MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON ISLAND

Michael Quinlan Doctoral Student at Inter-Religious Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada Graduate School

with Bernard Adeney-Risakotta Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada Graduate School Zainal Abidin Bagir Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada Graduate School

Abstract Migration induces social change across the Indonesian archipelago as shifts in demography reshape communities. The process of migration not only transforms host communities, but also the migrants involved. Drawn from ethnographic research, this qualitative study examines migration’s influence in shaping ­Muslim migrant religion on Sumba Island, . Data was col- lected through semi-structured interviews of 58 migrants. Migration from ­Muslim-majority regions of to Christian-majority Sumba disrupts the religious and cultural patterns of migrants which leads to social and religious adaptations. Migrants mitigate the loss of ethnic and religious bonds through changes in personal habits, participation in religious communities, and through ethnic enclaving. According to many migrants, their experience as migrants produces positive changes within their practice of Islam, both at the individual level and within the mosque.

Keywords Muslim migration, Indonesia, religious change, Sumba

Introduction

Indonesia and its peoples exhibit a long history of migration’s effects on ethnicity, language, and culture. The migrations of peoples with varied belief systems reshaped Indonesian religion as they settled across the archipelago. Ancient Buddhist and Hindu temples, hidden in jungles or on

Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 29/2, 185-203 doi: 10.2143/SID.29.2.3287306 © 2019 by Peeters. All rights reserved. 186 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. public display as heritage sites, reveal the diverse religious history of these islands. remains the largest Buddhist temple in the world and is the largest Hindu temple in . These structures are remnants of religious communities which once covered vast areas of what is now Indonesia. Yet, today, none of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands are Buddhist majorities and only one island, , remains a Hindu major- ity. The nation’s current dominant religion is Islam (87.18%) and Islam is the majority faith in 29 of Indonesian’s 34 provinces (BPS 2010a). The arrival of the world religions to Indonesia occurred hundreds of years ago, but the religious landscape continues to shift as Indonesia’s peoples continue their migration across islands. The 2010 census reports that 11.77% of the nation’s population are inter-provincial migrants (BPS 2010b). Several competing trends in migration coexist: rural to urban migration, migration to , and centrifugal migration. The Dutch formalized centrifugal migration, migration from central Indonesia to outer islands, in its institution of the transmigration program to resettle Javanese, Madurese, and Balinese to less populated islands. Government- sponsored transmigration continues, but far more common are spontane- ous migrations borne out of economic concerns. Natural boundaries of water helped to preserve ethnic and tribal dis- tinctiveness between islands. Islands developed their own languages, cultures, and religious traditions. Into the modern era, these aquatic bar- riers influenced the adoption of world religions between islands such that the chain of five islands from Bali to Flores have majority populations from four different religions. In the last half century, the advancement of transportation and communication technologies has allowed increased mobility and interaction between islands. Studies of internal migration within Indonesia, to date, have focused predominantly on Indonesia’s state program of transmigration. Most of these studies look at the political and economic spheres of these migra- tions. As it pertains to religion, multiple studies examining areas of past communal conflict touch on migration’s role in shifting demographics and the balance of power between religious communities (Van Klinken 2006; Sudira 2009; Ananta 2006). Two studies by Tamney (1979; 1980) focusing on urban migration within Java come closest to this research as they look at the effect of modernization and cosmopolitanization on ­Muslim migrants’ faith. While these studies look at cross-cultural migra- tions, they are not inter-religious in nature. Outside of Indonesia, the research on migrant religion, while still ­limited, provides helpful insights into the religious trends of migrants MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 187 crossing intercultural and interfaith boundaries. Mattson (2003) argues that Muslim migrants orient themselves to the context through use of various Qur’anic conceptions detailing the relationship between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Migrants seeking to distance themselves from the perceived backwardness of the host culture may endeavor to create ethnic and religious enclaves. Cesari (2002) finds that changes in Islam occur as it is adapted and translated to migrant contexts. Migrants develop new patterns of worship and this affects the institutions of migrants as well (Warner 1998). Distance or a lack of an established migrant community may relegate worship to the home, whereas migrant communities of sufficient size may witness ethniciza- tion within their congregations (Christiano, Swatos, and Kivisto 2008; Abusharaf 1998). This research examines internal migration to Indonesia from the per- spective of the Muslim migrants moving to Christian-majority Sumba. The research specifically focuses on the migrants’ perception of migra- tion’s effect on their religious belief and practice, both as individuals and as a religious community. While movement is internal to the nation of Indonesia, the nature of the migration is both cross-cultural and inter- religious resulting in cultural adjustments and disruption of religious practice. For most migrants this disruption is temporary. After adaptation to the context and a reevaluation of their faith, a majority of migrants report that migration has produced positive benefits in regard to their religious belief. This perceived enhancement within Islam exists at both the individual level and in the worship space. This paper is a partial summary of a larger dissertation project which aims to develop an ethnography of Muslim migrant religion in East Nusa Tenggara. The pillars of the ethnographic framework constructed for this study are: (1) motivations for migration, (2) adaptation to environment, (3) effect on religious belief and/or practice, and (4) religious institutions. This study was conducted in Waikabubak, West Sumba, and Anakalang, Central Sumba, Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara. The data was collected through 51 semi-structured interviews totaling 58 respondents between February and September 2018. Additional interviews were conducted with relevant religious and civic leaders. The respondents were chosen through a mixture of purposive and snowball sampling in order to attain a broad sample of respondents across the following characteristics: gen- der, urban/rural locality, ethnic/geographic origins, and migration period. The researcher further limited respondents to Muslim migrants originat- ing from Muslim-majority regions of Indonesia. 188 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL.

Motivations

Indonesia’s national program of transmigration has long been per- ceived by host communities as a means of population displacement through rapid demographic shifts in ethnicity and religion (Acciaioli 2001; Bertrand 2002; Farhadian 2005). Critics allege that the program serves as an attempt to Javanize and Islamize other peoples. In Sumba, the transmigration areas served merely as relocation centers for East Timorese refugees, most of whom are Christian. In Soru, Sumba, 39 of 40 transmigrant families were Catholic or Protestant (personal interviews, February 2016). Except for corporate or civil servant placements, the migrants to Sumba are spontaneous migrants moving to the region of their own accord without government assistance. Regardless of this dis- tinction, the host community meets these migrants with the same suspi- cions, namely questioning the potential of Islamization motives. The first question asked of respondents was to describe their migra- tion, the motivations for and its religious significance, if any. Of the respondents, only two acknowledged religious considerations prior to migrating to Sumba. One mentioned praying with her family about her decision to move to Sumba and another sought counsel from his imam. Three respondents explicitly made the connection of their migration to Qur’anic conceptions of migration and pilgrimage. AR said, that while they came for economic reasons the move was similar to the Hijra, stating, “Like the Prophet, who left [Mecca] because it was not com- fortable [there]. It is the same for me in Bima. Life was hard. Here, it is easy.” (AR, personal interview, August 2018) Another migrant made the connection of her migration to Sumba with the migration of Muham- mad noting the inter-religious nature of her migration from Java to Sumba. IF said of his migration experience, “It is like I have undergone a transformation (hijra), [because] there’s a change in me and now my faith is stronger (IF, personal interview, July 2018).” Two migrants articulated that it was God’s will that they were in Sumba, one saying, “The first reason we are here is because Allah ordained all of it and gave us a jalan nasib (path of destiny) (RL, personal interview, August 2018).” Another spoke of the migration as the Lord bringing her a bet- ter life by taking her to a better world. For most migrants, however, their stories of migration did not have religious undertones. Indeed, when AMN was asked if he viewed his migration as a religious experi- ence, he said “No, it was purely for profit!” (AMN, personal interview, August 2018) MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 189

Given the missionary nature of Islam, motivations of Islamization undoubtedly are present to some degree, even if unspoken. These motiva- tions, however, are neither primary nor are they effectively realized through significant numbers of religious conversion. There exists a native Sumbanese Muslim population, but these are largely descendants from Yemeni traders who intermarried with locals upon their arrival in the early twentieth century. The vast majority of Sumba’s Muslim commu- nity are migrants. Further, this research reveals religious conversion is multi-directional. Three migrants interviewed were Muslim upon their arrival but later converted to Christianity. Two other migrants married Sumbanese Christian women who converted to Islam as part of their courtship and marriage. The primary motives for Muslim migration to Sumba were and con- tinue to be economic. Forty-eight respondents named job scarcity and/or searching for economic gain/stability as the stimulus for their move. Four respondents received postings (police, military, or civil service positions) in Sumba. Three came for short-term contracts of one to two years. Two came solely due to spousal commitments. For those seeking work in Sumba, there was a common theme that their home islands offered little hope for economic and vocational success. The Bimanese migrants related a common struggle concerning corruption within civil service positions in Bima and the high cost of securing work through bribery. Javanese migrants, most of whom were traders, spoke of the population stresses and high competition on Java. Thirty-six of the migrants sampled came to Sumba as a result of chain migration through the recommenda- tion or invitation of a friend (11) or family member (25). Each of the migrants, to different degrees and with differing timelines, stated they had found success in their respective fields, nine out of ten having no plans to return to their places of origin.

Adaptation

While Indonesia aims for national unity across its 17,000 islands, the struggle for unity is in the midst its diversity. The national language, Bahasa Indonesia, employed to serve as a lingua franca for education, business, and government, still contends with hundreds of local lan- guages spoken across the archipelago. Diversity of culture and religion can be as sharp between neighboring Indonesian islands as it is across national borders. This is true of Sumba when compared to its neighboring 190 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. island of Sumbawa. Though these islands share a common ancestry (nenek moyang) and ancient linguistic roots, the religions and languages spoken on these islands today are distinct from one another. In terms of religion, Sumbawa is 97.8% Muslim while Sumba is only 3.8% (BPS 2010a). Situated at provincial boundaries, Sumbawa is located in (NTB), and Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). In NTB and NTT, local languages are spoken in 93.75% and 74.93% of homes, respectively (Na’im and Syaputra 2012: 49). Crossing geographic, cultural, linguistic, and religious boundaries requires adaptation. Respondents were asked to speak of their first expe- riences and the processes of adjusting to life in Sumba. Most noted a significant degree of culture shock upon arrival and a continued process of adapting to life in Sumba even after several years of residing on the island. The degree of culture shock often depended on the amount of information migrants had regarding Sumba and the role of other migrants in the adaptation process. Early migrants to Sumba in the 1980s and 1990s were less likely to be chain migrants following a friend or family member to the island. They encountered a still very underdeveloped island with very little in terms of infrastructure. One respondent said he had arrived in Sumba, mistakenly believing Sumba and Sumbawa to be the same island (HR, personal interview, July 2018). For these early migrants, there were very few in the migrant community and much of their struggle to adapt they undertook alone. In recent decades, with advancements in communications technology and more migrants living on the island, new and potential migrants have increased knowledge and awareness of Sumba, its people, and their customs. Though the degree of shock and levels of adaptation differ among migrants, each of the respondents expressed an initial struggle to adjust to life in Sumba with most recent migrants (5 years and less) remarking that their adjustment continues. For those with some foreknowledge of Sumba and NTT, there were expectations regarding the culture that invited caution and, at times, inhibited their initial interactions with the local Sumbanese. First, there was a stereotype that people from Sumba spoke harshly and were quick to anger. Second, the men of Sumba carry swords and therefore posed a threat to public safety. These expectations, however, clashed with the reality as migrants developed an understanding of local language and culture. Migrants learned that the swords carried on the hip are used by the mostly agrarian community as tools while ­differences in communication style and language are largely responsible for the negative characterization of the local temperament. MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 191

While there were expectations that went unrealized, the religious ­differences that distinguish migrants from the majority within the host community remain. Upon arrival, the first memories of migrants regarded the prevalence of dogs and pigs. One female respondent mentioned her nausea after exiting the ferry and seeing pork butchered and sold near the docks (MY, personal interview, April 2018). At the market her first week, a dog brushed against her clothing and this required her to wash seven times. Now, after some time, for her and others, these things are simply part of their everyday life and do not invite the shock or disgust they did at the beginning. Swine and canine are plenty in Sumba, but few are mosques and halal restaurants. Worship place and time are the biggest adjustments in terms of religion for these Muslim migrants. For the Bimanese, coming from an island away, there was a mushollah (prayer room), if not a mosque, in every section of the city or village where they lived. For all respond- ents, there was a mosque in their places of origin within walking dis- tance and each could hear the call to prayer (adzan) from their homes and workplaces. Migrants living in Waikabubak have access to three mosques while those in Anakalang only have one. In addition to few houses of worship, offices and schools do not have dedicated worship spaces. For these reasons, migrants accustomed to praying daily at the mosques and mushollah in their home islands often pray in their homes or offices, only attending the mosque for Friday prayers. None of the mosques in the research areas utilize a loudspeaker to signal the call to prayer. Early migrants adapted to this by praying on the hour. With the rising use of smartphones, most migrants who wish to hear the adzan now use smartphone applications which sound an alarm at the appropri- ate time. Dietary restrictions of Muslims represent a further challenge to life in Sumba. Pork, dog, and other unclean meats can be found in the markets. Beef, chicken, and lamb, while permissible to Muslims, remain haram if not appropriately butchered. Cultural ceremonies and parties of local Sumbanese often include a shared meal or the slaughter of animals. In areas where locals remain unaware of Muslim dietary rules, these events carry the potential of a two-way offense. Respondents reported that locals are offended because the migrants do not participate or receive the offered meat, a sign of disrespect. Migrants, in turn, are offended because their dietary restrictions are unmet. Migrants adapt to these issues by slowly educating the community on their dietary laws. Additionally, many Javanese migrants have found economic success in meeting the 192 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. needs for prepared halal foods. The restaurants and street vendors in the research area are almost wholly dominated by Javanese migrants. Migrant adaptation patterns are largely dependent on arrival period, location, and gender. As mentioned above, early migrants to Sumba faced challenges regarding the lack of development and infrastructure. Newer migrants face similar challenges, but to a lesser degree. Early migrants with little in the way of a Muslim community were forced to acclimatize to the local way of life independently. These migrants were more likely to live and intermarry with local Sumbanese. Newer migrants have the benefits of a more established and populous Muslim community. This allows for an easier adaptation to life in Sumba as migrants share knowl- edge with one another. Yet, this has the potential to produce a shallower adjustment to Sumbanese culture as ethnic and religious enclaving allows migrants to limit their acculturation. One migrant from who migrated in 2003 says she has no Sumbanese friends and has never been to a Sumbanese cultural event (HK, personal interview, September 2018). She lives in a Javanese housing complex of over a thousand migrants and has no interaction with the local community except for small busi- ness transactions. This East Javanese migrant represents the extreme of cultural and reli- gious isolation, but for Muslim migrant females there exists a social separation which affects adaptation when compared to that of migrant males. Most of the migrant women came to Sumba with or following their husbands. As caretakers of their children and homes, they have fewer interactions with the local community. If they live in a migrant housing complex this lessens their contact even further. Males, due to work and cultural patterns, are more likely to gain fluency in the local languages and have friendships with Sumbanese natives. Female respond- ents within 5-10 years of their migration to Sumba noted that their hus- bands’ adaptation was deeper and that it remained difficult for them, especially in rural areas and the market where the local language takes precedence. Location also determines the need for and level of adaptation. There is a clear division between migrants who live in urban and rural contexts. The migrants reported that this division is not only rural-urban, but also has an ethnic correlation. The Muslim migrant community in Sumba is dominated by two ethnic groups, the Javanese and the Bimanese. The Javanese are more likely to reside and work in urban settings. Along with food sellers, the Javanese are traders and professionals. The Bimanese, on the other hand, prefer to live in rural areas, working in agriculture, MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 193 small business, and as civil servants. The majority of the Bimanese respondents for this study were civil servant teaching professionals employed in villages in rural areas of West and Central Sumba. Rural living means fewer interactions with the larger Muslim community and stronger connections to the local Sumbanese. While acculturation is deeper amongst the rural migrants, access to worship space and Muslim community is lessened. The Bimanese have mitigated this deficiency by developing Bimanese housing complexes.

Effect on Belief and Practice

The cultural, religious, and linguistic differences migrants must over- come as they adapt to life in a new environment affects their faith and practice. One’s ability to adapt can determine the degree or the nature of migration’s effect. The traits, therefore, which influenced adaptation (gender, location, and arrival period) carry over into this category as well. For some migrants the effects are temporary and for others they are long- lasting and permanent.

Disruption

For Muslim migrants entering Sumba, there is a noticeable effect on their patterns of life as they leave family, friends, workplaces, and religious communities behind. The lack of worship place and halal restaurants, as mentioned above, has the most immediate impact leaving migrants to rely on the assistance of others to navigate their new surroundings. Migrants who follow relatives or friends to the island receive advice regarding where to live, worship, and eat. Migrants without this social safety net often seek the assistance of other migrants with the same reli- gious and ethnic background. For all migrants, however, the first stage of their adaptation to life in Sumba involves a disruption in their daily lives which leads to a disrup- tion in their faith practices. Daily prayer is the most affected element of practice. Migrants accustomed to praying at the sound of the adzan miss prayer times and most migrants reported the frequency of their prayers lessened. Several migrants noted that in the first months they did not pray at all. Most migrants claimed to have regained their habit of praying five times daily, with a few admitting that they continue to pray less than they did prior to their migration. One migrant who later 194 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. converted to Christianity said that he stopped praying altogether when he arrived in Sumba (FF, personal interview, September 2018). In addition to the lack of an audible call to prayer, changes in the social atmosphere affect prayer practices. For Bimanese migrants, their normal habit of prayer, for both male and female respondents, involved going to the mosque or mushollah, not simply praying in the home. Fam- ily members, neighbors, and coworkers would often invite them to join on their way to pray. These invitations along with the prevalence of wor- ship places was a constant source of social pressure exerted on individu- als to remain diligent in prayer. In Sumba, the social pressures of co- religionists are not felt as strongly or at all. Javanese migrants more commonly prayed in their homes while on Java and, therefore, could not relate the lack of social pressure to pray in the mosque except for Friday. While daily prayers fluctuated, male migrant attendance to Friday prayers was largely dependent on location and access to transportation. Those living farther from the mosque were less likely to attend regularly.

Individualization of Religion

The dissipation of social pressures as it regards religious belief and practice resulted in further changes beyond the frequency of prayer. The shock of living in an environment that was culturally and religiously foreign caused many migrants to reevaluate their religious identity. Many migrants articulated that they were born Muslim into a Muslim family and community and had never given much consideration to their religious identity. Upon arrival to Sumba and in becoming religious minorities, they were quickly confronted with the salience of their religious differ- ences. As part of the adaptation process, migrants sought to reconfigure their religious ideas and identity to fit with their new experiences. Due to the lack of a large Muslim community and the few, often dis- tant, worship spaces, most migrants reflected upon a change in their out- look regarding Islam and their Muslim identity. In their origins, Islam was a social phenomenon whereas in Sumba, while some social elements remained, belief had become individualized. Many migrants responded that for the first time in their lives they had to choose for themselves what they would believe, how they would practice, and whether the beliefs and practices of their origins would continue in Sumba. Most migrants experienced some level of their identity and belief becoming more personal and individualized in the vacuum of social pres- sures reinforcing Islam. Some, however, sought to recreate these lost MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 195 social forces through their participation in religious organizations or by living within migrant communities. Interestingly, several migrants admit- ted that while they did not feel pressure from the Muslim community to maintain their practices, they felt personally compelled to appear more faithful and devout living amid Christians in order to be seen as good Muslims. For these individuals, faith followed the façade. The more they practiced their faith openly, the more their personal convictions grew.

Peningkatan

Nearly a fourth of migrants (11) responded that after they had adjusted to the context of Sumba, their faith and practice had normalized, and their patterns of observance were similar to those prior to migration. For the majority of migrants (31), they claimed that their belief and practices increased, if not increased in frequency, they increased in quality. To speak of this change, one migrant said his faith had become lebih semangat (more spirited) and others noted a peningkatan (increase/enhancement). Migrants gave several reasons for this perceived enhancement to their faith. First, their faith became a personal pursuit rather than a social mandate. They were free to choose the streams of thought within Islam that they wished to choose and were not bound by the religious com- munity or family to which they were born. Their Muslim faith was now a personal choice and, as such, they assigned it more importance. Second, migrants appreciated the diversity in which they lived, both within the Muslim migrant community and among the Christian majority as well. Living in a small, but diverse, Muslim community offered new insights into their religion and greater discussion between community members. Meanwhile, migrants suggested that living as a minority has helped them to discern what is essential to their faith. Third, the less developed nature of Sumba results in a quieter, more simple life than migrants previously had on more developed islands. There are less distractions, in terms of nightlife, commercialization, and media and this allows faith to remain a priority.

Conversion

There are no adequate data sources to give an impression as to the number or frequency of conversions to or from religions within Sumba. However, the individuals surveyed reveal that there is religious mobility as both locals and migrants convert to other religions through spontaneous 196 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. conversions or in concert with marriage. Three respondents for this study had converted to Christianity after their arrival to Sumba. One of these had effectively shed his Muslim identity on arrival, choosing to no longer practice his faith outside of Java. Another converted during her courtship prior to marrying a local Sumbanese man. Of these three who converted, they mentioned the absence of influence from their Muslim communities as providing the freedom to inquire and then adopt another faith.

Religious Institutions

Migrant religious experience includes the social organizations that they create and reshape as part of their desire to construct or maintain community. In Sumba, these communal needs have resulted in the devel- opment of places of worship, religious education centers, social groups, and migrant enclaves. Creation of, or participation in, these communities offers migrants the opportunity to preserve their religious and cultural traditions as well as share knowledge of the context.

Worship Space

Whereas minorities have often struggled to construct worship spaces elsewhere in Indonesia, there has been relatively little resistance from the Christian majority in Sumba. The first mosque in Waikabubak and the second oldest in Sumba formed in 1911 (KM, personal interview, July 2019). A Yemeni trader settled in Waikabubak, married two local women, purchased land, and invited a Bimanese imam to lead the con- gregation. The construction of later mosques largely followed the waves of development and accompanying migrants. There are 52 mosques across Sumba island: five of them built before 1980, 14 between 1980 and 1999, and 32, from 2000 to the present (SIMAS n.d.). Waikabubak’s three other mosques were constructed in 1983, 2001, and 2004. Central Sumba has three mosques, two on the coast in Mamboro and one in the research area of Anakalang. While Islam has had a consistent presence in Sumba since the late 1800s, the Muslim community remains a migrant-majority community. Migrants were asked to reflect on the differences between the mosques they attend in Sumba and those in their places of origin. The greatest distinction perceived by migrants is that the mosques in Sumba reflect the diversity of the migrant populations which form them. In Waikabubak, MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 197 the mosques tend to be equal parts Javanese and Bimanese with the remainder a mixture of other migrants and local Sumbanese. The mosque in Anakalang, however, is predominantly Bimanese fitting with its rural setting. The respondents came from mosques which were ethnically homogenous and they appreciated and preferred the diversity of the congregations in the Sumbanese context. Migrant diversity in the mosques is reflected on several levels. In their previous contexts, migrants were accustomed to hearing their local languages used as the language of instruction during the Friday prayers. In Sumba, due to the diversity of the members, Bahasa Indonesia is utilized as the common language. The migrant population’s diversity is also reflected in mosque leadership. ­Al-Azhar, the largest mosque in Waikabubak, is led by three imams (a Javanese, a Bimanese, and a Sumbanese) each representing the largest ethnic groups. In Anakalang, the mosque is led by a Bimanese imam. Migrants could not relate any distinct theological differences in terms of the teaching of Islam between past and present mosques, but they did suggest a difference in terms of inclusivity. Indonesia’s two largest Muslim organizations, Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyyah, are represented in the mosques’ memberships. While the community leans numerically and theologically toward NU, members of both groups worship together under one roof and the perception is that the distinctive- ness of these groups wanes in the migrant context. Several migrants found that the diversity of the congregation resulted in a decontextualiza- tion of Islam. A female migrant from East Java believed the mosque she attends in Waikabubak to represent a purer form of Islam, one of which is stripped of Javanese culture and tradition (ID, personal inter- view, April 2018). Several others mirrored this sentiment arguing that the inclusion of different groups within the mosque necessitates focus on essential matters rather than secondary issues. The tolerance within these congregations extends to the Christian majority as these mosques refrain from the use of loudspeakers and maintain good relationships with the surrounding communities. The limits of the mosques’ inclusivity appear when the inter-religious harmony is threatened. Twenty members of Jamaah Tabligh, an organization committed to da’wah (proselytizing of Islam), were expelled from Sumba at the request of the Muslim com- munities due to fears that their presence would provoke inter-religious conflict. While migrants note a preference for their current congregations, along- side the perceived benefits there exist deficiencies when compared to mosques on their home islands. The quantity and quality of worship spaces 198 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. is the biggest distinction. There are far fewer mosques and mushollah in Sumba, therein making worship space more difficult to access. The mosques are also far smaller and simpler than their Javanese and Bimanese counterparts. Several migrants mentioned that, with the exception of Al-Azhar, the mosques in the area would only be considered mushollah in their homes on account of their small size. The quantity and quality of religious teachers is also a perceived lacking for migrant congregations. Finally, whereas ethnic diversity, as a whole, is viewed positively, it has the potential for creating division within the community. Several respond- ents noted a history of minor conflicts between ethnic groups related to differences in religious practice (e.g. varied movements during prayer).

Religious Education Centers

Migrants express their religious interests through the school choices they make for their children. The growth of Islamic education centers has coincided with the growth of the Muslim migrant community as a whole. In Waikabubak, there are now two Islamic boarding schools (one male, one female), a madrasah serving middle school and high school students, and an Islamic primary school. In Anakalang, there is one newly founded Islamic elementary school. Arrival period factors into the education decisions made by migrant parents for their children. Migrants in the 1970s and 1980s sent their children to public schools as there were no other options. In the 1990s, migrants began moving their children to Muslim schools. Newer migrants are more likely to prefer Islamic forms of education, although a significant minority continue to send their children to public schools. The primary reason for choosing an Islamic education was to provide children with more focused study of Islam beyond the mandatory religion class offered in national schools. Several migrants admitted the higher cost of national schools resulted in them choosing a religious school. Those pursuing higher education almost exclusively returned to Java. Attending religious schools had the effect of limiting migrant children’s interaction with the local, Sumbanese children. Whereas their parents were likely to have Sumbanese Christian friends, the children were not.

Social Groups

In the late 1990s and increasingly so to the present, small groups of migrants have formed into social groups. The two primary social expres- sions of these groups are pengajian and arisan which mirror traditional MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 199 groups elsewhere in Indonesia. Pengajian brings Muslim migrants together for group study of Islam and recitation of the Qur’an. As such, these groups were exclusively Muslim. Arisan, a group organized around a community lottery, is another forum where migrants may find com- munity. In the case of Sumba, there are migrant arisan groups which are multi-faith and include Javanese Christian and Catholic migrants. However, most of the respondents who attended an arisan attended those which were combined with pengajian. While the mosques remain diverse, the numerical growth of the migrant communities has allowed for ethnicization of these smaller groups. There are ethnic-based groups for migrants from Lombok, Java, and Bima alongside the mixed groups.

Ethnic Enclaves

Early migrants to Sumba lived and by and large continue to live in mixed communities alongside local Sumbanese. Migrants from the 2000s onward, however, are more likely to live in ethnic and religious enclaves. Purchasing land in Sumba is a contentious and growing issue for migrants. A strategy borne out of equal parts necessity, convenience, and prefer- ence, migrant groups purchased and partitioned land to build single ­family homes and multi-family complexes. This was often facilitated through the sale of the land to one person and then resale to other migrants. In some cases, this has invited hostility from the local community as the area effectively becomes a religious enclave. This is the case in both urban and rural settings. In Anakalang, 23 of the 26 respondents lived in migrant complexes. Of the remaining three, two were converts to Christianity and one had migrated in the 1980s. Asked why they chose to live in a migrant community, respondents gave three primary reasons: 1) to preserve cultural traditions, 2) to live among other Muslims, and 3) the proximity to Muslim schools. Bimanese in the rural areas cluster together in migrant complexes which serves the dual function of creating a space for common cultural and religious practice as well as increased security. In the case of the Waimamonggu Bimanese community who live approximately 15 minutes from the near- est mosque, they have, at times, utilized empty houses as mushollah. Living in their own compound, they have created a microcosm of Bima life in rural Sumba. The migrant complexes or migrant city sections in Waikabubak are more diverse in terms of ethnicity but remain almost entirely religiously homogenous. Migrants report the benefit of living in these areas is the shared experience migrants have as they labor together to maintain culture, religion, and find success in a new context. The 200 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. downside to these communities is they necessitate less interaction with the local community in matters of daily life and result in less friendships with locals than those who live in mixed communities.

Conclusion

This research cannot sustain the suspicion that migration to Sumba is linked to motivations of Islamization. As with the majority of the world’s migrants, economic factors are the driving force behind relocation. ­Further, religious motivations of any kind did not play a significant role in the initial discussions and considerations for migration. While these migrants share a common faith, we cannot say they are religious migrants with the goal of establishing a Muslim community or aimed at the con- version of local Sumbanese. Continued migration has resulted in the growth of the Muslim population, but this slight demographic shift is merely a consequence of migration, not a principle goal of migrants. While Hagan and Ebaugh (2003) argue that sociologists have placed far too much emphasis on economic factors in both the instigation of migration and its sustainment, in the case of these migrants, economic considerations were the singular driving force for their migration. The movement of these Muslim migrants, across provincial borders and into a context where they transition from religious majority to minor- ity, is a stimulus for culture shock and requires adaptations and altera- tions to both daily life and religious practice. In terms of religion, the distance to or lack of worship places remains an impediment to religious practice. Migrants adapt by praying in their homes or workplaces rather than in mushollah or mosques as was their prior custom. The issue of food also remains a challenge, although decreasingly so, for migrants as they navigate the lack of halal food options in the markets and homes of local Sumbanese. Migrants adapt to this issue by sharing knowledge with locals about Muslim dietary law therein improving religious literacy as it pertains to Islam. Others meet these needs in the marketplace by offering halal food options in their stalls, restaurants, and stores. The migration to Sumba disrupts the cultural and religious patterns of migrants and this interruption affects the practice of Islam. Most of the respondents came to Sumba with very few financial resources. In line with Finke and Stark (2005), concerns of employment and career may distract migrants from religious observance. The concerns of finding work and profit along with the fewer worship spaces and relatively small MUSLIM MIGRANT RELIGION ON SUMBA ISLAND 201

Muslim communities reduces the frequency of prayer during the initial phases of adaptation. Upon adjustment, fidelity to religious practice and belief largely rebounds to or increases from levels prior to migration. Comparing current patterns to pre-migration, thirty-one migrants reported increased religiosity, 11 acknowledged similar levels of prac- tice, two decreased levels, and nine did not answer. Migrants recognize that through these processes their faith has become more personal and individualized resulting in a perceived enhancement of belief. This enhancement results from increased ownership of one’s beliefs through personal decision, rather than communal obligation. The disruption in practice and the decreased social pressures regarding Islam carry the potential for religious conversion as migrants acquire new levels of religious freedom. Conversions from Islam, however, remain rare and the research finds that migration’s effect on migrant religion does more to instill deeper bonds to one’s Muslim identity. The religious institutions of migrants reveal differences between the migrants’ former and present contexts. Migrants have developed education centers and formed pengajian/arizan groups as other means to preserve their cultural and religious distinctiveness. Migrant enclaves additionally act as sources to build community and preserve the religious and cultural traditions of migrants. The mosques in the research areas are more ethni- cally and theologically diverse from their counterparts in Java and Bima resulting in adaptations for common language and increased inclusive- ness. While migrants discern a lacking in the quantity and quality of the mosques in terms of facilities and leadership, they give preference to these communities on account of the diversity within the congregation. Respondents suggest this diversity invites a purer, more essentialized version of Islam, free from the cultural additions of their former contexts. This perception, however, may be driven by the influence of Salafism within local mosques and boarding schools. Or, the perceived decultura- tion of Islam may simply be acculturation of new forms and therein may simply represent a replacement of one cultural expression of Islam with another. Up to the present, migration has proven beneficial in the perceived enhancement of migrants’ faith and their religious communities. How- ever, this trend may shift as the factors which influenced these outcomes dissipate. A larger, more established, more enclaved migrant community allows newer and future migrants to isolate themselves from the greater Sumbanese community. This isolation, while serving to reinforce social and religious norms, may prevent the disruptions and adaptations that 202 MICHAEL QUINLAN ET AL. resulted in a more personalized faith for migrants in the past. As the migrant community grows numerically, the mosques may exhibit the same ethni- cization as witnessed in the pengajian groups. Alongside the limiting of ethnic diversity, the theological diversity may also wane giving way to mosques and congregations affiliated with different streams of Islam versus a diverse milieu exhibiting a more essentialized expression of Islam.

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