The popularity of Jemaah Tarbiyah in the state universities is the result of its intensive and massive dakwah predication. In contrast to Martin van Bruinessen’s suggestion that most of its activists are enrolled in the faculties of science and technology, the core activists of Jemaah Tarbiyah are dominated by students from the Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as from Islamic studies.^[84] The first triumph of Jemaah Tarbiyah on campus was its success in winning the general student elections in the Faculty of Humanites, the University of Indonesia in 1993 when Mustafa Kamal, now the Member of Parliament for PKS (2004-2009) was elected head of the student senate. The following year, Zulkieflimansyah, an economics student, was elected head of the student senate at the university level in UI. Zulkieflimansyah’s successors were Kamaruddin, Selamat Nurdin and Rama Pratama. Both Kamaruddin and Nurdin were students in the Faculty of Political Science whilst Pratama was from the Faculty of Economics. As a general principle, in order to secure the position of student senate at level of faculty and university, the candidate must win thousands of student votes. It is a mark of the success of Islamic predication by Jemaah Tarbiyah activists in the Faculties of Humanities and Political Science in recruiting members that enabled them to win the elections.

In addition, pioneers of Islamic predication in UI who have also gone on to occupy important positions on the PKS national committees, some of them being elected as members of legislatures, also graduated from the Faculties of Social Science and the Humanities. Among them are Yusuf Supendi, Al-Muzammil Yusuf and Mahfudz Sidiq. They have become influential figures in the current PKS leadership (2005-2010). Sidiq is the chairman of the PKS faction in the national parliament and former head of department of caderisation. Caderisation is the most important department in the committee of PKS because of its vital role in ensuring the recruitment process within both Jemaah Tarbiyah and PKS. Yusuf was the first president of PKS (2003). Both vice chairmen of the PKS faction in the national parliament of DPR RI, Fahri Hamzah and Zulkielfimansyah, graduated from the Faculty of Economics.

The general trend within the Islamic parties and parties of Muslim constituents shows that most cadres of DPR RI (2004-2009) come from the secular universities rather than Islamic institutions. The percentages are as follows. PPP - among 58 members, 34 persons (59%) graduated from secular universities and 21 persons (36%) graduated from Islamic institutions. PKB - among 52 members, 28 persons (54%) graduated from secular universities and 22 persons (42%) graduated from Islamic institutions. PKS has the same figures - among 45 members, 23 persons (51%) are from secular universities and 18 persons (40%) are from Islamic institutions. For PAN, PBB and PBR, the percentage of secular university graduates is even more significant. Secular university graduates for PAN, PBR and PBB are 43 persons (83%), 11 persons (85%) and 9 persons (75%) respectively, while Islamic university graduates are 6 (11%), 0 (0%) and 3 (25%). The role of the secular universities as sources of political candidates is still unshakeable. Overall, the percentages of members of the national parliament for the above six parties who graduated from secular universities and Islamic higher education institutions are 64% (148 persons) and 30% (70 persons) respectively, while the remaining 6% (14 persons) are high school graduates.

The transformation of Jemaah Tarbiyah from an informal religious movement into the open political party, PKS, brought significant changes in the composition of its membership, its strategy and style of leadership. While the first Jemaah Tarbiyah activists were represented by the PK, further development manifested itself in PKS. In addition, activists coming from secular campuses and representing FSI, KAMMI and SM have contributed to the political directions of PKS. In order to broaden its appeal, PKS has transformed its Islamic aspirations into a more realistic agenda. The rich experience of its activists from campus milieus has helped PKS to negotiate with the political realities of Indonesia. The distinctively different modes of performance between PK and PKS are proof evidence of the way in which activists of Jemaah Tarbiyah have prepared themselves to be involved within the grey areas of politics that are totally removed from religious ideals. As a result the split has often occurred within activists of PKS rather than PK. Many cases in some regions in Indonesia have proved this trend. For instance, in Depok, West Java, a member of legislative from PKS, Saleh Martapermana, allied himself with the party rival, Badrul Kamal during the district election in 2005 and PKS already chose Nurmahmudi Ismail as its own candidate.^[85] He was sacked as a member of the District Parliament (DPRD II) in June 2006.^[86]

In general, the activists of campus Islam within the formation of the PKS leadership have demonstrated moderate views in responding to the position of Islam vis-à-vis the state and the struggle for Islamic ideals. Their experience within student politics and government in the past has helped them to position themselves in responding to national issues of pluralism and diversity. Based on their experience on campus they are divided into three streams: the generations of the Forum Studi Islam, of student senate and of KAMMI respectively. My observations on the distinctive performances of PK and PKS indicate the significance of these activists of campus Islam.

The character of the militant cadres of Jemaah Tarbiyah may be seen in PK profiles. Most activists of PK directly experienced the political constraint and hostility of the Soeharto regime during the 1980s. Observing PK’s seven representatives in DPR between 1999-2004, it appears that most of its cadres were of the first stratum of Jemaah Tarbiyah, mainly former activists of the Forum for Islamic Studies on campus, such as Irwan Prayitno, Yusuf Supendi and Zirlyrosa Jamil, and of the modernist student organizations (PII) such as Mashadi and Mutammimul Ula. There were also cadres from a traditionalist background, such as Nurmahmudi Ismail and Roqib Abdul Kadir.

In contrast, the configuration of the elite of PKS is represented by more moderate figures, the generation of the 1990s, who have not encountered political repression. They began their political activities during an era of political openness, since the 1990s. Their attitudes towards national issues and pluralism are more open. They are not only able to maintain good communication with other groups, including non-Islamic organizations, but they are also more pragmatic in their approach towards politics and dakwah. More former activists of intra-campus organizations are remarkably accommodated in DPR. Figures such as Mahfudz Sidiq, Al Muzammil Yusuf, Untung Wahono, Nursanita Nasution, RB Suryama, Chairul Anwar, Agus Purnomo, Andi Salahuddin and Idris Lutfi were leading activists of Forum Studi Islam in the 1980s, whilst other new comers are mainly former activists of Student Executive Bodies and KAMMI in the 1990s, such as Zulkieflimansyah, Mustafa Kamal, Rama Pratama, Fahri Hamzah and Andi Rahmat.

The composition of the general membership is another issue. PK owed its main support to its core cadres and their families. There was little influence over non-santri families in society. Their main strongholds were the regions where Islamic parties of the past, particularly Masyumi, had gained support and enjoyed its triumphs. These are West Java, DKI Jakarta and certain parts of Sumatra. At the level of leadership, the main players were ideologists and the intelligentsia. Yet in the mean time, PKS has broadened its appeal to garner popular support. Another grouping, not core cadres, but mainly of the pious middle class and urban poor have given tremendous support. PKS now reflects different kinds of social affiliations. While the pious middle class can also be accepted within differently constituted elite circles, the urban poor have become the main constituents of PKS. This is because many former campus activists have begun to “colour” the political directions of PKS. Their participation in student politics has served to enrich PKS’s strategies in promoting the party to the Indonesian public in general.

A lack of financial and facility support was once the common picture of PK. It used Islamic institutions and mosques to which its cadres were affiliated to run the party. It also used cadres’ houses as party offices in many areas. The public who attended its political campaigns in the 1999 general elections were in the main ideologically in tune with the ideas of Jemaah Tarbiyah. Female participants wore the headscarf and rarely came from lay, or non-observant, households. On the other hand, the campaigns of PKS were far more attractive. They rented convention halls in hotels and avoided using the mosques. In terms of financial support, PKS is far more prosperous than PK. Many of the elite, public figures and other high-placed members of society have attended its campaigns. Even more surprising, people with no interest in religion, including certain actresses, have lent their support. In Surabaya, women prostitutes from surrounding localities in the city attended the PKS campaigns.^[87]

In keeping with its policy of Islamisation, Jemaah Tarbiyah made strict Islamic demands through PK, so that its interests as an Islamic party were heard loudly in the 1999 elections. Although PK was ready to join with a non-religious party, the National Mandate Party, Partai Amanah Nasional (PAN), its motivation for this was more for the fact that the chairman of PAN, Amien Rais was so well known as a Muslim leader and activist. In contrast, PKS tends to show its non-religious orientation by favouring professional organizations and in its demands for economic, political and social reform. Its Islamic values are presented as much as possible within activities that are closer to the day-to-day lives of the people. For PKS, the implementation of shariah laws need not necessarily be proposed through its campaigns or by a call for the upholding of the shariah by the government. It is more important to make an effort to urge people in general about the importance of the shariah and for them to implement it in their daily lives with full understanding and consciousness. (A further discussion of this issue will be given in Chapter VII.)

Since the secular campuses in Indonesia are still considered as to be backbones of PKS caderisation, it seems they will continue to play a significant role in the future. Their ability to control almost all strategic positions of the student bodies is certainly an inspiration of the possibility of reaching their goal to Islamise government. However, the external challenges of the social, cultural and political realities of Indonesia compel them to play in accommodative ways to promote their ideas of Islamisation. They have often demonstrated a readiness to negotiate to secure their position on a structural level in order to exert an influence on the state. Interestingly, all of these accommodative approaches within religious and political activities find their justification in the teachings and ideas of Hasan al-Bana, the founder of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt. Thus, the relation of Jemaah Tarbiyah of Indonesia and the Muslim Brothers of Egypt will be elaborated in our next chapter.