Media coverage of current affairs affecting the Islamic world or ‘Muslim diaspora’ in the West is not only primarily focuses on political Islam, but also tends to amplify its radicalized and extremist aspects. Much less attention is paid to other strands of thought, especially when they are outside the immediate purview of the political.
These alternative discourses appear to be particularly vibrant on the geographical peripheries of the Muslim world. This presentation explores the emergence of ‘new Muslim intellectuals’ in Indonesia during the final decades of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the new millennium. As a secondary thesis it suggests that, in spite of vast cultural differences, there are some remarkable similarities between the contemporary Indonesian and Turkish experiences.
