The dialectics of religion and power: Political communication of NU and Muhammadiyah elites in local electoral politics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35719/aladalah.v29i1.698Religious organizations occupy a contested position in electoral democracy because institutional neutrality can coexist with communication with political actors. Drawing on Habermas’s distinction between communicative and strategic action, this study examines how Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah elites negotiated neutrality, religious authority, and political engagement during the 2024 General Election and Regional Head Election in Banyumas Regency. Using a qualitative case study, data were collected from October 2024 to February 2025 through eight semi-structured interview sessions with nine participants, non-participant observation, and documentary analysis. Data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing, using communicative and strategic action as analytical categories. The findings show that both organizations avoid partisan endorsement while continuing to communicate with candidates, legislators, and local officials. NU relied on Kiai, pesantren, religious forums, and culturally embedded relations, whereas Muhammadiyah emphasized organizational structures, public-service institutions, and policy advocacy. Political education, dialogue, and the articulation of aspirations coexisted with legitimacy seeking, institutional networking, and policy access. This coexistence is conceptualized as a dual communicative mode. The study concludes that organizational neutrality regulates rather than eliminates political influence, while transparency, equal access, and clear boundaries between public advocacy and electoral endorsement are necessary to preserve democratic legitimacy.
Downloads
References
Brown, G. (2019). Civic Islam: Muhammadiyah, NU and the organisational logic of consensus-making in Indonesia. Asian Studies Review, 43(3), 397–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2019.1626802 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2019.1626802
Budiwanti, E., & Eidhamar, L. G. (2026). The state and religion in Indonesia: The Indonesian Ulama Council’s authority on public health and national lottery. Religions, 17(1), Article 72. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17010072 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17010072
Bush, R., & Fealy, G. (2014). The political decline of traditional ulama in Indonesia: The state, umma and Nahdlatul Ulama. Asian Journal of Social Science, 42(5), 536–560. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-04205004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-04205004
Gangopadhyay, M. (2023). Religion and governance: Examining the intersection in contemporary politics. Religion and Policy Journal, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15575/rpj.v1i1.427 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15575/rpj.v1i1.427
Habermas, J. (1984). The theory of communicative action: Vol. 1. Reason and the rationalization of society (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Beacon Press.
Habermas, J. (1987). The theory of communicative action: Vol. 2. Lifeworld and system: A critique of functionalist reason (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Beacon Press.
Habermas, J. (1989). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society (T. Burger, Trans.). MIT Press.
Habermas, J. (1996). Between facts and norms: Contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy (W. Rehg, Trans.). MIT Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/1564.001.0001
Hafid, H., Jannah, S. R., & Jauhari, M. (2024). Strategi komunikasi politik “nyantri” Prabowo Subianto dalam memenangkan Pilpres 2024. Jurnal Riset Komunikasi, 7(2), 262–277. https://doi.org/10.38194/jurkom.v7i2.1041 DOI: https://doi.org/10.38194/jurkom.v7i2.1041
Hariyanto, G. (2022). Sistem dan dunia-kehidupan menurut Jurgen Habermas. Borneo Review, 1(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.52075/br.v1i1.42 DOI: https://doi.org/10.52075/br.v1i1.42
Hawari, A. Y., Suwaryo, U., & Kartini, D. S. (2023). Perbandingan peran Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) dan Muhammadiyah dalam politik di Indonesia. Jurnal Pemerintahan dan Kebijakan, 5(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.18196/jpk.v5i1.19187 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18196/jpk.v5i1.19187
Hendriks, C. M., & Lees-Marshment, J. (2019). Political leaders and public engagement: The hidden world of informal elite–citizen interaction. Political Studies, 67(3), 597–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321718791370 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321718791370
Heryono, H. H., Hamdani, D., & Wahyu, A. P. (2024). Text as a social network analysis topography and political communication in Indonesia. Brilliance: Research of Artificial Intelligence, 4(1), 19–24. https://doi.org/10.47709/brilliance.v4i1.3645 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47709/brilliance.v4i1.3645
Hidayatullah, A. S., Chumeidi, A., Fadli, Y., & Nurlukman, A. D. (2022). Pragmatisme politik Nahdlatul Ulama pada masa pemerintahan Presiden Joko Widodo. Sospol, 8(2), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.22219/jurnalsospol.v8i2.22504 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22219/jurnalsospol.v8i2.22504
LeVine, M., & Salvatore, A. (2005). Socio-religious movements and the transformation of “common sense” into a politics of “common good.” In A. Salvatore & M. LeVine (Eds.), Religion, social practice, and contested hegemonies: Reconstructing the public sphere in Muslim majority societies (pp. 29–56). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403979247_2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403979247_2
Mafudoh, U., Abduh, M., & Rumiati, S. (2026). Perilaku politik elite Nahdlatul Ulama dan implikasinya terhadap pemilih Nahdliyin pada Pilpres 2024 di Kota Depok. Jurnal Citizenship Virtues, 6(1), 111–121. https://doi.org/10.37640/jcv.v6i1.2746
Majid, M. N. (2023). Dinamika kiai dalam politik Islam di Indonesia. Al-Maquro’: Jurnal Komunikasi dan Penyiaran Islam, 4(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.47759/2ww49t13 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47759/2ww49t13
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Nurdiyansyah, M. (2021). Komunikasi politik patronase NU dalam Pilkada Kabupaten Purbalingga 2020. Dialektika Komunika: Jurnal Kajian Komunikasi dan Pembangunan Daerah, 9(2), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.33592/dk.v9i2.1783 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33592/dk.v9i2.1783
Putera, Y. E., Iratama, Y. W., & Dina, M. (2026). Peran Muhammadiyah dalam dinamika politik bangsa Indonesia kontemporer: Antara khittah, ijtihad politik, dan kontribusi kebangsaan. Ameena Journal, 4(1), 70–81. https://doi.org/10.63732/aij.v4i1.232 DOI: https://doi.org/10.63732/aij.v4i1.232
Setiawan, F. R. (2023). Peran media sosial sebagai ruang publik: Tinjauan filosofis gagasan ruang publik Jürgen Habermas. MELINTAS: An International Journal of Philosophy and Religion, 39(3), 323–350. https://doi.org/10.26593/mel.v39i3.7826 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26593/mel.v39i3.7826
Solihin, I., & Mulky, M. A. (2026). Deviasi khittah dan politik oposisi lokal: Komunikasi politik Mathla’ul Anwar dalam kontestasi elektoral Banten. OPOSISI: Jurnal Politik, Agama, dan Budaya, 1(2), 98–111. https://journal.ptnutangerang.ac.id/index.php/oposisi/article/view/344
Widjayanto, F., Naim, S., & Mokodenseho, S. (2022). Maruf Amin’s political communication strategy in the 2019 election campaign: A lesson for anti-hoax politics. JWP: Jurnal Wacana Politik, 7(2), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v7i2.40869 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v7i2.40869
Zakiyah, Z., Agnia, R., Handayani, H. S., Davika, Z., Ramdani, A., & Syafiq, M. Z. (2024). Diskursus publik dan relevansi dengan legitimasi kekuasaan dari teori Habermas. Public Sphere: Jurnal Sosial Politik, Pemerintahan dan Hukum, 3(2), 9-17. https://doi.org/10.59818/jps.v3i2.807 DOI: https://doi.org/10.59818/jps.v3i2.807
Downloads
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Turhamun, Siti Nurmahyati
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Al'Adalah licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.