The Perpetuation of Identity and Symbolic Resistance of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia after the Official Disbandment in 2017

The Government of Indonesia has legally revoked the legal status of the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) organization, yet thousands of HTI members have embraced strong group identities and systematic resistance strategies. This article reveals the effectiveness of the Government’s efforts and their impact on the sustainability or discontinuity of the HTI movement. Based on qualitative data extracted from field research in Gorontalo in 2018 and the theory of identity and resistance, this article reveals the collective identity of the HTI group, models of resistance, and change of space and strategy the members made after the disbandment of the organization. The official revocation has encouraged activists to take symbolic resistance through limited religious circles on campus and in villages, the use of various socio-religious activities in the community, and a door-to-door visit. The dominant narrative of the true meaning of Islam and the discipline of the five daily prayers has made this organization remains accepted in society even though it has been formally disbanded. The pattern of perpetuating ideology, narrative and organizational idealism is carried out through integrating or transforming other organizations; returning to the previous organization which is theologically not in conflict with HTI; applying HTI thoughts and ideology in the organizations they join currently; or leaving out formally from the HTI organization and operate HTI thoughts and ideology in individual life.

Mukena in Madurese Social Life

Mukena is a well-known typical dress for Indonesian Muslim women in conducting prayers. Mukena is taken for granted as a daily routine dress that did not receive much attention from many people in a more in-depth study, so it needed to be highlighted to the field of research. This study aims to determine two sides, namely, the meaning of dress in religious social life as well as to find out the meaning of mukena for Madurese. This study uses qualitative field research method. The sources of data are obtained from interviews and literature studies confined to things that only have relevance to this research. Using purposive sampling, the informants taken in this study were Madurese Muslim women from both santri and non-santri groups. The results discovered in this study are that Madurese Muslim women interpret clothes, including; as a part of social ethics, as a cover of aurat as well as an affirmation of social identity in a community. The meaning of mukena for Madurese Muslim women includes the following; mukena as a cultural tradition, as a form of self-sacralization, and as an affirmation of identity for Muslim women.

Religious Awareness and Ritual Practices in The Tarekat Qadiriyah wa Naqsyabandiyah Suryalaya

This article seeks to reveal the religious experiences of the members of the Tarekat Qadiriyah wa Naqsyabandiyah (TQN) in Suryalaya, Tasikmalaya, West Java. Using a phenomenological approach, this article finds that TQN followers exhibit religious awareness and obedience to legal norms, reflected in various ritual practices, such as dhikr (remembrance), khataman (completing the reading of the Qur’ān), manakiban (reciting the saint’s hagiography), riyāḍah (spiritual exercises), tawassul (mediating), and ḥajj (pilgrimage). The religious awareness is built upon the belief in achieving good morality as the attribute of a perfect man (insān kāmil). The socio-structural diversity of the TQN community in social life is manifested in the complexity of hierarchies involved in the tarekat system: murshid (spiritual leader); representatives of talqīn which include intellectuals/modernist, ulama/ traditionalist, scholar/neo-traditionalist; preachers from the realms of pesantren, university, and politics. This article argues that the relationship between different hierarchies of membership in the TQN with regard to religious awareness is based on the understanding of the tarekat teaching provided by the spiritual leader.

Criticism Towards Shaḥrūr's Concept of The Prophet's Sunnah

This article deals with the concept of Sunnah proposed by Muḥammad Shaḥrūr and offers a criticism towards his tendency to the denial of the Prophet’s Sunnah (inkār al-Sunnah). Shaḥrūr rejects the Ḥadīth and Sunnah as the second source of Islamic law, by reformulating and redefining the concept of Ḥadīth and Sunnah. Shaḥrūr distinguished between Ḥadīth and Sunnah. According to him, the Ḥadīth is the Qur’ān itself, and the Sunnah has been the practical application (ijtihād) of the Prophet to implement what was revealed to him. Shaḥrūr’s rejection and denial of Ḥadīth and Sunnah are based on the argument that all Ḥadīths were filled with the story of Isrā’īliyyāt. The tendency towards inkār al-Sunnah represented by Shaḥrūr is not a completely new idea, since this position was also conceived by several previous figures. However, despite the fact that Shaḥrūr’s inkār al-Sunnah as argued on the basis of a new approach to Ḥadīth studies, this article reveals that Shaḥrūr’s understanding of, and his tendency to deny, Ḥadīths or Sunnah reflect his opposition against orthodox views on the Prophet’s Sunnah.

Indonesian Takfiri Movement on Online Media in Umberto Eco's Semiotic Perspective

In the era of online media, the Takfiri movement uses websites and social media to propagate its religious understanding. In Indonesia, they also do the same. Through a semiotic perspective, this paper seeks to question how communication and interpretation are carried out by Takfiri groups in producing signs, and how they express signs in online media. The relevance of Umberto Eco’s semiotics is due to its communicational character, and as a contemporary semiotic philosopher, Eco has reminded of how sign production is happening in the era of internet technology. With narrative and semiotic analysis methods, this paper draws data from online media in the form of websites and social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The analysis shows that Takfiri content in online media, which creates radical attitudes in some circles of society, has been captured without a meaningful process, so there is no critical thinking process. The propaganda of Takfiri is expressed in the very well-known sentence, al-walā’ wa al-barā’, namely love and loyalty to believers and hate, and hostility to unbelievers, and it is a sign that Takfirism is an ideology whose followers are ready to commit violence in the name of religion.

Discourse on Occidentalism Studies in Indonesia from The Perspective of Mukti Ali

In the last few decades, religious studies have increasingly excited and attracted the attention of many scholars and groups. Those involved in religious studies are not only religious leaders and scientists in different fields but also politicians and policyholders in various circles. Religious studies is seen as an absolute necessity in the increasingly complex order of modern life. Many experts put their hopes on the intensification and extensification of religious studies in order to create a harmonious social life in this globalized world. In responding to the development of Western thought as a paradigm of religious studies, the concept of occidentalism is very important to be discussed. This article will focus on the discussion of occidentalism, specifically from the perspective of Mukti Ali who in the 1970s served as the Minister of Religious Affairs. As one of the influential figures in Islamic scholarship in Indonesia, he has contributed to the development and enlightenment of Islamic thought in Indonesia. This article argues that Ali’s concept of occidentalism represents the antithesis towards Western orientalism and the renewal of Islamic studies in Indonesia.

The Attitude of The Tablighi Jamaat Toward Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 pandemic, which struck the world globally and rapidly, has caused significant fatalities. The government has implemented strict health protocols to suppress the spread of coronavirus. The reckless attitude of Tablighi Jamaat to hold “ijtima” amidst the massive spread of the virus is considered as an anomaly in preventing the Covid-19 pandemic and contradicts with the Fatwa of MUI (Indonesian Ulama Council) No. 14 of 2020 regarding the Implementation of Worship during Covid-19 Condition. This paper aims to find out the attitude of Tablighi Jamaat toward pandemic from the perspective of ḍarūrah (Naẓariyyat al-Ḍarūrah) theory by Wahbah al-Zuḥaylī. The writer gives a critical note of the arguments expressed by the Tablighi Jamaat and trying to show a more enlightening reconstruction of the fiqh (Islamic law) paradigm. The results of the study show that Tablighi Jamaat is a religious group that does not care about Covid-19. This attitude was triggered by the assumption that the existence of coronavirus is still in doubt. The doubt generates the understanding of fiqh that has not considered the corona issues as the ‘udhr category, which allows rukhṣah and abort the original law (‘aẓīmah), either in mashaqqah or ḍarūrah. The article assumes that the religious group’s narration that ignored the Covid-19 gives its members the feeling of peace and comfort, but it is counter-productive with the attempt to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It is necessary to reconstruct the fiqh paradigm to bring together science and religion, which is marked by the application of religious reasoning and sciences at the same time.

Analisis Sistem Pemikiran Gender Berbasis Keagamaan di Pesantren Jawa Timur

This research concentrates on the religious-based gender framework within the pesantren education system by which pesantren has an institutional vision to empower women and naturally participates in developing gender discourse with Islamic religious nuance. This research was conducted in East Java by taking the site of Pesantren Nurul Islam Antirogo, Pesantren Al-Falah Karangharjo Jember, and Pesantren Annuqayah Guluk-Guluk Sumenep. This research found that those pesantrens carried out reconstruction through theological-philosophical awareness that was designed from the dialogic process of re-interpretative religious normative texts with reality. The emergence of this awareness led the pesantren to direct their education system to feel egalitarian, non-discriminatory, and non-subordinate towards women inside and outside the pesantren. The axiology of the pesantren education system leads to the normative value of the unity of humanity. The realization of the education system ends up on peace values whether in the cultural, social, or even religious domains.

Keterlibatan Masyarakat dalam Membangun Harmoni Sosial Muslim-Kristen Pra dan Pasca Konflik Etnik di Maluku

The aim of the article is to give a sociological description and analysis toward the civic engagement of Taniwel Timur in building social harmony between Muslims and Christians, pre and post-conflict in Maluku. There are two main important points which are, the history of Muslims-Christians’ engagement in building a relationship and social interaction, and Muslims-Christians’ engagement becomes the basic in building harmonious social relationships. This research employed a qualitative research method through a structured interview technique with key informants, observation, and library study. The result of the research found that; first, the Muslims-Christians engagement divided into two which are the association form of civic engagement such as religious institutions, custom and government and everyday form of civic engagement consist of such simple, routine interactions of life as Christians and Muslims family visiting each other, eating together often enough, jointly participating in festivals and allowing their children to play together. Second, the Muslims-Christians’ engagement was based on strong brotherhood, cooperation with many parties, strong traditions and mutual trust. Association form and everyday form of civic engagement had the same position to build a strong social system. It also created a sphere of solidarity, justice, and fraternity. In conclusion, Taniwel Timur's society can construct a harmonious social life.

Kitab Mir’at al-Ṭullāb dan Penerapan Fiqh Iṣlāḥ dalam Konflik Komunal pada Masa 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinkīlī

The Mir’at al-Ṭullāb written by al-Sinkīlī in the seventeenth century apparently did not mention the requirement of being male to become a head of state (sultan). This is interesting because the Shāfi‘ī school of fiqh which is used as a reference actually mentions this condition. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the factors underlying it. Based on the literature studies and looking at the social history of the Acehnese people at that time, it can be found that the book was written when the Acehnese were polarized and there were conflicts between different religious and political groups. The conflict was very severe and was able to threaten the unity and power of the sultan at that time. The exclusion of being male as one of the requirements for public office (political authority or judge) is a manifestation of the application of Islamic jurisprudence by al-Sinkīlī which was introduced from the Qur’ān and the Sunnah so that it became legitimate (shar‘ī) while at the same time strengthening the position of the sultan, the idea of which was eventually able to reduce the political conflict in the community.