Comparative Analysis of the State of Religious Pluralism between Intertestamental Palestine and Post-Apartheid South Africa

Religious pluralism has characterized societies since time immemorial and has been one of the sources of conflict in many societies. This article compares how religious pluralism was handled in intertestamental Palestine and the manner it is managed in post-apartheid South Africa. The study used academic literature which applied the Apocrypha to describe the religious context of Palestine between 336 BC and 63 BC. The themes that emerged from this analysis were then used to source academic literature that describes the religious context of South Africa from 1994 to 2021. This process led to the synthesis of the similarities and differences of the two contexts. The findings latently reveal the contribution of the Apocrypha to theological reflection while simultaneously showing that the Roman Empire’s violent attempts to undermine religious pluralism in intertestamental Palestine bred counterviolence. The paper further reveals that post-apartheid South Africa’s use of legal instruments to promote religious pluralism seems to contribute to the optimization of religious freedom and peaceful co-existence. These findings are likely to contribute to the discourse of religious pluralism, interfaith dialogue, and intercultural communications. Keywords: Hellenism, Apocrypha, Religious Pluralism, Democracy

Pancasila as The Basis of The State Unity of The Republic of Indonesia

Indonesia is facing various challenges because some people do not use religious and cultural values as a source of ethics in the nation and state. Socio-cultural conflicts have occurred due to ethnic, cultural, and religious pluralism that the government and society are not appropriately managed and fair. Based on that, Pancasila is needed by all generations of the nation. The type of research method used in this research is normative research, namely research on library materials which are primary data in science is classified as secondary data, which relies on data collection tools in the form of library studies or document studies. The research concludes that generations need Pancasila to unify the nation. Even though the Indonesian people are now united, it does not mean that Pancasila is no longer needed. Because what is called the Indonesian nation is what is currently there and what will exist in the future. As long as the regeneration process continues, we still need Pancasila as a unifying nation.

THE RECOGNITION OF EXISTENCE AND BIBLICAL TRUTH IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE QUR'AN (Critical Study of the Development of Liberal Islamic Thought in Indonesia)

This article seeks to highlight and provide answers to the controversial opinions that have recently been frequently campaigned by some liberal Muslim figures that the Qur'an recognizes the existence and truth of previous scriptures such as the Bible. They use several verses in the Qur'an, 5:44, 46-47 and 66, to justify the above opinions supported by partial interpretation experts under their understanding and purpose. In this study, the author used the library research method, which is research-based on library studies. The approach used is descriptive-analytical, which describes existing data sources, then analyzed and interpreted using available data sources. The opinion of liberal Islamic thinkers that it is enough for the Jews to use the Torah in carrying out religious law, and the Christians that they simply follow the rules in the Bible, this is because their methodology in understanding the verse is wrong. They did not explain at all the abuses committed by Jews and Christians. Including their defiance of Allah's command and about the guidance of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad with his perfect and universal sharia, which they are obliged to follow and obey, which is the information contained in their holy book. In understanding the verses of the Qur'an, they do not use methodological steps that can be accounted for in the discipline of interpretation. Contextual schools are emphasized for several texts that are alleged to be anti-religious pluralism. While on the other hand, literal schools are applied to verses that support the notion of religious pluralism. Artikel ini berupaya untuk mengetengahkan dan memberikan jawaban atas pendapat kontroversial yang belakangan ini sering dikampanyekan oleh beberapa tokoh muslim liberal bahwa al-Qur’an mengakui eksistensi dan kebenaran kitab suci sebelumnya seperti Bibel. Mereka menggunakan beberapa ayat dalam QS. Al-Ma’idah [5]: 44, 46-47, dan ayat ke-66 untuk menjustifikasi pendapat di atas didukung dengan menukil pendapat dari para ahli tafsir secara parsial sesuai dengan paham dan tujuan mereka. Pada penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan metode library research, yakni penelitian yang didasarkan pada studi pustaka. Adapun pendekatan yang digunakan adalah deskriptif-analitis, yaitu mendeskripsikan sumber data yang ada, kemudian dianalisis dan diinterpretasikan dengan menggunakan sumber data yang tersedia. Pendapat para pemikir Islam liberal bahwa kaum Yahudi cukup berhukum dengan Taurat begitu pula kaum Nasrani, yang katanya cukup berhukum dengan Injil atau Bibel, dikarenakan mereka cacat secara metodologis dalam memahami ayat tersebut. Mereka sama sekali tidak menerangkan tentang penyelewengan yang dilakukan orang-orang Yahudi dan Nasrani. Termasuk tentang pembangkangan mereka terhadap perintah Allah dan tentang petunjuk akan datangnya Nabi Muhammad saw. dengan syariatnya yang sempurna dan universal yang wajib diikuti dan ditaati oleh mereka, yang mana informasi tersebut terdapat di dalam kitab mereka. Dalam memahami ayat-ayat al-Quran, mereka tidak menggunakan ukuran metodologis yang dapat dipertanggungjawabkan secara disiplin ilmu tafsir. Mazhab kontekstual ditekankan untuk sejumlah teks yang diduga anti kemajemukan beragama. Sementara di sisi lain, mazhab literal diterapkan untuk ayat-ayat yang mendukung paham pluralism agama.

Diskursus Pluralisme Agama dalam Perspektif Aksi Komunikatif

Discourse on religious pluralism emerged in the west along with the demands of globalization. Where the owner of power over the modern world wants an order that can bring together the various inhabitants of the world by removing various religious barriers and a single claim to the truth. But this current of view becomes problematic when it collides with the truth by various existing religions. The rejection is very strong, especially from within the Islamic religion. Although the concept of pluralism meets equality in Islam which means diversity, but the fundamental paradigm on which pluralism is built is very different, Western Pluralism departs from the value of secularism while Pluralism in Islam's view is built on the truth value of the revelation of the Qur'an and Hadith. Diversity according to Islam does not require that there is a truth that must be recognized together, but the truth of each religion must be defended. Furthermore, even though humans have different religions and views of life, according to Islam, fellow human beings must be able to work together within the boundaries of worldly affairs to create a just and compassionate life together with fellow human beings, while still holding fast to their respective religions. Although the atmosphere of interfaith dialogue does not need to be prevented and hindered each other, all in an atmosphere of freedom and harmony.

Literacy of Islamic Thought: Contestation, Claim of Truth, and Polemic of Religion in Islam in Gorontalo, Indonesia

As many previous studies tend to discuss the biography of local Islamic figures and overly-textual interpretation in exploring the Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia and criticize the western concepts of democracy in Gorontalo, this study aims to explore the newly-found dynamics of contestation of local Islamic thought in Gorontalo Province. Conducting in Gorontalo, a northern province in Sulawesi Island inhabited mainly by Muslim communities, this study employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive method. In the present work, the discourse of Islamic thought in Gorontalo is found to develop into a massive and uncontrolled state, leading to polemics among the Muslim community in the area. The polemics among people, including in the social media, involve two groups that are ideologically and epistemologically different: the liberal Islamic groups, i.e., ANSOR and PMII, and the fundamental Islamic groups, i.e., Tablighi Jamaat and Wahdah Islamiyah. Issues of religion-culture debate, khilafiyah, religious pluralism, and prohibition of Christmas salutation are among the main highlights of the polemic, especially among Muslims in Gorontalo. The presence of fundamentalists represents the new phenomenon in the Islamic thought discourse in Gorontalo, which is known for its subjectivity in perceiving the absence of the basic principles or nash (Qur'an and hadith) of the fundamentalists. Consequently, a debate between the two groups, claiming which one has the absolute truth, is inevitable. This situation also ends up with fundamentalist extremism labelling others as infidels (takfiri) and deviant to Islamic teachings.

Spain and Portugal

The modern religious history of Spain and Portugal begins with the religious unity between the state and society forged around Catholicism, and ends with the present era epitomized by ongoing secularization and incipient religious pluralism. With some difficulty, the Catholic Church adapted to the trials posed by nineteenth-century liberalism, reaching an accommodation with the constitutional monarchies in both Iberian countries. The first serious challenge came with the arrival of the republics in Portugal in 1910 and in Spain in 1931. The republics did not last long, however; two Catholic dictatorships governed the fate of the Peninsula until the 1970s, though separation of church and state was formally maintained in Portugal. The dictatorships ended in 1974 and 1975, respectively, giving way to the establishment of new democracies, accompanied on the one hand by secularization in both the state and society, and on the other by growing religious pluralism.