It cannot be questioned that the project of modernityin Indonesia was sought to be achieved in the pastwith a strong reference to the West. In the colonialera as well as under Suharto's New Order regime(Orde Baru),modernization was equated with Westernization andthe taking up of Western norms and practices. After1998, though, the country has experienced atremendous political change (democratization anddecentralization) and has seen the increasinginfluence of religion, evoking the question of theWest's recent significance for modernization inIndonesia. This chapter explores Muslim Indonesians’imaginations, knowledge of and experiences with theWest and Western modernity. The emphasis lies on thequestion of what role these ideas and experiencesplay for self-perception and own narratives andpractices of modernity in relation to researchparticipants’ religious identity.

After some introductory remarks on the socio-culturaland religious context of the field sites and theresearch design, I will give a brief overview of theconceptual framework. Following this, I will turn tothe empirical data which is based on eleven monthsof field research in Indonesia collected in twocities on different islands of the archipelago:Yogyakarta in Central Java and Makassar in SouthSulawesi. It will be revealed that most MuslimIndonesians refer to notions of ‘the modern West’ todefine what they do (not) consider necessary toconstitute modernity in Indonesia. Yet, as Westernmodernity is judged ambivalently and thus turns outto be a narrative of desire and disdain, it onlyserves as a starting point to create and perform ownmodernities.

Urban sites: Fieldwork in Makassar andYogyakarta

Makassar and Yogyakarta are cities in Indonesia thathave structural similarities as well associo-cultural differences.

Makassar or Ujung Pandang – referred to as the ‘Gate tothe Eastern Islands’ (Antweiler 2002: 103) – is theprovincial capital of South Sulawesi and constitutesa regional hub as seaport and commercial town aswell as in terms of education and Islam. It hasapproximately 1.3 million inhabitants: Makasar andBugis are the most numerous ethnic groups, followedby two other predominant ethnic groups on thepeninsula, namely Mandar and Toraja (Antweiler 2006:50-51).