Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies

29-48

Authors: Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad

This article aims at examining the current portrait of Islamic education in Southeast Asia. Recently, there have been many studies on the role of madrasahs or religious schools in Islamic education. As Muslim who studies social-anthropology, I would like to approach this issue by examining socio-cultural of Islamic education in Southeast Asia. Historically, the tradition has been based on Muslim society at grass root level. The word of madrasah in Southeast Asia has long history, which called as dayah in Aceh, surau in Minangkabau, pesantren in Java, pondok in Malaysia, and pho no in Southern Thailand. The role of madrasah, then has similarities with the tradition of pesantren, even in some Muslim countries like Indonesia scholars still can differentiate between pesantren and madrasah. In this study, I examine to philosophical dimension and system of knowledge reproduction in Islamic education. Finally, I argue that pesantren or religious school is embedded in Muslim culture.

79-110

Authors: Achmad Ubaedillah

Modernity as a global phenomenon has been the most driving matter, said those scholars of modernity, that potentially threat the existent of tradition and religion. Both would vanish once the project of secularism accomplishes. However, since the global modernity, whether represented by secular state, nation state, and democracy, failed to fulfil its promises, tradition and religions in general have reemerged to be likely a new device employed by their adherents to express their grievances and discontents. In such regard, recent Islamic movements promoting the slogan of “back to the authentic Islam” can be a better example to examine the relationship between modernity and religion. Accordingly, the paper, based on my field research, would discuss the role of religion in modern era as represented by Darul Arkam, an Islamic spiritual maternity or Tarekat (Thariqa, Arabic) in Indonesia after the collapse of Suharto’s military regime in 1998. Originally, the movement of Darul Arkam came into being in Malaysia as a spiritually-social-urban Muslim organization. How did its leaders understand Islam in regard to changing social and political situation and how did they combine economic and religious activities will be the main topics of the paper, together with their views on contemporary issues related to Islam and politics after Soeharto era.

135-164

Authors: Nina Mariani Noor

In the last few years, religious conflicts involving a minority Muslim group, Ahmadiyya, have risen dramatically in Indonesia; the most recent being the attack on the Ahmadiyya community in Cikeusik Banten, West Java, where three Ahmadis were killed and the sealing of Al Mishbah Mosque by local government of Bekasi West Java. Understanding the context of violent conflict and the ways individual Ahmadi women take agency to challenge such oppression is an important first step in creating a more equitable and peaceful Indonesia. To examine the experience of Ahmadi women exercising their agency in conflict transformation, this qualitative research was conducted in four areas of Indonesia: Bogor, Kuningan, Yogyakarta and Lombok, by gathering data from the narratives of Ahmadi women who actively participate in Lajnah Imaillah, an Ahmadiyya’s women’s organization. This research highlights three stages of conflict transformation that the women employed: 1) asking for government help; 2) taking physical action to defend their rights; and 3) defining themselves as Indonesian citizens who have the same rights as others. Through these actions, they show their ability to help others, transforming the conflict by forming better relationships and understanding with other Indonesian citizens.