Opposition to leadership from religious minorities still occurs in many countries, including non-Muslim minorities in Indonesia (Esposito 1990; Rodin 2017; Silvita 2012; Sohrabi 2016). The rejection of the non-Muslim Ahok of Chinese descent as a candidate for Jakarta governor occurred dramatically when he commented on the Qur’an in late 2016. Ahok’s comment led to anti-Ahok protest and calls for his arrest because he was deemed to have committed blasphemy (Hatherell & Welsh 2017). Sahiron Syamsuddin, chairman of the Association for Tafsir Science in Indonesia, who became part of Ahok’s expert team stated that his comment about the Qur’an (al-Maidah: 51) was not a blasphemy against Islam or al-Quran (Pruwanto 2017). At that time, Ahok’s rival received a lot of support from Islamist groups (Hatherell & Welsh 2017; Miichi 2019). Mujani (2019) considered the anti-Ahok protests in the gubernatorial election that continued until early 2017 as a compelling indicator of the strained political and religious relations in Indonesia.

The anti-Ahok protest was related to the controversy surrounding the Quranic verse, namely QS. al-Maidah: 51, which is understood as a prohibition against electing non-Muslim leaders (Mujani 2019, 2020; Nuryanti 2021). Ahok’s political opponents use this verse as it prohibits Muslims from electing non-Muslim leaders. At the same time, Ahok considered the use of QS. al-Maidah: 51 as a campaign medium just a political act to keep him from being elected in the gubernatorial election (Huda 2019; Keane 2018). In the verse, there is the phrase ittaḥaẓa awliya, which is interpreted differently. The word awliya (Arabic) is translated with several different words, namely helper, supporter, close associate, sponsor, friend, benefactor, protector, legal guardian and so on (Huda 2019). In addition, the translation of the phrase collocation – as the phrase ittaḥaẓa awliya in QS. al-Maidah: 51 – often causes problems. Newmark (1988) provides an analogy in which he likens a text to the human body. In this comparison, grammar is considered the skeleton of the text, and lexis represents its flesh. Furthermore, collocation is likened to the nervous system within the body of the text. Collocation is more subtle and specific in showing meaning. Another thing to note is to consider the range of collocation so that its lexical meaning can be received from each word. This note applies to quality adjectives and verbs that express an activity (Newmark 1988). According to Newmark (1998), collocation translation often needs to be improved from the perspective of translation studies. From the perspective of lexical meaning, collocation also often raises problems, both intralingual problems (the identification and determination of collocation) and interlingual problems (problems that arise in translating with the same collocation in the target language) (Bahumaid 2006). Baker (2018) mentions several difficulties and problems in translating collocation, such as lexical meaning problems, Arabic culture, religious connotations and idiomatic meaning of several combinations of words (Faris & Sahu 2013; Obeidat & Mahadi 2020).

In the perception of Muslim scholars, the translation of the Qur’an indeed does not hold the same status as the original Quranic text; therefore, it does not attain the same position as the original text (Blumczynski & Israel 2018; Halimah 2014). However, Quranic translations in Indonesia hold a significant position in the discourse of Islam among Indonesian Muslim communities, where Arabic is not their native language (Adib 2018; Ministry of Religious Affairs [MoRA] 2019). From 1965 to 2019, MoRA RI, as the official authority responsible for Quranic translation in Indonesia, issued four editions of the Qur’an translation (Daneshgar, Riddell & Rippin 2016; Faizin 2011; Rodin et al. 2021). In the context of the predominantly Muslim population in Indonesia, the Qur’an is often used as a tool to seek support for specific political stances because it is believed to be their guiding principle in life (Fadl 2014; Minan & Afifi 2020; Nasr et al. 2015; Zakariya 2018). According to Rodin et al. (2021), aside from fulfilling the Muslim community’s need for the Qur’an, Quranic translations in the Indonesian language also represent a political stance that reflects the political policies of each regime in Indonesia. Nusantara Muslim scholars who translate the Qur’an are influenced by their background of thought, history and political perspectives (Hussin & Kamal 2021).

This research not only aims to uncover the translation problems related to the collocation ittaḥaẓa awliya but also intends to reveal the political stance and policies of the Indonesian government concerning the political rights of non-Muslims to become leaders in Indonesia, which have recently been perceived as regressing. This will be accomplished by analysing the differences in the Qur’an translations issued by MoRA, particularly in the translation of the collocation ittaḥaẓa awliya. Building upon the theory that translation is a political activity or, at the very least, carries political implications (Alvares & Vidal 1996; Cassin 2018; Hatfield 2012). The researchers investigated the translation of this phrase in Indonesian translations of the Qur’an issued by MoRA and subsequently analysed it through a contrastive analysis. The religious perspective of MoRA represents the religious stance of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. From the era of the old order (Soekarno’s regime) until the present, the Indonesian government has published four official editions of the Qur’an translation (Rodin et al. 2021).

The approach employed in this research is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which emphasises the relationship between ideology, text and power while also highlighting the function of language use within its social and political context (Fairclough 1993, Fairclough 1997; Zhang & Munday 2018). This research explores the relationship among MoRA, the authority in religious affairs in Indonesia, the translated versions of the Qur’an in Indonesian published by MoRA and the ideologies of ruling regimes in Indonesia. It covers the period from the old order (Soekarno’s regime), the new order (Soeharto’s regime) and the reform era up to the present day. The focus is on the translations of the Qur’an from four editions: 1965, 1990, 2002 and 2019.

Politics and translation become the theme of this research because the latest edition of MoRA’s Qur’an translation was published after Ahok’s rejection as Jakarta’s gubernatorial candidate. In addition, theoretically, there is a close relationship between politics and translation (Alvares & Vidal 1996). The texts examined in this research consist of the Quranic text and its translation into Indonesian language, with a specific focus on QS. al-Maidah: 51 and verses containing the collocation phrase ittaḥaẓa awliya and its inflection found within the Quranic corpus by way of detailed reading. This focus is because those collocation phrases have triggered massive demonstrations in Indonesia and because translating collocations is a translation problem in itself (Newmark 1988). Below is the collocation of the phrase in QS Al-Maidah: 51:

[O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as wali] (QS. Al-Maidah: 51).

There are various definitions of collocation, but the linguists generally emphasise three things: definitions that emphasise the structure of collocation or the relationships between the unit of words that make up the collocation; a definition that emphasises juxtaposition, the relationship of two words in a particular order and definitions that emphasise the lexical semantics of the word combinations that make up that collocation (Husinec & Bilić 2021). In this research, collocation refers to the combination of words that have an idiomatic semantic relationship based on frequent co-occurrence (Bussmann 2006). This collocation is also referred to as idiomatic collocation, which shares characteristics similar to marked collocation, such as unusual combinations, beyond the expectations of the listener or reader, aimed at creating a new representation, having a specific meaning or conveying figurative imagery and rhetorical purposes (Baker 2018). Thus, the material object of this research consists of the phrase ittaḥaẓa awliya and its translation in the official Indonesian Qur’an translations.

Researchers found 19 ittaḥaẓa awliya phrases in the Qur’an corpus, and these phrases [ittaḥaẓa and awliya] are consistently found to be collocated words. These are 7 times in the form of prohibition sentences and 12 times in declarative sentences that functioned pragmatically to prohibit or called illocutionary sentences in the perspective of speech actions. The collocation is spread over 13 chapters of the Qur’an.

Subsequently, the researchers conducted a contrastive analysis of the translation of the collocation phrase ittaḥaẓa awliya in the four editions of the Indonesian translations of the Qur’an. Contrastive analysis aims to identify sharp differences between them (Chesterman 1998). This analysis aims to identify differences in translation data across these editions, allowing researchers to draw conclusions regarding the political stance of the translators in these editions. This is achieved by analysing the choice of vocabulary used to translate the collocation phrase ittaḥaẓa awliya in the source text (ST), particularly the use of the word ‘pemimpin’ [leader] to translate ‘awliya’ and the word ‘menjadikan’ [to make] to translate ‘ittaḥaẓa’. Researchers consider that the choice of diction in these translations reflects the political ideology of the Indonesian government, represented by MoRA. This perspective is rooted in translation theory as a political act, as proposed by Alvares and Vidal (1996) and Hatfield (2012); and that translation is a political act within social movements, and translations can also play a political role (Capan, Reis & Grasten 2021; Cassin 2018).

Comparing these editions of the Indonesian translation of the Qur’an shows that the word awliya in the 1965 and 1990 editions (see Table 4) was translated using six words, namely wali [untranslated word], penolong [helpers], teman [friends], pelindung [protectors], pemimpin [leaders] and sembahan [worshipped ones]. The word awliya in the 2002 edition was translated using four words, that is penolong [helpers], teman [friends], pemimpin [leaders] and pelindung [protectors] and was translated in the 2019 edition using six words, that is wali [untranslated word], teman [friends], pelindung [protectors], sekutu [ally], penolong [helpers] and sembahan [worshiped ones].

Meanwhile, the word ittaḥaẓa in each edition was translated using two translations, namely menjadikan [make] and mengambil [take], and the 1990 edition used both words [mengambil [take] and menjadikan [make] simultaneously.

Based on the collocation translation data and the ambiguity of the lexical meaning of the word awliya, researchers find that the differences in the editions are because of the political factors of the translators who translated the Qur’an. In this case, it is the political direction of government represented by MoRA in each era of leadership. In addition, this research also finds that the seven words used as translations of the word awliya are also used by the translation editions inconsistently or differently in each translation edition according to the direction of the politics in each era of government.

The use of the word ‘leader’ in the translation of the word ‘awliya’ tends to create an understanding that explicitly prohibits Muslims from electing or appointing non-Muslims as their leaders, unlike other words used as translations for ‘awliya’, which tend not to directly and explicitly convey the prohibition of choosing or appointing leaders. There is another interesting finding of this research. In the translation of the 2019 edition, none of the word awliya was translated using the word pemimpin [leader], while in the translation editions of the 2002 and 1990, the word awliya was translated using the word pemimpin [leader] many times; five times in the 2002 edition and three times in the 1990 edition. Table 5 provides details of each edition using the word pemimpin [leader] as the translation of the word awliya.

It can be seen from Table 5 that the first, second, third edition, which have been published from the Soekarno era until the reform era, namely from 1965 to 2002, the collocation of ittaḥaẓa awliya in several verses was translated using the word pemimpin [leader] in the translation edition of the Qur’an, which means that these verses prohibit making non-Muslims (the first object in the collocation structure) as leaders. While in the 2019 translation edition, none of the words awliya was translated as the word pemimpin [leader]. This translation suggests that the demonstrations against Ahok in 2016 have turned out to have an impact on the translation of the last edition of the Qur’an in 2019. On the other hand, through this case, the team of the 2019 edition intentionally avoided using the word ‘pemimpin’ [leader] as a translation for the word ‘awliya’ to prevent any demonstrations similar to the anti-Ahok protests in 2016 from happening again, and the team wants to declare that there is no longer an understanding that prohibits non-Muslims as leaders with the legitimacy of the Quranic verse because this rejection is contrary to the democratic system and freedom in Indonesia regarding the right of citizens to be elected leaders only based on their non-Muslim religion.

In the first edition (1965 edition), in which the Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) was an instrumental translator in this translation; it is entirely understood that the translation team translated the collocation of the verses using mengambil [take] or mengambil … jadi pemimpin [take … to be a leader] because of the decision of the NU Congress in Lirboyo in 1999, which had decided that non-Muslims should not be leaders for Muslims. Until this Congress, the notoriously moderate NU organisation had argued for a ban on legalising state affairs to non-Muslims except in emergencies. This decision of the 1999 NU Congress only changed with the issuance of the decision Bahstul Masail Kiai Muda GP Ansor (Legal Discussion of NU institution) held in 2017, which resulted in the decision that choosing non-Muslim leaders in Indonesia is valid according to the perspective of Islam and the Indonesian constitution (Bahri 2018).

In the field of Quranic interpretation, the Muslim Mufassir [commentators] of the classical and modern eras can be categorised into two groups, namely the group that prohibits non-Muslim leadership and the group that allows it. Zakariya (2018) concluded that the Indonesian people’s interpretation of al-Maidah [5:51] was very diverse; those who strictly forbid leadership of non-Muslim leaders and those who allow it unconditionally. Rodin (2017) said the interpretation that allows non-Muslims as leaders was an interpretation that Indonesian Muslims widely accept until now. In the case of Ahok’s candidacy as governor of DKI Jakarta in 2016, Ahok made a mistake because he said that Muslims were deceived by al-Maidah [5:51]. This statement resulted in Ahok’s imprisonment for 2 years for insulting Islam (Mujani 2019). This sentencing decision is not only contrary to the interpretation of most Muslim groups but also not in line with the decision of Bahtsul Masail Kyai Muda GP Ansor (Legal Discussion of NU institution) NU.

In the second edition (1990 edition), where the Indonesian government cooperated with the Government of Saudi Arabia in publishing the translation of the official Qur’an, the use of the word mengambil [take] or menjadikan pemimpin [make a leader] was still used mainly in verses that have a political and governmental context. This finding is understandable because Saudi Arabia is an Islamic kingdom that forbids non-Muslims to be a king or a leader in its system of government. Meanwhile, in the third edition of 2002, published in the reform era, the translation team also continued to use the translation menjadikan … pemimpin [making … leader] as a translation of this collocation to imply the forbidding.

By contrasting the first three editions, it can be observed that the translation of ‘awliya’ as ‘pemimpin’ [leader] is predominantly found in the 2002 translation edition, occurring a total of five times, four times in verses with political context and in one verse whose context is divinity. This use is because the political situation after the resignation of President Suharto in 1998 opened up enormous freedom to all elements of society. The reform era provides freedom of speech, including freedom in politics. One of those who enjoy the freedom is Muslim groups; in the first election after Suharto’s resignation, there were at least more than 17 political parties with Islamic backgrounds. All political parties were vying for election contestation, including Muslim parties, such as PKB (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa) National Awakening Party, PPP (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan) United Development Party, PKS (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera) Prosperous Justice Party and PBB (Partai Bulan Bintang) Crescent Star Party (Lili Romli 2004). Thus, this political condition indeed influenced the selection of diction in the translation of the Qur’an in the 2002 edition.

In general, although the translation editions of the Qur’an from 1965 to 2002 did not use the word pemimpin [leader] as a translation of the word awliya in all verses whose context was political and although the first three editions only agreed together to translate the word awliya with the word leader [leader] in just one verse, namely al-Maidah [5:57], this research, however, finds that the use of the word pemimpin [leader] as a translation of the word awliya in the verses that have a political context is a political act of Muslims that is very clear to obtain and affirm their political right to be a leader in Indonesia; it is a special right for them. In other words, translating those verses with a political context becomes one of the tools to gain the support of Muslims and prevent Muslims from choosing and appointing non-Muslims to be leaders. For this purpose, the word pemimpin [leader] is often used in translation throughout the history of the Qur’an translation in Indonesia, which means that the verses expressly prohibit Muslims from appointing non-Muslim leaders in government.

Interference in the translation of the collocation ittaḥaẓa awliya in the official Indonesian translations of the Qur’an issued by MoRA RI arises because of translation problems, particularly the influence of the ST, which remains prominent in the first edition and diminishes progressively in the latest edition. In addition, the ambiguous lexical meaning of the word awliya also adds to the translation problem. It can also be concluded that the motives and political direction of government are closely related to the difference in translation and even significantly affect the translation of the collocation.

Translation of the Qur’an in Indonesian from the Soekarno era to the Suharto era still opens opportunities for non-Muslims to become leaders. This conclusion can be referenced from the emergence of some translations of ittaḥaẓa awliya collocation in verses with a political context translated into menjadikan teman dekat [making close friends] or translated with keeping the original language menjadikan wali [make a wali]. Ironically, during the reform era, which was supposed to uphold political freedom for all Indonesian citizens, the translation of the collocation ittaḥaẓa awliya was more frequently employed to obstruct non-Muslims from becoming leaders. This was evident in the prevalence of the term ‘pemimpin’ [leader] as a translation for the word ‘awliya’. During the reform period, political freedom should get great attention and a free place.

In the 2019 edition, conducted after the demonstration of Ahok’s rejection in 2016, the research did not find any collocation ittaḥaẓa awliya translated into jangan menjadikan … pemimpin [do not make … leader]. In 2019 edition, the translation of the word pemimpin [leader] only appears in the footnote as an explanation of the possible meaning, and the word pemimpin [leader] is mentioned lastly after other words. Thus, it can be concluded that after the demonstrations in late 2016, the Indonesian government felt the need to affirm and strengthen democracy and the constitution that grants political rights to all its citizens regardless of their religion through a more democratic interpretation. The government’s stance on the translation was a response to the real conditions of Indonesian society that experienced a decline in democracy characterised by the emergence of Islamic populism such as the case of massive demonstrations against Ahok’s candidacy as Jakarta’s gubernatorial candidate. Thus, this research, in addition to showing the Indonesian government’s stance on the political rights of non-Muslims to become leaders, also reinforces the finding of previous research that shows the decline of democracy and the rise of Islamic populism in Indonesia.