Indonesia’s Humanitarian Islam Movement

This volume offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary analysis of the origins, development, and increasing impact of the global Humanitarian Islam movement, aimed at promoting a humane and compassion-based reading of Islam in Indonesia and throughout the world.Inspired by long-time NU Chairman and Indonesia’s first democratically elected president, Abdurrahman Wahid, the Humanitarian Islam movement was formally established by senior NU leaders in 2017 in direct response to the terror and extremism promoted by Islamist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda. Yet it also represents a continuation of a decades-long effort by NU leaders to recontextualize “obsolete and problematic” tenets of Islamic orthodoxy, and thereby “foster the emergence of a more just and harmonious world order, founded upon respect for the equal rights and dignity of every human being.” Written by distinguished scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines, the chapters present in-depth analysis of NU’s theological reforms and demonstrate that, while still relatively unknown in Western academic circles, the Humanitarian Islam movement’s global impact can already be felt from Rome, Brussels, and Washington, DC, to Cairo, Mecca, and Medina. This includes helping to precipitate Saudi Arabia’s historic turn away from Wahhabism under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Fostering a deeper understanding of Indonesia’s unique contributions to global Islamic thought and practice, the book will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students in the fields of Islam, peace studies, religion and fundamentalism, and human rights. The volume also makes clear its relevance to policymakers in North America, Europe, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as its implications for international peace and security.