The Role of Sulukan in Indonesia' Islam (original) (raw)
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Repackaging Sufism in Urban Indonesia
ISIM Review, 2007
Repackaging Sufism in Urban Indonesia A brochure for a newly upgraded adult Islamic studies centre, Padepokan Thaha, in central Jakarta's swank Senopati district appealed to its anticipated clientele in 2005 by imaginatively speaking in their voice, revealing the likely concerns that the centre could address. Reading the brochure, we listen in, as it were, on the kinds of ruminations that have led prospective students to pick up the brochure. "What's wrong with me?" The brochure's character frets. "I pray five times a day with real sincerity, I read all kinds of things about how to find spiritual gratification in prayer…but I still have trouble getting into that deep, focused feeling (khusyuk)… I want to enjoy life [even] in the midst of social conditions that are wracked by crises, I want to be able to be happy under all conditions." As we read on, we find that the prospective students are the sort of people who actually have a good deal of material security and strong bases for social respect as well. Thus the brochure's hypothetical reader confesses that his (or her) worries come "despite my everyday needs being fulfilled." "I have a high level of education… [and] I'm also respected in society." 1 These are the kinds of people who ought to be happy and secure if any good Muslim could. So what's missing? What's missing, according to the brochure, is nothing less than the mystical experience of God's presence, which is accessible with the assistance of Padepokan Thaha. Padepokan Thaha offers that assistance through its Programme for Guidance of the Self towards "Tawajjuh" (Program Pembinaan Diri Menuju Tawajjuh). "Tawajjuh," the brochure explains, is "coming face to face with [one's] True Self" and "knowing the Creator" through ma'rifatullah [the highest stage of esoteric spiritual knowing in this rendering of Islam's Sufi heritage]. Initiation into the relevant spiritual practices is provided by the spiritual director of the foundation, KH Rachmat Hidayat, who also offers regular weekly classes at the centre on themes from the Quran and Hadith, such as might be found in many other well-appointed and formalized city pengajian (religious instruction classes). Kyai Rachmat himself has initiation from a Sufi master whose spiritual genealogy (silsilah) reaches back through the legendary Javanese Muslim saint Sunan Kudus, to the Prophet Muhammad via his nephew 'Ali. We can see from this that Padepokan Thaha is catering for Jakarta urbanities' niggling spiritual hunger by renovating what was once thought to be a dying remnant of rural, peasant society: Sufism (tasawwuf). That is, Padepokan Thaha offers (among other things) tutelage in esoteric practices that have been carried by Sufi orders (I. tarekat; Ar., tariqa) and in the metaphysics associated with the mystical experiences that may unfold from those practices. However, Kyai Rachmat denies that he himself is affiliated with a tariqa and both he and the directors of the foundation that runs Padepokan Thaha vigorously reject any idea that his teaching activities constitute a tariqa. Rather, as the foundation's full name indicates, it is styled as a majelis ta'lim, an Islam study group. This addresses the phobia many Muslim modernists (that is, in Indonesia, people aligned culturally or organizationally with the Muhammadiyah and similar organizations) have of the supposedly archaic and authoritarian tariqa.
Santri: Journal of Pesantren and Fiqh Sosial, 2020
This study will examine the contribution of Shaykh Muhammad Mahfuzh al-Tarmasi in the intellectual-spiritual development of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia in the 20th century M. Shaykh Muhammad Mahfuzh al-Tarmasi who became one of the archipelago scholars who teach at the Haram Mosque was noted to have a major role in the development pesantren intellectual-spiritual in the archipelago in the 20th century AD Even though Indonesia at that time was still overshadowed by colonialism, but through its guidance to students in Mecca made a major contribution in improving the intellectual-spiritual boarding schools in the archipelago so that Indonesia was free from colonialism. Therefore, this research becomes important to know how the contribution of Shaykh Muhammad Mahfuzh al-Tarmasi in the intellectual-spiritual development in Indonesian pesantren in the 20th century AD. This study is a qualitative research with a historical approach. The results of this study stated that Shaykh Mu...
This paper discuses transformation of an Islamic-Hybrid Spiritual group, the Bhakti Nusantara (literally means 'devotion to nation'), from spiritualitas kasar [rough spirituality] of occult-based spirituality to the finer spirituality [spiritualitas alus] which is linked to Sufi spiritual practices. Based on my field work in Yogyakarta, in 2009 and 2010, the paper explains sociological context of group's institutional and spiritual transformation amid contemporary Islamic revival and modernizing process of the country. It then argues that the transformation of the group was driven by the logic for presenting spiritual heritages that are practically appropriate for modern life and which also fit religiously with orthodox Islam. Both the institutional transformation and the change of spiritual orientation of the group mark BN, as a hybrid spiritual group, to actively involve in the opportunities of modernity, instead of resisting the challenges and pressures of modern life.
2015
Indonesia’s Islamic revival have featured forms of religious practice and political activity concerned with what in the Sufi tradition is called the ‘‘outer’ ’ (lahir) expression of Islam: support for and observance of religious law (I. syariah, A. syari’at), including the practice of obligatory rituals. Thus commonly mentioned as evidence of a revival in Indonesia are such things as the growing numbers of mosques and prayer houses, the increasing popularity of head coverings (kerudung, jilbab) among Muslim women and school girls, the increasing usage of Islamic greetings, the more common sight of Muslims excusing themselves for daily prayers and attending services at their workplaces, the appearance of new forms of Islamic student activity on university campuses, strong popular agitation against government actions seen as prejudicial to the Muslim community, and the establishment in 1991 of an Islamic bank. This kind of representation of Indonesia’s Islamic revival, however, fails ...
Sunan Kalijaga International Journal on Islamic Educational Research
After the ratification of Pesantren's Law, the existence of pesantren (Islamic boarding school) more be recognized as an integral part of the national education system. Historically, it has much uniqueness. In the modern era, its dynamics in Indonesia faced problematic situations: the pressure of the colonizers and the modernization of the educational system that provide disadvantages. Also, the decline of the centers of Islamic culture has residues. On one side, such situations force pesantren to take extra careful steps to look less agile in reforming its educational and institutional system in the context of the fulfillment of its traditional functions. On the side, the tradition of Islamic science developed is deemed to be very close to the Sufistic-juristic inclination that belongs to the non-puritan school. As the penetration of the modernization in the national education system is gradually accepted, its dialectical pattern has pushed pesantren to take the convergent proc...
Proceedings International Conference on Indonesian Islam, Education and Science (Book ONE)
FTIK IAIN Salatiga, 2017
Religious discourse is one of the most important aspects to be examined in order to understand a social system where religious authorities play a very vital role. Religions have always shaped society in various ways; while at times there have been issues related to religious persecution, at other times religions have also lead to national and societal unity among people. Religious leaders, who are called as ulama in Islam, have the authority and the dominant power to articulate any religious discourse by means of texts, both in written and spoken formats for establishing a social system. There is a strong relationship between the ulama and the ummat which means the believers in an Islamic society. This relationship is often commented with other discourses such as politics, economics and other important ideas in a society. These discourses play a critical role in creating power dominance through creating an authoritarian system where the ulamas feel very convenient to give a verdict on the society regarding any political or social issues. It seems that the ulamas have unquestioned power regarding religion and they use it conveniently in order to superimpose their views even if they are partisan and parochial. Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama ( NU) are the biggest Islamic social organization not only in Indonesia but also in the world. Both Islamic organisations have shifted the socio-religious discourses in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah which is earlier established, is well known as modernist Islamic organisation that is very keen to concern on philanthropy. While NU is traditionalist Sunni Islam group and it is as the biggest Islamic social organisation in Indonesia. This organisation was established on January 31, 1926 to preserve the local culture and maintain Aswaja (Ah-al-Sunnah wal Jama’ah) in Indonesia. Abdurrahman Wahid, the grandson of NU founder Hasyim Asy'ari, inherited the leadership from his father, and was later elected Presiden of the Republic of Indonesia in 1999. The NU is visible in the form of accepted traditional culture which is as part of Indonesian culture. The conggres of NU on 1-5 August 2015 declares itself as Islam Nusantara (Archipelagic Islam). This is an ijtihad, theological judgements based on the fundementals of religion, to elevate Islam as rahmat lil ‘alamiin (blessing for the entire universe). It is a concept of Islam which teaches its adherents to live together with others. Besides, this concept is also used to decrease social tensions between Islam and local cultures that have been existed before Islam entering to the society. For Muhammadiyah, Islam is not merely teaching peace but Islam should be progressive in the peaceful coexistence. Therefore Islam is not a religion as such, it is also civilisation. The issues are strongly relevant to current situation of Mulsims in the East and West, which have similar problem called humanity crisis such as Palestine in the East and Islamophobia in the West. However, Muslims still believe that Islamic value will be an alternative value for the future civilization both in the East and West. Besides, Islamic values have proved its history as ethical basis of civilizations. The shared values and cultures have been practised by people in the East and West for long time even when state nation (nationalism) had not been established yet. People to people contact around the world had been taken place to strengthen the shared culture (values). They have similar experience how Islam to manage the country which consists of diversity in culture and at the same time how to encounter social and communal problems such as radicalism, capitalism, and globalisation.
Proceedings International Conference on Indonesian Islam, Education and Science (Book THREE)
FTIK IAIN Salatiga, 2017
Religious discourse is one of the most important aspects to be examined in order to understand a social system where religious authorities play a very vital role. Religions have always shaped society in various ways; while at times there have been issues related to religious persecution, at other times religions have also lead to national and societal unity among people. Religious leaders, who are called as ulama in Islam, have the authority and the dominant power to articulate any religious discourse by means of texts, both in written and spoken formats for establishing a social system. There is a strong relationship between the ulama and the ummat which means the believers in an Islamic society. This relationship is often commented with other discourses such as politics, economics and other important ideas in a society. These discourses play a critical role in creating power dominance through creating an authoritarian system where the ulamas feel very convenient to give a verdict on the society regarding any political or social issues. It seems that the ulamas have unquestioned power regarding religion and they use it conveniently in order to superimpose their views even if they are partisan and parochial. Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama ( NU) are the biggest Islamic social organization not only in Indonesia but also in the world. Both Islamic organisations have shifted the socio-religious discourses in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah which is earlier established, is well known as modernist Islamic organisation that is very keen to concern on philanthropy. While NU is traditionalist Sunni Islam group and it is as the biggest Islamic social organisation in Indonesia. This organisation was established on January 31, 1926 to preserve the local culture and maintain Aswaja (Ah-al-Sunnah wal Jama’ah) in Indonesia. Abdurrahman Wahid, the grandson of NU founder Hasyim Asy'ari, inherited the leadership from his father, and was later elected Presiden of the Republic of Indonesia in 1999. The NU is visible in the form of accepted traditional culture which is as part of Indonesian culture. The conggres of NU on 1-5 August 2015 declares itself as Islam Nusantara (Archipelagic Islam). This is an ijtihad, theological judgements based on the fundementals of religion, to elevate Islam as rahmat lil ‘alamiin (blessing for the entire universe). It is a concept of Islam which teaches its adherents to live together with others. Besides, this concept is also used to decrease social tensions between Islam and local cultures that have been existed before Islam entering to the society. For Muhammadiyah, Islam is not merely teaching peace but Islam should be progressive in the peaceful coexistence. Therefore Islam is not a religion as such, it is also civilisation. The issues are strongly relevant to current situation of Mulsims in the East and West, which have similar problem called humanity crisis such as Palestine in the East and Islamophobia in the West. However, Muslims still believe that Islamic value will be an alternative value for the future civilization both in the East and West. Besides, Islamic values have proved its history as ethical basis of civilizations. The shared values and cultures have been practised by people in the East and West for long time even when state nation (nationalism) had not been established yet. People to people contact around the world had been taken place to strengthen the shared culture (values). They have similar experience how Islam to manage the country which consists of diversity in culture and at the same time how to encounter social and communal problems such as radicalism, capitalism, and globalisation.
Proceedings of the Proceedings of The 1st EAI Bukittinggi International Conference on Education, BICED 2019, 17-18 October, 2019, Bukititinggi, West Sumatera, Indonesia, 2019
The order of modern society is faced with a mentality-psychological imbalance in the form of feeling dissatisfied, upset, less happy to feel unhappy with anything that has been obtained. This imbalance causes modern humans to be trapped in the dynamics of absurd mater-ialism which leads to a counterproductive attitude to life. The presence of religion which is encapsulated in the faces of tarekat institutions is alleged to be able to color human actions and behavior. Thus, spiritual education is an inseparable part of the education values that are oriented to physical development, intellectuality and the process of transforming individuals from dirty souls to clean souls in the context of qurbah to God. The article entitled Contextualization of Tarekat in Modern Society: The Study of Spiritual Education of the Naqsyabandiyah Pauh Tarekat in Padang, West Sumatra aims to unravel the strategic role of the Naqsyabandiyah Pauh city of Padang in the field of spiritual education in the fa...
Tradisi Islam dalam prasasti dan naskah Ulu di wilayah Pasemah, Sumatera Selatan, Indonesia
2021
Aksara Ulu merupakan aksara yang berkembang di daerah Sumatra Bagian Selatan. Asal kata ulu berarti hulu sungai atau dataran tinggi. Aksara Ulu sudah tidak digunakan lagi pada masa sekarang. Meski demikian, tulisan ini mengkaji tradisi Islam di wilayah Pasemah berdasarkan isi prasasti dan naskah beraksara Ulu. Tujuan penelitian yakni mengetahui tradisi Islam di dalam isi prasasti dan naskah. Sasaran penelitian yakni mengidentifikasi seberapa besar peranan tradisi Islam dalam mempengaruhi isi dari prasasti dan naskah. Metode penelitian meliputi pengolahan data (penelusuran sumber, wawancara, studi pustaka), deskripsi ukuran, asal, pemilik, keadaaan atau kondisi, bahasa, variasi aksara, transliterasi, terjemahan, penafsiran, sintesis, dan penyajian data. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa isi prasasti dan naskah Ulu secara kuat dipengaruhi oleh tradisi Islam. Pengaruh agama Islam dalam naskah atau prasasti beraksara Ulu juga dapat dilihat dari pandangan masyarakat terhadap naskah dan ...
Muslims believe that their religion is universal, suitable to all places and time. Consequently, in practice, Islam can be adapted to various situations and conditions. Therefore, the diversity in Islam is inevitable. Diversity is especially related to aspects of interpretation and religious branches, not things that are principle. This article is about the relationship between Islam and local culture. As recognized by many experts, Islam in Indonesia was spread by peaceful means. Local elements were used in the process of Islamization. As a result, Islam could be accepted by most of society of Indonesia. Islam expressed here shows a distinctive face. Islam can live hand in hand with local culture, especially the culture that is not incompatible with Islam.