The Moslems of Indonesia, forced to adapt to new laws barring sectarian political parties, are rethinking fundamental Islamic concepts of church and state. In the process, Moslem scholars say, they are modernizing and liberalizing their religion, creating models for the larger Islamic world.
''Some of the most modern Islamic thinking is being done in Indonesia,'' said Abdurrahman Wahid, the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, a former political organization that now functions as a national council of scholars and religious leaders.
Mr. Wahid said that intellectuals in Indonesia, which has the world's largest Moslem population, are debating not only the Islamic tenet that there can be no division between religious and civil authority, but also cultural, social and economic issues, and attitudes toward ecumenism and ''interfaith activities.''
''Our intellectuals are trying to introduce modernity to our lives,'' Mr. Wahid, a graduate of Egyptian and Iraqi universities, said, ''but at the same time they are trying to tame its excesses and preserve our cultural and spiritual values.''
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