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CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Jurnal IAIN Pontianak (Institut Agama Islam Negeri) AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 2 Number 2 December 2013 DYNAMICS OF LOCAL ISLAM: Fatwa of Muhammad Basiuni Imran, the Grand Imam of Sambas, on the Friday Prayer Attended by Fewer than Forty People Hamka Siregar Pontianak Institute of Islamic Studies Abstract This article is an analitical work based on local Islam dynamic of Sambas soci- ety in the era of Sambas Sultanate. The work attempts to promote intellectual heritages such as the book of Cahaya Suluh, which could at least give us an idea that in a process of setting certain rules or istinbat, there is a need for flexibility. As can be observed from the whole argument built in this book, the process is completely flexible, not merely following one school of thought. As indicated in this paper, especially in the discussion of his thought, Muhammad Basiuni Im- ran used various references for his propositions. Although he was an advocate of the school of Syafi’i, he was still open to the other schools of thought. As a matter of fact, in the case of Friday prayer, his position was different from the school of thought he supported. He took that position because he considered the socio cultural conditions of Sambas at the time. Intellectual spirit shown by the Grand Imam of Sambas should continue to be emulated and expanded. It is a way to avoid the ‘blind’ taqlid against a certain school of thought, as such attitude can narrow human intelligence and reasoning which will eventually lead to collision with local reality that sometimes contains values that do not contradict with religion. In addition, the approach to the interpretation of law should look at its socio-cultural and historical background as this will keep the law strong and sustainable. In this way, Islam will be easily accepted without having to impose foreign culture on local people. Keywords: Dynamic, Islam, Sambas, Grand Imam, Muhammad Basuni Imran INTRODUCTION Islam is, in fact, not a native religion of Indonesia. Long before the arrival of Islam, other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, were already embraced by most of the inhabitants of the Archipelago. Traces of the two religions can still be seen in many parts of the country. By the will of God, within quite a long time, things changed. Islam then took the position of the two religions. The spread of Islam significantly occurred in the 12th century and the process of Islamization appears to have accelerated between the 12th and 16th century (Muhsin, 2007: 6). During this long period, the Islamic [ 187 ] AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 2 Number 2 December 2013 religion had been “naturalized” with the natural taste of the Archipelago so that it experienced a variety of adaptations. As it arrived at different natural conditions, different social construct, and different psychological, Islam should be ready for adjustment. This “guest” religion had to cleverly communicate itself into the local community that had its own belief system. Therefore, it is not uncommon when religion is presented to the public sphere, it must be packed in such a way in order to respond to and accommodate local values and interests, without having to remove the substance or the essence of the teachings of the religion itself. The first wave of the transmission of Islam to Indonesia according to historians was done through Sufis who came for religious proselytization and commercial interests. This Sufic pattern made the entrance to spread Islam in the society (Mu’jizah; 2005: VII). With this Sufic approach, it seems that the Sufis have a place in the hearts of local residents. The Sufic religious nuances are still strong in Indonesia’s Muslim community, particularly among those who maintain traditional religious values such as the tariqa groups (tariqah Naqasabandiyah, Satariyah, Khulwatiayah etc.). Although not very open, these groups still exist and have a lot of followers. The momentum accelerated the spread and absorption of the religious messages considerably. More importantly, with this pattern, the dissemination and absorption of this new religion in society did not experience a clash of values. It can be said, as reviewed by Azhar Arsyad – Rector of the UIN Makassar---Islamization process Archipelago run in cool and peaceful (in Komarudin Hidayat; 2006: 73). A person could become a Muslim without losing his/her distinct identity. It can be seen how Islam is negotiating with local culture of Javanese, Sundanese, Malay, Batak and land Parmalim, etc. Although culturally retaining their traditions, but they have enriched the values of Islam with their distinct local exquisiteness. Further development shows that the definition of the Islamic tasamuh (tolerance) that gives space to and considers the local values is changing. In recent years, there have been movements to bring purification of Islam to its authentic form in the midst of the community. They intend to revive Islam to its original version of its birthplace (Mecca). They view the current Islamic teachings have been mixed with traditional values, and these local values have corrupted the purity of Islam. Therefore, certain groups immediately want to clean it up so that the sanctity of religion will not be contaminated with heresy, superstition and idolatry. Authentic Islam, so they expect, should replace the Islam that has been mixed with local traditions. The process of purification and authentication that can be referred to as “radical salafi” project has triggered [ 188 ] AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 2 Number 2 December 2013 tensions between religion and local traditions. In the end, the obsessive purification will hurt the harmony between Islam with the local culture. Since then, the tension could no longer be properly mediated. In fact, religion and culture are inseparable; there is no distance between them. Even though religion is not a human product, when it is understood by humans, then it will experience the process of humanity known as “contextualization”. This is a process of understanding the contextualization of religion empirically or religion that appears in its formal form in the community (Abudinata; 2002: 49). Religious experience is processed by the believer through reasoning from the source of religion, i.e. revelation. When reading the book of fiqh, for example, one should see it as derivation of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Therefore, the fiqh practiced by certain groups in a community is the result of reasoning known as ijtihad. Thus, religion can be said to be the product of God as well as humans. Religion that appears in its form is related to the culture that developed in the community where the religion flourished. Therefore, through a correct understanding of culture, one will be able to apply their religious teachings without conflict. Erich Fromm in Nourouzzaman Shiddiqi (1996: 258) argued that there is no culture which is not rooted in religion. Interconnection between religion and culture thus creates civilization as illustrated in following diagram: Religion Culture Civilization The relationship between religion and culture, especially in Indonesia, can be seen in research conducted by Geertz (1956) in a small town in Central Java, Mojokuto. He found out that Islam has become an ideal culture in Indonesian society, especially in rural areas. The discovery of Geertz’s observations was supported by Van der Kroef (1959),Green a Dutch Vision historian. Geertz and Kroef’s observation was reinforced by Sof Soebardi Religions and Woodcraft-Lee (1982) who argued that any attempt to understand the character of the present Indonesian community and its cultural heritage cannot be separated from the study of the role of Islam, both as a religion and as a social and political force. Therefore, the relationship between religion and culture has become Indonesia’s cultural character. (Nourouzzaman Shiddiqi; 1996:Green 258) Consumption [ 189 ] Green Engagement Distribution of Religions of the indigenous people in Penyengat Village (Village Monograph, 2012) 515 418 95 109 103 Animisme Budha Islam Konghucu Kristen AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 2 Number 2 December 2013 Thus the truth of Islam is expressed in a variety of colors and forms, in line with the inevitability of different languages, cultures and customs and adherents. To that end, all religious expression within a cultural frame should be seen as a religious expression and can hardly be separated by cultural aspects. Religion and culture go hand in hand because religion teaches the truth and culture accommodates positive things that do not reject anything that is not contrary to the local wisdom. Local wisdom will provide space with the reality of various faces of Islam. When Islam encounters variants of local culture, then it progresses to a process of enriching each other. Thus, the emergence of various variants of Islam in Indonesia, such as Javanese Islam, Madurese Islam, Malay Islam, Sasak Islam, and so on, each of which features the distinct characters from each other. The attachment between religious values with local culture can be seen in the intellectual works of the scholars who used local languages, such as Javanese, Bugis, Sundanese, Madurese and Malay. Nihayatuz Zein, for example, is a book written in Javanese by Sheik Nawawi al-Bantani a scholar from Banten. Cahaya Suluh by Muhammad Basiuni Imran– the subject of discussion in this paper—was written in Arabic-Malay. They, the scholars of the past, in general wrote religious books which served as reference for their students and other Muslims when they left for other areas or died (Erwin et al., 100: 2003). Azra Azumardi (1995: 243) stated that in the 18th century until the early 19th century there were several leading scholars of Malay Indonesian from different regions and ethnic groups, such as those from Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

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