Given that 88% of Indonesians are Muslim, why is political Islam not dominant?

In answering the above question, there are two major themes that come to mind: the role of the state government, and the role of the Indonesian Muslim community. From the period of the Guided Democracy under Sukarno, and following that, Suharto's New Order, Islamic parties have been subjected to repression and manipulation by the state for over forty years. During the period of the New Order, the government was especially hostile towards the manifestation of …

…New Order had a major impact on Islam in politics during the period from 1959 to 1998, the post-Suharto era sees the rise in importance in the way the Muslim public itself see as the role Islam should take. With the emphasis on the view of Islam as Cultural Islam and the general distaste for Islam to take a dominant role in politics, it would not be possible for Political Islam to become dominant, despite the 88% majority.