Minister Yusril Explains His Article in the Book ‘Islam ala Prabowo’

Yusril Ihza Mahendra said he did not write the article published under his name in the book ‘Islam ala Prabowo: Cara Prabowo Mengamalkan Ajaran Islam’, clarifying his role after the book drew public attention in Indonesia.

The book officially launched on Aug. 26, 2025, and its cover, contents page and description circulated widely on social media. Online users questioned the title and the inclusion of several prominent figures, including Yusril, who serves as Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections.

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I did not write the book. I was only interviewed by its compiling team. After the interview ended, I never saw the transcript or the interview manuscript until the book was published.

“I did not write the book. I was only interviewed by its compiling team. After the interview ended, I never saw the transcript or the interview manuscript until the book was published,” Yusril said in a written statement to reporters in Jakarta on Monday, Sept. 7. He said he had since read the article and was satisfied with how the team presented his comments.

Yusril said the interview took place before he was sworn in as a minister in the Red and White Cabinet. He no longer remembered who interviewed him and said he did not know whether that person belonged to the compiling team or helped prepare material for the book. He said he did not know the interviewer personally.

His article appears in Part One, on page two, under the theme “Islam: Peace and Justice,” with the title “Caring for the People and Justice.” Yusril also rejected any suggestion that he helped create or finance the publication. “My position in the book is clear: I was the person interviewed. I was neither the sponsor nor the person who initiated its publication,” he said.

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My position in the book is clear: I was the person interviewed. I was neither the sponsor nor the person who initiated its publication.

He said the title had never been discussed with him. In his view, a title such as “Prabowo and Islam” would more clearly signal a discussion of Prabowo’s relationship with Islam. Yusril attributed much of the online debate to people judging a book from its title without reading it in full. He urged readers to understand the work’s substance and context before assessing it.

Yusril also said the inclusion of his name in the book’s copyright section had not been discussed with him beforehand. He said the issue would need to be considered in the context of Indonesia’s Copyright Law, given the number of writers and sources of material involved.

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I think we need to make a habit of reading and understanding the substance first before passing judgment. We should not debate only the title when the book itself has not been read carefully.