By Jane Perlez
New York Times
Aug. 12, 2002

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's highest legislative body, after rebuffing calls to impose Islamic law in the world's largest Muslim country, ended its annual session Sunday with constitutional changes aimed at enhancing the democratic nature of the state.

The rejection of a proposal to introduce Islamic, or sharia, law came even before it was put to a vote by the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly. The party of Vice President Hamzah Haz, the United Development Party, one of the main proponents of sharia law, and two of its coalition partners withdrew the amendment when it became clear that it would lose.

Indonesia has a history, dating to the turbulent politics of independence in the mid- 1940s, of resisting sharia as the law of the land. In 1945, the architects of the constitution dropped a push for an Islamic state, insisting that the new nation be secular.

There was little doubt that the effort by high-volume but relatively weak Islamic parties would fail again this time. The country's two main Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, preach a tolerant form of Islam and oppose the establishment of a theocracy.

But in the context of heightened anxiety in Southeast Asia about the country becoming a center of Islamic militants, the latest rejection of Islamic law sent a reassuring signal.

After their defeat, proponents of an Islamic state vowed to keep up their efforts.

The most fundamental changes decided at the assembly's two-week session were the abolition of parliamentary seats reserved for the military and provisions for the direct election of the president.

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