International Journal of Law and Society
Vol 5 No 1 (2026): International Journal of Law and Society (IJLS)

Recontextualizing Abdurrahman Wahid’s Rejection of Islamic-State Formalization: An Interfaith Socio-Legal Critical Discourse Analysis

Kholisin (Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia)
Abdul Basid (Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia)
Hassan Youssef (Suez Canal University, Egypt)
Nur Faizin (Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
20 Jul 2026

Abstract

Indonesia's post-Reformasi debates over religion and the state have renewed contestations over Pancasila, constitutional pluralism, and Sharia-oriented governance. This study examines how Abdurrahman Wahid's rejection of Islamic-state formalisation is linguistically constructed, circulated, and recontextualised across interfaith reception. Using socio-legal qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), it analyses a translated transcript of Wahid's lecture and open-ended narratives from 16 interfaith respondents. The analysis follows Fairclough's textual, discursive-practice, and social-practice levels, focusing on lexis, modality, evaluation, actor representation, and power relations. The findings show that Wahid distinguishes the obligation to defend the country from the non-obligation to establish an Islamic state, authorising this position through NU deliberation, ulama authority, the Jihad Resolution, and plural national belonging. Reception narratives reveal a discursive split: respondents often reject Islamic-state formalisation while selectively endorsing punitive Sharia as justice. The study contributes to socio-legal CDA by integrating transcript evidence, contemporary interfaith reception, and power analysis. It recommends stronger legal safeguards and interfaith civic education to sustain inclusive citizenship.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

IJLS

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

International Journal of Law and Society (IJLS) focuses on law and social studies theory and practice. It publishes articles by Indonesian and foreign authors dealing with current national and international law, legal philosophy, legal history and other law-related social science disciplines. It ...