Page 110 - Demo

Islam, Democracy and Human Rights in Contemporary Indonesia93%u201cIslam was in fact recognized as a religion and became a guidance for Indonesians, even though it was not declared as theofficial religion%u201d. Moreover, %u201cIndonesia did not separate religionand state%u201d. On the contrary, the Indonesian constitutionemphasized belief in the oneness of God, which was the firstprinciple of Pancasila, as %u201cthe basis of the spiritual, moral andethical lives of the state and Indonesians%u201d. This was one ofNatsir%u2019s perceptions of Pancasila, which was regarded as suitablefor Islamic principles as long as it was interpreted within anIslamic framework. On many occasions, Natsir put forwardhis opinion that the Indonesian constitution (at that time, theTemporary Constitution of 1950) had fulfilled the minimumrequirements of an Islamic state.He did not see any contradiction between Pancasila andIslam. He thought that Pancasila constituted five ideal virtues,all of which were in line with Islamic teachings. However, hewarned people not to regard Pancasila as identical to Islam.Pancasila would suit Islam if it were interpreted within theframework of the latter, or it would contradict Islam if it wereinterpreted in ways contradictory to Islam. Because Natsirviewed Pancasila within the framework of Islam, his statementthat if Islam were the foundation of the state, this would notmean that its five principles would be %u201cswallowed up by Islam%u201dwas understandable. The five principles of Pancasila wouldalways be alive and developing in the lap of Islam. Conversely,should Pancasila rest in the lap of atheists or religious skeptics,its first principle would disappear, and only its skeleton wouldremain. Thus, based on this Pancasila framework, Natsir%u2019s andhis party%u2019s struggle for Islam by means of valid and democraticways was not to be regarded as competing with Pancasila. On