The UAE's religious soft power : the Muslim council of elders' dual role in Indonesia's religious landscape and global religious discourse

Abstract

This thesis examines how the Muslim Elders Indonesia (MEI) operates as a sophisticated instrument of UAE religious soft power, designed to advance Abu Dhabi's post-Arab Spring strategy of containing democratic Islamist movements while presenting itself as a locally rooted Islamic organization. Situated in Indonesia, a strategic battleground for competing visions of Islamic governance, the research investigates how MEI navigates its role as both a vehicle for UAE geopolitical interests and a locally legitimate religious actor. By conducting a qualitative examination using digital ethnographic methods and critical discourse analysis of MEI's initiatives, partnerships, and public communications, the study reveals how the organization strategically deploys "glocalization" to mask its foreign policy objectives. The research objectives are to (1) examine how MEI leverages transnational resources (Al-Azhar's theological authority, UAE financial support) alongside local partnerships to build legitimacy, and (2) identify the tensions between its geopolitical mandate to promote state-controlled religious authority and Indonesia's democratic Islamic traditions. Following these objectives, it argues that MEI functions as a hybrid entity that operates strategic glocalization, merging transnational religious diplomacy with local legitimacy. However, this hybridity fundamentally serves the UAE's broader project of delegitimizing political Islam and promoting authoritarian models of religious governance. Through initiatives framed as interfaith dialogue and counter-extremism, MEI advances a depoliticized vision of Islam that aligns with UAE state interests, while carefully minimizing its Gulf connections and maximizing its Al-Azhar credentials. However, this model faces inherent limitations: MEI's inability to engage meaningfully with marginalized Muslim communities, its avoidance of democratic Islamic discourse, and its need to maintain strategic ambiguity about its geopolitical agenda reveal the fundamental tensions between authoritarian religious management and Indonesia's pluralistic Islamic landscape. Ultimately, while MEI achieves tactical successes through elite co-option and resource provision, its effectiveness as a geopolitical instrument remains constrained by the democratic vitality of Indonesian civil society and the sophisticated ability of Indonesian Muslims to distinguish authentic religious authority from foreign influence operations.