Muslim intellectuals in modern Indonesia

The aim of this article is to analyze the role of Muslim public intellectuals in contemporary Indonesia. The novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive examination and analysis of the phenomenon of Muslim public intellectuals in contemporary Indonesian society. Methodologically, the article draws on principles proposed in intellectual history, allowing us to perceive Muslim intellectuals engaged in discussions on the Ummah, Islam, and politics as an imagined community, and their ideas as invented traditions. The article analyzes 1) the main areas of public intellectual activity in Indonesia as a Muslim country, 2) thematic focus of Muslim public intellectual research in Indonesia, and 3) the main vectors and trajectories of possible developments of Muslim intellectuals within the intellectual community in Indonesia in general. It is assumed that Muslim intellectuals make a significant contribution to the modernization processes of Indonesian society, since their actualization of political and socio-economic problems through the prism of Islam reflects the real difficulties and contradictions of modern, dynamically developing Indonesian society. The conclusions of the author include several provisions: 1) the range of roles of public Muslim intellectuals in Indonesia is relatively diverse, including the roles and statuses of experts and analysts, 2) political commentary and analysis are the main forms of activity of public Muslim intellectuals in Indonesia, 3) public Muslim intellectuals are forced to leave traditional spheres of intellectual activity, migrating to the virtual spaces of the Internet, 4) Muslim intellectuals have become active interpreters of secular society, offering a religious vision of the problems and threats of our time, 5) issues of Islam and the development of the Ummah in Indonesia in general are among the conditionally acceptable and relatively taboo topics for Muslim public intellectuals, 6) public Muslim intellectuals correlate the discourse they offer with the political and ideological preferences of the ruling elites. 

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