly IndonesianChineseand Christians-
and who have therebypreventedthefullinclusionof theMuslimunderclassin the
nation.Theywant a Muslimpoliticalpartythatwould speak forthisunderclassin
Islamicterms.Theyperpetuatethethinking ofan earlierperiodin Indonesia,whenthe
variousculturalstrainsof thenationeach had its own politicalparty.Despite these
differences,theunderlying problemforbothMediaDakwahand forNurcholish, as for
theentireIndonesianpoliticalclass,is the"gap" betweenthemiddleand lowerclasses.
In theissueofreligioustoleration, questionsofclassand religionintersect.32
The state's insistenceon religioustoleranceis part of its policy of overcoming
differenceswithinthecategory"Indonesian."The firstoftheFive Principlesor Panca
Sila oftheIndonesianstate,"God is One," requiresIndonesiansto be believers.They
can chose betweenthe fivereligionsrecognizedby the state:Islam, Protestantism,
Catholicism,Buddhismand Hinduism,each with its own departmentwithinthe
Ministryof Religion.This firstprinciplewas adopted to appeal to Muslims who
wanteda strongerIslamicbasis forthestate,butwereunableor unwillingto have a
provisionobligingMuslimsto followIslamiclaw adoptedat a timewhen to do so
threatened nationalunity.33
Toleranceis guaranteedwithintheframework ofthestate.Thisis theoutcomeof
Indonesiannationalismand, in particular,the resultof an attemptby Sukarnoto
includeall thepeoples ofthearchipelagoin thenation.Ifthemonotheism ofthefirst
principle,belief in one god, was understood to includeother religions as well which
were not monotheistic, thishappenedbecause theFive Principles,takenas a whole,
werethoughtofas makinga place forall thepeoplesofIndonesia.Perhapsalso itwas
because ofthesyncretism Sukarnopracticed, whichhad itsrootsin Javanesetradition,
32 Religious tolerationis an issue in the New Orderbecause
religionitselfhas become more important.Its
relationto fearof the underclass and, in turn,theconnectionbetweenfearof theunderclass and anti-
Semitismis complicated.As noted,thequestion of religioustolerationis not preciselya question of
ethnicity.Indonesia has nearlynine hundredregionallanguages and as many ethnicgroups. Certainof
these are Christian,includingsome Chinese. But "Muslim" is nota coded word forparticularethnic
groups; it is a categorythattranscendsethnicitypreciselyas an elementof nationalidentity.Christianstoo
in large citiesoftenworship in churcheswithcongregationsfromdiverseethnicgroups.
33 For the historyof Panca Sila and particularlyof the FirstPrinciple,see Ramage, Politicsin Indonesia,pp.
10-20and the literaturecited therein.

wherebydiverseand even incompatibleideas were routinelybroughttogetheras

proofofthepowerofthekingdom.34 LaterSukamoannouncedotherprinciples,such
as NASAKOM, an acronymof the words meaning"nationalism,""religion,"and
"communism." Theseincompatible elementswerenonetheless joinedin a unitywhich
founditsforcein thenation.The proclamation ofNASAKOM was againan attemptat
inclusiveness, anotherwordforwhichmightbe "tolerance."The verycapacityto hold
together disparateelementsprovedthepowerofthestateand thenation.It attestedto
itsculturaland evenreligiousforcebeyondevenitspoliticalpower.
WhyPancaSila survivedand NASAKOM did notis a questionto be answeredby
political history.But syncretismin any case was out-of-datein the New Order.
Syncretism was derived,as I have said, fromJavanesetradition.Butitsforceoutside
Java,in thenationas a whole,restednotwitha fundamental beliefin Javaneseideas,
but withbeliefin thestateas theheirand even thecontinuation of therevolution.If
for
Hinduism, instance, could be comprised under the monotheism ofthestate'sfirst
principle, itwas notmerelythanksto a politicalcompromise. It was becausethenation
itself,realizedduringtherevolution, had a capacityto includeitspeoples.Underthis
dispensation, Muslimscouldbe satisfiedwiththestrictsenseof "monotheism," while
Hinduscouldbe assuredthatsomehowitappliedtothemas well.
Therewere,then,multiplekiblats fromthebeginningoftheIndonesianstate.If it
was possiblein 1945to ask Muslimstomoderatetheirclaimsin theinterest ofnational
unity,itwas becausetheprestigeoftherevolution made conflict betweenIndonesians
insupportable. Now the Islamic factionrepresentedin Media Dakwah assertsthatits
statusas a majority withinthestategivesittherightto decidethetermsoftoleration,
and thatin religiousterms.NurcholishMadjid, forhis part,is not contentwith a
purelynationalsource of ethnicinclusiveness;he too turnsto Islam. One is left
wonderingwhatis consideredfundamental. The waveringbetweenprinciplesreflects
the inabilityof the state to continueto incarnatethe revolutionin the minds of
Indonesians.
NurcholishcontinuesSukarno's impulse to include. But to raise the basis of
toleranceis also to show itslimits.Nurcholishdoes notmentionCommunists, buthis
references to the"gap" betweenclassesis a coded reference to thepossibilityoftheir
return,no doubt in a different form.If he wants to include "everyone,"it is not
everyonein any format all. His notionof tolerancewould overlapwiththatof the
state.Itwould includeall Indonesians, butonlywithinthedefinitions thatspelloutthe
termsof the firstprinciple.Nurcholishwants to includeChristiansand Buddhists
withinthelimitsofacceptability ofIslamand oftheIndonesiannation.Ifsomeofthese
are former Communists, it is notin thatcapacitythattheywould be acceptable.As we
willsee,MediaDakwahalso fearstheinclusionofthesamegroups.It is moreforthright
in itsinsistenceon exclusion.
At the timeof the foundationof the state,the problemwas to make national
identity ofperson.Today,in theconflict
prevailoverregionaland religiousdefinitions
over toleration,the problemis different. have emergedwith the
Class differences
prosperityoftheNew Order.Theseare obscuredby theplace ofIndonesianChinese,
who wereintegrated intotheeconomyby Suhartoin returnfortheirinvestment in the
34 BennedictR. O'G Anderson,"The Language ofIndonesian Politics,"Indonesia1 (April 1966): 89-116.

24 JamesT. Siegel
Indonesian economy,but kept out of the national universities,the government

bureaucracy,and the armed forces.This leftthemavailable to be consideredthe
wealthy,obscuring, as I havesaid,thenewlyprosperousnon-Chinese. Thereis also the
fearof a returnto power of Communists, who are unrealistically
blamed forsocial
unrest.Byidentifying theIndonesianChineseand resurrected Communists as thechief
causes ofdisunity,thepeoplewe havebeendiscussingmaintaintheirbeliefthatunity
of the nation is still a possibility.If only the rich and the ineradicableforceof
communismdid notthreaten us, thenationwouldbe unified,and therewould be no
need tohave discussionsabouttoleration.
Questions about tolerance(the word is taken fromEnglish) and about the
foundationofthenationare raisedtogether.35 In thiscontext,one's opponentsdo not
voice ordinarydisagreements. Theyseem,rather, to speakfromsomewhereelse,from
presuppositions out ofreachofcertaininterlocutors. One adds to thiscomplication the
complications raised by voices which are meant to be kept out of the discussion
entirely, includingthevoices of Communistssomehowleftover afterthemassacres
and imprisonments of1965-66, and,forsome,thevoicesofIndonesianChineseand the
voice of "thepeople" (rakyat) who,in theformofthemassa,threatento speak in the
formof uprising.It becomesa questionof who one hears and who one is afraidof
hearing.
In thissituation,one does notfearstatements themselves, butinsteadone fearsthe
origin of thecommunication. The anthropologist and Martinvan Bruinessen
Islamicist
tellshow a religiousscholarfroma remoteeasternisland of Indonesiacomplained
aboutcassettesofrecitation oftheKoran.The recordings wereperfect;theKoranwas
chantedas itshouldbe. Peoplelistenedto thementhusiastically. That,indeed,troubled
the religiousscholar.Instead of chantingthe Koran themselves,the people of the
island listenedto the cassettes.Theirfaithweakened.It was, he said, theresultofa
Jewishplot.It was entirely a questionoftheoriginoftherecordings. Nothingin the
recordedwordsthemselvesindicatedtheirorigin.Everything recognizablewas as it
should be. And yettherewas somethingelse,something unrecognizableabout these
perfectrecordings. What thisscholarfound in the unrecognizable was a distantorigin.
He saw in it a communicativeforcewith the power to put words in the ears of
believersand make themwantto hearthesewordsoverand overagain. He labeled
thistheworkofJews.
The subtlemistranslations ofNurcholishMadjidlikewisearrivefromsomedistant
place,accordingto his opponents.He cannotbe convincedto recognizetheirperverse
source,and itis thesource,ratherthanthecontentofthetranslation or mistranslation,
thatis trulyat issue here.WereNurcholishhimselfto be theoriginofmistranslation,
his intentionswould be readable and he would be correctable.He, however,says
somethingthatmakeshis opponentscertainitsoriginis notwithhimat all; thereal
sourceofthemessageis faraway.The consequencesofhearingthismessage,likethe
consequencesof listeningto thetapes discussedabove,are potentiallycatastrophic.
The messageshave a powerwhichcannotbe guessedat and whichextendsfarbeyond
35 One could say thatuntilthe New Order Indonesia had less need of thisword because it had a way of
accountingfordifferencesderived fromthe templatesofJavanesemythologywhich,while not at all part
of officialstateformulations,worked in practice.See BennedictR. O'G. Anderson,Toleranceand the
Mythology oftheJavanese(Ithaca: CornellModern Indonesia Project,1965).

the effectof what theyseem to say. In thatsense the truesources of the message
remainas unrecognizable as theidentities ofthosewho fabricated theperfectKoranic
chanting on the tapes. Nurcholish is said to be the bearer of singulareffectswhich
in
could, fact, mean anything other than what they should mean.
Seen fromone side Nurcholishis thebearerof obscure,distant,and catastrophic
messages;fromtheother,he is a manwho wantsto save his countryfromthemenace
of violence and even disintegration by bringingsomethingas yet unheard to his
nation.For thesepeople who trusthim,his messageis limitedand precise.For his
opponents,ratherthan for himself,he representsthe possibilityof a messiah,
unwanted of course, because what he says containsthe possibilityof meaning
anything includingthoseas yetunknown,are open.
at all; all possibilities,
This messianicpossibilityarisesout of the disturbedhorizonsof the Indonesian
nation.And yet the unknowabilityof Nurcholishto his opponentsis not wholly
reducibleto thatdisturbance. It is notonlythatNurcholishis orientedto falsehood;it
is ratherthattheterm"Jew"indicatesa sourceoffalsehoodwhichis as potentin its
consequencesas itis difficult to locate.Though"Jew"and Zionistare conflatedin this
way of thinking,Israel, as I have said, is not considered to be the source of
Nurcholish'serrors.The namedplaces--Chicago,Paris,Germany-aremerestopping
pointsforJewswhoseplace ofresidenceis unimportant. It does notmatteriftheyare
American, or for
French, German, instance; what matters is thattheyareJews.
One cannotderivetheJewish"elsewhere"fromthecomplicatedarrayof diverse
kiblat--communist, Buddhist,etc. It is beyondall of these.It is unlikethemin that
thosewithsuch an orientation-Jews-arenoton theIndonesianscenein an explicit
way.One comesacrossthemonlyby chance,itseems.One knowsthekiblats ofothers
besides Jews because they point to them,but the Jewishkiblatdesignatesan
"elsewhere"withoutan indicator.It remainsforus to see whatithas to do withother
voicesand otherkiblats foundtodayin Indonesia.
ReferencesAbroad
Therewere,ofcourse,DutchJewsin theDutchEast Indiesas well as descendants
of Jewsfromthe Middle East. There remainstoday a synagogue in the port of
Surabaya,buttheJewishcommunitywas neverprominent in theIndies.36In anycase,
36I1am told by thehistorianClaude Guillotof the CNRS thatin the 1980s thereare no more than a handful
of membersleftin thissynagogue.It had been used mainlyby Jewishtradersfromwhat is now Iraq. The
old man in chargeof the synagogue told Guillotthat,asked by Indonesians his descent,he says "Iraqi"
and, thoughtheyknow thathe is in chargeof the synagogue,he is thenperceived as an Arab. As soon as
theJewappears in Indonesia he disappears.
A Jewishtravelerhad thisto say about the conditionofJewsin 1925:
"I learned thattherewere several hundredJews-perhaps as many as 2,000-scattered about from
Batavia to Surabaya,but as many of themconcealed theirJewishoriginsit was impossible to forman
approximateestimateof theirnumbers.Dutch Jewshad been livingin the countryfora verylong period
and had played an importantpartin its commercialdevelopment.... There were many Jewsoccupying
Governmentpositions,themostprominentbeing the Residentof Surabaya.... But therewas no Jewish
lifein the communal sense, mixed marriageswere frequent,and the only formof association consistedof a
few strugglingZionist societies."Israel Cohen, TheJournalofa JewishTraveller(London: JohnLane, The
Bodley Head Limited,1925),pp. 211-212. I am indebtedto JohnPembertonforbringingthissource to my

26 JamesT. Siegel
today's referencesto Jewsdo not referto actualpopulations.The Jewis neitheran

unwantedfigurewho alreadyexistsin Indonesianor is he theexcludedone, which
would implythathe could at somepointbecomean elementofthelocal population.
The Jewas objectofanti-Semitism remainsabroad,and it is assumedhe alwayswill,
his references and Koranicpronouncements.
beingZionism,orientalists, It is onlyhis
effectsthatarefeared.
Westerners oftencomparetheIndonesianChinesepopulationtoJewsbecausethey
are minoritythatcame fromabroad and because manyof themare traders.One
a
mightthinkthattheywould be takenas crypto-Jews in thethinkingof anti-Semites.
betweenChineseand
This is not the case. Thereis seldom an explicitidentification
Jews,37 but I want to presentan examplewhichshows how, nonetheless,the Jew
showed up in thepages ofMediaDakwahwhenchurcheswere burnedas a resultof
conflictbetweenMuslimsand IndonesianChinese.
Thereis a long historyof contention betweenthosetermed"Chinese"(I put the
termin quotes to signalthattheyare merelyof Chinesedescent-often,indeed,of
mixed ancestry-and are culturallyand by citizenshipIndonesians) and other
Indonesians.UnderSukarnoChineseeducationand theuse ofChinesecharacters for
storenameswerebanned.IndonesianChinesehave been encouragedto replacetheir
Chinesenameswithothernames,usuallyJavaneseor Arabic,and manyhave done so.
Theyare,in theeyes ofmainlandChinese,indistinguishable fromotherIndonesians.
Buttheyare accused ofhavingfavoredtheDutchduringtherevolutionand ofbeing
less than reliablein theirfidelityto the nation,as evidencedby the popular fear,
widespreadbeforethe changeof regimein 1998,thattheywould expatriatetheir
capital during the economiccrisis.On the one hand, theyare acknowledgedas
Indonesiancitizens,Indonesianby cultureand language;on theotherhand,theyare
distinguished as separateby smallidentifying marks,suchas theinitialsWNI (Warga
NegaraIndonesia) which standfor"Indonesian citizen,"and by othertermsindicating
thedistinction imposed on them by their
fellow Indonesians.
All ofthismightfavoran identification of"Chinese"withJews.Whenithappens,
however, it is done onlyvaguelybut,nonetheless, specificpointin the
at a significant,
discourse.Letme illustrate throughthetreatment ofcertain Indonesian Chinesein the
columnsofMediaDakwah.In March,1997,themagazinehad an issue devotedmostly
to anti-"Chinese"riotsin whichchurcheswereburnedin certainJavanesecitiesand
theirsurroundings.In Rengasdengklok, the PentecostalChurchwas burned;in the
area as a whole,fourchurcheswereburned,as was a bank,whilemanyshops were
looted.Outsidethecitya viharawas also burned.Thislasteventattracted international
attention.
Anotherobserver,Eze Nathan,generallyconfirmsCohen's reportbut adds thatafterthe coming of
JewsfromIndia in the late nineteenthcenturytherewas "a semblanceof communal lifein a few cities."
Writingin 1986,he says thatfromthe timeof theJapaneseoccupationtherehas been "scarcelya single
Jewishfamilyleftin Indonesia." TheHistoryofJewsin Singapore:1830-1945(Singapore: HERBILU Editorial
and MarketingServices,1986),pp. 175-176.
37 On the identificationof the two by SoutheastAsians, see Daniel Chirot,"ConflictingIdentitiesand the
Dangers of Communalism,"in EssentialOutsiders:ChineseandJewsin theModernTransformation ofSoutheast
Asia and CentralEurope,ed. Daniel Chirotand AnthonyReid (Seattle:Universityof WashingtonPress,
1997),p. 5.

as an Australianphotographer
attention, fromAssociatedPressTelevisionwas present
whenthestatueofBuddhawas hungby theneckfroman archat theentranceto the
burningtemple.His recordingof theeventwas shown on CNN.38Despite this,the
attentionofMediaDakwahfocusedon thechurchesand noton thevihara.Therewere
similareventsin othernearbycitieswhichit also reported.MediaDakwahwas upset
because Muslimswere blamed forthe firesand the riots.They did not deny that
Muslimsset thesechurchesand shops afire,but theyfeltthattheseMuslimswere
justifiedin doing so. The problem began during the fastingmonth,when an
IndonesianChinesecalledCik Gue (MediaDakwahwritesit "Cigue";forconvenienceI
willfollowtheirpractice)complainedbecauseshe was wokenup by thebeatingofthe
drumsin themosque,callingbelieversfortheoptionalprayeroftenmade duringthe
nightsof the fastingmonth.Here is an accountof the incidentby a local Muslim
teacher:
At 2:55 am people hereusuallystrikethedrumannouncingthetimeto prepare
breakfast(earlybecause it mustbe beforedawn) forfiveminutesuntil3:00 am.
Thishas goneon foryears.Butforsomereason,Ciguehad a toothacheand right
awaysworeat thekidsin themosque,usingdirtywords--dog,pig,stupid.Then
tookdownthenamesoftheboys
she calledthepolice,and thepolicestraightway
in themosque.Afterthepolice came she [Cigue]overacted[in English],feeling
shehad protection.So shecursedsomemore.Finally,themasseswereangry,she
was beatenup, and thepolicecouldno longerbreakup themasses.As timewent
on moreand morepeoplecame.39
IfCigue,ratherthantherioters, is to blamefortheriot,itis notmerelybecause Cigue
losthertemperand herhusbandthreatened to call thepolice. It is also because she
actedwiththeconfidence ofone who was "protected" whenshe made hercomplaint;
she is able to act with impunitytoward Muslims because she feels that the
governmental authoritiesare on herside,favoring"Chinese."Muslimsare a majority,
but theyare blamed forthe faultsof others.Here is the statementof anotherlocal
religiousteacheron thesameriots:
We are verydisturbedthattheIslamiccommunity is blamed forthe incident;
always blamed, forcedinto a comer.Why not blame the people who triggered it
[menjadipemicu]? The ones who triggeredthe flareup [sic] were not Muslims.
Whyshould it onlybe Muslimswho are pursued? ... Because if indeed the
38 Andreas Harsono, ed., Huru-haraRengasdengklok (Uproar in Rengasdengklok)(n.p. [Jakarta]:Institut
Studi Arus Informasi,1997),p. 18. The same reportnotes thata reporterfromAgence France Presse
photographedan Indonesian soldier looking gleefullyat the suspended statue.
39 An interviewwithUstad Holid A., an ulamaand head of a school in the area. Komar,Joko,Taufik,Nuh,
"Mereka MembentukGeng Tersendiri:Warga keturunanCina selama ini bersifaatekslusif.Hal ini
memicu kerusuhandengan kebencianyang kental"("They formedtheirown Gang: Those of Chinese
descentact withoutregard.This triggersunrestand deep hatred"),Media Dakwah,March 1997,pp. 54-55.
A team of social scientistsinvestigatingtheincidentsay thatCigue is really"Cik Gue," "Cik" being
Chinese for"older sister."They say also thatthe woman had Indonesianized her name, taking,in fact,an
Arabic name, Nurhayati.Andreas Harsono, ed., Huru-haraRengasdengklok, p. 6.

28 JamesT. Siegel
Islamiccommunity is toblamefortheflareup, it'sonlyforthesmoke.The fireis

them(non-Islam--editor). I said thesametothepolicechief.40
These speakersdo not claimthatthechurcheshad a connectionwithCigue. In any
event,itis unlikelythatCiguebelongedto morethanone ofthem,ifto anyat all. It is
ratherthatCigue's bad temperis takenas characteristic of"Chinese."Typically, these
speakers claim, such Chinese do not respectthe customs of theirneighbors.The
subtitleof one ofthearticlesconcernedstates:"ThoseofChinesedescentact without
regard.This triggersunrestand deep hatred."This is, indeed, the charge some
Javaneseoftenlevelagainsttheir"Chinese"neighbors, thattheykeepthemselves apart
fromothersin thecommunity and do notrespectJavaneseways.
"They,'Chinese,'cause thetroublewhilewe, Muslims,taketheblame." Whena
writermakesthisclaim,he registers hiscomplaintagainsttheactionsofthepolicewho
subdued theMuslimrioters,and perhapsalso againstthenationalpapers and their
coverageof the riots.41"Chinese"are accused also of cheatingin the marketplace;
substituting eighteenfortwenty-four-karat gold,not givingfullmeasurewhen they
sell vegetables,and so on. All suchcomplaints stemfroma generalconviction thatthe
Muslimmajorityin Indonesia,whileso oftenshowingtolerancetowardothers,is not
onlytakenadvantageofby thosetheytolerate, but is also ignoredand abused by its
own government.
The resultis theaccumulationof grievanceswhichMuslimssay theyhave every
reason to thinkshould be correctedby the government. Theydo not invokeequal
protection of thelaws, but the feelingthat thegovernment by rightstheirssincethey
is
are thevast majority. Theycomplain that their
proteststo thegovernment are never
rightly heard;instead,suchprotestsonlyattractsuspicion.Theyperceivethemselves
as thevictims.Buttheburnedout churchesindicateto othersthattheyare intolerant
and at fault. If they act against the Indonesian Chinese and not against the
government,it is because theyidentifythemselveswith the nation; though the
government is notin theircontrol,theythinkofit as symbolically theirown. It is the
"Chinese"who preventitfrombeingmorethansymbolically theirs.
Anotherreligiousteachercomplainedthatwhen the regentin his community
issued a permitto build a new church,theChristians, meaning"Chinese,"builtone
almosttwicethesize,evenaddinga secondstory.
Everyoneknowsthatthisis contempt[melecehkan] fortheregulations. We even
had a meetingwiththeCouncil.Writethisdown,we aren'tanti-church, anti-
Christian.42
of
Thisteacherofsomeoftherioterspresentshimselfas a defenderoftheregulations,
A prominent
thenationalgovernment. "Chinese"fromthearea deniedthecharge.The
40 Komar, Joko,Zuki, Nuh, "H. Sobarna Noor, SekretarisMUI
Rengasdengklok:Bom Waktu di
Rengasdengklok. Rumah berubah menjadi gereja itulahbom waktu yang meladak di kota bersejarahitu"
("H. Sobarna Noor, SecretaryMUI [Council of Islamic Scholars]Time Bomb in Rengasdengklok:Houses
turninginto churchesare a timebomb explodingin thishistoriccity"),Media Dakwah,March 1997,
pp. 53-54.
41 See in particular
KompasforJanuary27, 1997.
42 More preciselyhe said thatthepermithad not
yetbeen officiallyissued but thattherewas provisional
authorityto construct
the church.Andreas Harsono, ed., Huru-haraRengasdengklok,p. 81.

implicationof the teacheris thatIndonesian Chinese enjoy betterrelationswith

officials because "Chinese"havebribedtheofficials. Theteacheris notagainstthelaw,
he is forit.Butwhenthelocalofficials do notenforceit,they,Muslims,mustenforceit
themselves, even iftheydo so paradoxicallywithillegitimateviolence."Chinese"are
contemptuous ofthecountryand are notfullyIndonesian.It is nota questionoflegal
citizenship ofmoralstatus."They,""Chinese,"shouldbecomeIndonesianin the
but
full sense by participatingin the communitywhile respectingthe rightsof the
majority. "We,"Muslims,arereadyto defendthelaw eventothepointwherewe must
takeon theopprobrium ofthegovernment and ofpublicopinionand ofthepolice,the
agents of the law.43We actout of It is notsimplythatonlyviolenceis left;
desperation.
it is also thatin theabsenceoflaw enforcement, to actoutsidethelaw is to institute
it.
When"Chinese"understand thattheycannotbribeofficials and cannotactoutsidethe
community, thelaw willworkagain.
The eventsat Rengasdengklok and othernearbyplaces are,in theview ofMedia
Dakwah,not merelythe resultsof accumulatedpast grievances;theyare also an
indicationoftroublein thefuture.Theyindicatethepresenceofa "timebomb" (bom
waktu).A riotis thecall ofpeoplewho havebecomeconvincedthattheyarepowerless
and unheard. The religiousteacherabove, forinstance,says that the troublein
Rengasdengklok beganin 1978and has beencontinuous."Buttheseare sharppebbles,
a timebomb theyhave planted."He explainsthe machineryof the timebomb by
sayingitconcernsquestionsoftheeconomy,businesspoliticsofthe"Chinese,"social
questions,and also manyquestionsthatconcernreligion.All thisadds up to thepoint
where:
... thereis jealousyand thereare manyquestionsthatconcernreligion.Indeed,
theyhave notput up anynew churches.Buthouses thathave been turnedinto
churches . ... [ellipses in original], these are numerous. Yeah, these are new
churches,new churches.I told theregentstraightout and thechiefofpolice. It
was the firsttime I was "arrested";I wasn't reallyarrestedjust questioned
[dinterogasi]and askedforexplanations. Aftertherewereindicationsofpeople in
theirtwenties[i.e.,possiblyhisstudents].
And then?
Ya ... [ellipsisin original].I said thereare no new churches.Butthereare many
houses that have turned into churches.The time bomb issue; the people
[masyarakat] urgedthecouncilofreligiousscholarsto protestthechurchbuiltby
Oklih.Oklihis theDirectorofPanturaBank.
Whatis at issue?
The regent'spermitis fora churchof400squaremeters, buttheybuilt730square
meters,and theymade it two stories.The regentand his assistant do not allow
churchestobe builtlargerthanthechurchin theregencycapital[Karawang].But
thisis actuallythebiggestchurchin WestJava.Everyoneknowsthattheyhave
contempt We evenmetwiththeCouncil.Writethisdown:we
fortheregulations.
arenotanti-church, anti-Christian.
You meanan attitudeoftolerance?
43 One notes thattheseMuslims claim to be the majorityand, at the same time,findthemselves
condemned by mostIndonesians,most of whom are themselvesMuslims.

30 JamesT. Siegel
Reallywe live nextto themin peace. Butprocedureshave to be gone through.

Thereshouldnotbe [a permit]forone limitand thena churchbuiltformorethan
that.There,that'sthetimebombiftheofficials don'tdeal withit.We asked that
thegovernment teardown what'soverthelimit.But it's neverbeen done. The
regenthimselfdoesn't understand.He just knows thatOklih built a church
withintheprocedures.So that'sthesymptomthatsomethingis hidden in the
background.
You meanthingshave accumulated?
He thengoes on to speakofthebeatingofthedrumin themiddleofthenight.People
shouldunderstandthatitis thefasting month, theirfeelings.
he says,and restrain
Religiousconflicts are theculmination ofotherproblems.Thesebuddingconflicts
are representedby a sign,whichis the multiplication of churches.Like the act of
building churches larger than permitted by law, thesechurches themselveshave no
legal standing.The resultis thatone cannottellforsurewhethertheyexistornot.The
speakersays theChristians havebuiltno new churches;thenhe saysthathomeshave
been turnedinto churches.For instance,asked how many churchesthereare in
Rengasdengklok, thereligiousscholaranswers:
thereare onlyfour.Butthisdoes notincluderesidenceswhich
A lot. Officially
have been made intochurches.Up tillnow I don't know exactlythe number
becausetheydo nothave official Theyaren'tregistered.44
permits.
These churchessymbolizea seriesof grievances.Theirappearancehas an inevitable
and autonomouscourseofitsown.Whatis one day a house thenextday is a church.
Churchessimplyappear,and no forcecan stopthem.People do notknowhow many
there are. The "time bomb" has exploded. At this point we have moved from
discussingan individual"Chinese"who "triggered"theburningswithhercomplaints,
to theworkingsofa forcewhoseagentsarenamelessand whoseplaces ofappearance
are uncertain.
Media Dakwahreproducesphotographsof burned out churcheswith captions
whichindicatetheirsignificance:
A Churchthe Victimof Unrest:They are built on a magnificent scale often
withoutlegalpermits.45
Indonesian,whichlacksbothtensesand a pluralform, permitsone to say,"itwas built
... " and are
"they being built... " in the same words. is to makea unique
The effect
case, thechurch in thepicture,typical.It is notmerely thatthe church is likeothersin
itsdisplayofextravagant expenditure. in
Itis also that,seeingit a photograph, already,
of course,a formof duplication,and readingthecaption,one is linkedto multiple
examples. One leaves the historicaland even the narrative,which is to say the
connectionbetweenthedrummingin themosque and thereactionofCigue and the
accumulatedgrievanceswhichmagnified thesignificanceoftheincident.The account
slips and expands,so thatitthreatensthe automatic replicationofmorechurcheswith,
44 Komar,Joko,Zuki, Nuh, "H. Sobarna Noor, SekretarisMUI Rengasdengklok:Bom Waktu di

Rengasdengklok,"Media Dakwah,March 1997,pp. 53-54.
45 Caption to photograph,Team Media Dakwah, "BuntutKerusuhan:Ramai-ramaiMenyudutkanIslam,"
Media Dakwah,March 1997,pp. 42-47,esp. 42.

KiblatandtheMediaticJew 31
as a consequence,morearsonto come.Thisis the"timebomb"notonlyas it was but

as itis to come.
Churches as symbols of past grievances are one thing. Churches which
continuously appear out ofhomeshave a tingeoftheuncanny.Burningthemdown
does not solve the problem.It merelyspeaks of a momentof provocation.The
implicationis thatthechurcheswill continueto appear and thattheywill be found
unbearableagainsometimein thefuture.
"Writethisdown,we aren'tanti-church, thereligiousteachertells
anti-Christian,"
thereporter.He thusassertsthatburningtheChurcheswas an actiondirectedagainst
"Chinese,"notagainstChristians. ofthesechurcheswerelikelyto
The congregations
be mixed,yet the churchesare thoughtof as the work only of "Chinese." It is
"Chinese"who are thoughtto have bribedgovernment and it is "Chinese"
officials,
who are thoughttohave paid forthechurches.Churchesthatwerenot"magnificent,"
thatis, did not display the amountof moneyinvestedin them,mightbe merely
"Christian."The "gap" between"Chinese"and "us" whichcauses the"timebomb"is
formedby money:"they"have itand "we" do not.Butitis also formedby therefusal
of "Chinese"to mixwiththeirJavaneseneighbors."Chinese"in thissense signifies
"wealth"and also exclusiveness.
Indeed,wealth,or at least "Chinese"wealth,is thoughtto lead to exclusiveness.
Here is a reportfromthe team of Indonesians who investigatedthe events at
Rengasdengklok whichI have alreadycited.The writersofMediaDakwahare unlikely
to finditobjectionable:
KimTjoan[thehusbandofCigue],Cigueand theirchildrenare thought by
thepeople of[theneighborhood] tobe a familythatdoes notmixmuchwith
theirneighbors.Smallincidentsrelatedbytheirneighborsshowtheobjections
ofthefamilyin mixingsocially.Mrs.Weskomi,thewifeofa
and difficulties
teacher,one ofthefiguresoftheneighborhood, knowsCiguetobe a difficult
person."Earlierwhen the Chinesewere poor,theydid mix[bergaul],butnow
thattheyhavetheirownstoreand housetheyareremote.In fact,theyliveright
in ourmidst,"shesaid. WhenCiguetalkswiththeneighbors, she onlygoes up to
thefenceofherhouse.
Once therewas an incident,a sweetsop fruitripeningin Cigue's yardwas
pickedby a neighbor'schildwho was also ofChinesedescent.Thiseventraised
problemsbetweenthetwo families.Cigue could not containher feelings,Oen
Ceng Bouw whose house is rightin frontof Cigue's, said. Cigue chargedOen
CengBouw'schildwithbeinga thief.46
The gap between "Chinese" and otherIndonesiansmightbe thoughtto provoke
jealousy. But here the logic is not exact. If it is true that otherIndonesians want what
"Chinese"have,theydo notwantto have it in thesame way. It is oftenthecase, for
riotsin Java,thatstoresare lootedonlyto have thegoods
instance,in anti-"Chinese"
burned.Not to keep thegoods foroneselfis a way of showingthatwhat "Chinese"
46 Andreas Harsono, ed., Huru-haraRengasdengklok,
p. 11. I have changed theirspellingof Cigue (Cik Gue)
to matchthatofMedia Dakwah.

32 JamesT. Siegel
value is not whatone values oneself.47 One remainsuninfluenced by wealth.Cigue

and herfamily, are
however, charged with having wealth inflect
theirrelationsto their
neighbors.Whentheywereable to own theirown shop and theirown house,theyset
themselvesapart.For a childto takea piece offruitfroma neighbor'streewould be
consideredpart of the way thatneighborssharebelongings.Cigue comes to think
differently. She no longer"mixes,"whichin thefirstplace means"talkwith"buthere
meansalso mixingproperty. She and herfamilyliveapart.Theyno longertalkto their
and no
neighbors they longerunderstand them.
Wealthleads to separation.But"infact,theyliverightin ourmidst."It is a strange
prejudicethatwantsthosewho are dislikedto takea largerpartin thecommunity. Of
coursetheanticipatedresultis thatoncesuchpeople mix,theywillno longerbe upset
whentheyare awakenedby a drumbeforedawn.The complaintis thatwithoutsuch
"mixing,""Chinese"becomestrangers. These"Chinese"arenotdifferent bycustomor
descent.Nor do theybegin as being different; Cigue was once "like us," but she
becamenotmerelydifferent butunreachableonce she becamewealthy.Separationis
intolerable, notmerelybecauseit causes difficultiesbetweenthosestilllivingside by
side but because,even beforethereare problems,thosewho have becomestrangers
takeon a ghostlytinge.
The complaintis thatsuch people are stillpresentand yetare removed.Where
does Cigue keep herselfwhenshe is notmixingwithMuslims?She is rumoredto be
insane.48This reportof insanityis actuallya hyperbolicformof the statementthat
"Because'Chinese'do notmixtheydo notunderstand'us'," exceptherethestatement
is comprehendedthrougha reversal:"we do not understandthem."There is a
connection betweenthespectralchurchesthatkeepappearingout ofhouses,whichis
to say, out of nowhere,and the spectralneighborswho, because of theiridea of
property,keep to themselvesand thus choose to live "nowhere":wealth marks
"Chinese"as notmerelydifferent butas havingan incomprehensible provenance.
"Chinese" are oftenthoughtto be wealthywhen they are not. They are the
repositoriesof imaginarywealthnot merelyin the sense thattheymay not own
anything more than their neighbors,but in the sense that their wealth is
incomprehensible, comingas it does fromothersourcesthan those thoughtto be
availableto Javanese.A Javanese, forinstance, who findssomething unusual,perhaps
a numberprintedupside down by accidenton a trainticket,mightwell use that
numberto bet on thelottery. Ifhe wereto win and to becomewealthy,it would be a
in
markoftheway whichthesupernatural favorshim.It would givehima new and
honorablepositionwithinJavanesesociety.His wealth,unlike "Chinese" wealth,
would comefroman uncannyforcewhoseprovenance, thoughnotknown,is at least
usable and integratedintoeverydaylife."Chinese"wealthremoves"Chinese"from
thesocietyoftheirneighborsand comesfroma sourcenotopento theseneighbors.
The "elsewhere"ofCigue,alonewithherpossessions,is notthesame "elsewhere"
as thesourceofa winninglottery number.It is notavailableto herJavaneseneighbors.
She is, in thatsense,morethanmerely"odd" [aneh],thetermused forthemisprinted
47See JamesSiegel,SolointheNewOrder: inan Indonesian
andHierarchy
Language Princeton
City(Princeton:
UniversityPress, 1986), pp. 234ff.
48 Andreas Harsono, ed., Huru-hara
pp. 11-12.
Rengasdengklok,

trainticketthatindicatesa possibleuncannysourceforthenumbers.Thoughstillso
termed,she is beyondthatcategoryas it functions betweenJavanese,and thusshe is
unlocatable.Nonetheless,her neighborsremainacutelyaware of her. From this
perspective, theproblemwiththe"gap" betweenpresumablywealthy"Chinese"and
theirMuslimneighborsis not thatit is unbridgable, but thatit is not wide enough.
Whatthey,"Chinese,"have is apparentto us. We are botheredby it.Acrossthisgap
thereseems to be continuouscommunication; but not of the usual sort."We" are
botheredby them,by thestrangeappearancesoftheirchurchesand by theirstrange
relationtoproperty.
That "Chinese" wealth is thoughtto estrangemay be merelyan effectof the
intrusionofthemarket.However,themarketis notat all foreignto Muslimtraders.
Thereis also thechargethat"'Chinese'are a minority in thenationwhilewe are the
and are
majority, yetthey wealthy and we are not."The authorsofa studyoftheriot
in Rengasdengkloknote thatseveral "Chinese" there were in factfavoredby the
government. Theypointout the open secretthatto do business,one needs to have
variousgovernment permitsand that"Chinese,"and notMuslims,gotthese,usually
in returnforthe officialsreceivingsharesin the companiesowned by the Chinese
applicants.49 Furthermore, economicdevelopmentduringthe New Order "favored
Chinesemorethanothers."50 To pointto realeconomicdifferences, however,is notto
explain how the rivalries
between "Chinese" and Muslim tradersbecome generalized
or how theyfunction in a nationalsetting.Most important to us, it does notexplain
how an economicrivalryyieldsa viewof"Chinese"as somehowuncanny.
The conflictbetweenneighborsis also a conflict betweenco-nationalsat a certain
pointin time.The gap referred to is nation-wide;it is thedivisionbetweenrichand
poor Indonesians.Economically,sociologically,such a division markedthe very
inceptionofthenation.Howeverit was alwaysintendedto be closed.Inherentin the
idea of "the people" [rakyat]was thatthe educated class would lead themout of
povertyand ignorance.The populistpoliciesof Indonesia'sfirstpresident,Sukarno,
fostered thisidea. WiththeNew OrderofGeneralSuharto,however,populismwas set
aside in favorof Development(Pembangunan). The expansionof the marketin fact
benefitedmostpeople; thelevel ofpoverty,forinstance,was drasticallyreduced.It
also markedthe strongdevelopmentof a well-to-domiddle class, includingboth
"Chinese" and non-"Chinese."The "gap" is thewound to theunityof the national
bodyas itis feltwiththisaugmenteddivisionofclasses.It is blamedon "Chinese,"the
richestofwhomwere,in fact,favoredbySuhartoin orderto encouragethemto invest
in Indonesia.As I have said,toblame"Chinese"forbeingwealthywhile"we" arenot
is to concealthewell-to-do non-"Chinese" middleclass.
In Rengasdengklok, theseparationoftheriotersfromtheirgovernment is in facta
separationdividing two groups of MuslimIndonesians.Yet those who supportthe
rioterssay thedivisionis causedby "Chinese."Theydo nothope to curethenationof
ethnic"Chinese"by initiating a campaignof"ethniccleansing";theyhope to curethe
nationof its own estranged,ghostlymembersby reintegrating them,makingthem
obey the This
rules. action would the
reunite underclasswiththe nationalgovernment.
49 Ibid., p. 90.
50 Ibid., 116.
p.

34 JamesT. Siegel
Untilthe timewhen thatreunification takes place, "Chinese" will be attackedfor

having caused a rift.
Recognizing"Chinese" means identifying a certain"strangeness,"as we have
noted.The youthwho beat the drumand was cursedby Cigue said thisabout the
couple:
It's notbecause theyare ChinesethatI don'tlike them.Nor is it because their
religionis different
fromours.It'sbecausetheyactand theythinkstrangely [yang
aneh].Theyneveract likegood neighbors. In front ofKimTjoan'shouse thereis
anotherChinese,CengBouw.He is totallydifferent, wantstobe a good neighbor
and likesto shootthebreeze[ngobrol] in theneighborhood-watch guardhousein
front ofthemeetingplaceforprayer.51
This youth uses the word aneh, meaning "strange,"a word that also means
"supernaturally strange,"as I have noted.Forhim,"Chinese"who do notspendtime
in talkwiththeirneighborsareuncanny.He recognizesthemas neighbors, buthe sees
in themsomethingelse as well.This"something ifthat
else" is notexactlydifference,
meanspositivedifference. Rather, he sensesthatthemanorthewomanin front ofhim,
who does not speak,is concernedwithsomethinghe cannotgrasp.He complainsof
theirwatak,theirnature.Askedifhe was taughtby someoneto dislikeKimTjoan,he
replies:
No need to be taught.The othersherehave thesame feelingsabout Kim Tjoan
becausehis watak,hisnature,is likethat.So that'swhyhe getsitlikethat.In fact,
ifwe could, we'd tearhis house down to thegroundso he would nevercome
back.
The strangenessof Kim Tjoan is apparent.His qualities are visible to everyone.
Because of thishe invitesviolence.He is recognizableas "strange,""odd," different
fromwhatone would expect;notentirely HendraKurniadeniesthathe
recognizable.
dislikesKim Tjoan because he is Chinese. he were not "Chinese,"however,one
If
mightask ifhis watakwouldbe so apparent.It is becausethestrangeness ofKimTjoan
is assumedtobe sharedbyother"Chinese"thattheriotsspread.The uncannyfindsits
locus in the man's ethnicidentity.This youth,Hendra Kurnia,sees in Kim Tjoan
somethinghe cannotrecognizeand knowshow to call it: "Chinese";moreprecisely:
"'Chinese'who do notminglewiththeirneighbors."
"Chinese"such as Kim Tjoan are spokenofas thoughtheyare uncanny,but it is
notclearthattheireerinessis ofthefirstorder.In thecharge"theydo notmix,"one
sees the "gap" between classes made concrete.The "Chinese," perceived as
uncommunicative, refusestoacknowledgehisMuslim(and non-Muslim) neighbors.If
Kim Tjoan were a good "Chinese,"likehis neighborCeng Bouw, he would chator
"shootthebreeze,"meaninghe would say nothingmemorable.This,indeed,is the
habitofJavanesebetweenthemselves and theirneighbors.52
In mostJavanesecities,thewell-to-doliveon themainstreets.Behindthesestreets
narrowlanes runthroughcrowdedquarterswherepeople ofvariousclasses live. In
51Ibid.,p. 29.
52See Siegel,SolointheNewOrder.

the late afternoon thepeople of thesequarters,risingfromtheirsiestas,oftenstand

outsideand chatin a desultoryway. It is an exampleof the "mixing"referred to. In
1981whenI livedin Surakartain CentralJava,I tooka bicycleridelateone afternoon
along some ofthesenarrowpaths.At a certainpoint,I got down fromthebicycleto
turnit around.As I did so, I hearda woman,onlya fewfeetfromme,say, "Ah,he's
turningaround."She mighthavebeensurprisedthata middle-agedwhitemanwould
be ridinga bicycleat all, and even moresurprisedthatI appearedin thisremotelane
in frontofherhouse.In place ofan expressionofsurprise, indeed,I believe,toprevent
such, she said instead exactlywhat I was doing, as thoughnaming my activity
accountedforit and forme. Othertimeson mybicycleI had been peltedwithstones
and, on foot,I was frequently verballyassaulted.When,however,I addressed my
assailants in Javanese, merely saying the Javanese equivalent of "hello" or
reprimanding themgentlyin theproperspeechforms, theywereinstantly politeand,
while not apologizingfortheirbehavior,seemed to put it out of mind. These are
examplesofhow a stranger(I am temptedto say,"the"stranger)is incorporated into
language, in sucha he
way losesanypotential to incite
surprise.Byspeaking, I located
myself alongside the good "Chinese": the alterityI initially displayed was
obfuscated.53 The effectof mixingis to give Javanesea feelingof peacefulness
[tenterem] and the sense thatnothingdisturbingwill occur.Not to engage in this
practiceis, indeed, to make oneselfinto an object of suspicion,whetherone is
"Chinese"or not.Mixing,then,is a way ofobscuringdifferences. Not mixingmakes
differences notapparentbutsuspected.
The reassuranceprovidedby such nearlycontentlessspeech is not permanently
effective.Whoeveris in thepositionofthestrangerin a Javanesesettingcan become
aneh,odd, the stranger, again,as thetestimony concerningKim Tjoan shows. When
thishappens to "Chinese" theyare leftas the focalpoint of a certainfascination.
"Chinese" wealth is imaginary,as I have said, in the sense that whetheror not
"Chinese" have money,theirrelationto it is mysterious.They keep wealth to
themselves;itis thematerialformoftheirwatakperhaps.The "magnificence" oftheir
churchesis visible,yetit raisesthe questionof thesecretsources of theirwealth;at
best,when revealed,thissourceis corrupt,but even discoveryof the sourceleaves
unexplainedthe"Chinese"abilityto takeadvantageof"our" government when "we"
ourselvescannotdo so. Wealthplaces "Chinese"in a different world.It keeps "us"
fromseeing ourselvesin "them.""We" cannotsimplyignoreit. Indeed, it rivets
attention. The gap, as I have said,is too easilycrossedin themode oftheuncannyas
therichesthatmake"Chinese"turntheirbackstous comeintoimaginedview.
The resultis theterrifying impulseofHendraKurniathinkingof Kim Tjoan: "So
that'swhyhe getsit like that.In fact,ifwe could,we'd tearhis house down to the
ground so he would never come back." The uncannyis unbearable.In fact,Kim
Tjoan's familywas drivenout oftheneighborhood; KimTjoanwas sentencedto three
and halfyearsforincitement ofracialsentiments; hiswifeand daughterwereforcedto
move to Jakarta, whereat last reporttheylived in poverty.54 Theirhouse,insteadof
53 I have discussed theseincidentsand the role of speech withminimalcontentin Siegel, Solo in theNew
Order,pp. 55-58.
54 Andreas Harsono, ed., Huru-haraRengasdengklok, rioters,most of themin theirteens
p. 31. Fifty-four
and twenties-mostly students,laborers,and the unemployed-got sentencesofabout threemonths.

36 JamesT. Siegel
being razed, was bought by a nearby Islamic school.55This approaches ethnic

cleansingbut does notequal it,fortherewereother"Chinese"leftuntouched.Several
residentsmentionedCeng Bouw,a "Chinese"who was protectedby a Muslimfamily
during the riots,in order to illustratethe good relationsbetween Muslims and
"Chinese"in theirneighborhood.56
If thereis not ethniccleansingin the mode of the ex-Yugoslavia,it is because
"Chinese" are seen ambivalently. Theytoo are Indonesians.Many Muslimsrioted
against them,and many Muslims protectedsome of them. The desire to have
"Chinese"be "normal"is as greatas thedesiretoeliminatethem.The Indonesianidea
of thenationis, indeed,based on its abilityto assimilateitspeoples, to reconstitute
those,including"Chinese,"intoIndonesiansno matter whattheirbirthor theirmother
tongue.Marriagealliancesacrossethnicgroups,forinstance,indicatethestrength of
thenation.Beforethebirthof thenation,theancestorsoftoday'sIndonesianscould
not intermarry in thisway. Preciselythis rupturewiththe familyof originbegat
Indonesiansout ofthosemanypeople bornintoone of thehundredsof groupsthat
inhabitedthatnationofislands."Chinese,"however,oftenare treatedas thoughthey
are notentirely Indonesians,thoughintermarriages do frequentlytakeplace between
themand otherIndonesians.
The politicalentitycreatedby theliberation ofIndonesiansfromtheirown origins
was the rakyat,the people. No one is born a memberof the people nor is it a
sociologicalcategory.A farmer, forinstance,is nota memberofthepeoplebecause of
his profession, his place ofbirth,or thelanguagehe speaks.He becomesa memberof
thepeople by a performative act.In theSukarnoera he was one ofthosethepresident
addressedeitherin thegreatstadiumofthecapitalor overtheradio.WhenSukarno,
who styledhimself"theextensionofthetongueofthepeople,"spokein theirname,
thoselistening, even thoughhearingcertainideas forthefirsttime,foundthatthese
ideas did indeedexpresswhattheythought. At thatpointtheyweremembersof"the
people."
The emptytalkof thelate afternoon does notproduce"thepeople." Indeed,its
purpose is to blur social of
differentiation any sort.The factthatthe strangercould
appear,makingsuchemptytalknecessary, however,indicatesthatnew sortsofsocial
definitioncan occurwhen Indonesiansare facedwithsomethingodd. The rakyat is
formedout ofsucha possibility. It needstheoddityofa someonewho speaksand,as
in thecase of Sukarno,afterthefact,it needs a numberofpeople to recognizein his
words,and in himself,whattheyhad alwaysintendedand alwaysbeen. Duringthe
revolutionit was notnecessarilySukarnowho formedthefocalpointoftherakyat; it
was moreoftenlocal leadersofsmallbands,each actingin thename of "Indonesia."
Their followersbecame members of "the people," members of a new nation whose
formof expression was inchoatebut which anticipatednew political and social forms.
The revolution,fromthe point of view of this example, can reoccur. The rakyatcan
reemerge.The insistenceon "mixing,"which is the suppression of such a possibility,
indicatesthepressureforthe reemergenceofsuch a formation.
55 Ibid., p. 10.
56
Ibid., p. 11.

The populismoftheSukarnoperiodendedwithSuharto'sNew Order.The people

were withouta formof expression.At the same time,by the 1980s differences in
wealthled to pronounceddifferencesbetweenclasses.Atthispoint,we have arrivedat
the "gap" so widelydiscussed in Indonesiansocietyin the lateryears of the New
Order.It expressesthefearofthemiddleclassthat"thepeople" will reemerge.These
fearsshaped thedevelopmentofeventsand preventedthemassafrombecomingthe
rakyat.At thesame time,thecontinuoussuppressionoftheunderclassand theidea of
thegap lefttheunderclassconfronting "Chinese."The "odd" figurewho did notmix,
whose difference was fearedand who fronted forthemiddleclass as a whole,was at
oncea failedand a rejectedleaderwho couldannounceanotherrakyat or "the"rakyat.57
In theevolutionofeventsfromthedrumming ofHendraKurniato theburningof
churchesby large numbersof youth,we see the failureof "the people" to form
themselves.Bereftof trueleaders,guided onlyby speakerswho mentionthe "time
bomb"aftertherehas beenan explosion,"thepeople" advanceto destroytheproperty
ofthosewho arethoughtto impedetherestoration ofwhattheyoncehad: a reflection
ofthemselves in otherswho werethemeansoftheiridentification withthenation.
Jewsare nevermentionedin MediaDakwah'sseveralinterviews or in reportsfrom
thescenesofchurchburning.However,in thesameissue ofMediaDakwahwhichtells
of the anti-"Chinese"riotsin Rengasdengklokand nearbyTasikmalaya,thereis a
reportabouta countrysidereligiousschoolin thesamearea;thisschoolis said to teach
heterodoxbeliefs.Studentsfromorthodoxreligiousschoolsattackedthisheterodox
school and chased out the teacher.On the ceilingof the mosque thereis a star,
reproducedin a photographand said to be a Starof David. Nothingat all indicates
thatthisschoolhas something to do withJews.Literaturefoundin theremainsofthe
schoolsimplyindicatedthatitsleaderhad expandedtheconfessionoffaithand had
pronouncedhimselftheImamMahdi,a heterodox versionofthemessiah.
The reporter
concludeshispiecesaying
... The case ofBuki[thenameofthereligiousteacher]indicatesthattheprovokasi
of Islamand itscommunity neverceases,bothfromJewsand Christians.(QS 3:
120).ForyearsBukiwas a thornin theside oftheTasikMuslimcommunity. For
themomenttheofficials did notact quicklyenoughso thatat a certaintimethe
masseslostcontroland itall exploded.58
It is thelogicofthetimebombagain. Butthistime,theprovocationincludesthe
heterodoxpronouncement of thecomingofthemessiah.Thereis no reasonto think
thatthereis Jewishinfluencehere.Ifanything, judgingfromthepresenceofa mosque,
fromthenameofthefoundation whichsupportedtheschool(YayasanMarganingrat),
and fromits doctrineas Media Dakwahreportsit,it resembles the Javaneseversion of
theImamMahdi.It is notsaid tobe Jewishitselfbuttobe a "linkin theNetworkofthe
JewishInternational"
(matarantaiJaringanYahudiIntemrnasional) and at leastone part
57 The mob thatattacked"Chinese" in Rengasdengklokwere not termedrakyatbutmassa,or "masses."
The differenceis in the firstplace the lack of a leader. The rakyatalways needs someone to speak forit. But
had someone emerged,therestillwould have been no rakyat. The emergentsocial formationwould still
have been the massaratherthanthe rakyatsince thenew entitylacked permanenceand legitimacy.
58 MD team, "JejakYahudidi
Tasikmalaya,AliranBuki Sahidin yang sesat" ("The devious movementof
Bukhi Sahidin: JewishTraces in Tasikmalaya"), Media Dakwah,March 1997,pp. 50-52.

38 JamesT. Siegel
of an "organofconspiracy"[organkonspiratif] to crushIslam."The titlerefersnot to

Jews but to their
traces Traces
("Jewish in Tasikmalaya").Once again,thereference to
Jewsis madebythereporters and is notsaid tobe partoflocalinterpretations.
The introductory piece to thearticlesofthisissue speaksof "Christianization and

various networkssuch as Jewishization and Chineseconspiracy[konspirasi]-with
motivesof trade which ceaselesslytryto crush Islam in this country;it's really
obviouslyrightin frontofyournose."59TheJew,in thispiece,appearsnotas a figure
thatarouses the resentment of the lower class, but as part of an interpretation of
societyby middle-classmodernistwriters.He appears not in lifeor even in local
accounts,but in themediumofMedia Dakwah.He is onlyvaguelyadduced in these
reports.He does not appear as a Chineseor Christianor even a heterodoxMuslim.
Chinese,Christians,heterodox preachersarenotsubstitutes forJews,noraretheyJews
in disguise.One cannottracea directconnection betweenJewsand thosewho arepart
oftheIndonesianlandscape,no doubtbecauseJewsremainunrecognizable. In theway
thatthefaceofthedespisedJewdisappearsintothatofthevaluedArab,theJew,when
his influencereachesIndonesia,retreats frommakinga directappearance.Evento call
these"Chinese"and JavaneseJewish"agents"is too strong;theymerelybear "traces"
markingthemas Jews.
"For yearsBukiwas a thornin theside oftheTasikMuslimcommunity. For the
momenttheofficials did notactquicklyenoughso thatat a certaintimethemasseslost
controland it all exploded." The Jewisheffect, in theseincidents,is the feelingof
intolerablemenace which cannotbe accountedforby the accumulationof past
grievances.Bukihimselfnevermakesan appearanceand,ofcourse,whateverJewwas
thoughtresponsiblefortheStarof David, howeverindirectly, does not.And no one
expects this to
Jew appear. The Jew, we have said repeatedly,remains absentfromthe
scene.In thatsense,theJewfeaturesevenmorestrongly thanreclusive"Chinese"as
thenonreflecting mirrorof the IndonesianMuslimunderclass.The verydistanceof
America,Europe,and whereverelse Jewsare thoughtto have lived helps to bring
themonto theIndonesianscene.Theycome to mindat thepointwhereone cannot
accountfortheforceofappearancewhenone's opponentseemsto say amazingthings
or whenpaintedstarsappear in mosques.The absenceoftheJewmeansthathe can
neverbe directlyaddressed.His effects mean thathe is nonethelesspresentand in
communication withcertainIndonesians.Theyare affected by Jews,but theycannot
makethemselvesfeltby thoseJewsthroughtheirown initiative. It is thesituationthat
pertainsbetweenKimTjoanand hisneighbors, butin an exaggerated form.
When Nurcholish Madjid was accused of having been influencedby orientalistsit
meant that what he said, whetherhe knew it or not, originatedin the distortionsof
Jewsfromanotherplace and time.His errorswere not a matterof his intentions,thus
his pronouncements were not correctable. What he said was not a matter of
It was rathera question of findingthe distantfactorsthatcompelled his
interpretation.
59 Aru, "MembongkarJaringanKristenisasi,Yahudi dan Cina AntiIslam" ("Demolishing the Networkof
Christianization,Jewsand Anti-IslamicChinese"), Media Dakwah,March 1997,p. 41.

speech.Restingoutsideinterpretation,Nurcholish'smessagewas notunderstandable.
One can say thatit was singulareven ifit was recognizableas thetypeofsomething
thatothers,suchas theEgyptianThahaHusein,had said before.It was, in thatsense,
mere repetitionof the same. Its singularity, pointingto an impossiblesource of
was
(un)truth, the of
possibility anymessage whatsoever.Mistranslations
mighteven
foretell
themessiahin theformofBuki.
The Jewishuncannyin Indonesiacomeswiththeerosionofthenationalidea and
theconsequentfeelingthat"Indonesians"now have different sourcesoftruth. TheJew
appears-though that is not thecorrect verb ... "reaches"would be more apt-not
onlyfromoutsideIndonesia,but fromoutsidethehistoryof Indonesia,helpingto
makehimunapparent.He actsfromout ofnowhere.He is nota revenant, theFrench
termwhichindicatesa ghostas somethingthatreturns.To be such,he would, of
course,have to be identifiable and to actuallyappear. As it is, each timethereis a
Jewish effect it
felt, is mere repetitionof somethingthatcomes fromno knowable
originand bearsno form. The uncannyeffect ofJewsis thusdifferent fromthatofthe
"Chinese.""Chinese"are a recurrent, indeedconstantfeatureof Indonesiansociety.
Chinesegivetheuncannya body.Jewsinhabitnothingin Indonesia.The word "Jew"
in Indonesianindicatesa menace.No formhas beenfoundforit.Jewsarenotspecters,
but thethreatofspectersto come."Chinese"give theJewishthreatofthecomingof
ghostsa bodyand thusa placein Indonesia.60
Bukiis as close as I can findto a Jewishspecterin Indonesia,thoughhe is notthat.
If we are permittedto imaginethe effectsof a confrontation betweenhim and his
Muslimneighbors,whatcan we suppose theywould find?In thethinkingofMedia
Dakwah,Buki,were he presentto do so, would embodythe singularmessages of
orientalists.
Werehe capableofbeingpresent, one would see withoutknowingexactly
whatone was facing,theeffects ofKoranicteachingstwistedout ofrecognition long
ago somewhere else. Facing him, even in his absence, certainIndonesians Muslims
findthemselvesno longerat homein theirown land,and thisfeelingofalienationis
evenmorethorough thanwhentheyconfront "Chinese."
Bukihad hisownteachings, uninfluenced byJews.One can imaginethattheywere
unique and thatthey contained a politicalprogram.Does hisbanishment thenindicate
thefailureoftheidea oftherakyat? Thatis,is ita failureofthepossibilityofbecoming
otherthatoccurredwhenthenationwas newborn,whena peasantlistenedto Sukarno
speak and foundhimselfto be one ofthepeople,his origininconsequential? If,after
Buki spoke, some of the people of Tasikmalayafoundin his message what they
seemed to think,as othersdid when theyheard Sukarno,one could say thatthis
possibilityofbecomingother-ofbecomingIndonesianin fellowshipwithall other
Indonesians-is still alive. Buki, the individual, is gone. "Chinese" remain.Alas, they
remain to embody the failureof thatpossibility.As such, they,amongst otherfigures,
are established as Indonesian national ghosts, supplementing the numerous local
spiritsthatinhabitthe regionsofJava.
60 Anothereffectof the feelingof undefinedmenace

perhaps is the prominenceofthe word "trauma" in
latterNew Order discourse.The feeling,new to Indonesia, of an incurablewound, caused by a continuing
menace which oftenhas no certainorigins,occurs alongside the new upsurgenceof anti-Semitism.Here
too one mightthinkof it as an attemptto place the effectsof theJewwithinIndonesian society.Cf. James
(Durham, NC: Duke UniversityPress,1998),Chapter4.
T. Siegel, A New CriminalTypein Jakarta

40 JamesT. Siegel
It is notaltogether to findanti-Semitism
surprising withoutJews;afterall,it is not
causedbyJews.61 It is notsurprising
thatIndonesianMuslimsidentifythemselves with
their coreligionistsin the Middle East. It is striking,however, when so many
IndonesiansconflateZionistsand Jewsand when thisconflationinflectstheirself
imageor,rather, lackofone,and comesto markthelimitofnationalidentity.
61 Martinvan Bruinessen
rightlypointsout thatanti-Semitismis oftenfound in places in Europe and
America where Jewsare rare.The differencewithIndonesia, however,is thatsuch places as ruralNorth
Dakota stillbelong to largersocietieswhereJewsplay a partand wherethetermsof theirrecognitionare
widely circulated.See Martinvan Bruinessen,"Yahudi sebagai Simbol Dalam Wacana PemikiranIslam
Indonesia Masa Kini," p. 259. OtherAsian cases ofanti-Semitism, in theirconfigurations
quite different
fromIndonesia's, are Japanand China. See the relevantarticlesin FrankDik6tter,TheConstruction ofRacial
Identitiesin Chinaand Japan(Honolulu: Universityof Hawai'i Press,1997) as well as David Goodman and
Masanori Miyazawa, Jewsin theJapanese Mind (New York:The Free Press,1995).


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Kiblat and the Mediatic Jew

Author(s): James T. Siegel

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.49 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:51:52 AM

speaking,thereare no Jewsin Indonesia.Nor do Indonesiansusually

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In Europe and AmericaJewsare thoughtto be knowableby theirnames.But in

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people such as AlvinToffler, to warnagainstcertaindangers.Religionas he saw it

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NurcholishMadjidhad somedefenders. Theyformed, in fact,one groupofMuslim

8 Drs. Nabhan Husein, "Membedah PemikiranNurcholishMadjid," in

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IfNurcholishis at fault,so tooareWesterners

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and Hadithshave a certainmethod.Theyfollowtheetymologyof Arabicwords in

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He goes on to criticize-Nurcholish forhis claimthatthedesignated"people ofthe

If theyhad said, "We have heard and obey"

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Some writersin themonthly magazineMediaDakwah,wheremuchofthecriticism

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IndonesianMuslimsthroughthe actionsor speech of thosetakento be Indonesian

MediaDakwah,to whichI wantto turnnow in orderto discussitsanti-Semitism, is

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expense of small-scaleMuslimtraders.Theirobjectionsto "capitalism"seem to be

27 See the articlesin Media Dakwahon conglomeratesas an

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movement'sideologicalfervorpassed intothemodeofreligion.Atthesame time,new

31 In anotherexample,the "managementof Bank BNI in factfeelsitbenefits-even though [prayer]takes

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ForNurcholish, toleration ofChristiansand Buddhists,meaning"Chinese,"is one

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wherebydiverseand even incompatibleideas were routinelybroughttogetheras

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Indonesian economy,but kept out of the national universities,the government

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.49 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:51:52 AM

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today's referencesto Jewsdo not referto actualpopulations.The Jewis neitheran

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Islamiccommunity is toblamefortheflareup, it'sonlyforthesmoke.The fireis

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implicationof the teacheris thatIndonesian Chinese enjoy betterrelationswith

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Reallywe live nextto themin peace. Butprocedureshave to be gone through.

44 Komar,Joko,Zuki, Nuh, "H. Sobarna Noor, SekretarisMUI Rengasdengklok:Bom Waktu di

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as a consequence,morearsonto come.Thisis the"timebomb"notonlyas it was but

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value is not whatone values oneself.47 One remainsuninfluenced by wealth.Cigue

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Untilthe timewhen thatreunification takes place, "Chinese" will be attackedfor

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the late afternoon thepeople of thesequarters,risingfromtheirsiestas,oftenstand

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being razed, was bought by a nearby Islamic school.55This approaches ethnic

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The populismoftheSukarnoperiodendedwithSuharto'sNew Order.The people

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