Islam and Democracy in Indonesia

Dr. Amien Rais, former chairman of Indonesia`s largest modernist Islamic Organization, Muhammadiyah, talks about `Some Major Problems I faced as a Muslim Democratic Activist and How I Addressed Them`.

Dr. Rais, former chairman of Indonesia's largest modernist Islamic Organization Muhammadiyah (25 million members) became a leading democratic activist in the 1997 and 1998 demonstrations that brought down Suharto. He later served as Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly during the round of constitutional reforms that revived and amended Indonesia's democratic 1945 constitution.

Dr. Rais received a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1984 and an MA from the University of Notre Dame.

In his talk, Amien Rais discusses his role as the leader of a 25 milllion Muslim constituency during the last years of Indonesia's New Order and address some of the difficulties he faced in his pro-democratic struggle.

The seminar will be moderated by Prof. Alfred C. Stepan, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government & Director, CDTR.

(Feb 7, 2007 at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs)

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News & Politics

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• sipa

[hcahyono]

Amien Rais is a future ideal model of indonesian leader .

[horny4bears]

wow sure takes alot of effort, to just reach the bottom scale of 20. Describe in a nut shell, how easier it would be if the dropping of beliefs that these ancient texts teach, would make it to bring all of them into the upper eshilons of this list... moderate muslem, so you modertly believe in use of lesser than substantial forcing to bring around a muslem world?Such a crock of word play, moderate muslim, moderate christian,spirtiulatiy, lets use what a Phd. Dr. would label these things as?ya?