Sukmawati, daughter of Indonesia’s Sukarno gives up Islam, embraces Hinduism in conversion ‘with no obstacles’
- The move by Sukmawati Sukarnoputri would be considered blasphemous in other Muslim-majority nations
- The conversion has attracted interest from Hindu nationalists, with one Indian website linking the event to an ancient prophecy involving a priest restoring glory to the religion
Some went a step further to say that Sukmawati Sukarnoputri’s religious conversion – which would be considered blasphemous in other Muslim-majority nations including Malaysia – could be interpreted as her opposition to the growth in political Islam in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Officials in the nation of 270 million people, where 86 per cent of residents are Muslim, have in the last decade sought a larger role for Islam across society and politics, while Indonesia continues to grapple with radicalisation and militancy.
Sukmawati’s decision thus raises the question of any impact on the electability of her family members.
Her niece, Puan Maharani, is among a group of political scions likely to vie for the top role in the 2024 presidential election. She is the daughter of Sukmawati’s eldest sister, Megawati, who was Indonesia’s first female president from 2001-2004 and still leads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the political vehicle of President Joko Widodo.
The Sukarno name still commands respect as he was the face of a secular nationalist movement that won Indonesia independence from Dutch colonial rule.