Nahdlatul Ulama and democratisation in Indonesia

Abstract

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), was formed in 1926 to promote the interest of traditional Muslims of Indonesia, is currently the largest Muslim organization in the world with about 40 million members. This dissertation is the study to find out whether the activities of this organization are helping to mainstream the marginalized and excluded communities in Indonesia or not. The activities of NU that help to mainstream marginalized Indonesians are understood in this research as the process of democratisation. In this study the ethnic minorities, women, non-Sunni Muslim minorities, and non-Muslim religious minorities are identified as excluded and marginalized communities of Indonesia.