Both adopt the modern nation state...

Both adopt the modern nation state, however they differed themselves in which Muhammadiyah claims itself as modern Islam group and NU represents the traditional one. Muhammadiyah was established earlier in 1912 than NU in 1926, however larger Moslem associates with NU which was established to preserve the common feature of Indonesian Moslem.

After the independence of Indonesia on August 17 th , 1945, both have a great influence over political life in Indonesia, even compare with political parties. Both also play major roles in reforming Islamic societies which often mark by tensions, however actually they are also making dialectical approach in reforming Islamic life within their own groups.

This article will address Islamic reformation in Indonesia, especially within Muhammadiyah , concerning the dialectical process between Islam and modernization. It follows the ways of modernization in Egypt introduced by Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905). This movement was intended as a revival for all Islamic groups.

In fact it was supported by Moslem s in the large cit ies It happened because the movement started from the base of normative Islam (rational aspect) and neglected the realities of various Islamic cultures. Most Moslems who lived in the country areas were influenced much by tradition, so they were reluctant to follow this radical innovation. It passes for quite long time and now it appears as a dialectical approach between these two groups.

In this short article I would like to focus on the Sufi [^3] issue, which has become the major issue between these two groups. Previous…