Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Book Review: Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority And Ethical Improvement In Aceh, Indonesia (By David Kloos) & Chinese Ways Of Being Muslim: Negotiating Ethnicity And Religiosity In Indonesia (By Hew Wai Weng), Charlotte Setijadi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Indonesian Islam has earnedsomething of a bad reputation in recent times. Amid reports of risingintolerance against religious minorities, terrorism attacks, high-profileblasphemy cases and the growing political influence of hard-line Muslim groups,it is easy to take an alarmist stance and assume that Indonesia’s approximately225 million Muslims are heading down the path of puritanism. Indeed, evenseasoned analysts of Indonesia often forget that Indonesian Islam isheterogeneous, and that the everyday experiences of Muslims from differentsocio-cultural backgrounds are extremely diverse. This is why Hew Wai Weng’sand David Kloos’ respective books are much-needed additions to contemporaryscholarship on Islam in Indonesia.