Statist Islam and Folk Islam Ethnohistory and Muslim Practices in Bantaeng (original) (raw)

Anthropology of Civilization: Personal Reflections on Anthropological Approach in the Study of Muslim Societies in Southeast Asia

Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies, 2020

After pursuing a long academic career as an anthropologist, this article provides my (Mitsuo Nakamura's) personal academic reflection of how my anthropological approach differs from the Geertzian paradigm, why anthropology and Islamic studies should be bridged, and what implications of the conversation between Islamic studies, anthropology, and other social sciences are. By answering the above questions, this reflective article sheds new light on the relationship between anthropology and Islam and Muslim studies in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. The anthropological studies of Muslims in Southeast Asia that have been heavily influenced by Clifford Geertz through his work, The Religion of Java (1960), are engaged critically in this article. If Geertz and his students pay more attention to Little Tradition (local culture and practices) and avoid Great Tradition (e.g., religious concepts and teachings), my anthropological approach argues for the importance of incorporating Great Tradition, which is Islamic Studies in the case of Muslim studies in Southeast Asia, in the study of anthropology and vice versa.

Islam and Local Culture in Indonesia, Al-Albab Borneo Journal of Religious Studies vol 3 No. 1 June 2014

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.

From the Indigeneous to the Religious Practices: Islamic Construction of the Local Tradition in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

2021

Islam and indigenous tradition in Indonesia have long established interconnected relations in both social and ritual practices. This study elaborates on the Islamic construction of the indigenous Bugis-Makassar tradition. The "Haji Bawakaraeng" is one the familiar practice and is believed to exist in the South Sulawesi region. Term Haji Bawakaraeng is a religious practice contained with local Muslim beliefs carried out on Mount Bawakaraeng. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach with data collection done through observation, interviews, and documentation studies. This study finds that the Bugis-Makassar habit of carrying out a series of rituals on the summit of Mount Bawakaraeng is an old belief facing the process of negotiation and adaptation to the teachings of Islam. The presence of the term Hajj as an Islamic construction and Bawakaraeng as a local cultural construction is the result of the construction of Islam on the local beliefs of the Buginese-Makassarnese. In addition, this study also illustrates the dynamics of the inclusion of Islam in South Sulawesi as a variative and authentic inclusion. Finally, this study explains the diversity of the Bugis-Makassar people which tends to change from indigenous traditions to religious practices due to the ongoing construction of Islam. This paper recommends the need for further studies on the issue of religious and cultural relations at the micro level to see the dynamics of changing socio-religious practices in the community.

The Traces of Islam in Bumi Sawerigading; South Sulawesi

Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Science 2019 (ICSS 2019), 2019

This article discusses the process of islamization in Bumi Sawerigading or better known as the Kingdom of Luwu. Luwu Kingdom was the kingdom that first accepted Islam in South Sulawesi. The existence of this kingdom is interesting to write because it does not escape the role of the king or datu in expediting the process of islamization. On the other hand before King Luwu accepted Islam as a royal religion, his people adhered to a belief that was animistic and dynamistic. A belief that worships on trees that are considered to have spirits and sacred objects. In addition, the process of islamization in the Kingdom of Luwu was marked by a fairly lengthy dialogue process between the king and an Islamic propagator named Datuk Sulaiman. Not only until the dialogue, but continued on a power struggle which in the end King Luwu acknowledged the greatness of Datuk Sulaiman and finally converted to Islam. This paper technically uses historical methods from the heuristic stage (data collection), criticism (data verification), interpretation (data interpretation), and historiography (writing into a complete story).

In Pursuit of Promoting Moderate Indonesian Islam to the world: Understanding the diversity of Islamic practices in Bima, Sumbawa Island

2018

This paper suggests an ethnographic account of the different Islamic practices among Muslims in Bima, Sumbawa island. This paper calls for the need to understand that Islam in Indonesia is diverse. Anthropological works on Javanese Islam have shaped the national and international understandings of Islam in Indonesia [1][2][3]. Assessments of political, organizational forms and institutional elites have also focused on the Javanese centre of the nation-state. The account of Islamic picture outside Java Island is, however, understudied. This paper argues that Islamic practices vary significantly across Indonesia Islam, not only within Java itself, but outside Java. Cultural diversity and ecological adaptation have made Islam in Indonesia is complex. Through a 12-mont-fieldwork in Bima (2011-2012), I found that although Islam becomes the unifying factor, varied expressions of Islamic practices among Muslims reflect different cultural legacies and socio-political contexts. Although diff...

Islam and Local Tradition: A Comparative Perspective of Java and Sulawesi

JICSA (Journal of Islamic Civilization in Southeast Asia), 2016

This article examines the dynamic relationship between Islam and local tradition in Indonesia with special reference to Java and Sulawesi. Based on historical and anthropological sources, the article seeks to understand variety of interpretation and application of Islam among local Muslims within their particular context. With this aim, the article tries to examines the intricate process of religious change as world religion interacts with local forces. The article argues that since the "localization" of Islam was continuing nature in the expansion of Islam beyond the Arab homeland, the same development in Southeast Asia can be expected. By focusing on the frameworks of 'practical Islam' rather than 'normative Islam' and both accommodation and conflict between shari'ah and adat as a whole system, rather than as separate entities, the article found a common feature of Islam as it is interpreted and applied by local Muslims in Java and Sulawesi. In this two region, Islam became the dominant force but did not completely obliterate the indigenous beliefs and practices. Despite this common feature, Javanese people have been more diverse than Sulawesi people in terms of religious spectrum particularly due to the fact that animism, Hindu-Buddhism, and Islam have been incorporated into Javanese cultural system.

ANTH 413/513 Anthropology of Islam Summer School 2019 Ibn Haldun University

This course provides new perspectives and tools for understanding of Islam and diverse forms and meanings of religious practices of Muslims through some selected sociological, anthropological and ethnographic studies on Islam and Muslim societies. The course starts with an epistemological discussion of knowledge, Islamization of knowledge and the concept of knowing. Then, it continues with critical discussions on phenomenon of colonialism and orientalism in the history of anthropological thought that played a great role in misrepresentation of Islam and Muslims. The objective of this course is to develop a deeper anthropological understanding of Islam in the light of theoretical discussions around ideas of “Anthropology of Islam” and “Islamic Anthropology”. In this course, students develop a critical, sociological and anthropological understanding of how to study Islam and Muslim communities and their diverse practices, thoughts, discourses and movements around the world.