The Myth of Pluralism: Nahdlatul Ulama and the Politics of Religious Tolerance in Indonesia

Jul 8, 2026

Upload by Riley

The article examines how Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, is commonly portrayed as a defender of religious tolerance and pluralism. It analyzes attitudes toward religious tolerance and pluralism among NU followers, using original survey data to identify a gap between the leadership’s self-perception and the views held by the grassroots. The findings suggest NU followers can be as intolerant as, or more intolerant than, other Indonesian Muslims.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

Introduction

NU’s public self-portrayal and 2019 election framing

Analytical focus and research approach

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [https://www. researchgate. net/publication/340611748](https://www. researchgate. net/publication/340611748) The Myth of Pluralism: Nahdlatul Ulama and the Politics of Religious Tolerance in Indonesia Article in Contemporary Southeast Asia · January 2020 DOI: 10. 1355/cs42-1c CITATIONS 0 READS 2,157 2 authors, including: Burhanuddin Muhtadi Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta 40 PUBLICATIONS 120 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Elections and Vote Buying in Indonesia View project [https://www. routledge.com/Rising-Islamic-Conservatism-in-Indonesia-Islamic-Groups-and-Identity-Politics/Sebastian-Hasyim-Arifianto/p/book/9780367819415?](https://www. routledge.com/Rising-Islamic-Conservatism-in-Indonesia-Islamic-Groups-and-Identity-Politics/Sebastian-Hasyim-Arifianto/p/book/9780367819415?)[ ](https://www. routledge.com/Rising-Islamic-Conservatism-in-Indonesia-Islamic-Groups-and-Identity-Politics/Sebastian-Hasyim-Arifianto/p/book/9780367819415?)[fbclid=IwAR2WvibfZbFWB59LAAE58j95saoeLgTu4l8ZuMsSvpO7-8G5Eu9TQNlK97E View project](fbclid=IwAR2WvibfZbFWB59LAAE58j95saoeLgTu4l8ZuMsSvpO7-8G5Eu9TQNlK97E View project) All content following this page was uploaded by Burhanuddin Muhtadi on 26 May 2020. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Contemporary Southeast Asia Vol. 42, No. 1 (2020), pp. 58–84 DOI: 10.1355/cs42-1c © 2020 ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute ISSN 0129-797X print / ISSN 1793-284X electronic The Myth of Pluralism: Nahdlatul Ulama and the Politics of Religious Tolerance in Indonesia MARCUS MIETZNER and BURHANUDDIN MUHTADI In much of the scholarly literature, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, is recognized as a defender of religious tolerance and pluralism. This is to no small extent the result of how NU has portrayed itself and its actions—including during the 2019 presidential elections, when it professed to have aligned with incumbent president Joko Widodo in order to keep Islamist groups from power. In this article, we analyse the attitudes of NU followers towards religious tolerance and pluralism, and find a significant mismatch between the self-perception of the NU leadership and the actual views held by the NU grassroots. Based on original survey data, Marcus Mietzner is Associate Professor at the Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University, Canberra. Postal address: Hedley Bull Building, Australian National University, 2601 ACT Acton, Australia; email: [marcus.mietzner@anu.edu.au](marcus.mietzner@anu.edu.au). Burhanuddin Muhtadi is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta, Executive Director of the Indonesian Political Indicator (Indikator Politik Indonesia) and Director of Public Affairs at the Indonesian Survey Institute (Lembaga Survei Indonesia, LSI); email: burhanuddin. [muhtadi@uinjkt.ac.id](muhtadi@uinjkt.ac.id). 58 Reproduced from Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs Vol. 42, No. 1 (April 2020) (Singapore: ISEAS– Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020) . This version was obtained electronically direct from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of ISEAS– Yusof Ishak Institute. Individual articles are available at <[http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg](http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg)> NU and the Politics of Religious Tolerance in Indonesia 59 we show that NU followers are generally as intolerant of religious minorities as the rest of the Indonesian Muslim population, and in some cases, even more intolerant. We argue that this is the result of NU’s long-standing prioritization of battling rival Musl

FAQs

What key mismatch does the article identify about NU’s stance on pluralism?

It finds a significant mismatch between NU leadership’s self-perception of tolerance and pluralism and the actual views held by NU grassroots followers.

What evidence does the article use to support its argument?

It relies on original survey data analyzing attitudes among NU followers toward religious tolerance and pluralism.

How does the article explain why NU’s grassroots may be intolerant?

It argues the result of NU prioritizing long-standing efforts to battle rival Muslim organizations over pursuing substantive tolerance campaigns that could shift religio-political attitudes.

Jul 8, 2026

Upload by Riley