Islam and the Cultural Cold War: Tauhid and the Quest for the Modern Muslim

Abstract

Islam as a political force in 1960s Indonesia was known for its involvement in the 1965 massacre of members and sympathizers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), whereby the discourse was perceived to justify the killings. Through an examination of Tauhid (1964), written and directed by writer-director Asrul Sani, this paper examines Sani’s position as a quasi-secular artist-activist who had to defend his art in the context of the “revolution” or “anti-imperialism” that dominated 1960s Indonesia. More than answering the “cultural offensives” from leftist artists at that time, Tauhid raises concerns on the quest for relevance—if not the insecurity—of Islam in modern Indonesia while pondering the idea of Islam as the foundation for national identity in Indonesia.