Indonesian Muslims gamble on problematic ties to Saudi government

Nahdlatul Ulama has formed an unlikely alliance with the Muslim World League. The League is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's chief propagator of a less restrictive but autocratic interpretation of Islam. Nahd latul ulama hopes to undercut League and Saudi support for an Indonesian political party associated with Muslim Brotherhood.

Nahdlatul Ulama wants to persuade the League to endorse a moderate form of Islam. It would lend prestige to Nahd latul ulama's effort to reform Islam, but it's a long shot.

Neither Nahdlatul Ulama nor Mr. Bin Salman can succeed in fulfilling their aspirations. Saudi Arabia sentenced two women to prison for tweets that allegedly destabilised the social fabric. Last week, a Saudi court committed to death row three members of the Howeitat tribe forcibly ejected to make way for Mr Bin Salmon’s US$500 billion science fiction Neom megacity on the Red Sea.

The three men had resisted the ejection. Nahdlatlatlulul ulama is the convener of the Religion Forum 20, a newly created official Group of 20 engagement group. It invited the League to co-host next month’s summit of religious leaders in Bali. It is in advance of a meeting of leaders of G20. The League has already paid off with no public indication that the association has met any of Nahllatul Ulama”s aspirations. They have milked its partnership with Nahrlat ul ulma for what it is worth on social media.

Indonesian Muslims gamble on problematic ties to Saudi government. Indonesia is this year’s chairman of the group. Nahdlatul Ulama”s National Awakening Party has four ministers in Indonesian President Joko Widodo‘s government, including Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the religious affairs minister. The question is whether the risk of reputational risk is worth it. Dr. James Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and scholar. He is Adjunct Senior Fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S.T.U.“