Challenging the State: Exegetical Translation in Opposition to the Official Religious Discourse of the Indonesian State

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This article discusses a contestation over the 'true' meaning of Muslim scripture following the democratisation processes in Indonesia's post-authoritarian regime of Suharto when religious and political authority becomes increasingly fragmented. It highlights the attempts of Muhammad Thalib, the supreme leader of the Majelis Mujahidin, to criticise the legitimacy of the official government translation of the Qur'an, al-Qur'an dan terjemahnya, through his al-Qurʾan tarjama tafisiriyah (al-Qur'an and interpretative translation). This article demonstrates how Thalib's translation aims to de-legitimise the official religious discourse of the state, so that his own al-Qur'an tarjama tafsiriyah might become the most influential religious discourse in the opinion of the general public, and be perceived as the authentic call to Islam.

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