Pragmatic Islamism and the Reconfiguration of Islamic Politics: The Political Trajectory of PKS

Rendy Adiwilaga; Zuly Qodir; Taufiqur Rahman; Mahmood Shaker Abood Alaloosh

doi:10.24252/mazahibuna.vi.70543

Authors

Rendy Adiwilaga Bale Bandung University, Indonesia
Zuly Qodir Department of Islamic Politics, Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Taufiqur Rahman Department of Communication Science, Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Mahmood Shaker Abood Alaloosh College of Management and Economics, University of Kirkuk, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24252/mazahibuna.vi.70543

Keywords:

Islamism, Post-Islamism, Prosperous Justice Party, Pragmatic Islamism, Islamic Politic

Abstract

As a political entity, the Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, PKS) occupies a complex ideological position within post-Reformasi Indonesian politics. While the party maintains a commitment to Islamic values and emerged from the Islamist Jemaah Tarbiyah movement, it simultaneously participates actively in democratic elections, coalition politics, and contemporary governance. This combination creates a conceptual gap in existing scholarship, as PKS cannot be fully explained either by conventional Islamism or by post-Islamism. This study examines how PKS's ideological orientation should be understood within these competing frameworks and proposes a conceptual refinement to explain its hybrid trajectory. The study employs a qualitative narrative literature review combined with conceptual analysis. Relevant literature was primarily retrieved from the Scopus database using keywords related to Islamism, post-Islamism, Political Islam, PKS, and Indonesia, supplemented by seminal books and highly cited publications. The analysis finds that PKS retains core Islamist commitments, including the normative importance of Islamic values and gradual aspirations for their institutionalization, while pragmatically adapting to democratic institutions, electoral competition, coalition-building, and contemporary governance. Based on these findings, this article proposes the concept of Pragmatic Islamism, characterized by the preservation of Islamist normative commitments alongside democratic participation, electoral pragmatism, and gradual, non-confrontational approaches to the implementation of Islamic values. The concept contributes to the study of Islamic politics and jurisprudential debates by offering an analytical framework for understanding hybrid forms of Islamist political engagement in contemporary democratic contexts.

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