Indonesian Moslem

The mystical Baduys

2010-01-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

In West Java, near the city of Rangkasbitung, South Bantam, lies the mysterious Baduy territory. Outsiders may not enter it. The Baduys guard zealously the mysteries of Javanese mysticism from the dawn of Javanese history. They were respected and consulted by the Javanese Sultans on East Java in olden times as well as the recent rulers of Indonesia. Their territory has no direct goverment interference and as money is taboo there no taxes are levied there.

In the heart of Baduy country, enclosed by a jungle, lies the megalitic sanctuary Sasaka Domas, or Many Stones. No one is allowed to come near it.

The Baduys are regarded as one of the last surviving mandala communities on Java. Members of these communities lived an ascetic life, based on guide lines of the old Sundanese -Hindu/Buddhistic/animistic beliefs, known as Kejawen. It withstood the Islamizing of the country. The Baduy call their religion Sunda Wiwitan [earliest Sundanese]. They were almost totally free of Islamic elements (except those imposed over the past 20 years), they also display very few Hindu characteristics.

Based on a system of taboos, the Baduy religion is animistic. They believe spirits inhabit the rocks, trees, streams and other inanimate objects. These spirits do good or evil depending on one’s observance of the taboos. Thousands of taboos apply to every aspect of daily life.Their lives are governed by interdictions as to possessing property, keeping cattle, laying out sawahs (rice fields), cultivating new products, etc. Their priest-kings are not allowed to leave the territory, to pass the night outside their village, or to communicate with outsiders. The Baduy grow all their own food and make their own tools and clothes. They reject any introduction of artifacts from outside.

Outsiders are not allowed to enter the inner domain which is inhabited by forty families dressed mostly in white. Population is strictly limited. When the limit is exceeded, the surplus population is sent away to live outside the community as Outer Baduy. Though they try to observe the taboos of the Inner Baduy, there is much pressure on them to relax the rules. Even so, they maintain their identity as Baduy to a remarkable degree.

The Indonesian government has attempted to socialize them, and this effort was claimed to have led to a greater openness among the Baduy to the idea of communicating with the outside world. It remains to be seen if this opening up will not lead to a loss of this precious enclave of Javanese mysticism.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/javmys1.html

AHMADIYAH

2010-01-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Revelation and reason beyond Ahmadiyah issue

One of the problems behind the Ahmadiyah controversy is how to know and understand revelation when someone feels that he or she has received it. According to the Koran, God has given revelation to many persons in human history.

There are many prophets in this world. Besides the names of prophets mentioned in the Koran there are still many that are not mentioned. Therefore some even speculate the wise men in history like Plato and Socrates may also have been prophets.

When all or most Muslims believe the prophet Muhammad is the last prophet the question is whether the revelations also ended. All Muslims scholars, at least according to my knowledge, admit the revelation still goes on. But they don’t call it revelation (wahyu) but inspiration (ilham). Separating revelation from inspiration is important in theological Muslims’ discourse because they believe that wahyu as a high level of revelation comes from God, while inspiration that may be good comes from an angel and inspiration that is bad comes from Satan. In other words, revelation is always good while inspiration can be sometimes good and sometimes bad.

How we can differentiate between revelation and inspiration? Is what Mirza Ghulam Ahmad received truly revelation or just inspiration? It is difficult to answer because the receiver of each has the same feeling in the sense he feels informed by a source external to him. Iranian scholar Abdulkarim Soroush says that in our modern age we can understand revelation by using the metaphor of poetry.

As one Muslim philosopher has put it: Revelation is higher poetry. Poetry is a means of knowledge that works differently from science or philosophy. The poet feels that he is informed by a source external to him; that he receives something.

However, Soroush’s explanation fails to clearly distinguish the difference between revelation and inspiration. No one can verify a revelation claim. So it is dependent on people whether they trust his or her confession or not. In the matter of belief, it’s actually the domain of God.

Hence, true believers should not depend merely on the texts or sentences reportedly acquired from revelation. Revelations should be ready to be confronted by reason. Religious texts should be ready to be critically studied. Independent reasoning (ijtihad) is highly respected in Islam.

In Ahmadiyah’s case there are three main problems. The first problem relates to their belief that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet because he received a revelation.

Secondly is the problem related to terminology, such as is what Ghulam Ahmad claims to have received from God a revelation, and can his followers be called Muslims?

The third problem concerns the accusations of blasphemy against Ahmadiyah followers.

Since all Muslims principally agree that revelation or more precisely inspiration from God still goes on, the difference between Ahmadiyah and other Muslims is likely merely semantics. Ahmadiyah called the inspiration received by Ghulam Ahmad revelation and named him a prophet while others called it inspiration and named him just a reformer or religious leader.

Should Ahamadiyah followers be called non-Muslims? Before answering this question, another question must be asked first: Are people who believe in six pillars of faith and who are committed to five pillars of Islam non-Muslims? The judgment by MUI through its edict (fatwa) that Ahmadiyah followers are non-Muslim is, in my mind, a blunder.

Because if they are non-Muslims, they will be forbidden to perform daily prayers like other Muslims, or they will be banned to acknowledge two confessions that there is no god except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. If they are allowed to do so, they automatically become Muslims in practice.

Even if they just pretend to be Muslims, it is not our business; their business is with God. I do agree with the opinion that Ahmadiyah is still within Islamic boundaries.

If Ahmadiyah will further be examined, the best way is through their teachings and their deeds. Does Ahmadiyah teach something that incites hatred to others? Do they commit something that physically will endanger others or endanger this state? Concerning accusations of blasphemy and whether they have violated article 156a of Criminal Code, the best way to settle this is in court.

In human relations Muslims are told to search for common ground with non-Muslims. Then why we can’t we search for common ground and similarities between us and Ahmadiyah members?

The writer is a lecturer at State Islamic University (UIN), Sunan Gunung Djati, Bandung. He can be reached at nsyarif2006@yahoo.co.id.

Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20080502.D04&irec=3

Jemaah Islamiyah Leaves Trail of Deadly Bomb Attacks in 16 Year History

2010-01-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

Jakarta Globe

Jemaah Islamiyah, also known as Jamaah Islamiyah, meaning Islamic Congregation, is a Southeast Asian militant organization trying to establish Daulah Islamiyah, a large Islamic state covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.

Having roots in the radical Darul Islam, or House of Islam, movement in the country in the 1940s, JI was founded on Jan. 1, 1993, by hard-line clerics Abu Bakar Ba’asyir and Abdullah Sungkar in Malaysia, where they had fled to escape persecution under the Suharto regime.

After the fall of Suharto in 1998, both men returned to the country and the group began its militant activities after Abdullah established contact with Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, security officials say.

JI was added to the United Nations’ list of terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda or the Taliban on Oct. 25, 2002, under UN Security Council Resolution 1267.

Its violent operations began during the sectarian conflicts between Muslims and Christians, first in Ambon in the Maluku islands in 1998 and then in Poso in Central Sulawesi the following year.

JI then shifted its focus to targeting US and Western interests in the country and the wider Southeast Asian region in response to the US-led war on terror. JI’s terror plans in Southeast Asia were exposed when local authorities foiled its plot to set off several bombs and hijack a commercial airliner and crash it into Singapore’s airport in 2001.

Security experts say recruiting, training, indoctrination, financial and operational links between JI and other militant groups, including Al Qaeda, have existed for years.

Authorities also blamed JI for the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002. The twin suicide bomb attacks left 202 people dead, 164 of them foreigners, and injured another 300. After the attacks, the US State Department designated JI as a foreign terrorist organization. JI is also strongly suspected of carrying out the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing, the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta and the 2005 Bali bombing.

JI also has been linked to dozens of bombings in the southern Philippines.

FRONT PEMBELA ISLAM ( FPI )

2010-01-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

" Islam Defenders Front "

Left party, historians under attack in Indonesia
1 April 2007
Peter Boyle

FAKI anti-communist thugs march on Papernas's founding congress in January.

Max Lane
30 March 2007

On March 28 and 29, a series of rightist mobilisations took place in Jakarta, including a 500-strong mobilisation aimed at disrupting a march and rally organised by the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas). The Papernas rally was protesting foreign domination of the Indonesian minerals sector and demanding its nationalisation. The right-wing thugs were armed with scythes, knives and canes. This was the fourth time in the last six months that Papernas has been targeted.

According to the Kompas daily newspaper, the following groups were involved in the attacks: Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Pelajar Islam Indonesia, the Indonesian National Patriotic Movement and the Front in Defence of the Red and White Flag. The Anti-Communist Movement (GERAK) also joined these groups in other smaller mobilisations.

Anti-communism

The common theme in these attacks has been virulent anti-communism. The government has created an atmosphere encouraging these small rightist groups by launching its own anti-communist campaign through the attorney-general’s department. This campaign has not been aimed at Papernas, but at a second group that also came under attack from rightist groups on March 28 — the numerous historians who have been writing new histories of Indonesia in the more free atmosphere after the fall of the Suharto dictatorship.

Last week, the attorney-general banned 14 history textbooks. Earlier, writers and even education ministry officials had been summonsed as part of a criminal investigation initiated by the attorney-general’s department. The historians’ “crime” is that they no longer label the actions of a group of military officers who detained and later killed seven generals on September 30, 1965, as part of a plot by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). The military officers who led the action to arrest their seniors, whom they claimed were plotting to overthrow President Sukarno, called themselves the Thirtieth of September Movement (G30S). General Suharto, whose faction seized control of the army, started a campaign to describe the G30S as a PKI conspiracy, labelling it the G30S/PKI. The PKI was banned and more than a million of its members and supporters killed in an army-led pogrom.

The new generation of historians have written textbooks that refer to G30S and, sometimes, provide alternative explanations of what happened in 1965. That they do not continue to blame the PKI is considered a criminal act by the attorney-general’s department. A 1967 resolution of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR), which had been purged of all its left-wing members, banned the spreading of Marxism-Leninism. This resolution, which in effect bans communism, is still in place.

On March 28, 20 members of GERAK protested at the Indonesian Academy of Sciences, calling on it to clean itself of communists and singling out historian Asvi Warman Adam, one of the most active writers and campaigners for an end to the falsification of history, particularly the events of 1965. Other groups demonstrated at the attorney-general’s department supporting the ban on the history textbooks.

Attacks on Papernas

Papernas meetings were also attacked in Surabaya and Jogjakarta last year and in East Java earlier this year. The party that initiated Papernas’s formation, the People’s Democratic Party (PRD), last came under this kind of attack in 2001 when it was seen to be supporting then-president Abdurrahman Wahid, who had called for an end to the ban on all ideologies including communism. In these earlier instances, the group leading the attacks was the Indonesian Anti-Communist Front (FAKI), which was able to mobilise 50-100 armed men.

In most of these earlier cases, the police stood between FAKI and the Papernas events, so that no actual physical attacks took place. At the same time, the police applied pressure on Papernas to prematurely close its activities. The laws banning communism, which have not been questioned by any party in parliament, lend enormous legitimacy to these groups’ activities in the eyes of the police, many of whom reflect the conservative mentality developed during the Suharto years. As a result, while Papernas has refused to be intimidated and has continued to campaign, some of its events have been affected.

As part of launching Papernas’s political campaigning following its founding congress in January, the party scheduled a series of rallies including a Jakarta People’s Rally to demand the nationalisation of the mining sector. Of the 137 oil and gas companies operating in Indonesia, 110 are foreign owned, with contracts giving them exploration rights over 35% of Indonesian territory, according to Papernas’s analysis. The occasion for the demonstration was the parliament’s discussion of new laws on investment and a UN seminar at the Shangri-La Hotel reviewing Indonesia’s progress in meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

According to Papernas chairperson Agus Jabo, on the morning of March 29 around 2000 Papernas supporters, many of them members of urban poor campaign groups, headed for Jakarta in buses. They had been saving for months, donating a few cents a day so they could hire the buses. As they arrived at the second of their protest destinations, the Shangri-La Hotel, they came under a surprise attack from around 100 members of the FPI, FBR and other groups wielding knives and canes. The attackers threw stones into the crowd and smashed at least 20 bus windows. The overwhelming majority of the Papernas supporters were housewives, unarmed and many with young children. They were forced to disperse, heavy rain making the situation even more difficult. The Papernas supporters later regrouped back in their base areas, but had to cancel their planned afternoon Jakarta People’s Rally at the Independence Proclamation Park, where another 300 or so FPI and FBR members and others were also waiting.

Jabo said that at least 10 people had to be taken to hospital. According to Kompas, the head police detective was also injured. Despite knowing of the threats, the police mobilised only a very small contingent to the event, which was totally ineffective in protecting the rally. The police only issued the paperwork making the rally and march legal at the very last minute, using the threats and possible violence as a reason for holding up the bureaucratic permission process.

Still moving forward

Papernas members report that the feeling among their supporters after regrouping back at their base was strong and angry. “Later in the afternoon on March 29, we held a press conference protesting the events”, Jabo explained by phone. “There were other groups there who had suffered similar harassment the day before, such as the Coalition Against Foreign Investment, an NGO coalition that had protested outside the parliament.” At the conference, a joint protest statement was signed by Papernas and the two main Indonesian human rights organisations, Imparsial and Kontras, as well as the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and the pro-democracy advocacy group DEMOS. Other groups, including the Working People’s Association (PRP), have also since issued solidarity statements.

“We will also be suing the FPI and FBR for the damages to the buses and to the ten people who were hospitalised, some beaten, some suffering heart problems”, Jabo said.

Dita Sari, Papernas’s presidential candidate, also relayed over the phone how three of the women at the rally also spoke at the press conference. “They told how these armed men demanded they confess to being paid to attend the rally. They refused, saying that they had instead donated 10,000 rupiah to pay for the buses. The gang members demanded the women confess to being communists, but they explained they were religious people and were there to support education and health for poor people. Others gave evidence of how they were beaten with bamboo canes.

“Again and again we have seen how the police cannot be relied on at all to protect our rights. I think this means that whenever Papernas organises events in the future we will need to have our own self-defence group for protection”, Dita said.

At the same venue, another meeting was being held to organise resistance to the attack on the historians. Hilmar Farid, one of the most active of the historians, said they would be thinking of how to link the responses to the increasing activity of the right-wing groups. As well as their petition campaign they are trying to organise a major public forum to debate the issue of the right to interpret history.

“It seems there is a conflict sharpening between some of the old Suharto-era groups and the elite factions who are trying to consolidate their power”, Jabo said. “Both, of course, want to shore up the neoliberal economic system, so they don’t like our policies. But it may be that the old New Order elements, now out of power, are trying to provoke wider horizontal conflict as a way of destabilising or discrediting those now in power. The groups who attacked us are just the manipulated agents on the ground, not the real forces pushing this process along.”

From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue #705 4 April 2007.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/705/36623

Muhammadiyah

2010-01-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

Muhammadiyah (full name: Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah, literally means "followers of Muhammad" (from Arabic). The organization was founded in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan in the city of Yogyakarta as a reformist socioreligious movement, advocating ijtihad - individual interpretation of Qur'an and sunnah, as opposed to taqlid - the acceptance of the traditional interpretations propounded by the ulama.

At the moment, Muhammadiyah is the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia with 29 million members. Although Muhammadiyah leaders and members are often actively involved in shaping the politics in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah is not a political party. It has devoted itself to social and educational activities.

On November 18, 1912, Ahmad Dahlan—an educated Muslim scholar from Mecca—established Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta. The motivation for its foundation was widespread synchretism in Indonesian, and particularly Javanese, Muslim society. Ahmad Dahlan, much influenced by Egyptian reformist Muhammad 'Abduh, considered such practices proof of shirk or idolatry. Since its beginning, Muhammadiyah has thus been very concerned with maintaining tawhid, and refining monotheism in society.

From 1913 to 1918, Muhammadiyah established five Islamic Schools. In 1919 an Islamic high school, Hooge School Muhammadiyah was established. Muhammadiyah has generally avoided politics. Unlike its traditionalist counterpart, the Nahdatul Ulama, it never formed a political party. Since its establishment, it has devoted itself to educational and social activities.

In 1925, two years after the death of Dahlan, Muhammadiyah only has 4,000 members, even has built 55 schools and two clinics in Surabaya and Yogyakarta. After Abdul Karim Amrullah introduced the organisation to Minangkabau dynamic moslem community, Muhammadiyah developed rapidly. In 1938, organisation claimed has 250,000 members, managed the 834 moques, 31 libraries, 1,774 schools, and 7,630 ulema. The Minangkabau Merchants spread organization to the entire of Indonesia.

During the 1965-66 political turbulence and violence, Muhammadiyah declared the extermination of the "Gestapu/PKI" (the 30 September Movement and the Indonesian Communist Party) constituted Holy War, a view endorsed by other Islamic groups.(see also: Indonesian killings of 1965-66). During the 1998 "Indonesian reformation", some parts of Muhammadiyah urged the leadership to form a party. Therefore, they - including Muhammadiyah chairman, Amien Rais, founded the National Mandate Party. Although gaining large support from Muhammadiyah members, this party has no official relationship with Muhammadiyah. The leader of Muhammadiyah says the members of his organisation are free to align themselves with political parties of their choosing provided such parties have shared values with Muhammadiyah.

Today, with 29 million members Muhammadiyah is the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, after Nahdatul Ulama.

Doctrine

The central doctrine of Muhammadiyah is Sunni Islam. However, the main focus of the Muhammadiyah movement is to heighten people's sense of moral responsibility, purifying their faith to true Islam. It emphasizes the authority of the Qur'an and the Hadiths as supreme Islamic law that serves as the legitimate basis of the interpretation of religious belief and practices, in contrast to traditional practices where shariah law invested in religious school by ulema.

Muhammadiyah strongly opposes syncretism, where Islam in Indonesia has coalesced with animism (spirit worship) and with Hindu-Buddhist values that were spread among the villagers, including the upper classes, from the pre-Islamic period. Furthermore, Muhammadiyah opposes the tradition of Sufi cult that allows Sufi leader (shaykh) as the formal authority of Muslims.

As of 2006, it is said to have "veered sharply toward a more conservative brand of Islam" under the "leadership of Din Syamsuddin" the head of the Indonesian Ulema Council.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammadiyah

The early history of the Nahdlatul Ulama

2010-01-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

Labels: Nahdlatul Ulama

Establishment

As mentioned above, one of the prominent figures who took the initiative to establish the Nahdlatul Ulama was K.H. Abdul Wahab Hasbullah. Abdul Wahab was born at Jombang, east java, in 1888 and received his elementary Islamic teaching from his own father, Kyai Hasbullah, who ran the pesantren of Tambak beras at Jombang. He then continued his study from one pesantren to another in East Java, such as the Majosari of Nganjuk, the pesantren of Cempaka, the Pesantren of Tawangsari of Sepanjang, the pesantren of Branggahan of Kediri, and other. He even reached a small island, madura, east of Java, where he studied in the pesantren of Kademangan, Bangkalan, for three years.

On the advice of his teacher, K.H. Khalil, the leader of the Pesantren of Kademangan, Abdul Wahab continued to study in the pesantren of Tebuireng under the guidance of K.H. Hasyim Asy'ari for four years. Actually, Abdul Wahab and K.H. Hasyim Asy'ari were closely related, both having the same great grandfather. Because of his intellect and his family ties to his teacher, he was appointed to become the lurah pondok (director of the pesantren).

At the age of twenty-seven, Abdul Wahab left Java for Mecca, where he studied Islam in the holy city for four years. In Mecca, he studied Islam under the guidance of six of the leading 'ulama', Kyai Mahfudh at-Tarmisy, Kyai Mukhtaram, Syeikh Ahmad Khatib, Kyai Bakir, Kya Asy'ari, and Syeikh Abdul Hamid. These six "ulama" were Indonesia who had acheived positiöns as teachers in the Masjidil al-Haram in Mecca at that time.

By the end of world war II, Abdul Wahab returned from Mecca to Indonesia and stayed in Surabaya, with Kyai H. Mas Mansur, a modernist leader, Abdul Wahab collaborated to establish and supervise a madrasa (islamic school) called NAHDLATUL WATAN (Renaissance of Fatherland). Abdul Wahab and Mas Mansur also established a discussion group called Taswirul Afkar (Beckoning to Reflection) which attracted many Muslim youths to study Islam. Apart from its positive result, the discussion group could not avoid touching the furu' questions. Mas Mansur then left Abdul Wahab when the former joined the Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta. His long study, experience and activities enabled young kyai with skillful leadership capabilities. He finally stepped forword to be an architect of the foundation of the Nahdlatul Ulama.

http://www.santrimudimesra.blogspot.com/2009/04/early-history-of-nahdlatul-ulama.html

Reog Ponorogo

2010-01-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

Ian Douglas Wilson
Spirituality, Sexuality, and Power in a Javanese Performance Tradition

The East Javanese town of Ponorogo, nestled in a remote valley between two extinct volcanoes, has long had a reputation throughout the island for the magical powers and sexual potency of its inhabitants. It has a long history of violent and radical politics, with a well-established tradition of rebellion. Two figures central to this image are the warok and gemblak.

The term warok is said to originate from the Javanese words uwal and rokan meaning to be free from forced labour.[1] Due to their martial and magical abilities, the warok were often advisers and strong men for the local ruler, and hence free from the obligations of ordinary villagers. Another popular interpretation suggests that the term originates from the Arabic word waro'a, meaning an ascetic, or one who practises mysticism. Onghokham draws attention to the influence of warok and jago (men of prowess] as leaders in village political life.[2] The warok was rarely part of the official government, and thus played a somewhat ambiguous role, residing in the margins of social and political life. On the one hand his standing amongst villagers made his support crucial for any aspiring ruler and he often acted as an agent for higher authorities. At the same time, however, his unofficial status also made him a potentially dangerous adversary and troublemaker. The warok was a power broker, an intermediary between higher and lower powers, in the concrete and cosmological sense. His authority was intensely personal, depending on mastery of invulnerability, silat [martial arts], magic, and religious knowledge, as well as the fear and admiration with which villagers regarded him.

Javanese "Santri" Islam

2010-01-15T01:27:00.000-08:00

Reference: http://okusi.net/garydean/works/santri.html

The Western aversion and distrust towards Islam runs deep, in contrast to how 'friendlier' religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism are often considered.[1] Even Westerners better informed about Islam have their concerns, so it is probably not simply a case of a 'misunderstood' religion. Many see Islam as an inherently undemocratic religion, placing restrictions on, for example, women's rights or freedom of religion.[2] To assert that understanding leads to tolerance is not necessarily true. Islam confronts many of the foundations of Western liberal-democratic culture, and by its very nature does not lend itself to be co-opted into the pluralistic, 'tolerant' frameworks of liberal Western societies.

Islam in Java is extremely diverse in the manner of its expression, and highly variable in terms of depth of commitment to the religion. The oft-quoted figure that 90% of the Javanese population embraces Islam is extremely misleading, and in fact, wrong. It is perhaps true that 90% of the Javanese population hold an identity card (KTP) stating that Islam is their religion. However given the lack of religious freedom in Indonesia,[3] the life-threatening danger of not professing a government-approved religion, and pressure from within the Ministry of Religion and Islamists to inflate the number of Muslims in Indonesia for political reasons, this 90% figure should be summarily dismissed as an untruth.

Muslims in Java are usually divided vertically according to their level of identification with Islam; ie, Geertz's abangan/santri dichotomy, with the santri much more closely identifying themselves as Muslim. In addition to this, there is also a horizontal traditionalist/modernist dimension within Javanese Islam.

So what constitutes a santri Muslim in Java? And how are they differentiated from other Javanese who call themselves Muslim? Originally a santri was simply a student or follower within an Islamic school called a pesantren (literally, "place of the santri") headed by a kyai master. The word 'santri' referred to persons who removed themselves from the secular world in order to concentrate on devotional activities and mystical matters, and pesantren were the focus of such devotion.[4] It was only later that the word santri was used to describe that particular class within Javanese society that identified strongly with Islam, distinct from the more nominal Islam of the abangan and priyayi. And indeed, the word 'santri' used to describe a class probably had a lot more to do with the influence of Geertz himself on how Javanese think about themselves. In fact, in common conversation, the word muslimin[5] is far more likely to be used to distinguish 'santri' Javanese from other groups within society.

Further complicating this matter is that not all santri are alike; within this group itself there exists a wide variety of belief and interpretation of what constitutes 'Islam'. To some extent this reflects the variety of belief held by Muslims the world over, and is generally characterised by a division between 'traditionalist' and 'modernist' outlooks. It can also be depicted as a division between an Islam that has been absorbed to become an integral part of a local culture, and a 'puritan' Islam that sees such cultural adaptation as being contrary to the original aesthetic.

Islam in Java eventually developed into two Islamic traditions that are apparent today; a Javanese Islam with its syncretic characteristics, and a 'puritan', modernist Islam. The first is an Islam within which is infused with a complex mix of animist-Hindu-Buddhist beliefs and concepts, and which is inclined to mysticism. The second is relatively freer of these syncretic accretions, and is much closer to the dogma of the defining Arabian orthodoxy.[6]

Islam did not arrive in Java in its pure, Arabian form.[7] One of the main reasons that Islam was able to take root in Java was due to the particular kind of Islam, Sufism, that emphasised with local traditions and customs, and was itself quite compatible with the pre-existing and highly developed Javanese mystical outlook. Islam was thus introduced with relatively little upheaval into the existing cultural, social and political structures.[8] In addition, amongst the Hindu-Buddhist nobility, Sufi Islam offered a credible mysticism as an alternative or additional source of mystical power and political legitimation[9]; Islam could be integrated into the wider Javanese search for magical powers.[10]

Because of its mystical outlook, Sufi Islam was more easily incorporated into the traditional Javanese worldview. Towards the end of the 19th century the whole of Java could be considered 'Islamised',[11] however the intensity of this process was uneven across the island. Santri culture was much more concentrated in the trading cities of the north coast, and in cities more generally rather than the countryside.[12] Santri life-styles only really influenced those neighbouring rural settlements where pesantren had been established.[13]

With the development of the modernist movement within Islam, starting with the Wahabie movement in Egypt, and with the increasing number of Javanese Muslims undertaking the Hajj to Makkah after the opening of the Suez Canal,[14] came an increasing awareness that Javanese Islam had absorbed many elements which could be considered in opposition to the 'pure' Islam of Arabia. Santri's began to more consciously differentiate themselves from those holding traditional Javanese outlooks, considering them as irreconcilable with the teachings or the aesthetic expressed in the Koran, and thus increasingly polarising the santri from the abangan. Over the past two decades in particular Javanese society has undergone a process of Islamisation, moving generally towards a deeper understanding and commitment to Islam in the modernist santri style.[15] This has led to further polarisation of the abangan from the santri in contemporary Java.[16]

However, the santri should not be considered as an homogenous group, as they are themselves polarised along traditionalist/modernist lines. It is usually difficult to immediately differentiate 'mystically inclined' traditionalist santri from modernist 'orthodox'[17] santri. Both may well observe the five pillars of Islam, and just as importantly, strongly identify themselves as Muslim.

So what is it that differentiates the Javanese santri from the rest of the population? Essentially, differences can be reduced to identity. Santri consciously identify themselves as Muslims, and attempt as far as possible to live in accordance to their own understanding of Islam, whether this be the traditional syncretic Islam, the purist Islam of the modernist, or mixtures of both.

In terms of belief, the typical santri would adhere to the basic tenants of Islam as laid down within Koran, and the Sunnah, which comprises the Syrah (Mohammed's life story) and the Hadith (Mohammed's saying and customs). The Koran is considered to be the literal word of God, and thus cannot be doubted in any way. The Hadith, however, can be the subject of debate and difference of opinion, and it very often is. Consisting of literally hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of separate sayings and customs, and written or conveyed by numerous authors, the Hadith is a hotbed of contradiction, dispute, xenophobia and occasionally, downright weirdness.[18]

In terms of their day-to-day behaviour, the santri closely adhere to the formal requirements of the religion, the most obvious of which is solat, the ritual prayer undertaken at specific times five times a day. More than anything else, it is the conscientious performance of solat that separates the santri from the abangan. According to Islamic law solat is wajib 'ain (absolutely compulsory), gaining merit for performance, and punishment for its non-performance.[19] Santri frequently live in areas surrounding mosques called kauman. Quite apart from a providing a sense of community, living close to a mosque means that the calls to prayer are clearly heard to ensure that every solat is performed.

Also wajib 'ain is fasting during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. During this month every able Muslim must abstain from food, drink, sex, immoral acts, and negative thinking from dawn to sunset. In contrast to solat, many abangan also follow the fast during this month, though perhaps not as seriously as their santri cousins. Koentzereningerat (1985) claims that Agami Jawi (abangan) Muslims who do not perform solat or give zakat seldom neglect to fast during the entire month of Ramadan, because it is in accordance with the indigenous idea of tirakat, of deliberately seeking out hardship and discomfort for religious reasons.[20]

The contemporary Javanese santri can aspire to performing the Hajj, the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, at least once in their lifetime, usually when they are older. The Indonesian government though the Ministry of Religion provides highly organised packages to the Holy Land for reasonable cost.[21] As a consequence, the high status associated with someone who had undertaken the Hajj in days past has now diminished considerably. The honorific title 'Haji' is now very rarely used when addressing or referring to someone verbally, though the abbreviated title ("H.") will often be used in written forms.

Externally, differences in dress are nearly always apparent in the contemporary santri. Muslimah in particular stand apart from non-santri by the wearing of a jilbab (full headdress covering the head, ears, and neck, leaving only the face visible). Older muslimah, or for the more 'liberal' female santri, a less severe kerudung is often substituted, covering only the head leaving much of the hair, neck and ears still visible. Headdress is worn whenever the muslimah is outside the house, or whenever she is in the presence of any males apart from her husband, sons, father and brothers. (Some muslimah are less strict about this within their own home.) Muslimah will frequently absent themselves whenever male guests come to visit, partly due to the reserve that the muslimah is expected to show, but often also because they do not want to go to the trouble of wearing their head-dress in order to meet the guest.

Islam defines an awrah,[22] or areas of the body considered 'private', for both sexes. The muslimah must cover all her body, except for her face and hands.[23] Long, loose-fitting dresses or slacks are usually worn, though in Java many muslimah also commonly wear jeans along with a long, loose-fitting shirt. Basically, the female form must be so covered as to obscure the shape of the breasts,[24] hips and buttocks, so as not to arouse the passions or attention of males. This concept of the awrah is also extended to female behaviour, with the muslimah expected to guard ('cover') her voice and her physical movements, and to avoid drawing undue attention to herself.

The Javanese santri male also wears certain types of clothing, however these are not prescribed by Islam, traditional or otherwise, nor are they worn all the time. The male awrah is much less restrictive, between the waist and the thighs, but it is generally considered more polite to completely cover the body, arms and legs. The gamis is a type of loose-fitting, long-sleeved, round-collared shirt worn by santri men, often for formal religious occasions or for Friday Prayers where it is accompanied with a chequered sarung. The peci, though not traditionally associated with Javanese Islam, must nowadays be considered part of male santri dress, although abangan Muslims also frequently wear it.[25]

Santri will frequently pepper their speech with expressions of an Arabic flavour, even (perhaps especially) when communicating with non-Muslims or abangan. Bismillahirrohmannirrahim ('In the name of God the All Merciful') is an expression used before the commencement of any task, however large or small. This phrase precedes every surah within the Koran. The use of this phrase is, however, not limited to santri Muslims; abangan Muslims also frequently use it. Tasks such as starting a motorbike, driving a nail into a wall, sex, speeches, and the slaughtering of meat animals, will all be preceded with Bismillah as a remembrance that everything, every action and every word, should be done for God in the name of God.

Assalamwallaikum, along with its reply, Wallaikumsalam, is used when meeting, greeting and farewelling people, and is also frequently used as a formal opening greeting for speeches.[26] Strangely, use of this expression by public officials has declined dramatically since the fall of General (Ret.) HM Soeharto in May of 1998.

Santri consider any expression of certainty about the future to be slightly arrogant, and very often use the term Insyaallah ("God willing") to prefix any statement of positive intent or prediction, or agreement to do something. This expression is also sometimes used as a polite way of saying 'no', or for expressing ambiguity in answer to a question pertaining to something to be done in the future. Insyaallah also expresses what some see as a rather negative fatalism, allowing Muslims to avoid personal responsibility.[27]

Contemporary santri Islam, in fact modernist Islam in general, is very much an 'outward' religion. The inner dimensions are generally not stressed, and when they are spoken of it is in terms of a very separate 'compartment' of Islam. The modernist aesthetic has had a big impact upon the more mystically-inclined traditionalist Islam, especially over the past two decades. Ritual, outward social behaviour, language and religious identity overshadow the inner dimensions. Sufism and the tarekat, although acknowledged, are now viewed with either suspicion or awe. For the vast majority of santri Muslims the only link to mystical dimensions and practices is at funeral ceremonies, where dhikir mediation is performed.

Santri Islam in general emphasises ritual, whilst mysticism, in whatever its form, stresses inner, spiritual, or the vertical axis of religion. Santri are thus often perceived as emphasising the material, literal, or the horizontal axis. The mystic aspires to direct experience with God rather than mere belief or mechanical ritual. Sufi texts make a distinction between lahir (outer aspects) and batin (inner aspects), and that the outer meaning of the Koran concerns the regulation of outward behaviour (lahir), whilst its inner meaning (batin) concerns the mystical path and the quest for knowledge about Allah.[28]

Mysticism and magic have always formed a basis of culture for all Javanese, irrespective of their professed outlook. Santri Muslims will often make reference to indigenous beliefs, even whilst at the same time invoking the superiority of Islamic belief. Many avowedly modernist Muslims sometimes ascribe matters to Islam that in fact have their basis within traditional beliefs. At the unconscious level many Javanese beliefs linger in the minds of the santri; Nyi Rorol Kidul, the Goddess of the Southern Sea, can still strike fear into their hearts, as can the power of Kejawen mystics. Many santri see no contradiction in consulting a dukun to cure their ailments, or in believing that guna-guna ("black magic") is often used in matters concerning love relationships, or that manusia harimau, people who transform themselves into tigers, inhabit some villages. Indigenous beliefs may tend to fill some of the spiritual vacuum left behind by modernist Islam.

Javanese santri Islam is not monochromic; there is great variability in the way that it is expressed, and in the depth of commitment and knowledge of its adherants. However indigenous mystical beliefs persist in the subconscious of all Javanese, and many traditional practices and ceremonies are still performed,[29] albeit only in a formal manner. Javanese society has become increasingly 'santrified' over the past few decades, and the modernist expression of the religion has greatly influenced, outwardly at least, the more mystically-inclined traditionalist Islam. Despite this apparent modernity, however, Indonesian Islam needs to be considered on its own terms, and not just as a branch of Middle Eastern Islam.

Priyayi

2010-01-15T01:17:00.000-08:00

The above observations are particularly true for the priyayi type Javanese. To this group belong the descendants of the aristocracy of the Javanese courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, who the Dutch won over to become members of the appointive civil service in colonial times. Nowadays they constitute the intelligentsia of Java. They have their roots in the Hindu-Javanese courts of pre- colonial times. A noble and pure character is attributed to them. They were the bearers of the mystic court-traditions taught to them by highly revered guru's.

Priyayi conserved and cultivated the art of dance, drama, music and poetry. Sunan (=king) Kalidjogovan(also called Kalidjaga) is credited by some to have given the ancient Wayang play its present form. Before it was part of the Javanese ancestor-worship. The shadow figures represent the spirits of the dead. Subsequently the Hindu epics Mahabharta and Ramayana were introduced and integrated in Wayang performances.

The language used is often based on Sanskrit words: Susila = chaste,ethical; Budhi = Buddhi = intelligence; Dharma = norm, customary observance (J.Gonda).
In mysticism, as we have seen above, these words take on a different meaning. To live according to one's dharma and the rules of social order is to fulfil "the will of God"(kodrat).
In Javanese mysticism one learns that it is good to honour one's superiors...justice and well-being are expected to flow from above, to originate from a bapak who in his turn derives his power for protection from a higher bapak, etc., until one reaches the realm of supernature and the leader "by the grace of God".

All of nature is endowed with souls. Prof.van der Kroef notes: Monistic identification is carried to great lengths: vegetable and animal "essences" shape human personality and destiny (e.g. after eating goat's meat "the goat's tendency to get lost will be manifested in the man as the desire in all circumstances to follow his own impulses") and pantheistic unity is accepted as a matter of course (e.g. "in the world of fishes there are many that serve God with faith and, moreover, are not neglectful in the manner of their prayers...").
Two characteristics of Javanese mysticism

The Javanese mystical tradition is known for its syncretism. In the course of its history it absorbed all the religious traditions that reached Java and gave it its own interpretation.

The aim of the Javanese mystical tradition is that of experiencing unity with God. Among the techniques to achieve this is the dihkr (repetitive prayer), fasting, sleep deprivation, and withdrawal from the world. The purpose of ascetism being purification, facilitating direct communication with the divine world.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/javmys1.html

ANTHROPOLOGY AND JAVANESE MYSTICAL MOVEMENTS

2010-01-15T00:57:00.000-08:00

During the last decades Javanese mysticism has become more and more of interest to anthropologists. They base their books, articles, doctoral theses, etc. partly on Dutch studies during their colonial past, partly on their own observations during field-work. Java is particularly fascinating because its culture bears traces of various religions.

The original religion of Java was animistic. Prevailing was the belief in powers, nature-spirits and souls of the deceased hidden in the unseen world. The selamatan is considered to be part of that folklore. This gathering is held at specific dates such as the third, seventh, fortieth, hundredth, and thousandth anniversary of the decease of a relative. The food eaten is meant to be a sacrifice for the soul of the dead person. After a thousand days the soul is supposed to have disintegrated or reincarnated. Prof.J.M.van der Kroef writes: "The homeostasis sought via the selamatan has an animistic background which is part of the Javanese cosmology: man is surrounded by spirits and deities, apparitions and mysterious supernatural forces, which, unless he takes the proper precautions, may disturb him or even plunge him into disaster."

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz divides the Javanese population in three main groups: the abangan, the priyayi and the santri. The Abangan (Agami Jawi) are nominal Muslim, but to a great extent they are guided by the ancient belief, the kejawen. Dr.S. de Jong: "Flora and fauna have like man a soul. The animal and vegetable soul is deeper sunk in material existence than the human soul. Therefore certain plants and animals may be harmful...The Godhead towers above in serene rest and offers no assistance. The abangan remain two possibilities: surrender -rela-, and worship -bekti. The primitive main concepts recur in 20th century mystical groups, may have never been absent."

In the 5th century Hinduism was introduced in Java and struck root. One thousand years later it was followed by Islam. The form of Islam that reached Java had already undergone Ishmaili Shi'ah influences. In Java it was again adapted to suit the existing Hindu and animistic elements. Sufi mysticism was embraced particularly, because it coincided with the existing way of thought. Sufi brotherhoods - tarekats - of the Sufi orders of Naqshabandiyya, Qadiriyya, and Shattariyya were formed and spread slowly.

Towards the middle of the 19th century opportunity arose for the Muslim population to have more contact with their fellow-believers. This led to a reform movement to rid Indonesian Islam of Hindu-Javanese elements. The Santri belong to this part of the population. They condemn such diversions as Wayang performances and selamatans. They reject the belief in the unity of man and God, in rasa(feeling) over akal(reason).

http://www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/javmys1.html

The Indonesian Moslem Founding

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The nine walis were Sufi teachers who spread Islam and did all variety of powerful and unusual acts across Java. The histories of these men are not always clear. In fact, if you try to count all of them, you will end up with more than nine. Some sources say that there was more than one group of nine. The most probable explanation is that there was a loose council of nine religious leaders, and that as older members retired or passed away, new members were brought into this council.

Symbolically, for later rulers on Java, the wali songo provided a link between the rulers of Majapahit or earlier kingdoms, and the rulers of Mataram, and eventually the Sultans of Yogya and Surakarta. They were both links in the dynastic family trees and cultural links, as they adapted the old arts and traditions to the new Islamic reality.

In spite of the confusion, and some of the legends told about them, these were real men, and some of them such as Gunungjati or Kalijogo were important figures who helped create the Java--and the Indonesia--that we know today.

Here is an incomplete (or maybe too complete!) list of the Wali Songo. Most of them did their work in the late 1400s to mid-1500s C.E.:

Sunan Gunungjati worked at Demak and Banten, and was the founder of Cirebon. Many stories say that he was originally from Pasai in Aceh, others say that he was from Pajajaran in West Java. He married the sister of Sultan Trenggono of Demak, and led military expeditions for Demak against Banten (which was still Hindu at that time). As "Fatahillah" he defeated the Portuguese when they tried to take Sunda Kelapa (now Jakarta) in 1527.

Some stories have Sunan Gunungjati active around the 1470s and 1480s, under the name "Hidayatullah", other stories have him active around the 1520s, and associate him with the name "Fatahillah". In the 1480s he would have been the grandson of the king of Pajajaran; in the late 1520s he would have fought the Portuguese near what is today Jakarta. The problem is that some stories say that he passed away in 1568, by which time he would have been as old as 120 years! Some scholars think that there may have been more than one Gunungjati.

Sunan Kudus, (or Ja'far Shadiq), founder of Kudus, who is said to have originated the wayang golek, and who founded the masjid at Kudus using (it is said) the doors from the palace of Majapahit. Took the place of his father, Sunan Ngudung. He passed away in 1550.

Sunan Kudus has also been called by the name Ja'far Shadiq, or Ja'far as-Sadiq, which was also the name of a famous religious figure in Iran, the 6th of the 12th Imams in Shi'ah Islam. Interestingly, in the city of Kudus today, there is an event called Buka Luwur, when the citizens change the curtains around the tomb of Sunan Kudus, among other things. This event is held on the 10th of Muharram of the Islamic calendar --the same day that Shi'ah Muslims remember the martyrdom of Husayn, a major date in the calendar for them. Perhaps these are reminders of the time when travelers from Iran and India made frequent trips to the north coast of Java, and had a lasting influence on the culture there.

Sunan Giri, (or Raden Paku), studied at Melaka, founded Islamic schools at Gresik, foretold the rise of Mataram, and spread Islam to Lombok, Sulawesi, and Maluku. He was a proponent of orthodox Islam, and disapproved of innovation (much like "modernist" Islamic scholars of the 1800s and 1900s). A traditional story says that he was the son of a Hindu princess of Balambangan and Maulana Ishaq of Melaka, who had gone to Balambangan as a missionary. The princess was forced to abandon him in a crisis and set him adrift on the ocean in a small boat, from which he was rescued by sailors. He was later a student of Sunan Ampel, and married the daughter of Sunan Ampel.

Sunan Kalijogo, (also Raden Sahid), was active at Demak, student of Sunan Bonang, advisor to Senopati, father to Sunan Muria. He revived the Garebeg procession, added Islamic stories to the wayang kulit repertory, and promoted the use of traditional rituals in a new Islamic context. The IAIN (Islamic Institute) in Yogyakarta today is named after him. At times Sunan Kalijogo has been called a proponent of innovation ("innovation" in orthodox Islam is generally considered not proper).

Stories of Kalijogo also follow confused chrnologies. Some have him participating in the construction of the Masjid at Demak in the 1470s; others have him active in the mid-1500s.

Sunan Bonang, son of Sunan Ampel, wrote a popular book on theology and good behavior for Muslims. As a young man he studied with Sunan Giri in Melaka. He helped build the great masjid at Demak. A story says that he converted the later Sunan Kalijogo to Islam. He is buried at Tuban.

Sunan Muria, (or Raden Umar Said), son of Kalijogo, after whom Mount Muria is named, and who used gamelan and theatre to help promote his missionary activity. He preferred to work with common people and in isolated villages.

Sunan Maulana Malik Ibrahim (also Syeikh Maghribi) was an Arab who arrived in Java in 1404 and worked at Gresik and Leran until his death in 1419. He founded the first Islamic school or pesantren on Java. Cousin of Sunan Ampel. His work was carried out before the time period normally associated with the wali songo, making him a kind of pioneer for missionary activity on Java.

Sunan Ampel (also Raden Rakhmat) who did his work in Surabaya, and spread Islam in East Java. Sunan Ampel was the original leader of the walisongo. He was a nephew of the King of Majapahit, and a cousin to Raden Patah, first Sultan of Demak. He was actually born in Champa, an Islamic kingdom located where the southern part of Vietnam is today. Sunan Bonang and Sunan Drajad were both his sons. Sunan Giri lived with him alongside his sons as a young man.

Sunan Drajad was a son of Sunan Ampel. He built the masjid at Paciran (north of Surabaya) in 1502, and is known for promoting social and charitable works. He also promoted the use of the gamelan orchestra.

Sunan Sendang worked at Paciran until 1585.

Sunan Ngudung (or Pengulu Rahmatullah) who did his work in Matahun, and died in battle against the Hindu remnants of Majapahit in 1513. He was the father of Sunan Kudus.

Raden Hamzah (or Sunan Lamongan) who did his work in Lamongan.

Maulana Ibrahim Asmoro was the father of Sunan Ampel. He is buried at Palang near Tuban. He was married to a princess of Champa, in what is now Vietnam, and may have originally been from Central Asia.

Sunan Bayat who did his work around Tembayat, near Yogya. He was a student of Sunan Kalijogo.

Sunan Bejagung who did his work near Tuban.

Syekh Sitti Jenar (also Syekh Lemah Abang) who was sentenced to death for his strong religious convictions, which were considered by some to be heretical.

Raden Patah, founder of Demak, is sometimes included in the list. Raden Patah was the son of Kertanegara by a Chinese princess, and was brought up by Aria Damar, his half-brother, who had been sent to oversee Palembang with the title of Adipati, and was said to be a Muslim in secret. He consulted closely with Sunan Ampel before continuing on to found the city and power of Demak. Raden Patah is a "link" between the line of the old Javanese kings (such as Airlangga or Hayam Wuruk), the later Sultans of Mataram (such as Agung), and the present-day Sultan of Yogya and Susuhunan of Surakarta.

(Sunan Kuning came much later, was named Susuhunan of Mataram by rebels in 1742, is remembered in Semarang).

Many stories of the Wali Songo are recorded in the Babad Tanah Jawa (Chronicles of the Land of Java), written in the mid-1600s.

Link : www.gimonca.com/ sejarah/walisongo.shtml