Islam in Indonesia

The domination of Sufis as the main agent of conversion in Java and the significant role of walisongo and Islamic kingdom system created a unique form of Islam in Java. The combination of Javanese culture and tradition and the basic principles of Islamic tenets, to some extent, have led to the victory of Islamic culture over the substantialist one. The openness of Sufism, which is more tolerant and accommodating to other values and cultures, has created the capability of the rulers to manage religious conflicts and differences (Schimmel 1992). Along with the Javanese worldview that emphasizes harmony between macro and micro cosmos, Islam has been transformed to one of the most important values within Javanese culture and society.

For many centuries, Islam that has been developed by the walisongo determines the main characteristics of Javanese Muslims. The domination of Sunnis, especially from the Sufi order, has even been recognized throughout Islamic world. The opening of the Canal Suez in the nineteenth century offered more opportunity for Indonesian to make religious pilgrimage to and study in Mecca. By the late nineteenth century, the Javanese community was formed around the city of Mecca and became one of the largest immigrant communities with its own contingent of outstanding religious teachers. Some Javanese teachers were granted the privilege to teach in Masjid al-Haram, the most prestigious school in Mecca (Laffan 2003). However, some Indonesians, especially the younger generation, were attracted to pursue Islamic knowledge in Cairo, specifically in al-Azhar, the oldest Islamic educational institution. At that time, Cairo was well-known as a source of reforming ideas within Islamic thoughts. The outstanding scholars, such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (d.1897), Muhammad Abduh (d.1905), and Rashid Ridha (d.1935), and their ideas basically called for the scientific and intellectual strengthening of the Muslim community. Furthermore, they attracted young people with a thirst for modernism in Islamic thoughts.

The ideas of Muhammad Abduh, which were continued by his pupil Rashid Ridha, were clearly presented through al-Manar magazine, the most influential magazine for modernist Islam even until now. Some of their ideas that shaped a new face of Islam throughout the world were basically based on the idea of purification from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab (d.1787), the founder of what is known as Wahabism, the only official school in the modern era of Saudi Arabia. The main doctrine of Wahabism is to abolish any religious practices that have no ligitimatation from the Qur’an and the hadith, including from the influence of local traditions and cultures. Therefore, the practice of Sufism that basically accommodated the local traditions and cultures became the main target of Wahabism to be deminished. For most Indonesian Muslims, the increasing power of Wahabism, along with the full support of the Saudi Arabia kingdom, has been seen as a serious threat for their persistence.

In addition, the relationship between the modern movement in Egypt and purification movement in Saudi Arabia is clearly seen from the statement of Rashid Ridha who proclaimed Wahabism to be the faction of purest faith in Islam (Fox, 2004). This statement, to some extent, increases the resistence of the mainstream Islam, namely Sunni and Sufism, toward the idea of modernism as well as Wahabism. In the Indonesian community, Wahabism has been considered as the main enemy of Islam, especially by those who believe in traditional Islam. Some even consider those who believe in Wahabism as infidels or, at least, doing heresy because Wahabism with the support from the King of Saudi Arabia tried to destroy most all of the holy places, such as the tombs of saints or even the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad. These places had been well recognized as the center of the Sufi’s movement, including the Javanese community in Mecca.

However, the direct tension between traditionalists and modernists in Java has appeared since 1912, when Achmad Dahlan, along with other Islam modernists, proclaimed the first modern Islamic organization called Muhammadiyah. This organization, like other modern Islamic organizations around the world, pays serious attention to the idea of purification. This organization is deeply rooted in the ideas of Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Ridha in Egypt. The main supporters of this organization are those who returned from their education in Cairo, especially at al-Azhar University, where both figures became the main professors. Generally, there are four basic goals of modern movements in Indonesia, including Muhammadiyah, in the early twentieth century (Nashir 2000 and Barton 2002). First, they encourage piety and a serious attitude to perform all kinds of religious obligations. Second, they want to apply the idea of purification by rejecting what so-called animism or Hindu-Buddha elements of Javanese culture. Third, they provide the sort of social services to the community that the Dutch were unwilling to provide, especially in the health and education fields. Fourth, they urge the development of modern and sophisticated expressions of Islam that are able to respond the challenge of modernity and to gain benefits from modern technology and scientific advances.

To accomplish these goals, the first thing that came to their attention was to argue in favor of ijtihad, rationalism, individualism, and interpretations of the Qur’an and the tradition of the prophet. This reformation of Islamic thought was really opposite to the established traditional Islam in Indonesia that urged lay people to do taqlid, which is the uncritical acceptance of established interpretations provided by four orthodox madzhab or schools in Islamic jurisprudance, namely, Syafi’i, Hanbali, Hanafi, and Maliki (Barton 2002). Therefore, the main slogan of most modernist movements in Islam is, “return to the Qur’an and the tradition of the prophet.” They reject the authority of ulama or Islamic scholars to take ijmak or concensus in facing certain problems.

In addition, the ideological reform generally rejects four basic principles of the Sunni School or traditional Islam in Indonesia. The modernists, in detail, reject the idea to follow one of the four imams or madzhab because they believe that to understand and perform the pure Islamic teachings, one must rely directly on the Qur’an and the Hadith. They also disapproved of all kinds of Sufism that teach asceticism and the repetition of dhikir (recollection or remembrance of God’s names). These rejections made the members of pesantren aware of the need of consolidation to preserve and defend their beliefs from the modernists’ attacks.

As a reaction to this modern movement, along with the spread of Wahabism that conquested Hejaz, or Mecca, and Madinah in 1924, some leaders of traditional Muslims, led by Hadarat al-Syaikh Hasyim Asy’ary, proclaimed the establishment of Nahdlatul Ulama in 1926, commonly shortened to NU, which literally means, “the awakening of Islamic scholars.” The main goal of this organization is to presereve the existence of the traditional ulama and their pesantren as well as the teachings of Sunni and Sufism. It can be seen through the statement of Hasyim Asy’ari, the founder of NU as well as Pesantren Tebuireng, the biggest pesantren in the early modern Indonesia, as quoted by Dhofier:

“You ulama [Islamic scholars] and friends who are taqwa to God, who follow the teaching of the ulama of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, who follow the teaching of the madzhab of the four imam, you are people who received Islamic knowledge from the ulama of the previous generation. With great care, you have chosen these ulama. Whenever you have needed a teacher, you have selected him carefully; only with great consideration have [you] chosen him from whom you received knowledge. You are, then, the chosen ulama who hold the key to Islamic knowledge. Only to you do people turn to receive the wisdom of Islam” (Dhofier 1999, p. 157)

According to Article 5 of the 1979 Nahdlatul Ulama Constitution, there are four main activities of Nahdlatul Ulama. First, Nahdlatul Ulama pursues activities that will accomplish the establishment of an Islamic community. Second, Nahdlatul Ulama pursues every effort for the supply of sufficient educational and cultural facilities for the people and the extension of Islamic education for Nahdlatul Ulama members. Third, Nahdlatul Ulama pursues activities that will produce the fulfillment of social justice. Fourth, Nahdlatul Ulama pursues activities that will support the government’s economic development plan, particularly the development of private cooperatives (Mastuhu 1994).

To accomplish these aims, according to Dhofier (1999), kyai have been recognizing their pesantren and seeking to preserve the essential aspect of these institutions as centers for the maintenance and spread of traditional Islam in Java. Furthermore, Dhofier sees that in doing so, the kyai have been able to, “readjust the inner structure of their religious life while maintaining their unity within the ideological fold of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah”, usually shortened to Aswaja (1999, p. 174).

The main goal of Nahdlatul ulama, then, is not only, as indicated by Geertz, “to enclose the traditional religious social forms focusing around the pondok [pesantren] within a modern political party structure with minimum alteration of such forms” (Geertz, 1960:176), but it also becomes more appropriate to consider Nahdlatul Ulama as a modern manifestation of the religious and social life of the kyai and the other members of pesantren. The attractive ideology of Aswaja lies on its concept of what constitutes proper behavior for Indonesians in the material world. Unlike the modernists who reject any form of Sufism, kyai and the members of pesantren see the material world only as a tool to get a better life in the hereafter. The material world is seen as amanah or trust from Allah that will question how responsibly we used it. Therefore, zuhud, or ascetism becomes a central attribute of Sufism practiced in daily life. Zuhud, in this case, does not mean a total rejection to the world, but only a lack of positive love for the worldly life. The practice of the values of Aswaja can be clearly seen in the daily life of pesantren. In the matter of Sufism, for example, the students of pesantren are trained to live plainly, such as sleeping on the floor or sharing a small room with seven to ten other students, though some of them come from wealthy families. Other spiritual attributes that are based on Aswaja values are wira’i (cleanliness from forbidden and reprehensible acts), khusu’ (intimate feelings and remembrance of God), tawakkal (absolute reliance on God), sabar (patience) tawadhu’ (humility), ikhlas (sincerity), and siddiq (righteousness).

Furthermore, the ideology of Aswaja has stressed a belief that we are created by God as servants. So, it is essential for God’s servants to serve Him. It implies that life in this world involves around the relentless execution of religious duties, or ibadah. This kind of ideology has a serious impact on every aspect of life, even in political preferences such as equating a vote for an Islamic party which can be seen as ibadah to God (Dhofier, 1999).

The underlying tension between the traditionalists, represented by NU, and the modernists, represented by Muhammadiyah, has dominated the development of Islam in Indonesia until now. This does not mean to underestimate some Islamic groups that were appeared after the independence of Indonesia, especially the more radical groups that inspired by radical movements of Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin or Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt under their prominent figures Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, and also Jami’at Islam in Pakistan. Nonetheless, these two organizations, NU and Muhammadiyah, as the biggest Islamic organizations, have played more significant roles in shaping and directing the attitudes and behaviors of Indonesian Muslims. This role sounds reasonable if we consider the huge numbers of the members of both organizations. NU, for example, claims that their membership is around 30 to 40 million, especially those who live in remote or rural areas where the many pesantren are established. Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah claims that they have 20 to 28 million members and their basic constituent is most likely those who live in urban areas where many formal educational institutions or universities exist.

Considering this huge number of members, it is hard to say that each of these organizations has one single opinion or orientation about religious practices as well as in responding certain social problems. Though, in general, we can say that NU is the representation of traditional Islam, but some of the members of NU have more progressive and liberal opinion than the members of Muhammadiyah. For example, the younger generation of NU is more progressive in terms of accepting liberal ideas than the young generation of Muhammadiyah. The establishment of Jaringan Islam Liberal, commonly shortened to JIL (Liberal Islamic Network), has been able to accommodate the ideas of Islamic reform. Even for most Muslims, those ideas such as inter-religious marriage, pluralism, and gender issues are still considered as controversial and very sensitive within mainstream Islam.

Besides, at the grassroots level, it is very common that people mix these two religious orientations. Munir Mulkhan (2000), for example, reported an interesting research on this phenomenon. He stated that there are several terms that have appeared at the grassroots level regarding this blending religious orientation. The term “munu,” which is the abbrevation of Muhammadiyah-NU, is commonly used to describe Javanese Muslims who originally followed the Muhammadiyah doctrines but also practice some religious devotions, such as visiting tombs or attending the feast for dead people, which are considered as forbidden religious activities based on the purification doctrines. The phenomenon of mixing religious orientations in the grassroots level cannot be separated from the communal characteristic of Javanese culture. Despite some religious obligations, any members of society also has a social responsibility that should be fulfilled in order to keep the unity of the community, including accepting any invitations from other members of the community, even they have different religious orientation.

Although the underlying tension of these two biggest Islamic organizations is still apparent up until now, it has significantly contributed to the acceleration of the establishment of civil society in Indonesia. During the Japanese occupation and the subsequent struggle for independence, for example, NU and Muhammadiyah were able to work together under the banner of the Masyumi political party (Hafner 2000 and Barton 2002). The collaboration of these two biggest Islamic organizations even becomes more important in shaping the political constellation in Indonesia nowadays. The issues of inter-religious dialogue, pluralism, and poverty have become tools for both sides to downplay the differences away and instead work together in building the nation.

The development of Islamic groups in Indonesia significantly changed in the early 1970s when some hard-line or radical Islamic groups appeared and gave a different perspective in understanding the doctrine of Islam. Inspired by the establishment of Ikhwanul Muslimin or Muslims Brotherhood organization in Egypt with its prominent figures like Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, some radical groups have appeared and taken the issue of the need of implementing syari’ah, Islamic law, in Indonesia. Interestingly enough, most members of radical groups come from modernist backgrounds. It is rare for traditionalists to take positions as radicalists (Barton, 2000). Some of the radical groups, such as Persis or Persatuan Islam (The Unity of Islam), The Committee for Islamic Global Solidarity better known by its Indonesian acronym KISDI, and Dewan Dakwah, which literally means the Council of Missionary activities, are most likely to draw their supporters from college students and Islamic scholars who teach Islam in some universities. Therefore, these hard-line groups of Islam are mostly concentrated in campuses and big urban communities. They espouse a highly politicized and anti-Western interpretation of Islam. By emphasizing a literal interpretation of Islam and the spirit of anti-Westernization, these groups see an Islamic state as the only solution to solve any problems faced by Muslim communities. Their uncompromised action to apply Islamic laws in everyday life often creates conflicts, not only with non-Muslims, but also with the mainstream of Islam, both with traditionalists or modernists.

As a reaction to these hard-line groups, a new movement in the Islamic community has appeared, especially from those who graduated from some prestigious Western universities. They are commonly known as neo-modernists. Interestingly, they not only come from modernist backgrounds, but more importantly, they also come from pesantren or traditional one. The main idea of neo-modernism in Indonesia is the issue of Muslims’ values and ethics. They consider that Islamic law to be an open ended tradition that must adapt to changing historical and cultural contexts. Abdurrahman Wahid, a former president and chairman of NU, goes further in supporting the ideas of neo modernism. For example, he described punishments mandated by classical syari’ah as barbaric (Woodward 2001).

In addition, one of the most crucial ideas shared among neo-modernists in Indonesia is the idea of an Islamic state. They claim that Islam does not mandate a particular form of government. This is why neo-modernists tend to reject the idea of implementing Islamic law as a legal law in Indonesia. Instead, they argue that Islam mandates pious and ethical behavior that can establish justice in a variety of political systems (Lukens-Bull 2003). Therefore, neo-modernism takes religious tolerance and pluralism as central issues to strengthen the development of civil society and to accelerate the democratization in Indonesia.

Since this movement is relatively new and its supporters come from both traditionalist and modernist backgrounds, neo-modernism has become an excellent tool for both sides to create better understanding of each other and to minimize conflict that has been apparent in this country, represented by the relationship between NU and Muhammadiyah. The alliance of Abdurrahman Wahid, the most prominent figures in NU, and Amin Rais, the leader of Muhammadiyah, followed by their youth organizations, has offered a great contribution for developing democracy and civil society in Indonesia (Barton 2002). NU, with its pesantren connections, and Muhammadiyah with its university networks have played undeniable roles in educating and encouraging people to be more tolerant and democratic.

In sum, as Woodward (2001) suggested, there are five basic religious orientations within the Indonesian Muslim community: (1) indigenized Islam, in which religion is seen as an integrated component of a larger cultural system or in Geertz’s term known as abangan; (2) the traditional Sunni Islam of Nahdlatul Ulama, which emphasizes the study of the classical legal, theological, and mystical texts; (3) The Islamic modernism of Muhammadiyah which rejects mysticism and concentrates on modern education and social agendas; (4) Islamist groups, which espouse a highly politicized and anti-Western interpretation of Islam; and (5) Neo-modernism, which tries to find an Islamic foundation for many features of modernity, including democracy, gender equity, and pluralism.

These five basic religious orientations of Muslims in Indonesia, especially in Java, are, and will, remain important factors in examining the development of Islam in Indonesia. Although there is no single perspective of Islam in Indonesia, we can say that the main characteristics of mainstream Islam are moderation, tolerance, and democracy. It is also interesting to note that traditionalist Islam in Indonesia, which is represented by the NU and its pesantren, has been able to be a pioneer in promoting democracy and pluralism. This fact is contrary to a common understanding of religious traditionalism, which is often associated with the notion of conservatism or pro-status quo.