Indonesian Islamic leaders shift stance on controversial Gaza 'Board of Peace' deployment

Indonesia’s leading Islamic organisations have softened their opposition to President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to join a US-led "Peace Council" on Gaza and send Indonesian troops to the enclave, after a four-hour closed-door meeting at the presidential palace.

Days before announcing Indonesia’s readiness to deploy a peacekeeping force, Prabowo invited more than 50 leaders of Islamic organisations, including representatives of Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Islamic women’s groups and Muhammadiyah, to explain his government’s rationale for joining the council led by US President Donald Trump and sending thousands of soldiers to Gaza.

The meeting resulted in a noticeable shift in tone from groups that had previously criticised the move. Local media described it as a recalibration of Islamic organisations’ stance on Palestine.

Hajj Yahya Staquf, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, said the initiative could provide Indonesia with an opportunity to achieve more tangible results for Palestinians.

He referred to presidential assurances "that everything Indonesia does within the council will be carried out vigilantly and will not deviate from the fundamental goal of protecting, defending and assisting the Palestinian people".

Hajj Anwar Iskandar, head of the Indonesian Ulema Council, expressed conditional support, provided Indonesia remains committed to Palestinian welfare, upholds the "two-state solution", and ensures its participation does not lead to further Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The council had previously described the Peace Council as "a form of neo-colonialism".

Indonesia’s foreign minister said Prabowo pledged to Islamic organisations to "withdraw from the Peace Council if he fails to reconcile Indonesia’s mission to promote peace in the Gaza Strip with supporting Palestinian independence", however, criticism persists.

Muhammad Ansarullah, head of the Al-Aqsa Action Group, said he was disappointed by what he described as a sudden shift among religious leaders. He warned that joining the alliance and sending troops would be futile, citing the US’ record of supporting Israel at the expense of Palestinian rights.

He also cautioned that joining the council without Palestinian representation could place Indonesia in a difficult political position.

Human rights activist Anisa Theresia described the policy as "very far removed from the 1945 constitution, which stipulates that Indonesia is an anti-imperialist state", and as an abandonment of Sukarno’s principle that "as long as the freedom of the Palestinian people has not been handed over to the Palestinian people, the Indonesian people will remain standing against Israeli colonialism".

Analyst Pizaro Idris said the shift followed presidential reassurances that the deployment would be limited to humanitarian and medical tasks and would not interfere in Palestinian internal affairs or follow Israeli or US agendas.

Still, he noted that limited public information about the troops’ mandate has fuelled concerns, particularly fears that the mission could involve disarming Hamas.

Idris also pointed to Indonesia’s past peacekeeping experience in Lebanon, where its forces were unable to take effective action after coming under Israeli attack, raising doubts about whether a Gaza deployment could achieve its stated goals.

Former MP Wanda Hamidah described the plan as fraught with risk, citing the fragility of the ceasefire, the absence of a clear UN mandate and continued Israeli military operations backed by Washington.

Speaking at a pro-Palestine rally outside the US embassy in Jakarta, she said Indonesia "loses its moral identity when it is forced to plead with and submit to Americans and Israelis so that the Indonesian economy does not deteriorate and the country does not lose its opportunity to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development".

While several Islamic organisations have offered conditional backing, analysts say the consensus remains fragile amid strong domestic pro-Palestinian sentiment and the volatile situation on the ground in Gaza.