The Threat of Islamist Parties in Post-Suharto Indonesia: Myth or Reality

Author: Chermaine Lee

"'Islamic parties have garnered significantly less of the people's support in the recent 2009 election as compared to their relative electoral successes from 1999-2004 with a drop of 10/41% to 27.2% of votes. Mitigating this development has been the concurrent increase in support of the Islamist party PKS which has actually witnessed a 480% jump in votes from the 1999 legislative elections. Is PKS the future of Islamist politics and are they a noteworthy concern going forward? Analysts fear that the trend of regional Sharia bylaws and increasing mainstream Islamic conservatism means that political Islam and hence support for Islamist parties will still be a force to reckon with in the future. What does this mean for Indonesia's 'Civil Islam' and democratic transition?"