Indonesia: Young Muhammadiyah Intellectual Network (JIMM) Activists Strengthen Progressive Influence Within Muhammadiyah

Two intellectuals from the Young Muhammadiyah Intellectual Network (Jaringan Intelektual Muda Muhammadiyah, JIMM) are now leading two influential think tanks closely linked to Indonesia’s second largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah. Their ascent symbolises the enduring influence of the young progressive Islamic network within the organisation, which is crucial when Indonesia’s Islamic groups are facing increased threats of state co-optation under Prabowo Subianto’s administration.

First, Andar Nubowo, who earned his doctorate from France’s prestigious École normale supérieure de Lyon, now leads the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity. The Maarif Institute was founded by the late Ahmad “Buya” Syafi’i Maarif (1935-2022), who was Muhammadiyah chairman (1998-2005) and an iconic Muslim pluralist. Meanwhile, Ahmad Fuad Fanani, who recently completed his doctorate at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, was just appointed as the executive director of the Centre for Dialogue among Civilizations (CDCC). The CDCC is associated with another influential former Muhammadiyah chairman, Din Syamsuddin.

As leading members of JIMM, one of the country’s largest progressive Muslim intellectual networks, Nubowo and Fanani co-founded JIMM under Syafii Maarif’s tutelage to bolster progressive cadres in Muhammadiyah. The two men are expected to further the ideological interests of progressive forces within Muhammadiyah.    

While institutionally Muhammadiyah is seen to be more cohesive in its chain of command and organisation than Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the group is far from monolithic. Muhammadiyah’s progressive element shows a visible gradation from liberal to conservative ideological leanings. The rise of two key JIMM intellectuals to leadership positions arguably marks the increasing influence of the group’s most progressive elements.

The Maarif Institute has long served as a bastion of progressive ideas in Muhammadiyah. It was created to propagate and develop Syafi’i Maarif’s ideas about Islam, democracy, and social justice. Nubowo appears set to continue and strengthen that tradition.   

Nubowo, 45, has strong academic credentials and an interesting intellectual pedigree. Born in Wonosobo on 12 May 1980, Nubowo graduated from Yogyakarta’s Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University in 2004, then spent two years (2006-2008) at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, EHESS) in Paris, France, for his master’s. He has published many articles in reputable international journals and lectures at the International Indonesian Islamic University (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, UIII), a leading educational institution led by progressive Muslim academics.

While some past chairmen of the Maarif Institute and CDCC also had doctoral degrees, Nubowo’s and Fanani’s specific expertise provides them with the credibility to speak on not just the basic ideas of Islamic progressivism that they champion but also the political, cultural, and bureaucratic know-how to shape their respective organisations’ intellectual direction. For his doctoral thesis (in French), Nubowo delved into the “socio-history of the currents of Indonesian progressive Islam”. For his doctorate, Fanani analysed the rise of progressive Muslims within Muhammadiyah.

The rise of two key JIMM intellectuals to leadership positions arguably marks the increasing influence of the group’s most progressive elements.

Under Nubowo, the Maarif Institute has served as an open intellectual space to discuss critical issues ranging from the controversial state policy of granting certain Islamic groups mining licenses to the Prabowo administration’s proposal to relocate Palestinians to Indonesia. On mining concessions, the Institute has warned against the risks of having a mass organisation run a coal mine, citing a lack of expertise and inability to navigate the endemic graft culture pervading the industry. The Institute has questioned the government’s recent proposal to relocate Palestinians, saying that it would only enforce “imperialist” domination of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Fanani, 46, born in Blitar on 27 June 1979, was a Muhammadiyah Students Association (IMM) chairman at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta, where he earned his bachelor’s in Islamic studies. He took a master’s degree at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Fanani is a prolific writer and has published his ideas in op-eds in mainstream publications such as The Jakarta Post and Kompas, and authored or co-authored several books on Islam, including Islam Agama Untuk Manusia (Islam – A Religion for Humanity). Under him, the CDCC is expected to continue its global outreach. In August, Fanani attended the Indonesia-Malaysia Madani Intellectuals meeting in Kuala Lumpur.  

While Maarif Institute and JIMM are historically connected to Syafii Maarif’s progressivism, Nubowo has said the former has never been a training ground for JIMM activists. Nubowo wants to change this by involving more JIMM activists in many of the Institute’s research projects, in different regions across Indonesia.  

There will be many challenges faced by the JIMM intellectuals in leading their think tanks, going forward. They need to maintain the right balance in their relationship with the Muhammadiyah establishment, especially those who are close to the national elite. It is worth noting that Jeffrie Geovanie, the Indonesian Solidarity Party’s (PSI) chief patron and a major backer of former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, also serves as the Maarif Institute’s chief patron. Separately, Din Syamsuddin, a controversial figure within Muhammadiyah due to his past political activism, may constrain Fanani’s progressivism in the CDCC.

The risks of the ruling elite co-opting Islamic organisations are real, as shown by the previous and current administrations’ granting of mining licenses to NU and Muhammadiyah. That six Muhammadiyah members hold ministerial or deputy ministerial seats in Prabowo’s ‘Red and White’ Cabinet further tells of the president’s desire to keep this organisation close, to bolster his Islamic credentials and legitimacy.

Yet, when asked about the challenges, Nubowo said he was confident he could retain his independence. He said the Maarif Institute’s board of patrons is not a monolith but “represents different interests and schools of thought within Muhammadiyah.”

The two rising think tank leaders have tried to maintain some distance from the Muhammadiyah elite and the state. Nubowo was even critical of statements made by some Muhammadiyah leaders about the anti-government protests that engulfed Indonesia, as it seemed as though they were preaching to the protestors. On 9 August 2025, he posted on Facebook: “Economic emergency and social injustice, not religion. Amok cannot be tamed by religious sermons. The roots of the problem should be addressed immediately” (author’s translation from Bahasa Indonesia).

Amid concerns of an authoritarian revival in Indonesia, these two JIMM intellectuals are taking bigger roles within Muhammadiyah. While we need to consider the cultural and structural constraints they face, these younger leaders may help to determine the trajectory of Indonesian Islam under Prabowo and beyond.

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