Foreign Affairs Interviews Jokowi

What will you do to combat the threat of political Islam and to preserve Indonesia’s reputation for tolerance? 

Indonesia is the world’s third-largest democracy. And we also have the world’s largest Muslim population. This demonstrates that democracy and Islam are not incompatible. Terrorism is not associated with any religion. 

But there are forces in Indonesia, including the Prosperous Justice Party and groups like the Islamic Defenders Front, that push for a much more aggressive, Saudi-style Islam. What will you do to ensure that the country stays moderate? 

To deal with radicalism and extremism, we need to deal with economic inequality. This is what I learned from my experience in Solo and then in Jakarta. And I think if our government does more to empower the people, then I’m sure that we can decrease radicalism and extremism. This is what the people here want.

Will you bring the Islamic parties into your government? 

We will talk to everyone.

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