The history of thought is an elusive area to write about. It has many holes where writers are trapped into making generalizations or simplifications. However, generalizations and simplifications are sometimes necessary in giving an intelligible picture of the complex phenomenon of human thought. There is, however, a danger that it tends to give a distorted version of human history. Various books on Islamic thought fall into this trap through generalizing or simplifying its complexity into various ideological categories such as “modernist”, “traditionalist”, “revivalist”, “neo-modernist”, and so on. There is a certain element of truth in these categories, but the history of thought is not a mere history of ideology. As Karl Mannheim argues, political thought will not adequately be understood without an appreciation of the role of utopia. It is disappointing that many studies on Islamic thought in Indonesia heavily emphasize political ideologies without due consideration of Muslim utopia.

This study is an attempt to fill this gap by addressing Islamic political thought in terms of the role of utopia. Utopia has played a great role in determining political discourse in the country. Since the very beginning of the era of national resurgence (era kebangkitan nasional or nahdah in the Arab context), Indonesian Muslims have been daunted by the ideal model of polity. The model of polity, as Macpherson argues, is the most practical idea of utopia. This study has examined Muslim models of polity in Indonesia since independence. It has found three dominant models that reflect Muslims’ political understanding and attitudes towards various religious-political issues. These three models have played a crucial role in developing Islamic political thinking in contemporary Indonesia. Various arguments and explanations about major ideas such as democracy, pluralism, liberalism, freedom, and gender equality, cannot be properly understood without an exploration of Muslim conceptualization of a model of polity; a utopia.