Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Islamic parties fading in Indonesia voting

|
|
 
  
Published: April 25, 2009 at 2:45 PM

JAKARTA, April 25 (UPI) -- The results of Indonesia's parliamentary elections are showing a setback for the country's strict Islamic parties.

The New York Times said Saturday that the largest Islamic party, the Prosperous Justice Party, fell well short of the 15-percent of the vote it was aiming for and was barely ahead of the 7.2 percent it picked up in 2004.

Results of the April 9 voting will be announced next month.

Political analysts in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, say that despite a growth in the religiosity of voters, there still seems to be a strong sentiment for separation of church and state when it comes to politics.

"People in general do not feel that there should be an integration of faith and politics," said Azyumardi Azra of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University. "Even though more and more Muslims, in particular women, have become more Islamic and have a growing attachment to Islam, that does not translate into voting behavior."

Analysts also concluded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono undercut Prosperous Justice by instituting the anti-corruption policies that the Islamists had been promising.

The Times said Prosperous Justice's main goal has been to institute Islamic Shariah law to Indonesia, but many voters appear to have second thoughts about the strict cultural rules and the vague "anti-pornography" laws that are used to ban a wide range of arts and activities.

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 21
President Obama Signs Smuggling Prevention Act at White House
View Caption
fark
You're a female air traveler and there's no female TSA agent to screen you? No problem, there's...
Despite their efforts to convince you otherwise, many "foodies" can't, in a blind taste test, tell...
Photoshop this urban underground dweller
Kim Jong Un Dead. I repeat - Un Dead
Nothing is more romantic on Valentine's Day than taking your lover on a tour of New York's sewers...
Man arrested for writing 'bomb' on some toilet paper. "His family says the word 'bomb' is often...