13 - Human Dignity, Pancasila, and Islam

Summary

This chapter contextualizes how ethical values drawn from Pancasila and Islam are mutually reinforcing in the formulation of human dignity. By using a genealogical approach, I argue that the pursuit of human dignity in Indonesia is debated in terms of the inviolability of human beings and the fulfilment of rights by the state. First, I show how the discourses surrounding human dignity by secular and Muslim nationalists in the colonial contexts coalesced with the pursuit of progress and the need for a sovereign nation. I also trace how secular and Muslim nationalists came to an agreement on the formulation of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. Second, I draw values from Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, in orienting the nation’s development and promotion of human dignity during the New Order regime. I also discusses the drawbacks of politicizing Pancasila and its impacts on the debates of human dignity and the way Islamic values were used as a framework for ethical and political considerations. I end the chapter by examining how Pancasila and Islam intersect as ethical frameworks in shaping human dignity as the fulfilment of rights.