38 Quotes by Indonesian authors

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Indonesian peribahasa speak in a measured voice: patient as monsoon-swelled rivers, firm as volcanic stone. They prize budi pekerti, respect for elders, and the quiet strength of gotong royong. Humor slips between lines, teasing vanity and excess. From market banter to wayang shadows, words migrate across islands, carrying adat and everyday pragmatism. Expect counsel that favors balance over bravado, gratitude over complaint, and the art of musyawarah, listening, then deciding. Each line feels hand-dyed like batik: repeating patterns, never the same.

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"Look at the Afghans, during the time of the Soviet invasion. They were among the poorest Muslims in the world, yet they were sustained by their faith in God, and God alone"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"The Prophet defeated the enemies of Islam even when he and his followers were small in number"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"If my children do not behave according to Islam, if they do not pray for instance, I will punish them"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"We should be proud that our Prophet came into the world with the message of Islam to change it for the better, and not for the worse, or to keep things as they are"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"The Afghans did not have sophisticated weapons like the Soviets did, but with their faith they defeated a superpower"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Laws are to be enforced justly but firmly, with an iron hand. This is the case anywhere, even in a family"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Islam's laws are fixed and that is why Islam is stable"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"As long as Muslims were confident they could not be defeated, but now we are just puppets"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"What honour have we got left, when nobody is listening to us?"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Oil wealth has been a curse on us, made us weak and docile"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Likewise the leader of any state has to do the same, he has to enforce Shariah firmly, for he will be held in account later in the afterlife if he fails"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Islam is perfect, there is nothing to be added or changed"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"But the leaders of the OIC could not even accept Mahathir's proposal, yet they talk about respect and honour"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Because Islam in its original form was tough and hard, not weak and pliable"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"You are right, but the weakness does not come from the millions of Muslims in the world. They do not mind being radical, they have no fear to speak out and to protest and to jihad"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Why should we use the Dollar even when we trade among ourselves?"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"What use is revelation or religion if it doesnt change anything?"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"We have shown that Islam can rule the world perfectly for 14 centuries, and during this time of Muslim power we did not borrow ideas like democracy from others, so why do we need to learn democracy from them now?"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Our Prophet was a radical too- he fought against the injustices of his community and challenged the feudal order of his society, so they called him a radical. So what? We should be proud of that!"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Today the Western powers and media want to domesticate us like sheep, to keep us tame and domesticated"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"There is not a single Muslim leader today who has the courage and commitment to defend Islam and Muslims, they are all in awe of the United States and other Western powers, and are indebted to them"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Muslims must believe that all power, success and victory comes from God alone"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"But the West is trying to weaken Islam from outside and inside. They attack our people and invade our countries from outside, and they weaken us from within with ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy. This is all designed to contaminate our pure Islam"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"But the weakness comes from these Westernised co-opted Muslim leaders who just want to look good in the eyes of the West and Western media"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"The Muslim leaders swallow the advice of the Western powers and bodies like the IMF and World Bank, even when it is bad for their countries and they know this"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"The only model to follow is pure Islam"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"So we want an Islamic state where Islamic law is not just in the books but enforced, and enforced with determination. There is no space and no room for democratic consultation. The Shariah is set and fixed, so why do we need to discuss it anymore? Just implement it!"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Islam is fixed, stable, ordered and disciplined, and so are Muslims"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"Arab leaders worry more about making money from the profits they get from oil and gas that they turn the other way when Lebanon is being destroyed right next to them. Their neighbours are being murdered, but they only make calculations for their own benefit"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"This is why I have always said that it would be better if Muslims were poor"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"They are scared that the BBC or CNN may call them radicals, so they remain soft instead. The problem lies there, with the Muslim leaders, not the Muslim masses"

Abu Bakar Bashir, Activist

"All too many Muslims fail to grasp Islam, which teaches one to be lenient towards others and to understand their value systems, knowing that these are tolerated by Islam as a religion"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman

"I am a follower of Mahatma Gandhi"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman

"I don't talk in ifs"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman

"If we cling to the institution of Islam, then we tend to defend it against whatever we see as a danger to it, so because of this we see now that many people are defending states, defending territories, defending everything institutional in the belief that they defend Islam"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman

"I do not like violence"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman

"Well, the most important thing about Islam is that we have to differentiate between two kinds of Islam. The first one is the institution of Islam... second, the culture of Islam"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman

"I told the students that we can exert pressure without resorting to violence, and that we can move towards democracy without violence; that way, God will allow it"

Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman