Strengthening Spiritual Practices among Community: Dhikr Activities in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Tarekat tasawuf has been established in Negeri Sembilan since 1900 and began to strengthen its existence in spiritual activities such as the implementation of zikr tarekat tasawuf activities among the local community. This article will highlight the impact of implementing the zikr activities tarekat tasawuf, which is implemented periodically on the spiritual strengthening of the community in Negeri Sembilan. A qualitative approach is used involving library studies, review of relevant documents, and interviews with the Registrar of Tarekat, Tasawuf Division of the Negeri Sembilan Mufti Department, and the Syeikh of the tarekat involved. Basically, there are 13 Sufi practice centers around Negeri Sembilan that conduct regular zikr activities that impact the community. The existence of tarekat practice centers in Negeri Sembilan has been plotted to see the distribution and centralization of tarekat centers. In addition, the form of zikr practiced in the zikr ceremony is also explained through a simple framework built. The results also showed that the Seremban district is the highest area with a tarekat practice center. Indirectly, the zikr activities, tarekat tasawuf, have provided space for the local community to engage in more systematic spiritual activities. The efforts implemented by the Sufi tarekat practice center in Negeri Sembilan are expected to be used as an example by other states in Malaysia so that the community is more interested in the Sufi tarekat zikr ceremony.

Embodied Religious Belief: The Experience of Syahadatain Sufi Order in Indonesia

Several types of research on religion in Indonesia emphasise more on religious knowledge and belief and less on other approaches such as material aspects. Religion is always related to material aspects such as mosque buildings, veils or robes for prayer, or holy water obtained from grave visitors. This study uses embodiment approach and material theory of religion to the imposition of special fashion in prayer that gives consequences on awareness and attitude of a new morality in-group cohesion. This study is a case study through participatory observations and interviews of new members of Syahadatain congregation, Cirebon, Indonesia for three years. The result of the study shows two significant findings namely first, the establishment of rituals through special fashions exerts an influence on discursive awareness and moral behaviour; and second, the driving factor of the emergence of new moral behaviour from the practice is the social gaze. This study recommends the need for the study of material artifacts such as clothing can be an alternative to the study of religion in Indonesia using the embodiment approach.

Negotiating Love and Faith: Interfaith Marriage in Manado, Indonesia

Interfaith marriages in people's lives have been practised in many areas in Indonesia, even if it's not legally registered. The rule of law in Indonesia does not accommodate interfaith marriages. When interfaith marriage happens, the registration system should follow marriage registration either at the KUA (office of religious affairs) for Muslims or in the Civil Registry office for other religions. This study aims to analyse the practice of interreligious marriage in Manado and how they maintain a good marital relationship between the spouse of different religions. This research employs a qualitative approach by collecting data through interviews with 30 informants who practice interfaith marriages in Manado. The results of this research found that many people in Manado consider interfaith marriage as permissible. They argue that religion is a relationship between humans and God, while marriage is related to human beings. The family of different religions based their relationship on the principle of "Torang Samua Basudara" (we are bound through kinship). Based on this principle, the family avoids using religious symbols in their communication that can cause tension and disrupt harmony among family members. The principle of torang samua basudara is the basis for establishing good communication in the family.

Persia, the Land of Shiite Faith: The Migration of Imam Ahl al-Bayt and the Encounter between Two Belief Systems in Persia

This article attempts to trace the fundamental role of early Persian beliefs, Zoroastrians, to the decision of Ahl al-Bayt’s choice to migrate to Persia (Iran). This research is based on the fact that there are many places for pilgrimage to imams in Iran. Specifically, this research investigates the similarity of several concepts in both religions, Zoroaster and Islam, regarding the teaching in the principle of God (Ilahiyyah), the principle of life after death (eschatology), and the principle of justice and morals of the religion embraced before Islam in Persia. Several studies have also reported on the distortions, opposition, and the consequences of encountering the two beliefs for the first time between Persian beliefs and Islamic teachings. This study employs a qualitative method with historical analysis and literature study along with relevant information of the study. This article also uses the theory of migration and identity to see the interconnectedness of religion in the migration context. The results of this study show the factors that the Persians are interested in accepting and understanding the teachings of Islam. Those are: first, the emotional closeness of beliefs and moral values between Muslims and Zoroastrians (Magi); Second, the inclusive nature of Islam; third, the absence of racial, gender, and status discrimination in Islamic teachings. The descendants of imams Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet Muhammad SAW continued the prophet's preaching and the Imams in expanding the spread of Islamic teachings to various regions. During this expansion process, they found Iran as the most secure, and suitable region to accept the presence and teaching of Islam especially the Shiite sect. Therefore, they decided to migrate to Iran, and until now Iran is known as a Shiite country.

The Challenges of Islamic Organizations in Promoting Moderation in Indonesia

Two leading Islamic organisations in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) have moderation in their missionary vision to create a tolerant, open, and civilised society. This paper explores the challenges of realising Islamic moderation in Indonesia, especially those driven by Muhammadiyah and NU. The data used as the basis for the analysis were obtained from interviews and document studies. The challenge of Islamic moderation initiated by these two organisations is the rise of conservative groups, which have received vast space from the data obtained. This paper emphasised that the rise of conservative groups has resulted in weak respect for other groups. There is even a tendency to resist Islamic groups outside their group. This paper is limited to the internal challenges to Islamic moderation in Indonesia carried out by Muhammadiyah and NU, particularly related to the rise of conservative Islamic groups. Therefore, this paper suggests conducting various studies to provide a basic framework for jointly building a commitment to implement Islamic moderation in Indonesia by looking at other civil society organisations.

Resisting the 19th Century Colonial Politics of Exile: The Study of Kiai Ahmad Arrifai Kalisalak and Kiai Hasan Maolani Kuningan Letters

This article aims to reveal the discourse on the resistance of two Javanese ulama who were victims of the Dutch colonial politics of exile in the 19th Century. This study uses several letter manuscripts written by Kiai Ahmad Arrifai Kalisalak and Kiai Hasan Maolani Kuningan from their exile as primary sources. The letters addressed to his family and followers in Java were written in Javanese with the Pegon script. Through historical studies and discourse analysis, this study finds that the Dutch colonial politics of exile was not able to dampen the resistance of the ulama. The writing of letters from exile by Kiai Ahmad Arrifai Kalisalak and Kiai Hasan Maolani was intended to compete with the colonial powers, producing heretical discourses and disturbing public order as a pretext to banish them. Thus, this article concludes that the two ulama did from their exile was a new mode of resistance against colonialism.

Transforming Hate into Compassion as an Islamic Nonviolent Thought of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi

The study of hatred that emerges as human nature can provide an analytical picture of how hatred arises, develops, and turns into humanitarian incidents. With an in-depth, systematic, and genealogical study, it can come up with a panacea for this hatred. The elixir can turn hatred into compassion, violence into nonviolence, and find creative ways to turn conflict into peace; thus, creating a new, better reality. This qualitative research uses a literature study from Risale-i Nur by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960). In this study, Nursi's religious and psychological explanations are compared with religious theories and studies of peace and conflict that are already popular in the Western world. The data in Risale-i Nur were analysed using the Mimesis theoretical framework of the philosophical approach. With this analysis there is the prefiguration stage (Mimesis I) about the background of Said Nursi's life, the configuration stage (Mimesis II) about the story of Said Nursi's traumatic experience, and the transfiguration stage about the emergence of the capacity to handle conflict independently with others using nonviolent ideas creatively, thus creating a new reality (Mimesis III). This new reality is "nonviolent Islam," which transforms conflict nonviolently, overcoming hatred with compassion and forgiveness. This statement is based on the argument that hatred is the root of violence, and Said Nursi can escape the trap of hatred through compassion and forgiveness. This study can contribute ideas to the study of moral philosophy and can also be used as a reference for training modules and sharing experiences to reduce conflict in society or between communities.

Changing the Religiosity of Indonesian Muslims in the New Normal Era

This study examined new religious patterns and behaviours in Indonesian Muslims during the New Normal era. This new religiosity is an impact of government regulations and recommendations from community organisations regarding social and physical distancing restrictions due to the spread of Covid-19. This study used a sociological approach to analyse changes in religious and social behaviour of Indonesian Muslims in public spaces qualitatively. This study found five main aspects that indicate a new form of religiosity for Indonesian Muslims in the New Normal era, namely; a shift in worship practices from a public space to a private space, a decrease in the capacity of the physical space that has an impact on decreasing the routine of worship, the emergence of new challenges for the authorities and public policy to prepare an area for more personal religious activities, the disappearance of symbolic worship practices, and finally, the blurring of abangan Muslim groups based on waqi'iyah (contemporary/contextual) ijtihad. These findings are analysed using the theory of public space from Jurgen Habermas's. This study proposes a new pattern of religiosity for Indonesian Muslims in the New Normal era, i.e., the adjustment of Shari'a by way of independent legal reasoning to maintain a wider maslahat, public welfare.

The Cultural Symbol of Akkorongtigi in the Wedding Tradition of Makassar Society

This research was intended to examine the caltural symbol of Akkorongtigi in Makassar wedding tradition. Moreover, the approach used was a semiotic approach. The data of this research were the documentation of bridal Akkorongtigi activities and verbal utterances which were transcribed into the text. Besides, data collection used were documentation, in-depth interviews, and observations (field recording, recording, and photo shooting). The data analysis stages were carried out through three stages, namely (1) reduction, (2) presentation, and (3) conclusion drawing. Furthermore, the results showed that there were four cultural symbols in Akkorongtigi, namely the symbol of hope, the symbol of religion, the symbol of glory, and the symbol of togetherness. In addition, the representation of the implementation of the Akkorongtigi tradition was supported by two things, they were verbal and nonverbal aspects.Keywords:Symbols, culture, Akkorongtigi, tradition, Makassar

Community development through Islamic microfinance approach: The experience of Daarut Tauhid Peduli Bandung, Indonesia

The fields of zakat-based microfinance and community development are not often placed under the same theoretical lens that both aim to empower disadvantaged people. This study investigates the experiences of borrowers in the implementation of zakat-based microfinance and analyses the different driving factors they applied in their choice of the zakat-based microfinance of Daarut Tauhid Peduli in Bandung, Indonesia. It applies a community development framework, based on the five characteristics, to explore this Islamic microfinance approach as an effective community development program, which has a religious dimension. Primary data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with the borrowers along with participant observation at a weekly majelis meeting, and these were triangulated with information cross-checked with the management staff of the institution. The findings demonstrate three out of five characteristics of the zakat-based microfinance approach as an effective community development program. They include characteristics in constantly maintaining power relations between borrowers and the institution, increasing capability and ability of borrowers to be more independent and empowered, and long-term duration of the program and sustainability. The findings showed that spiritual factors appear to have been an additional driving force on top of economic and non-economic factors for most borrowers choosing this particular program.