This very informative and original book is an investigation into the official Qur’an translation into Indonesian by the Indonesian government, which was initiated under President Soekarno and saw its fourth revision in 2019-20. The book’s main research focus is the question of whether the government used this translation to support particular government projects, for instance in the fields of Shari`a-related issues or interreligious relations. In the conclusion the book convincingly shows that the translation never pursued a political or social agenda and that the translation was basically based on Sunni mainstream interpretations of the Qur’an, even if these went against government policies.
Prof. Nico Kaptein
Professor of Islam in Southeast Asia, Leiden University