Examining the Socio-Economic Role of Islamic Boarding Schools () in

M. Falikul Isbah

A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

School of Humanities and Social Sciences UNSW Canberra

June 2016 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet

Surname or Family name: lsbah

First name: M. Falikul Other name/s:

Abbreviation for degree as given In the University calendar: PhD

School: School of Humanities and Social Science Faculty: University College

Title: Examining the Socio-Economic Role of lslM'lic Boarding School (Pasantren) In Indonesia

Abstract 350 words maximum:

This thesis examines the role of Indonesian Islamjc boarding schools' <.pesanlrm) engagement in the socio-economic issues of their communities. In undertaking such initiatives, pe.rantrtn are moving beyond their core business of Islamic education and propagation. This thesis shows that these pesantrm have made significant contributions to the prosperity and welfare of their neighbouring communities. By discussing case studies of four pesontren, this thesis will analyse the ways pesantrtn have engaged with their communities. It will also examine local contexts and factors that have shaped the form of their engagement, further impact on their standing as educational and da'wah institutions, and their relationships with government and non-government organisations which offer support and partnership. This thesis also highlights why there are pesantrtn which have undertaken significant engagement activities with their neighbouring communities, while others have not. This study is placed within the growing scholarly interest in analysing Islamic organisations as non-state actors in the provision of welfare services and as development agencies at grass roots level in contemporary Indonesia. Despite differing forms of pesanlrtn's community engagement, I argue that propagating through good deeds in the public interest is the driving force for their engagement. Furthermore, I argue that the more significant their engagement, the greater the religious authority they hold within their communities. As a result, their capacity as Islamising agents in the community is enhanced.

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ABSTRACT

This thesis examines the role of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools’ (pesantren) engagement in the socio-economic issues of their communities. In undertaking such initiatives, pesantren are moving beyond their core business of Islamic education and propagation. This thesis shows that these pesantren have made significant contributions to the prosperity and welfare of their neighbouring communities. By discussing case studies of four pesantren, this thesis will analyse the ways pesantren have engaged with their communities. It will also examine local contexts and factors that have shaped the form of their engagement, further impact on their standing as educational and da’wah institutions, and their relationships with government and non-government organisations which offer support and partnership. This thesis also highlights why there are pesantren which have undertaken significant engagement activities with their neighbouring communities, while others have not. This study is placed within the growing scholarly interest in analysing Islamic organisations as non-state actors in the provision of welfare services and as development agencies at grass roots level in contemporary Indonesia. Despite differing forms of pesantren’s community engagement, I argue that propagating Islam through good deeds in the public interest is the driving force for their engagement. Furthermore, I argue that the more significant their engagement, the greater the religious authority they hold within their communities. As a result, their capacity as Islamising agents in the community is enhanced.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) for providing me with a Tuition Fee Scholarship (TFS) that enabled me to undertake this PhD research project. Many people have helped me to accomplish this thesis and to pass my PhD journey. At the UNSW Canberra, I would like thank my supervisor Dr. Minako Sakai for her patient and thorough supervision. She has coached me not only in writing this thesis but also in acquiring much broader academic skills. She has given me an opportunity to teach Indonesian and give some lectures, as well as trained me to publish journal articles and to deliver good presentations in academic forums. Her guidance throughout this process has provided me with the best possible academic experience. I am also grateful to Dr. Nicolaas Warouw as my co- supervisor who has always been happy to discuss this thesis and our teaching jobs, as well as share his academic experience. I also thank Professor Davil Lovell who has supported my study through his capacity as co-supervisor and Head of School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) in which I am affiliated. At this small yet pleasant campus, I was lucky to have supportive friends and colleagues: Najib Kailani, Muhammad Riza Nurdin, Ho Yin Chan, Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Emy Beibei Chen, Mike Chia-Yu Huang, Umut Ozguc, Emily Robertson, and Rita Parker. I thank them all and wish them the best of luck for their future career.

Here I acknowledge the excellent editorial suggestions and proofreading by Mr. Paul Tickell. My sincere gratitude goes to him. I thank Dr. Andy Fuller for also proofreading this thesis.

During the writing process, I was fortune to have opportunities to share my research findings and analysis in several academic forums and informal conversations. I have learned from the comments, questions, and suggestions from scholars and fellow PhD students at the neighboring campus Australian National University (ANU). These include A/Professor Greg Fealy, Professor

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James J. Fox, Professor Virginia Hooker, Dr. George Quinn, Professor Kathryn Robinson, Syamsul Rijal, Norshahril Saat, Ahmad Muhajir, Bayu Dardiyas, Irsyad Zamjani, Wahyuddin Halim, Muhammad Adlin Sila, Haula Noor, Burhanuddin Muhtadi and the PIES group members (Muhammad Khodafi, M. Khusna Amal, Rizal Darwis, Abdul Wahid, Dwi Setianingsih, and Imelda Yunus). In addition, special thanks to my close neighbors in Curtin, the family of Samsul Maárif Mujiharto and Suci Hanifah.

In the course of my fieldwork in Indonesia, many people have received me warmly and shared happily their views and experiences. In , I express gratitude to Ruchman Basori, Amin Haidari, and Ace Saifuddin at the Ministry of Religious Affairs; Ahmad Suaedy, Rumadi Ahmad, Subhi Azhari, and Alamsyah M. Jafar at ; Miftah Faqih and Khayun Ahmad Noer at the RMI of Central Board of (PBNU); Dr. Budy Munawar-Rahman at The Asia Foundation, and numerous friends including Ah Maftuchan and Suraji Sukamzawi who have made my fieldwork easier. At the Pesantren Al Ittifaq, , I am very grateful to KH. Fuad Affandi, Ustadz Zaenal Arifin, Om Setia Irawan, Kang Dede Madrais, Kang Nurul and all who have been very friendly and made me at home to stay in there. I also appreciate Dr. Ahmad Ali Nurdin for his hospitality and help to arrange my travel to Pesantren Al Ittifaq from Bandung City. In Pesantren Tebuireng, Jombang, I thank KH. (Gus Sholah), Muhammad Asád, Ahmad Faozan, and Fathurrahman who have provided any data and information about the LSPT anytime I needed. In Pesantren , Lamongan, I am grateful to KH. Abdul Ghofur, Kang Yunus, Muhammad Nur Halim, Nazilatur Rahmah, Gus Salim Noer, and Ahmad Alfi Nazar for their help and hospitality. In Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) and Makassar, I thank Yusuf Syawal, Haji Anas and family, Ahmad Rasyid, and the family of Mujahidin for their kindness and hospitality. In Sengkang, South , I greatly appreciated Haji Jafar Aras and the security boy of BMT Asádiyah for their hospitality and transporting me around during my visit there. In Balikpapan, I would like to thank Ebin Marwi,

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Devi Alamsyah and the members of Pesantren Hidayatullah for their warm hospitality. In , I thank my long-good friends Nihayatul Wafiroh– Aslam Saad, Yuyun Sunesti–Zaenal Anwar for allowing me to stay in their homes during my data collection in Yogyakarta.

Finally, I would like to thank my father HM. Munif Dimyati, my mother Hj. Ashariyah, and my brothers and sister Fatih, Syafi’, Nashir, Umam-Fidloh. In Kudus, I would like to thank my parents in-law: Father H. Suúdi, Mother Hj. Sufiah, brothers and sisters Ersyad Qomar-Akhriza, Sofyan Hadi- Khodijah, Nur Said-Faridah Ulyani, Faruq Affandi-Nia and their cheerful children. I dedicate this thesis to my beloved wife Helmi Mudrikah who filled our life in Canberra with happiness, and our cheerful son Alfahazh Austin Isbah who has filled my days with joy.

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Table of Contents

Title Page_____i Thesis Sheet____ii Copyright and Authenticity Statement_____iii Originality Statement____iv Abstract____v Acknowledgements____vi Table of Contents___ix List of Maps____xi List of Tables____xi List of Figures____xi Note on Spelling and Transliteration ____xiii Note on Currency Conversion_____xiii Abbreviation and Foreign and Technical Terms____xiv Glossary of Key Figures_____xix

Chapter One: Introduction_____1 I. Research Objectives and Questions_____1 II. Main Arguments_____5 III. The Significance of this Research_____8 IV. Methodology and Scope of Research_____9 V. Thesis Structure_____13

Chapter Two: Pesantren in Indonesia: History and Current Developments____15 Introduction____15 I. History and Shared Characteristics of Pesantren____16 II. Learning Model and Curricula____28 III. Modernisation and Integration into the Indonesian Educational System___32 IV. Current Development of Pesantren and Their Enrolment Trends____36 Conclusion____41

Chapter Three: Pesantren’s Community Engagement and the Changing Context____43 Introduction____43 I. The Multiple Roles of Kyai____44 II. Nahdlatul Ulama as a Cultural Umbrella of Most Indonesian Pesantren___48 A. RMI (Rabitah Ma'ahid al Islamiyah)____50 B. Lakpesdam____54 III. NGOs' Partnership with Pesantren____55 IV. Proponents of Islamic Microfinance____69 ix

V. Government's Economic Projects Involving Pesantren____73 A. Infrastructure-Minded: Pesantren Sunan Drajat, Lamongan_____79 A Mismatch between ’s Priority and Community Expectation____83 B. Strong Dependency on Support from Political Elites: Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad, Mangkoso_____84 The Decline of Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance Spirit____89 Conclusion____91

Chapter Four: Reaching the Community through a Charity Organisation: The Case of Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang, East Java_____93 Introduction_____93 I. The History of Pesantren Tebuireng____95 II. A Socio-Economic Overview of the Local Community and the Establishment of the LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng)___108 III. The Programs_____118 A. Providing Educational Opportunities for the Deprived_____120 B. Economic Empowerment_____125 C. Free Health Insurance and Services_____131 D. Playing a Role in a New Field: Disaster Relief_____138 E. Supporting Da’wah Mission and Qur’anic Schools_____140 Conclusion_____144

Chapter Five: Empowering and Islamising the Community: The Case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq in Bandung, West Java_____146 Introduction_____146 I. Pesantren Al Ittifaq and Its Demographic Context_____148 II. Empowering the Community through Community-based Agribusiness____155 A. Organising Neighbouring Farmers____159 Kang Nurul: From Arranged Marriage to ‘Ambassador’ of the Pesantren in the Village____160 B. Pesantren Al Ittifaq and the Local Vegetable Brokers____165 III. Islamising the Community_____167 IV. Life Skills toward Social Mobility: Students and Their Future Life ____174 Bridging Social Mobility: Stories of Some Graduates_____180 V. The Pesantren Al Ittifaq as a Destination of Study Tours and Student Internships_____185 Conclusion_____188

Chapter Six: Conclusion_____191 I. Conclusions_____191 II. Contributions to the Existing Literature_____193

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III. Suggestions for Further Research_____195

Appendix_____197 List of Interviewees_____197

Bibliography_____200

List of Maps

Map 4.1 The Location of Pesantren Tebuireng____92 Map 5.1 The Location of Pesantren Al Ittifaq____146

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Number of Pesantren and Pupils (1977-2012)____37 Table 4.1 Number of Schools and Pesantren with Their Students in Cukir, 2013______110 Table 4.2 Employment of Residents of Diwek sub-district and Cukir Village, 2013______110 Table 4.3 Housing Condition, 2013______111 Table 4.4 Senior Population______111 Table 4.5 Revenue of LSPT______117 Table 4.6 Expenditure or Fund Allocation of LSPT_____119 Table 4.7 Number of Beneficiaries as of January 2015_____119 Table 5.1 Employment of the Alamendah’s Residents, 2013_____153 Table 5.2 Educational Level of the Population Aged 10 and Over in Alamendah Village, 2013_____153 Table 5.3 Number of School, Students and Teachers in Alamendah Village, 2013_____154

List of Figures

Figure 3.1 The activities inside the bottled mineral water manufacturer_____82 Figure 3.2 The activities of lime stones (batu kapur) mining and extraction____82 Figure 3.3 Examples of dormitory buildings for male students_____87 Figure 3.4 One of the cooperatives located within Pesantren DDI’ school compound_____88 Figure 4.1 The Current Building of Pesantren Tebuireng_____105 Figure 4.2 The Office of the LSPT_____112

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Figure 4.3 An Example of Donation Boxes in Tebuireng Cemetery Complex_____114 Figure 4.4 The Grave of KH. (Gus Dur)_____116 Figure 4.5 An LSPT staff distributed a business equipment to a beneficiary as part of capital assistance program_____130 Figure 4.6 An elderly woman received regular home visits by medical nurse funded by LSPT_____131 Figure 4.7 Local media reporting on the launch of Kartu Tebuireng Sehat (Tebuireng Health Card), (Jawa Post Radar Jombang, 25 July 2013)_____134 Figure 4.8 Fund Raising Ad tailored for the cause of Akbar Ramdan in local newspaper Jawa Pos Radar Jombang, May 2013_____136 Figure 4.9 LSPT staff distributed logistic in affected areas of Kelud Volcano eruption, February 2014______139 Figure 4.10 A class room activity in TPA Tarbiyatun Nasyi’in, Kwaron, Jombang_____142 Figure 4.11 Teacher Development Workshop catered for Qur’anic School teachers organised by LSPT_____143 Figure 5.1 A mountainous landscape of Alamendah Village_____148 Figure 5.2 KH. Fuad Affandi is at the centre of a routine gathering with leaders of farmers’ associations and his close aides every morning after delivering down prayer (subuh)_____160 Figure 5.3 Regular Monday night sermon by KH. Fuad Affandi attended by hundreds of villagers and vegetable brokers______170 Figure 5.4 Arranged Wedding Ceremonies of Pesantren Al Ittifaq’ graduates during My Fieldwork______171 Figure 5.5 Female students are preparing products for sale_____176 Figure 5.6 The school compound of Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) and Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Al Ittifaq______179 Figure 5.7 Dede Madrais and his wife is packaging strawberry while receiving internship students from Padjadjaran University_____182 Figure 5.8 Some products made from local fruits produced by Didin Syarifuddin’s home industry_____184 Figure 5.9 Visitors from Australian Rural Leadership Program, June 2015____187 Figure 5.10 Accommodation for short visitors and internship students from universities_____188

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Note on Spelling and Transliteration

In general, I follow the spelling of the Oxford Dictionary of English for and Indonesian terms such as da’wah and shariah for generic meaning. However, when the words are used in particular name of organisation or specific term in Indonesian context, I follow the Indonesian spelling such Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah and Bank Syariah. The word pesantren is written in italic for generic meaning (pesantren), and without italic and with a capital ‘P’ (Pesantren) for naming particular pesantren such as Pesantren Tebuireng. I do not use the plural ‘s’ for Indonesian words for plural meaning such as ‘several pesantren’.

Note on Currency Conversion

Throughout the research period of this thesis, the currency rate of one Australian dollar to Indonesian rupiah fluctuated around 10,000 rupiah. For the sake of consistency and simplicity, a standard conversion rate of one Australian dollar to 10,000 is applied. The Australian dollar is represented with the currency abbreviation ‘AUD’ and the Indonesian rupiah with ‘Rp.’.

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Abbreviation and Foreign and Technical Terms

Abbreviations Askes Asuransi Kesehatan (Health Insurance) Balitbang Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan (Research and Development Agency) BMT baitul maal wat tamwil (saving and credit Islamic microfinance agency) BMH Baitul Maal Hidayatullah DDI Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (the Centre for Propagation and Spiritual Guidance, DDI) Elsad Lembaga Studi Agama dan Demokrasi (Institute for the Study of Religion and Democracy) GDP Gross Domestic Product ICA Investa Cendekia Amanah ICMI Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia (Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals) ICIP International Centre for Islam and Pluralism IMMIM Ikatan Masjid Musholla Indonesia Muttahidah (Association of Indonesian and Prayer Halls) Kopontren Koperasi Pondok Pesantren (the Cooperative of Pondok Pesantren) KUBE koperasi usaha bersama (Collective Enterprise) Lakpesdam Lembaga Pengembangn Sumber Daya Manusia (Institute for Human Resource Development) Lazismu Lembaga Amil Zakat Lazisnu Lembaga Amil Zakat Nahdlatul Ulama LKiS Lembaga Kajian Islam dan Sosial (Institute for Islamic and Social Studies) LM3 Lembaga Mandiri yang Mengakar di Masyarakat (Community Based- Organisation) LP3ES Lembaga Penelitian, Pendidikan dan Penerangan Ekonomi dan Sosial (Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information) LSM lembaga swadaya masyarakat (Non-Government Organisation) LSI Lembaga Survey Indonesia (Indonesian Survey Agency)

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MA madrasah aliyah (senior secondary school) MI madrasah ibtida'iyah (primary school) MTs madrasah tsanawiyah (junior secondary school) NGO non-government organisation NU Nahdlatul Ulama ormas organisasi massa (mass organisation) PKB Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa () PINBUK Pusat Inkubasi Bisnis Usaha Kecil (Centre for Small Business Incubation) Puskadiapuma Pusat Kajian Dinamika Agama, Budaya dan Masyarakat (the Centre for the Study of the Dynamics of Religion, Culture and Society) P2KER Proyek Peningkatan Kemandirian Rakyat (the People's Economic Empowerment Project) P3M Pusat Pemberdayaan Pesantren dan Masyarakat (Centre for Pesantren and Society Development) PPIM Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat (Centre for the Study of Islam and Society) RA raudlotul athfal (kindergarten) SD sekolah dasar (primary school) SMP sekolah menengah pertama (junior secondary school) SMA sekolah menengah atas (senior secondary school) SME small medium enterprise TK taman kanak-kanak (kindergarten)

Foreign and Technical Terms

Al Khairat the largest Islamic school in Palu, Central Sulawesi; has numerous affiliated Islamic schools in some provinces especially Central Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and Maluku

Al Irsyad an Islamic mass organisation in Indonesia mainly consisting of Arabs

As’adiyah a pesantren in Sengkang, South Sulawesi; the oldest pesantren in the region

xv da’wah to call or to invite. It is a missionary task encouraged by Islam. It might be outward oriented or inward oriented. Outward orientation leads to efforts to convert non- believers or believers of other faiths, while an inward orientation focuses on deepening and strengthening the religiosity of the existing adherents toward orthodoxy or the qualitative realm of the faith. dakwah bil hal da’wah through doing good deeds for public welfare da’wah bil lisan da’wah through preaching dakwah bil qolam da’wah through writing desa perdikan autonomous village, a special village allocated for religious purposes and was given great autonomy and privilege such as tax exemption by a ruler of a kingdom haul annual commemoration of ancestors based on the assumption that some form of contact still exists. It remains widely practiced among traditionalist pesantren to commemorate the deaths of their founders

Hidayatullah initially a name of a pesantren in Balikapapan, then transformed to be an Islamic mass organisation in 2000 kyai Islamic scholar, pesantren leader, or community leaders. In some areas of Indonesia, words for similar meanings are tuan guru (Nusatenggara and Banjarmasin, ajengan (Sundanese), Tengku (), and Gurutta/Anregurutta (South Sulawesi) literally means yellow books; the classic Arabic books used in traditionalist pesantren that mostly printed in yellow paper and published by both local and overseas publishers madrasah Islamic school, synonymous to sekolah (Indonesian); under supervision of Ministry of Religious Affairs, while sekolah is under supervision of Ministry of Education madrasah diniyah a madrasah which teaches only Islamic sciences modernism acceptance of strict valid sources to knowing Islam, principally the Qurán and Hadist. However, it expresses an openness to modern learning as a way of achieving modernity

xvi modernist someone, institution or organisation following modernism in Islam

Muhammadiyah a modernist Muslim organisation; the second largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia meunasah (Acehnese) a place in which children learn the recitation of al Qur'an and basic teachings of Islam, then they go to rangkang to continue with intermediary Islamic subjects, finally they end up in dayah as the most advanced level of Islamic schools

Nahdlatul Wathan (NW) a name of pesantren in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara; which has become a local mass organisation

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) the largest traditionalist Muslim organisation; most Indonesian pesantren claim to be affiliated to NU pesantren Indonesian word for naming Islamic boarding schools, sometimes used as pondok pesantren or pondok pesantren kholaf pesantren which established government-approved school system either affiliated to Ministry of Religion or Ministry of Education pesantren salaf pesantren which do not establish government-approved school system, instead arranges its own system of learning specialising in Islamic sciences pesantren salafi pesantren which holds and teaches wahabi-salafi school of thought pengajian Islamic study group either for pesantren students or lay public pengajian bandongan a system of learning in traditionalist pesantren in which a kyai or teacher reads Arabic kitab kuning while students listen to and write some Javanese/Indonesian translation on their own bald (without annotated) kitab kuning pengajian sorogan a system of learning in traditionalist pesantren in which a student reads a bald (without annotated) Arabic kitab kuning with Javanese/Indonesian translation, while kyai or teacher listen to and supervise him

Persatuan Islam an Islamic mass organisation with a stronghold in West

xvii santri student of pesantren; practicing Muslims, antonymous to popular ritual among Javanese traditionalist Muslims in which a host invites surrounding neighbours and a kyai to lead the praying, then the ritual is closed with having meals provided by the host prayer hall smaller than a ; the synonym is langgar and musholla traditionalism acceptance of multiple valid sources to knowing Islam: the Qur’an, Hadist, schools of laws and thoughts, and the use of classic Islamic text called kitab kuning traditionalist someone, institution or organisation following traditionalism in Islam ulama learned men or women in Islamic knowledge. It is a plural Arabic word, its singular form is ‘alim. However, the word ulama in Indonesian denotes both singular and plural meaning Islamic community wahabi-salafi a reformist school of thought within Islam aiming to purify Islamic beliefs from heresy and superstitions which are commonly labelled to traditionalism waqf a donation of asset with a long term benefit such as land and building for Islamic causes walisongo nine saints whom are believed to be the first propagators of Islam in Java

ZIS an acronym of zakat, infaq, shodaqoh. zakat is a compulsory alms giving for those who have reached a certain amount of wealth set by Islamic jurisprudence. infaq is a voluntary giving to Islamic institution or Islamic causes. shodaqoh is a voluntary giving to fellow human beings.

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Glossary of Key Figures

Abdullah Gymnastiar, Ustadz Popularly called AA Gym, popular Islamic preacher, leads Pesantren Darut Tauhid in Bandung,

Abdullah Marzuki, Haji Successful entrepreneur, with his wife Siti Aminah, own a printing company and book store Tiga Serangkai in Solo and founded Pondok Pesantren Modern Islam Assalam near Solo,

Abdul Ghofur, Kyai Haji Founder and current leader of Pesantren Sunan Drajat, in Paciran, Lamongan,

Abdullah Said, Ustadz Founder of Pesantren Hidayatullah in Balikpapan, East

Abdurrahman Ambo Dalle,

Anregurutta Founder of Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi, and mass organisation Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI)

Abdurrahman Wahid, Kyai Haji Popularly called Gus Dur (d.2009), the leader of Nahdlatul Ulama (1984-1999), Indonesian President (1999-2001)

Akhmad Khatib Sambas, Syekh Great Islamic scholar from Sambas, living in Mecca in the 19th century, widely known of his teaching on and the transmission of a Sufi order

Akhmad Khatib Minangkabawi, Syekh Great Islamic scholar from West Sumatera living in Mecca at the end of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century. His leading students in Mecca went on to become important figures in the development of . The most influential of these students were who founded Muhammadiyah in 1912 and Hasyim xix

Asy’ari who founded Nahdlatul Ulama in 1926

Dawam Rahardjo Well-known NGO activist from 1970s; former director of LP3ES

Faried Wajdy, Anregurutta Current leader of Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi

Fuad Affandi, Kyai Haji Current leader of Pesantren Al Ittifaq, in Bandung, West Java

Hasyim Asy’ari, Kyai Haji Founder and first leader of Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang, East Java; one of the founders and first supreme leader of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)

Ihsan Jampes, Syekh Great Islamic scholar and writer of popular Islamic Arabic text living in Kediri between the end of 18th century and early 19th century

Jamil Azzaini Founder of Pesantren Abdurrahman bin Auf in Klaten, Central Java specialising to creating young entrepreneurs; popular business motivator

Makhfud Termas, Syekh Great Islamic scholar from Termas, Pacitan, East Java living in Mecca between the end of 18th century and early 19th century

Masdar Farid Mas’udi Former director of P3M; current member consultative board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)

Muhammad Asád, Syekh Founder of Madrasah Arabiyah Islamiyah, then renamed Pesantren As’adiyah in Sengkang, South Sulawesi

Nawawi al Bantani, Syekh Great Islamic scholar from living in Mecca between the end of 18th century and early 19th century

Nawawi Abdul Jalil, Kyai Haji The current leader of Pesantren Sidogiri in Pasuruan, East Java

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Sahal Mahfudz, Kyai Haji The leader of Pesantren Maslakul Huda in Kajen, Pati, Central Java; Supreme Leader of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), 1999-2014

Salahuddin Wahid, Kyai Haji Popularly called Gus Sholah, current leader of Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang, East Java

Wahid Hasyim, Kyai Haji The second leader of Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang, East Java; the first Indonesian Minister of Religion

Yusuf Mansur, Ustadz Popular Islamic preacher, founded and leads Pesantren Tahfidz Daarul Qur'an (Pesantren for Memorizing Al Qur'an) in Tangerang, Banten

Zainuddin, Tuan Guru Founder of Islamic schools and mass organisation , popular in West Nusa Tenggara

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Chapter One Introduction

I. Research Objectives and Questions

The objective of this research is to examine the current features of pesantren socio-economic community engagement. Pesantren are Islamic boarding schools that have been found in Indonesia from pre-colonial times to the present. In the past, their core business was the provision of Islamic learning for Muslim pupils who had aspirations to later become the propagators of Islam in their home communities. In their current form and under the auspices of present and past Indonesian governments, pesantren have become an important part of the Indonesian national educational system serving a wide populace. Besides their core business in education, increasingly more and more pesantren carry out socio-economic projects, whose aim is to improve the conditions of their neighbouring community. This research project will examine the factors that affect the socio-economic engagement of pesantren with their surrounding community.

In order to analyse the current dynamics of pesantren community engagement, I use the concept of the multiple roles of kyai. Kyai is a title given to Islamic scholars who for the most part provide the leadership of pesantren in Indonesia. Scholarship on Indonesian Islam has noted the important position of kyai in their communities, beyond their position as leaders of pesantren. The relationship between kyai and community is based on mutual expectation. Community members usually expect kyai to provide them with spiritual, moral, and religious guidance, as well as expecting them to perform a protective leadership role. In return, community members respect kyai, and out of this respect kyai gain the authority to disseminate Islamic teachings within the community. Beyond this local role, kyai also deal with outside agents on behalf of their community, as well as mobilising the community to support causes that the kyai advocate (Horikoshi 1976: 300). In short, in addition to their position

1 as pesantren leaders, kyai are expected to play multiple roles in important areas, which include Islamic rituals, Islamic propagation, politics and economics. The concerns and personal interests of individual kyai largely determine which of these multiple roles an individual will undertake.

During the New Oder era (1966-1998), several kyai and pesantren performed community development projects in response to the regime’s ‘top down’ development policies. This trend was also influenced by NGOs and foreign funding agencies which considered pesantren as appropriate partners in the promotion of participatory development, especially among the rural poor. Pesantren were seen as trustworthy institutions with strong cultural roots within the rural community. They were also seen as socially reliable in the way that they cultivated a ‘development spirit’ within the community (Rahardjo and Wahid 1974; Rahardjo 1985; Oepen and Karcher 1988). Among economic projects carried out at that time were Koperasi Usaha Bersama (KUBE /communal enterprises), the introduction of Teknologi Tepat Guna (TTG/ appropriate and useful technology) such as modern water pumps in dry areas, and the formation of peasant associations (Basuni 1985).

For at least three reasons, however, most of these pesantren-based community development projects disappeared in early 1990s. Firstly, Van Bruinessen and Wajidi (2006) have identified the policy shift among funding agencies from community development projects to political projects, such as civic education, gender, and human rights as part of the reason for their disappearance. Secondly, post-Soeharto political liberalisation has opened spaces for political participation through new political parties. This has provided new opportunities for pesantren people to be involved directly in politics and power struggles to the point where they neglect community development activities at grass root level (see Nurhasim and Ridwan 2004). Thirdly, Budiwiranto (2009) has indicated a number of other reasons: the problem of asset ownership and relation of mutual dependence between the pesantren kyai and their communities. Most kyai and their families were reluctant to share ownership of pesantren assets, such as cooperatives or small-scale banks. 2

Rather than seeing these assets as communally owned, they saw them as their own private property. In cases where such assets are actually owned by the kyai without any public share, the idea of participatory development with greater benefit to the community become difficult to achieve. In short, most projects described above no longer currently exist because they were not financially sustainable.

More recent studies (eq. Sakai 2008; Sakai and Marijan 2008; Isbah 2011) have suggested that some Indonesian pesantren are using different socio- economic models in the way they conduct community engagement projects. Some of them have established community-based agribusiness projects, small enterprises, cooperatives as well as microfinance businesses. Others manage charity organisations serving their immediate neighbourhood. Two books published by the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs provide an overview of their diverse socio-economic activities. One book titled Pesantren Agrobisnis (Agribusiness Pesantren) draws a picture of the agribusiness model of the economic projects of some pesantren (Proyek Peningkatan Pondok Pesantren 2004), while the other, entitled Pondok Pesantren Agroindustri di Indonesia (Agribusiness Pesantren in Indonesia), illustrates the small scale industry model of the economic projects of other pesantren (Direktorat Pendidikan Keagamaan dan Pondok Pesantren 2001). Both of these books point to the increasing significance of pesantren socio-economic engagement in community development. However, given that there are more than twenty-seven thousand pesantren throughout the Indonesian archipelago (Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam 2012), pesantren which manage socio-economic projects are a distinct minority and do not represent the overall picture of Indonesian pesantren.

Although such pesantren represent only a minority, scholarly scrutiny on their development has been important in allowing us to see the dynamic relationship between Islamic institutions and their local communities. From the very beginning of their history, pesantren with kyai as their authoritative heads have been community-based institutions which have always tried to address the problem of their community. These problems range from illiteracy to spiritual

3 needs to political aspirations, and broad economic problems. Borrowing Robert Hefner’s characterisation, pesantren can be seen as a ‘social movement’ and the kyai with his pesantren generally share the following features:

“(1) diagnose some chronic problem in society in a manner that resonates with the needs of people; (2) recommend a strategy for the problem’s remedy; and then (3) provide a rationale that motivates actors to support the proposed course of remedial action. If any among these conditions is unmet, the movement will not gain traction (Hefner 2009: 72). The current development of neoliberal economic and political policies have influenced the nature and position of traditional religious institutions like pesantren. In the Indonesian context, neoliberal policies have resulted in economic growth, but they have also created poverty, a widening gap between the rich and the poor, and reduced the access of the poor to public services such education and health. From a political perspective, Indonesia’s current political system provides greater opportunity for kyai to engage much more closely in politics and public policy making especially at local level. It also provides a greater space for non-state actors to play a role in socio-economic activities as the state no longer exercises the tight surveillance of the Soeharto era. These remarkable freedoms and opportunities, however, have also attracted kyai and pesantren to become involved directly in politics and power struggles that are not linked to their communities’ problems (see Nurhasim and Ridwan 2004; van Bruinessen and Wajidi 2006). Bearing this tendency in mind, my research investigates the dynamic relationship between the community engagement of kyai and pesantren in addressing socio-economic problems of their communities within the current Indonesian socio-political and socio-economic context.

My hypothesis is that the changing socio-political context of post- Soeharto Indonesia and the socio-economic development of Indonesian society have affected pesantren and the ways they engage with their communities. Because of this, I am asking the following questions:

a. What factors shape kyai or pesantren leaders’ expression of their multiple roles in addressing the socio-economic problems of their communities?

b. What factors hamper kyai from addressing these socio-economic 4

problems?

c. How do Indonesian pesantren carry out their socio-economic role within their community, and what factors influence their forms of community engagement?

d. What is the impact of pesantren community engagement on its main role as educational and da’wah1 institutions?

e. What do the findings of this study add to existing narratives on the role of religion in development?

II. Main Arguments

Based on my analysis on the data collected in this research, I will present the following arguments:

Firstly, there is an increasing trend of kyai playing their multiple roles as they conduct socio-economic activities to improve the welfare of their community members. The size of the pesantren, geographical location, available resources, and demographic contexts shape the way kyai and pesantren engage with their local community. My case studies of Pesantren Tebuireng (Chapter Four) and Pesantren Al Ittifaq (Chapter Five) have confirmed this argument. As a large pesantren with abundant financial resources, Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang is able to manage a charity organisation named LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng, Social Office of Pondok Tebuireng) that is dedicated to addressing the welfare problems of its neighbouring community. Pesantren Al Ittifaq, a relatively small-sized pesantren located in a rural and hilly area outside of the city of Bandung, has chosen community-agribusiness projects as the form of its community engagement. The two case studies have shown how kyai

1 Da’wah literally means to call or to invite. It is a missionary task encouraged by Islam. It might be outward oriented or inward oriented. Outward orientation leads to efforts to convert non-believers or believers of other faiths, while an inward orientation focuses on deepening and strengthening the religiosity of the existing adherents toward orthodoxy or the qualitative realm of the faith. 5 express their concern and persistent willingness to address welfare issues of their community, and in doing so, extend beyond their position as pesantren leaders.

Meanwhile, there are other pesantren which exhibit a more complex form of engagement with local communities. My case study of Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan, East Java (Chapter Three, Section V) demonstrates its remarkable business performance. Apart from the employment of approximately 100 local residents, the community’s view is that the Pesantren does not create significant economic benefit for them. My other case study on Pesantren Darul Dakwah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi (Chapter Three, Section V) reveals a different story. It has abundant social capital and very good access to government support and funding, but the Pesantren could not translate this potential into more systematic schemes to benefit the locals economically. These two case studies imply that the notion of community engagement by pesantren is a negotiation between kyai’s (the pesantren leader) vision, the pesantren’s managerial skills, as well as their inclination with regard to what they should provide for the local community versus the local community’s needs and expectations.

Secondly, the greater a pesantren’s capacity in carrying out a socio- economic role, the greater its authority will be in advocating Islamic messages within the wider community. In the case of Pesantren Tebuireng, the outreach of its charity organisation has reconnected the Pesantren with the locals. Previously, the local community had neither seen nor gained any concrete benefit from the existence of Pesantren Tebuireng. In the case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq, its developing and sustaining community-based agribusiness project has strengthened the Pesantren’s religious authority and its ability to carry out its da’wah mission in its local community.

Thirdly, the majority of pesantren that have made significant contributions to their local communities that are discussed here have done so on the basis of their own efforts. Their capacity to identify and mobilise the available human and other resources in their locality has also been a key to sustaining projects.

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External support from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), as the social umbrella organisation for most Indonesian pesantren, the Indonesian national government, and NGOs has not made a significant contribution to the growth of projects in the pesantren context.

Finally, linking this thesis to broader literature on the role of religion in development, I argue that pesantren community engagement discussed here is an example of dynamic local agency whose activities are independent initiatives, rather than the result of external intervention. These organisations are mostly funded independently, do not rely on government or donor funding; and their everyday management as well as their strategies they embody represent a form of grassroots mobilisation to achieve collective welfare and prosperity.

This stands in contrast to the current dominant narrative on the role of religion in development. This narrative clusters any and all development practices that are carried out by faith based organisations or religiously inspired actors under the heading of faith based. The actors here are so-called faith-based organisation (FBOs), religious NGOs, or churches, while funding comes from government grants or project contracts, multilateral organisations and public donation (Bornstein 2005; Clarke and Jennings 2008; McCleary 2008; Clarke 2011; Haar 2011; Carbonnier, Kartas, and Silva 2013). These studies imply that most faith based development projects are delivered by transnational organisations, that target developing countries through direct management or fund channelling via local partners. Similar studies with a specifically Muslim society as their context more commonly identify philanthropic and charity organisations concerned with the provision of education and social services as the main focus of their main programs. These organisations are not always locally rooted, and mostly follow the model of faith-based organisation (FBOs) found in other religious traditions Contrary to these dominant narratives, this study will present an alternative narrative by foregrounding some unique aspects of the practice found in Indonesian pesantren.

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III. The Significance of this Research

The significance of this research is based on three underlying contextual factors found in contemporary Indonesia. The first is the nature of poverty in Indonesia. The country has achieved steady economic growth, from gross national income per capita of USD 2,200 in 2000 to USD 3,524 in 2014. Although official statistics suggest that only about 6% of the country’s 252 million population is unemployed, the actual situation on the ground is much worse. Based on Indonesia’s poverty line of Rp. 292,951 (USD 24) as minimum income per month, the percentage of the population classified as poor is 15% or 28 million people. The situation becomes even more dire, if we use the World Bank’s poverty line of USD 2 a day, which results in almost a half of the population being counted as poor (World Bank April 2015). Those who do not enjoy the benefits of the economic growth are, according to Nooteboom, those who have to face “economic stagnation, social exclusion, political underrepresentation, dispossession of land and growing inequality” (Nooteboom 2015: 1). The pervasiveness of poverty, therefore, means that the majority of the population are still in need of welfare services and economic empowerment schemes from both government and non-government actors.

The second important matter relating to the socio-religious context is the emerging and expanding role of Islamic charity and philanthropy in the conduct of various programs for the needy. These programs range from providing scholarships to poor students to financial assistance for poor households, to offering a more accessible loans through Islamic microfinance organisations, to disaster relief outreach. Most of these organisations are based in urban areas and are culturally closer to the urban Muslim middle class (see Bamualim et al. 2006; Latief 2012; Fauzia 2013). Some scholars (eq. Meuleman 2011; Sakai 2014) have argued that the wide range of welfare activism by such organisations is an expression of the Muslim ideal of promoting Islam through the performance of good deeds in the public interest or da’wah bil hal.2 In parallel to this emerging

2 Da’wah is missionary call to spread Islam both to non-Muslims in order to embrace Islam 8 trend, some pesantren have been trying to follow a similar, if not the same, model of socio-economic activism (see Sakai 2008; Sakai and Marijan 2008; Isbah 2011; 2012). This study will emphasise the difference between pesantren community engagement projects and those of urban-based Islamic charity and philanthropy organisations.

The third key aspect of the context is the limit of the Indonesian state’s capacity to deliver welfare services and other development programs. Among the often mentioned obstacles faced by the state are resource limitations, ineffective governance, and corruption or poor quality of governance. Only recently, has the Indonesian government started to provide universal health cover and a more generous budget allocation towards education. These new policies, however, remain at the preliminary stage in their implementation and a large proportion of Indonesian citizens are yet to see significant outcomes from these policies (see Johar 2009; 2010; Manning and Sumarto 2011; Suryadarma and Jones 2013; Vidyattama, Miranti, and Resosudarmo 2014). Therefore, any initiatives from non-state actors remain relevant in the contemporary Indonesian environment. The study of pesantren as a non-state actor in development issue at grass-roots level therefore remains important in light of the limitations that result from the three contexts outlined above.

IV. Methodology and Scope of Research

Throughout the research process, I used a qualitative approach at all stages. The data collection at each research site was mainly conducted through participant observation accompanied by unstructured and semi-structured

and to those who are already Muslims in order to actualize Islamic principles in their lives. In Islamic theology, all Muslims are required to carry out da’wah. However, Al Qu’an as the main source of Islamic teachings does not specify the way Muslims should carry this mission. Up to now, Muslim scholars have introduced several da’wah concept: da’wah bil lisan or da’wah by preaching, da’wah bil qolam or da’wah by writing, and da’wah bil hal or da’wah by doing good deed for public interests in order to demonstrate the goodness of Islam (see Husin 1998: Chapter One; Sakai 2012: 12; Meuleman 2011: 260-2).

9 interviews (Bryman 2003: 45-6). At each research site, I also gathered the life history of key actors (ie. kyai or pesantren leaders) from varied sources including interviews with the kyai, his family, close aides, and local community members, as well as any available written sources. The life histories of pesantren leaders were important ways of understanding the changes and processes which constituted their experience particularly related to my research topic (see Bryman 2003: 49).

The data that I gathered concerned both historical and current features of each pesantren in which I conducted my fieldwork. I also focussed attention on their other activities related to community engagement, as well as collecting socio-economic data of the neighbouring communities as the social setting in which the pesantren was situated. Any information related to the expression of the kyai’s multiple roles in the community such as their involvement in politics or their schedule of delivering public sermons was also part of my attention. Then, I analysed the data by synthesising and validating information from different sources so that I could find the implicit longitudinal elements and possible cause and effect elements within this information. From this process, I built a narrative for each case study. Finally, I linked the narrative for each case study to the relevant existing literature (see Bryman 2003: 63-6).

Prior to the fieldwork in Indonesia, the design for this research was approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) on 13 March 2013 with Reference Number A-13-04. This approval was based on the meeting of the UNSW Canberra Human Research Ethics Advisory Panel who were satisfied that this project is of minimal ethical impact and meets the requirements as set out in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. During my fieldwork, I always provided all the informants with a Participant Information Sheet in Indonesian accompanied with an oral explanation of the purpose of this research. All informants have agreed that their original names are used in this thesis, except for one informant who is mentioned anonymously in this thesis.

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The data collection began with analysing government publications, documents, and websites containing information on the current model of pesantren community engagement. I then tried to verify and confirm this information through my personal networks in Indonesia. At this stage, I selected the three pesantren that I would potentially observe during my fieldwork. In May 2013, I began my fieldwork in Jakarta for a month. My purpose in Jakarta was to collect information on policies and programs targeting pesantren by government, Islamic organisations, and NGOs. My interviews and conversations with people in Jakarta who had dealt with pesantren issues also became an opportunity for me to clarify the list of pesantren that I planned to observe (see List of Interviewees in Appendix). As a result, my case study site was broadened to be nine pesantren.

During my fieldwork from May to October 2013, I visited all the nine pesantren: two in West Java, three in East Java, one in Yogyakarta, one in , and two in South Sulawesi. The duration of my visits to each pesantren varied, from a week at the shortest to a month at the longest. Throughout the observation period, I stayed in those pesantren, took part in many of their activities, undertook informal conversations with people I encountered, after which I managed to arrange semi-structured interviews with selected individuals whom I saw relevant to my research topic. I also collected available, relevant documents and set up contacts for further correspondence.

In general, all of the pesantren warmly received me as a guest. Prior to my arrival, I attempted to establish contacts in those pesantren from my existing personal networks. Then, I called those contacts explaining my purpose, asking about possibility of me staying in the pesantren as well as asking them to inform the pesantren leaders of my planned visit. When I arrived at each of the pesantren, my first agenda was to see the pesantren leaders as I understood that if I were already accepted by them, other people in these pesantren would not hesitate to accept me. As a male researcher with educational experience in pesantren, I did not encounter or experience any cultural barriers.

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The pesantren visited varied in size, from those with four hundred, a thousand, to five thousand students. From the very beginning of my research, I did not differentiate between pesantren based on their theological orientations. I later came to realize that most pesantren I visited were traditionalist pesantren, except a pesantren in East Kalimantan which had a modernist/reformist theological orientation.3 All four pesantren in Java identified themselves as being affiliated to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim association in Indonesia. Two pesantren in South Sulawesi were affiliated to their own Muslim associations, but their theological orientations and intellectual traditions were similar to the NU pesantren in Java.

My decision to spend a longer time in particular pesantren was based on the existence of what I perceived to be their greater community-engagement in socio-economic activities. I applied three criteria for deciding which case study I would include in, as well as exclude from, this thesis: the way their projects were carried out, the degree of community participation and the benefit received by the community. For example, I found a pesantren which collects alms fund (zakat) from Muslim public, but the fund is mostly used for financing its education and da’wah mission. There was no substantial socio-economic program for the community, consequently I have excluded that case study from this thesis.

Finally, I decided to use the example of two pesantren with outstanding community engagements and another two with less developed engagement. The first pesantren with remarkable community engagement project was Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang which managed a charity organisation, while the second was Pesantren Al Ittifaq in Bandung which managed a community-based agribusiness project. The first represents a large pesantren which possesses a national reputation, while the second represents a small pesantren located in rural area with only village scale of influence. The other two pesantren which I

3 See my discussions on the variety of theological orientation and intellectual tradition of Indonesian pesantren in Chapter Two. 12 considered as not meeting the three criteria well were Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan and Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi. The Pesantren Sunan Drajat actually managed a number of large scale, profitable enterprises, but none of these were benefiting the neighbouring community. The Pesantren DDI also actually had rich social capital to contribute to its community, but in reality it did not make any significant contribution to that community.

This thesis was submitted for external review in September 2015. Based on the examiners’ suggestions I have revised this thesis. I have added new data and information during the revision process where needed.

V. Thesis Structure

This thesis consists of six chapters. After this introduction (Chapter One), Chapter Two provides a brief history of pesantren in Indonesia and their current development. Chapter Three presents an overview of pesantren community engagement in the context of Indonesia’s changing political and social context. This chapter begins by explaining the strategic position of kyai in the community with particular reference to the concept of the multiple roles of kyai. This chapter then discusses programs, support and partnerships that are offered by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), government, non-government organisations (NGOs), and organisations promoting Islamic microfinance to Indonesian pesantren in both past and current eras.

Chapter Four discusses the case study of Pesantren Tebuireng with its charity organisation LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng, Social Office of Pondok Tebuireng). This discussion focuses on the history of Pesantren Tebuireng and the background to the establishment of LSPT, the significance and benefit of each program provided by LSPT to the immediate neighbouring community, and the impact of these charitable activities on the standing of Pesantren Tebuireng as an Islamic education institution in the eyes of the local

13 community. Chapter Five discusses the case study of Pesantren Al Ittifaq with its community-based agribusiness project. The discussion locates the case study within the micro demographic context in which the Pesantren Al Ittifaq is situated. After that, I examine the impact of the project on the socio-economic improvement of the community as well as its link to the pesantren’s da’wah mission in the village. Chapter Six is a conclusion in which I highlight the contribution of this study to the existing literature and possible future research to be drawn from this study.

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Chapter Two Pesantren in Indonesia: History and Current Developments

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of Indonesian pesantren I give a brief overview of the history of pesantren as an educational institution in a changing Indonesian context as well as providing a snapshot on their current development and enrolment trends. The data presented here is based on a review of existing literature and policy documents, interviews with key policy makers, and observation in some pesantren. The main argument presented here is that Indonesian pesantren have continued to grow over different historical periods due to their adaptability in changing contexts. Such adaptability is seen in their adoption of modern schooling system, their incorporation of non- religious subjects into their curricula, as well as their dynamic integration into the national education system.

This chapter is organised into four sections. After this introduction, I will outline the history and shared characteristics of pesantren. The next section explores the changing learning model and curricula that has been the result of external influences from both the Dutch colonial education and Islamic reform movement that originated in the Arab world between the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The dynamic adaptation of pesantren learning model and curriculum formation in post-Independence Indonesia - which was a result of its gradual integration into national educational system - is discussed in the third section. The last section will examine the pesantren’s current development and enrolment trends and situates the important role of pesantren in understanding the contemporary development of Islam in Indonesia.

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I. History and Shared Characteristics of Pesantren

Pesantren are Islamic educational institutions that share many common characteristics. Their physical and organisational structures commonly share several elements: mosque, dormitory, students (popularly called santri), and kyai4 (Islamic scholar who leads pesantren). The central place is occupied by a mosque where the students and kyai pray five times a day, and do other activities that involve a large number of people, such as public lectures, collective prayers, and public preaching. The house of the kyai is commonly located beside the mosque and the dormitory where the students reside (Dhofier 1999: 34). Today's pesantren also commonly have class rooms and other school buildings. The other characteristic is the teaching of Islamic texts, organised mainly after prayer times.

In more formal language, pesantren are commonly called pondok pesantren. Pondok literally means a ‘hut', while pesantren means ‘a place of the santri'. In a broader sense the term santri also refers to ‘religiously oriented Muslims' as opposed to ‘abangan' or nominal Muslims (Geertz 1960b: 121-30). The term ‘santri' can also be limited to denote ‘pesantren's student'. In the past, the term pondok pesantren or simply pesantren was used only in Java, but today the term pondok pesantren is also commonly used in other regions of Indonesia as this term has been adopted by the central government to refer to Islamic boarding schools (Azra 2006: 61-77). Nevertheless, some regions still use local terms to refer to similar institution such as surau in West Sumatera and dayah in Aceh. Surau literally means ‘a place of worship' which is smaller than mosque, and is the same as langgar and mushalla in Java. In the Minangkabau region of West , it denotes the site of traditional Islamic learning led by tuanku shaykh (Azra 2003; 2006: 63-68). In Aceh, the local name of similar institution is meunasah, rangkang, and dayah. Meunasah is a place in which children learn the recitation of al Qur'an and basic teachings of Islam, then they go to rangkang to continue with

4 I use the term kyai to refer to singular and plural number of the learned men who lead pesantren or an Islamic preacher, and the term ulama to refer to plural only with similar meaning. 16 intermediate Islamic subjects, finally they end up in dayah as the most advanced level of Islamic schools. These schools are led by teungku (similar to kyai in Java) (Azra 2006: 62; Srimulyani 2013)

Within a pesantren there is a central figure and authority who bear different titles according to locality. In Java, such figures are called kyai, in Sundanese ajengan, in Nusa Tenggara Barat tuan guru. Other regions with strong Muslim populations have their own titles to refer to such figures. The authority of these figures is sometimes shared with other family members such as wife and sons who may also share an interest in managing the pesantren as an institution or in dealing with community affairs. As a central figure, the kyai is a role model and ‘figurative parent' for the students. They consult him on problems related to pesantren and their daily life. In some pesantren in Java, a kyai is sometimes called romo, a Javanese word for father (Srimulyani 2012: 43) or aba, an Arabic word for father. In general, the relation of kyai and his students is not equal as he is believed to have superior intellectual and spiritual authority. This relation places kyai as the sole source of power and authority within the pesantren and no santri should question any decision made by him. Pesantren is therefore like a small kingdom led by the kyai. A kyai, as a source of knowledge and spiritual authority, is often visited by his students and the laity alike for consultation or to acquire his blessing (barokah) (see Dhofier 1999: 39-40). The other way to obtain such blessings is by inviting or asking a kyai to lead a collective prayer in a slametan5 for particular purposes such as celebrating a baby's birth, a wedding ceremony, and commemorating the death of family members (haul)6 (Bustami 2009: 53- 60). In addition to his specific role within his own pesantren, to some extent a kyai is also a central figure for surrounding community.

5 Slametan is a very popular ritual among Javanese traditionalist Muslims in which a host invites surrounding neighbors and a kyai to lead the praying, then is closed with having meals provided by the host (Geertz 1960a, Chapter 1; Woodward 1988). 6 Haul is an annual commemoration of ancestors based on the assumption that some form of contact still exists. It remains widely practiced among traditionalist pesantren to commemorate the deaths of their founders (van Bruinessen 1996: 169-70). 17

The most widely shared legends about the origin of pesantren among ordinary Javanese Muslims are from the period of walisongo (nine saints) whom are believed to be the first propagators of Islam in Java and the teaching methods that they used to spread Islam in the Javanese community. These stories are still widely reproduced and disseminated at various events through religious sermons by Javanese Islamic preachers. Scholars, however, have debated the origins of the pesantren as an institution. Clifford Geertz (1960b: 231) has argued that pesantren are based on a model derived from Javanese Hindu-Buddhist monasteries from the second to the sixteenth century CE. When Islam came to the archipelago, the Islamic preachers maintained this educational model, but replaced its content with Islamic content, or in Geertz's words ‘a new wine in a very old bottle' (Geertz 1960b: 231). An alternative history has been suggested by Van Bruinessen (1994: 9), where he argues that today's pesantren developed in the nineteenth century as a further expansion of Islamic study groups located in mosques or the houses of kyai.

An Indonesian historian, Taufik Abdullah (1986: 86-101) has argued that the history of pesantren should be traced back to the period when ‘religious men' withdrew from the life of (the local name for the palace of Javanese kingdoms) because of internal political rivalries and disappointments with the kraton establishment and its dealing with European colonizers. This point is evident in the case of who was a prince of the Mataram Kraton in Yogyakarta. When he became disillusioned with the way the Kraton was dealing with the Dutch, he took his followers and established his own community in a village, whose political stance was more strongly anti-colonial and religious stance more overtly Islamic and that could be considered to be a ‘religious or santri community'.7 The kyai with their santri community inhabited so called ‘desa

7 I would argue that this ‘religious community' has further shaped the Javanese cultural category ‘santri', as those who remained within and maintained close ties with kraton as its bureaucracy and hierarchy were more shaped by ‘priayi' cultural category, while non- aristocratic, lower class subjects who were politically and economically under the sway of the kraton power structure and beyond the reach of Islamic influence exhibited characteristics of the ‘abangan' category (see Geertz 1960a). 18 perdikan (autonomous villages)'. These were special villages that were established for religious purposes and given considerable autonomy and privileges, most notably tax exemption. With the deepening of Islam among the community, desa perdikan were then also characterised by the growth of Muslim cemeteries, mosques and pesantren. It is important to note that this historical pattern is specific only to Java (Abdullah 1986; Azra 2006: 72).

From the second half of the 19th century onward, pesantren was a symbol of Islamic resistance and identity among the santri community. This can be seen from the reluctance of the santri community to send their children to the Dutch schools, which were beginning to be established from the end of the nineteenth century onwards. In the early part of the nineteenth century, there were 1,853 pesantren with 16,556 students. This number increased dramatically to 14,929 pesantren with 222,663 students by the end of the century, even though the Dutch schools had been introduced in many places. It seems that pesantren at that time were the choice for Muslims to maintain their independence and cultural pride in the face of increasingly intrusive Dutch colonial power (Azra 2006: 72-3).

Throughout the colonial era, the existence and development of pesantren was largely beyond the control of the colonial government. Instead, pesantren developed their own networks with Islamic learning centres in Egypt and present day Saudi Arabia. The influence of the Arab world is evident in their curricula contents and models of education. Azra (1994), Van Bruinessen (1994; 1995), and Mas'ud (2004) noted that most Indonesian pesantren were globally oriented in their intellectual reference and orientation. This can be found in their strong orthodoxy in using classical Arabic texts which might be brought or sent from Mecca or Medina from around 1600.8 The further development in Indonesian context was still consistent with the use of Arabic as a symbol of universal language of Islamic intellectual tradition, individual’s intellectual

8 The Arabic texts called kitab kuning are still used in pesantren until now. Van Bruinessen (1994) estimated that the use of kitab kuning in the East Indies had occurred before the existence of properly institutionalised pesantren. However, he could not estimate how wide its use was before the existence of pesantren educational tradition. 19 integrity, and the language of Al Qur'an. The works of Indonesian ulama living in Mecca, such as Akhmad Khatib, Nawawi Banten and Kyai Makhfud Termas, and of those living in Indonesia such as Kyai Ihsan Jampes from Kediri also used Arabic. This type of pesantren was, and is, categorised as traditionalist pesantren.9

Another type is pesantren modern. Beginning in the early 1900s, and connected to the flow of reform movement from the Middle East, there were some pesantren that called themselves pesantren modern or modern pesantren. The pioneer and still the most reputable of this type of pesantren is Pondok Modern Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java.10 It was founded in 1926 and combined the pedagogical philosophies of Al Azhar in Egypt, Aligarh and Santiniketan in India, and Taman Siswa in Yogyakarta. For the Gontor’s founders, these educational institutions represented Islamic, modern, progressive, and anti- colonial pedagogical philosophies and spirit. They saw the existing old-style pesantren as being unstructured and undisciplined, and the government schools of the time as being part of a colonial agenda which oriented the schools towards producing colonial government’s employees (Castles 1966: 30-2). The hallmark of this type of pesantren was their emphasis on the use of Arabic and English in daily conversation and learning activities. In theology and school of thought, they claimed not to be affiliated with particular schools of classical Islamic jurisprudence (madzhab). They saw a fanatical affiliation to certain schools of thought as contrary to the reform mission and as an obstacle to the development of Islamic scholarship. By taking this position, they accommodated children from both modernist and traditionalist streams of the population. Politically speaking, Gontor has always claimed to be neither affiliated to NU nor to Muhammadiyah by coining the tagline “untuk semua golongan or for all groups”. Many of its graduates subsequently replicated this model in many other places

9 Some Indonesian ulama living in Indonesia also wrote books in local language ie. Java, Malay, Sundanese, Buginese or Banjarese, but using Arabic script. Such writing model is known as Arab pegon or Arab pego. 10 Prior to the establishment of Gontor by Imam Zarkasyi in 1926, there had been modernist type of Islamic schools in West Sumatera founded and operated by the reformists group called kaum muda who challenged the establishment of traditionalist ulama. Imam Zarkasyi studied there prior to his departure for Al Azhar University in Cairo (Yunus 2008: 276-7). 20 such as Pesantren Pabelan in Magelang and Pesantren Darun Najah in South Jakarta. Currently there are more than 200 pesantren operated by Gontor’s alumni and replicating the Gontor educational model. Pesantren Gontor also has a strong reputation, with many of its graduates becoming important political figures at national level (see Castles 1966; Yunus 2008: 276-7; Hady 2012).11

On the other hand, there are also some pesantren which have allegedly cultivated radical or Islamist ideas among their students.12 One of the most well- known of these is Pesantren Al Mukmin in Ngruki near Solo, Central Java, under the leadership of Abubakar Ba’asyir. From the books that it uses, Pesantren Al Mukmin can be identified as being affiliated with the wahabi-salafi stream of Islam (Hasan 2008; Tan 2012: Chapter 3). The growth of new wahabi- salafi pesantren in Indonesia has been significant in the last decade (see Wahid 2014). In addition, some pesantren are known for their specialities. Pesantren Suryalaya in Tasikmalaya with its famous leader Abah Anom is known for its focus on drug rehabilitation (see Mulyati 2002).

Pesantren are not only limited to male students. Indeed, beginning in the early 20th century, some pesantren started to accept female students. According to Srimulyani (2012: 38), Nyai Nur Khodijah and Kyai Bisri Syamsuri initiated an Islamic study group for girls in their Pesantren Denanyar in Jombang in 1919. Initially, only their close relatives and neighbours attended, but later this female study group attracted participants from distant places that led to the official establishment of a female dormitory in 1930 within the existing male-only pesantren complex. The opening of pesantren to female students then spread to

11 The examples of Gontor alumni on Indonesian national stage are , chairman of NU (1999-2010), , chairman of Muhammadiyah (2005-2015), and Hidayat Nur Wahid, former chairman of Prosperity Justice Party (PKS) and Speaker of People Assembly (MPR, 2004-2009). Related to the focus of this thesis, I will discuss briefly one of pesantren which was founded and led by Gontor’s alumni, Pesantren Pabelan in Magelang, Central Java, in Chapter Three (Section III). 12 Radical or Islamist ideas here is Islamic ideology which is built on scriptualist understanding on the source of Islamic teachings to be applied in both private and public life. Muslims with such ideological view are categorised into wahabi-salafi group referring to the name of founder of that movement Muhamad bin Abdul Wahab, and salafi word refers to their claim to be following the first generation of Muslims. 21 other pesantren in Jombang. In 1929, Kyai Maksum Ali, who had previously helped Kyai Hasyim Asy’ari in Pesantren Tebuireng, opened a new pesantren for female students in a nearby village to Tebuireng called Pesantren Putri Salafiyah Syafi’iyyah (Zaini 1998: 54-66; Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 12-13). In West Sumatera, Rahmah Al Yunusiah founded Madrasah Diniyah Putri in Padang Panjang in 1923 (Yunus 2008: 69). All these female pesantren continue to exist today. Currently, most pesantren accommodate both male and female students along with the widespread involvement of women in the provision of pesantren education.13

Viewed historically, the growing trend of women’s participation in education initially started at the beginning of the 20th century when the Dutch colonial government implemented Ethical Policy14, which opened up opportunities to the indigenous people, both male and female, to enrol in Dutch colonial schools. In practice this opportunity was provided for the aristocratic layer of society, especially in Java. Early women proponents of women education such as of Jepara and of Bandung appeared in this period. Later, those educated and literate women agitated for wider access to education that would encompass a broader layer of the female population. This trend also influenced Islamic organisations like Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama. Kyai Ahmad Dahlan, the founder of Muhammadiyah, together with his wife initiated an Islamic school for girls, which was later named Madrasah Muallimat Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta. At the same time, the organisation also established an organisational wing, Aisyiah, to provide greater

13 Among instructive studies on pesantren with female students are Nilan (2009) and Srimulyani (2012). 14 The background behind this policy was the political development in the Netherlands as the mother country of the East Indies colonial government. Not only the Netherlands, many countries in Western Europe around that time also experienced a strengthened influence of Christian moral power and duty within their ruling classes. This was indicated by the order of the Queen of Hollands to the Dutch Parliaments to implement an ‘ethical policy’ as a Christian moral obligation to respect and support native Christian and Christian mission in the colonial lands. The other factor pushing this policy was the increasing popularity of liberal political taught which introduce ‘the law’ and the principle of ‘equality before the law’. This new political taught had imbued some Dutch colonial government personalities to be sympathetic to the native East Indies (Schmutzer 1977: 14-8). 22 opportunities for women’s involvement within Muhammadiyah. Around the same time, there were several traditionalist pesantren which began to receive female students. This coincided with the establishment of NU’s women organisational wing Muslimat NU (Srimulyani 2012: 37-9). Female pesantren have become important in the production of women leaders for Islamic women’s organisations, female politicians in Islamic parties, and Muslim scholars and public intellectuals in Indonesia.

While the historical background of the foundation of most pesantren often centred on the central initiative of an individual kyai and support from surrounding community, from 1990s we can find other models of pesantren foundation. Firstly, some media-star preachers have founded pesantren and use them as the base of their activities. For example, Kyai Haji or popularly called AA Gym founded Pesantren Darut Tauhid in Bandung, West Java and has used it as a centre for various activities, ranging from workshops, regular sermons, to being a basis for business activities.15 Unlike other where students are resident, Pesantren Darut Tauhid does not have any permanent residential students. Groups of people will stay at the Pesantren only for a short time (such as a weekend, three days or a week) for workshops with planned programs. This pesantren does not have a school as is the norm for other pesantren (Solahudin 1998; Watson 2005).16 As such, Pesantren Darut Tauhid presents a new model for what calls pesantren. Another celebrity preacher who has founded a pesantren is Ustadz . He founded Pesantren Tahfidz Daarul Qur'an (Pesantren for Memorising Al Qur'an) in Tangerang, Banten. Unlike AA Gym's Pesantren which does not accommodate permanent residential students, Pesantren

15 Figures like AA Gym and other famous preachers and Muslim writers who gained their popularity through an expanding electronic mass media in Indonesia as well as Islamic book publication are often regarded as a new source of religious authority in Indonesia. Many of them have pursued new and different ways of developing their religious authority, in ways different from the established authority of traditional ulama (see Hoesterey 2008; Muzakki 2010; Sakai 2012). 16 Personal observation, October, 2008. 23

Tahfidz Daarul Qur'an has residential students who follow a special program of memorising Al Qur'an.17

There is a second category of pesantren that have been founded by wealthy families as in the case with Pondok Pesantren Modern Islam Assalam near Solo, Central Java. The family of Haji Abdullah Marzuki and Siti Aminah are successful local entrepreneurs and who own a printing company and book store, Tiga Serangkai. As they are not qualified religious teachers, the family hires Islamic teachers to operate the pesantren and the family remains as the patron of the institution.18 The Pesantren Assalam was known to charge very high fees, more than Rp. 16 million for the enrolment in 2013 and approximately Rp. 2 million for monthly fees.19

There is a third category of new pesantren development that centres on pesantren founded as initiatives from networks of preachers and mosques care- takers in Makassar city. This is the case with Pesantren Modern IMMIM in Makassar, South Sulawesi. IMMIM is an acronym for Ikatan Masjid Musholla Indonesia Muttahidah (Association of Indonesian Mosques and Prayer Halls), a Makassar-based local network of mosque care-takers and preachers. One of the aims of this organisation is to strengthen unity and diminish differences- which mostly concerns aspects of ritual (furu')- among Muslims. As such, the foundation of the Pesantren IMMIM was an effort to produce high quality Islamic preachers with a strong capacity to work across the divided communities- such as who affiliated to Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, and other groups (Damopoli 2011).

17 The website of Pesantren Daarul Qur'an < http://www.daqu.sch.id/> Accessed on 19 November 2013. See studies by Howell (2008) and Watson (2005) on celebrity preachers who have appeared following the flourishing private television station in post-Soeharto Indonesia. 18 Assalam's website Accessed on 25 November 2013. 19 See Accessed on 11 December 2013. 24

A fourth category can be seen with the establishment of Pesantren Hidayatullah in Balikpapan. This Pesantren represents a different organisational background: it is a learning centre for preachers recruited by the Hidayatullah as mass-organisation. The Pesantren Hidayatullah was founded in 1976, and transformed into an Islamic mass organisation (Ind. ormas) in 2000 to manage networks of da’wah cadres graduating from the Pesantren. Currently, the organisation manages da’wah activities throughout the archipelago especially in remote areas and has branches in 200 municipalities. In order to fulfill demand for preachers, the Hidayatullah educates and trains hundreds of cadres in its Pesantren at no cost. After graduating, these cadres will be sent to various remote places on propagation missions (Burhanuddin and Basri 2003; Subhan 2006).20

Prior to Hidayatullah, there had been some pesantrens which had been turned into mass organisations such as Al Khairat in Palu, Central Sulawesi and As’adiyah in Wajo, South Sulawesi. Similarly, this transformation was further developed by their scattered alumni who in turn founded new pesantren and Islamic schools in their home towns. However, their development seems to be limited to pesantrens in surrounding regions. For example, Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (the Centre for Propagation and Spiritual Guidance, DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi transformed into a mass organisation whose followers are concentrated mainly in the same province and in places where the local Bugis people have migrated such as Papua and East Kalimantan. The Pesantren was founded in December 1938 under the leadership of Abdurrahman Ambo Dalle. When some of its graduates returned to their home towns or migrated to new places, they also founded pesantren or Islamic schools. Abdurrahman Ambo Dalle allowed them to use the name of DDI. Along with the spread of these Islamic educational institutions, they initiated the transformation of the network into a mass organisation during the early independence period of the country. Their purpose was to strengthen their

20 I made my personal observation in Pesantren Hidayatullah, Balikpapan, on 15-19 September 2013. 25 da’wah outreach, especially through the establishment of Islamic schools. Currently under this organisation there are more than 200 Islamic schools scattered in eight provinces, but mostly in South Sulawesi and West Sulawesi (Fathurrahman 2006: 151-4).21

In a similar way, Pesantren Nahdlatul Wathan Diniyah Islamiah founded in 1937 in Pancor, East Lombok has also been transformed into an influential mass organisation named Nahdlatul Wathan (NW) in West Nusa Tenggara province. Its history goes back to Tuan Guru Zainuddin who returned to his home town in East Lombok after studying in Mecca for 12 years. The Pesantren has produced Islamic scholars and community leaders who have transmitted the Islamic teachings of Tuan Guru Zainuddin to broader regional community through the establishment of Islamic schools and da’wah activities. Up until 2000, there were 377 Islamic schools, ranging from kindergarten to senior high school, that have been affiliated to this organisation (Burhanudin 2006: 45-55).22

The last type of pesantren I present is a pesantren which was founded by a business motivator Jamil Azzaini who is obsessed with the idea of creating young entrepreneurs with strong da’wah commitment. The Pesantren named Abdurrahman bin Auf23 does not provide a normal learning track through schooling as is the case with other pesantren. It provides instead a year-intensive life skill training in fields such as livestock, agribusiness, computer repair and so forth that are imbued with Islamic psychological motivation. The students come from poor households who are unable to continue their studies to higher levels and are unable to find jobs. With the skills studied in the Pesantren, they are

21 Personal observation 20-28 September 2013. I will discuss further the Pesantren DDI Mangkoso case in Chapter Six of this thesis. 22 Recent studies have revealed that this organisation is experiencing an internal conflict involving the descendants of Tuan Guru Zainuddin over its leadership claim (see Hamdi and Smith 2012; Smith 2012). 23 The name is borrowed from a name of the Prophet Muhammad’s companion who was a wealthy and generous entrepreneur. 26 expected to be able to create their own businesses after their year-long study there.24

Based on these examples I argue that pesantren are still considered important Islamic educational institutions, that produce an Islamic learned generation who are expected to sustain Islam among the wider Indonesian community. For celebrity preachers, founding and leading a pesantren can add legitimacy to their religious authority. For wealthy people, devoting their wealth to the establishment of a pesantren can be a way to spend their wealth in an Islamic mission. For a promoter of da’wah, pesantren might be considered to be the most effective educational model to produce da’wah cadres. For a motivator of entrepreneurship, the provision of intensive life skill training complemented by an Islamic motivation within pesantren might be seen as a comprehensive means to transform individuals into highly motivated entrepreneurs.

The pesantren I will discuss in this thesis are mostly long-standing traditionalist pesantrens. The Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang and Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso were founded in colonial times by traditionalist ulama.25 Pesantren Al Ittifaq in Bandung and Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan were founded more than four decades ago by similar traditionalist ulama.

The last point I highlight in this section concerns leadership transfer. The leadership transfer in most traditionalist pesantren that are often affiliated to Nahdlatul Ulama is hereditary. When the leader dies, one of his sons or sons in- law (only men can become leaders in most cases) will take over the leadership automatically or as the result of a family convention.26 In such cases, subsequent development of the pesantren depends on the capacity of the new leader. In some

24 The account is based on http://jamilazzaini.com/belajar-gratis-lulus-jadi-pebisnis/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWl6o3CuOsk. Accessed on 2 May 2015. 25 The word ulama in Arabic is plural, its singular is ‘alim. However, the word ulama in Indonesian denotes both singular and plural meaning of learned men/women in Islamic knowledge. 26 See Chapter Three below which discusses Pesantren Tebuireng. 27 cases pesantren deteriorate or even close down because their new leaders do not have the reputation or charisma to attract students. By way of contrast, pesantren which are subsequently transformed into a mass organisation are likely to manage their leadership transfer through organisational meeting such as was the case with Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (the Centre for Propagation and Spiritual Guidance, DDI) and Pesantren Asádiyah in South Sulawesi, and Pesantren Hidayatullah in Balikpapan. There are other pesantrens that have established a board of patrons called Badan Wakaf whose job it is to appoint (or dismiss) the pesantren’s leader, as was in the case with Pesantren Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java and its networks. In practice, however, the appointed leaders still share a ‘bloodline’ with the pesantren’s founders or previous leaders.

II. Learning Models and Curricula The learning model in pesantren has gradually been reformed as a result of influences from both Islamic learning tradition in the Arab world and a Western schooling model brought by the Dutch to the country. In pre-independent Indonesia, the learning model in pesantren was very modest. A kyai read the kitab kuning27 (classic books) surrounded by his students, and sometimes complemented this with a question and answer season. There was no systematic grading system. When student numbers were large and their intellectual levels were diverse, the kyai organised the learning process but delegated the teaching task for some groups to his senior students. This model was changed by Muslim scholars who had returned from their studies in Egypt in early 20th century. At this time the Islamic reform movement was taking place in Arab countries in response to colonialism and the identified backwardness among Muslims, especially in the fields of science and technology (Steenbrink 1986: 26). According to Muhammad Abduh, one of the most important figures of the Islamic reform movement, this backwardness was a result of the separation of school into those Islamic schools which taught only Islamic subjects and the modern schools which taught non-religious subjects. This separation created

27 These books are called kitab kuning because they were printed on yellow paper (Bruinessen 1995: 17-30). A more detailed explanation will be presented in the following section. 28 two distinct cohorts with different visions regarding the future of Muslim ummah (Hourani 1983: 137). At the same time, during the late 19th century, the Dutch also began to introduce schooling for selective segments of indigenous population. Some years later, some of the graduates of these Dutch schools taught in pesantren where they passed on their experiences in the Dutch school system.28 Those two developments—Islamic reformism and colonial, Western education—gradually influenced the pesantren world. The first influence evidenced in the adoption of graded classes of madrasah system, and the second was the incorporation of non-religious subjects (Steenbrink 1986: 25). This new model was initially adopted by some Muslim reformists after studying in Middle East, especially at Al Azhar University in Cairo. Later, however, the traditionalists also began to follow this trend (Steenbrink 1986: 69-72; van Bruinessen 1994: 20-24; Dhofier 1999, Chapter Four; Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007: 175-7).

Madrasah is an Arabic word for school, while sekolah is an Indonesian word derived from Portuguese to refer to school. In the Indonesian context, madrasah are specifically Islamic schools supervised by the Ministry of Religion. Meanwhile, sekolah denotes non-religious schools supervised by the Ministry of Education. The hierarchical structure of madrasah ranges from Raudlotul Athfal (RA) for kindergarten, Madrasah Ibtida'iyah (MI) for primary level, Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) for secondary level, and Madrasah Aliyah (MA) for higher levels. The hierarchy of sekolah ranges from Taman Kanak-kanak (TK) for kindergarten, Sekolah Dasar (SD) for primary level, Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) for junior secondary level, and Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) for senior secondary level. With these two structures, it can be said that Indonesian national education system covers both madrasah and sekolah system.

In terms of educational arrangement, today’s pesantren can be divided into three main categories. The first category is pesantren kholaf that provide formal

28 See the story Kyai Muhammad Ilyas who graduated from Hollandse Inlandsche School (HIS) in Surabaya started to teach in Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang in 1926 (Dhofier 1999: 83). I will discuss the Pesantren Tebuireng in a more detail in Chapter Four. 29 schooling through madrasah and sekolah. The second category is pesantren salaf (not salafi’) which do not provide a government-approved schooling system (Lukens-Bull 2005; Zuhdi 2006: 421-3; Hefner 2009: 66-9). Such pesantren still exist in some places and are regarded as able to produce graduates with greater expertise in kitab kuning as they do not need to study general sciences (Isbah 2012). The final category is pesantren modern which is often distinguished by their emphasis on the teaching of Arabic and English and the obligation of students to use these languages in their everyday conversations. The first pesantren using this brand was Pesantren Modern Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java. Later, Gontor’s alumni went on to found new pesantren in many other places, and have copied its educational model and use the brand ‘modern’ as well.29

Today, the majority of pesantren provide formal schooling through madrasah and sekolah that incorporate non-Islamic subjects in their curricula like any other school, and can be categorised as pesantren kholaf. The difference is that pesantren schools provide a greater proportion of Islamic subjects in their curricula than is the case with schools outside pesantren system. Given the limits of school hours, most pesantren arrange their curricula so that Islamic subjects and the teaching of kitab kuning are given outside the school hours, commonly in afternoon or evening through a madrasah diniyah,30 halaqoh (discussion group) and pengajian.31 Such decisions were an adaptation of pesantren world to the

29 The historical context of the birth of pesantren modern has been discussed in page 18-19 of this chapter. 30 Management and teaching methods are similar to secular school, but the material is limited to Islamic teachings which commonly stresses Arabic, theology, Islamic law (fiqh and ushl fiqh), Islamic ethics (akhlak), tasawuf (mysticism), Qur’anic exegesis (), and Traditions of the Prophet (hadits) (van Bruinessen 1995: 32-7). 31 In traditionalist pesantren there are two types of pengajian, bandongan and sorogan. Pengajian bandongan is where kyai or teacher reads the Arabic text of a kitab kuning and translate it into Indonesian or local language while students listen to it and write the translation on their own kitab kuning. The process is mostly one-direction without question and answer seasons. Conversely, pengajian sorogan is where students read the Arabic text of kitab kuning with additional translation in Indonesian or local language while a kyai or teacher listens to it in order to supervise and correct. The latter is more demanding for students as they have to prepare more prior to the pengajian. 30 public demand for state registered formal schooling, while simultaneously being an effort to maintain their learning traditions.

In terms of Islamic subjects taught in pesantren, there is a difference between what so called modernist/reformist pesantren and traditionalist/classicalist pesantren teach (Lukens-Bull 2005: 14). The modernists or reformists are generally associated with the Muhammadiyah, Persatuan Islam, Al Irsyad or other newly established wahabi-salafi groups.32 The traditionalists or classicalists are mostly associated with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and other locally based smaller groups such as Mathaliul Anwar which is popular in some regions of West Java, Nahdlatul Waton which is popular in West Nusa Tenggara, and Al Khairat which is popular in Central Sulawesi and some regions of eastern Indonesia.

A part from the differences between the modernist and the traditionalist lies in the way they understand Islamic doctrines and their attitudes to certain religious practices, especially relative local customs. Generally speaking, the traditionalists are more accommodative to local customs. As for pesantren education, the traditionalists treat the historical development of Islamic sciences that have been codified in kitab kuning as their primary reference. Kitab Kuning are a range of books that were mostly written between 10th and 15th century. For traditionalist Muslims, they are accepted as the final intellectual work that cannot be supplanted by new works, but may be explained only in more detail in such subsequent works. Kitab literally means book, and kuning literally means yellow. Those books are called kitab kuning because they are printed on yellow paper (van Bruinessen 1995: 17-30). In contrast, the modernists tend to ignore books

32 Although the term wahabi has long been used to refer to the reformist groups who were inspired by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab's concept of "back to al Qur'an and sunnah" and several Middle Eastern's modernist thinkers. The addition of term ‘salafi', has more recently been associated with a more puritan strand of Islamic thought, which applies a stricter and more literalist interpretation of syariah, such as strict gender segregation, dark veil for women, long robes (jalabiyya) and trousers cut at the ankle (isbal) for men. The salafi-wahabi also rejects Islamic mysticism and Sufism (tasawwuf and tarekat), democratic government, and contemporary ideas such as religious pluralism (Hefner 2009: 87-88). For further studies on salafi pesantren in Indonesia, see Hasan (2008) and Wahid (2014). 31 in the kitab kuning tradition and instead focus mainly on the study of al Qur'an (under the subject of ilm tafsir and ulumul Qur'an) and hadist (Traditions of the Prophet).

In line with the wider adoption of a government approved madrasah schooling model since early 1970s, many pesantren started to incorporate non- Islamic subjects in their curricula. It should be noted, however, that Islamic schools managed by Muhammadiyah were among the first to introduce subjects like mathematics, geography, Dutch language and so forth, while Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang was among the first traditionalist pesantren to do the same thing in late colonial era (Dhofier 2011: 186). According to Lukens-Bull (2000: 26; 2001), combining Islamic and non-Islamic subjects in their curricula was the way pesantren leaders encountered modernisation and globalisation. In this way, they were projecting their students on a path to become members of a society "that is fully modern, fully globalised, fully Indonesian, and fully Islamic" at the same time (Lukens-Bull 2000: 26).

III. Modernisation and Integration into the Indonesian Educational System In post-independence Indonesia, pesantren have gradually gained state recognition through their integration into the national educational system. In the early years of independence, the government recognised the existence of Islamic schools—pesantren and madrasah—and placed them under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs rather than the Ministry of Educational Affairs. This policy created a duality in the management of educational affairs. The passing of the National Education Law in 1952 regulated the schools under the supervision of the Ministry of Education only. It left the Islamic schools out of the national education system. The New Order regime which took over the country in 1966 attempted to integrate both secular and religious schools under one ministry, the Ministry of Education. This attempt was made through the implementation of ‘single umbrella education' (pendidikan satu atap) policy that was based on a Presidential Instruction in 1972.

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However, many Muslim educators could not accept this policy as they considered it to be an over-simplification over the problem on the ground, and they were suspicious that the actual purpose of the regime was to eliminate the existence of Islamic schools. Instead, they proposed the idea of standardising curriculum of Islamic schools. This was eventually adopted in the so called ‘Three-Ministry Joint Decree’ (SKB 3 Menteri). The main point in this policy was that Islamic schools had to adopt a curriculum where 30% of time was devoted to religious subjects and 70% of non-religious subjects (Zuhdi 2006: 417-21).

Since 1975, and partly due to the implementation the Three-Ministry Joint Decree, the general tendency in most pesantrens has been to follow the model of the state's educational system and its curricula. Pesantren manage their schooling through government-recognised madrasah system which requires 70% of its learning hours for non-Islamic subjects and the rest 30% for Islamic subjects (Hefner 2009: 65). In addition, they provide instruction in a more diverse range of Islamic subjects in lessons out of school hours. Most pesantren today organize their Islamic subject teaching in madrasah diniyah which they hold in the afternoon or evening. This educational model can be found in many prestigious pesantren like Pesantren Tebuireng and Pesantren Darul Ulum in Jombang, East Java. These two pesantren also have established universities in their complexes with various departments that range from English, Education, Psychology, to Law. One reason for this is to equip their graduates with modern skills and degrees so that they are able to compete in the modern labor market. Consequently, graduates from these institutions can readily be found working in government offices, universities, the business sector, and, of course, religious offices (Hefner 2009: 66). In short, it seems that such pesantren do not consider themselves to be different from general schools, except in their commitment to provide a greater range of Islamic subjects and the pesantren living experiences. However, the broad policy remains of keeping madrasah under the supervision of the Ministry of Religion, while sekolah (non-religious schools) are under the Ministry of Education.

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After the fall of Soeharto’s regime in 1998, pesantren moved to become more closely integrated into the national educational system. The most recent National Education Law of 2003 recognises fully that pesantren and madrasah are part of the country's educational system.33 Government Bill No.55 of 2007 (PP 55/2007) on Islamic Education strengthens the law by stating that students from Islamic schools are entitled to transfer to any other school and that the graduates of these Islamic schools are entitled to a state recognised certificate which can be used for both job applications and higher school/university entry requirements.34 Another important policy of the post-New Order Indonesian governments related to pesantren was the elevation of the Sub-Directorate of Pondok Pesantren and Madrasah Diniyah in the Ministry of Religion to be a directorate in 2001. This policy has provided the Directorate with more chances to secure greater state funding and to gain greater authority.35

As a consequence of these changing policies and the internal dynamic within pesantren world in responding societal changes, the educational model of Indonesian pesantren today can be divided into four categories. The first is pesantren salaf (traditional) which provides only Islamic teachings in the form of classical works (i.e. the kitab kuning (classic books on Islamic sciences mentioned above). Pesantren of this type commonly organize their teaching activities in madrasah diniyah and pengajian bandongan (public lecture).36 The second are pesantren that build formal Islamic schools in the form of madrasah ibtida'iyyah

33 Undang-undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 20 Tahun 2003 tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional. See particularly article 30. < http://www.hukumonline.com/pusatdata/detail/13662/nprt/538/uu-no-20-tahun-2003- sistem-pendidikan-nasional> Accessed on 20 November 2013. 34 Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia Nomor 55 Tahun 2007 tentang Pendidikan Agama dan Pendidikan Keagamanan. See particularly article 11. Accessed on 19 November 2013. 35 Interview with Ace Saifudin, Director of the Pondok Pesantren and Madrasah Diniyah, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 36 This method is commonly conducted by grand kyai by reading and translating the text quickly while the students listen and noting harakat and makna (reading signs and meaning) on their own books which are still ‘bald’ (kitab gundul) (i.e. do not have all vowels explicitly marked on the text) (van Bruinessen 1995: 11). 34

(primary school), madrasah tsanawiyyah (junior high school), and madrasah aliyah (senior high school/college) that are supervised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Their curriculum is determined by the Ministry in the form of modern text books which are changed periodically. A number of large pesantren have also established higher education institutions (perguruan tinggi) within their complexes. The third type of pesantren is similar to the previous type, but their schools are affiliated to the Ministry of National Education and are regarded as sekolah or secular schools, not madrasah. The fourth kind are pesantren that provide both madrasah and secular schools (Bustami 2009: 39). Except the first type, all are categorised as pesantren kholaf (as opposed to pesantren salaf). Many pesantren today organize formal education in madrasah or secular school classes in the morning and teach kitab kuning in the afternoon and evening. This is their way to adapt to modernisation and to meet the expectations of students and parents seeking formal certification (Steenbrink 1986; Zuhdi 2006; Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007; Hefner 2009).

The fact that the majority of today’s pesantren resemble the pesantren kholaf model can be seen as a response to parents’ pragmatic demands that education be an important contributing factor to students’ economic success.37 Many pesantren opened madrasah or general elementary schools with non-religious and vocational subjects in the 1970s and 1980s. Their residential students attend these madrasah during the morning and spend the afternoons and evenings studying religious subjects in the dormitory. It is also important to note that all pesantren are independent institutions, and none of them are funded by the Indonesian government.38

37 Unfortunately, there is no official data available that compares the number of each type of pesantren. 38 A 2005 data from the Minitry of Religion reveals that 47% of pesantren are operated by private foundations, and 39% by individuals. The reminder is run by Islamic mass organisations such as Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama or other organisations (Jackson and Parker 2008: 26). 35

There is strong pressure on all forms of Indonesian Islamic education, including pesantren, to integrate into the national education system. However, according to Jackson and Parker (2008), pesantren have constantly faced an uneasy adjustment to, and negotiation with, government policy and its values. For example, in order to produce graduates who are able to compete with their counterparts from secular schools both in the labour market and in pursuing higher education, Islamic schools, including pesantren schools, have to allocate large proportion of their teaching hours to non-Islamic subjects. Added to this, they have to maintain an appropriate number of hours for Islamic subjects in their curriculum. The other issue is that the national education system encourages active and participatory teaching and learning methods in order to raise the level of students' critical thinking. In contrast, this traditional Islamic education method is generally teacher-centred with a high degree of respect for a teacher's knowledge and authority, and tends to centre on rote learning. This might give rise to a contradiction in pedagogical approaches. In summary, most of them have tried to be adaptable to the educational system endorsed by the state (Zuhdi 2006; Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007; Hefner 2009).

IV. Current Development of Pesantren and their Enrolment Trends The current growth of Indonesian pesantren and their enrolment trend is complex. Statistically the number of pesantren has been increasing steadily over the past decades, but their proportion of the total national student body remains at only about 13% of Indonesian school age children (Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007: 178-80). Some commentators have sought to justify the importance of pesantren not merely in terms of their student numbers relative to that of general schools but in terms of the strategic position that pesantren hold in driving the direction of Islam in a country where there are many contested sources of religious authority in Indonesia (cf. Sakai 2012). My own observation additionally suggests that there is a new tendency among those who do not have pesantren education background but who now wish to send their children to pesantren. 36

Table 2.1 Number of Pesantren and Pupils (1977-2012)

Year Number of Number of

Pesantren Pesantren Pupils 2011-2012a 27,230 3,759,198 2006-2007b 17,506 3,289,141 1997c 9,388 1,770,760 1977c 4,195 677,384

Source: a. Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam (2012), b. Direktorat Jenderal Kelembagaan Agama Islam (2008), c. Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner (2007).

A recent report based on a survey in 2011-2012 from the Ministry of Religious Affairs shows that the number has reached 27,230 pesantren which accommodate 3,759,198 students.39 This is a remarkable growth if we trace back to data published in previous years. For example, less than a decade ago, in 2006-2007, the pesantren number was 17,506 with 3,289,141 students (see Table 1). It is not known why the number of pesantren had increased and why student number have not shown a proportional increase. This might relate to a growth in the establishment of new pesantren in many places. These new pesantren need time to build a reputation and to attract students. There is no longer a gender gap between male and female students with 50.19% of them male and 49.81% female.40 The majority of students (79.93%) live in pesantren’s dormitories, while only 20.07% live with their parents or in rented accommodation outside pesantren complex.41

Unfortunately, there was no available information of what the percentage of those figures against the total number of Indonesian school age children.

39 Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam, Kementerian Agama RI: Accessed on 6 May 2015. 40 Unfortunately there was no available data on the gender comparison and gap in pesantren’s enrolment figures across different years. 41 Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam, Kementerian Agama RI: Accessed on 6 May 2015. 37

Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner (2007: 178-9) suggested that in 2001-2 pesantren educated about 13% of the total school age children. However, there was no data across different years.

Throughout my visit to about fifteen pesantren in various regions during my research, however, I found evidence that supports the increasing enrolment in pesantren. For instance, Pesantren Sunan Pandanaran di Yogyakarta now accommodates 3000 students, while it accommodated only 600 students prior to 2005. Likewise, around 5000 students now reside in Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan, East Java that is doubling of the number of 10 years ago. All these pesantren are complemented with formal madrasah schooling model where the graduates receive certificates that enable them to pursue higher education. By way of contrast, a stagnant or declining enrolment trend can be found with pesantren salaf such as Pesantren Lirboyo in Kediri, East Java and Pesantren Sarang in Rembang, Central Java, which do not have formal madrasah schooling model. Without a systematic survey, we cannot make any generalisation from this trend. I found, for example, Pesantren Salaf Sidogiri in Pasuruan, East Java displays a trend towards slightly increasing student enrolment over the last 5 years and is becoming more popular among neighboring communities (see Isbah 2012). After the enactment of Government Bill number 55 on Religious Education in 2007, the graduates of such pesantren salaf are actually able to continue to any type of school and university. Nonetheless, a large segment of Muslims may perceive that such pesantren as not modern and, therefore, less relevant to worldly demands.

In general, the tuition fees of pesantren are relatively lower than those of government schools despite the greater government subsidy that the latter receive. Because studying in pesantren as residential student (santri) requires payment of not only tuition fees but also living expenses, parents have to send more money to their children in pesantren. In spite of this, 85% of the parents of pesantren's students had income of less than Rp. 500,000 per month or Rp. 16,500 (USD 1.75) per day, putting them below the poverty line of USD 2 per day (Jackson and Parker 2008: 26). After the regime changed in 1998, there has been 38 an increasing government budget allocation for Islamic schools including pesantren. What is the impact of the current government subsidies on the institutional development of pesantren and their relation with the wider community? Based on a quantitative research on three different types of pesantren-modern cum modernist pesantren, semi-modern pesantren, pesantren salaf- and a secular public school, Sticher (2008) presents the following findings: First, parents who send their children to pesantren salaf are likely to have lower educational level compared to those sending their children to modern or semi- modern pesantren, and even more so to secular public school. Second, most parents of pesantren salaf are likely to have been to pesantren themselves. The number of parents who attended a pesantren decreases at each step for those who send their children respectively to semi-modern pesantren, modern pesantren, or to secular public schools. Third, students/santri of pesantren salaf have more siblings (from 2 to 13) than those of semi-modern and modern pesantren, and even more than for secular public school students (Sticher 2008: 157-64).

Based on these quantitative findings, Sticher (Sticher 2008: 162-5) argues that choice of a school is linked closely to the educational background of parents, their own pesantren experience, their family size, and economic level. Educational attainment and family size are also indicators of social class. This data shows that parents of pesantren salaf's students are mostly from lower class backgrounds relative to other kinds of pesantren and secular schools. There are two possible explanations for this. First, it is because pesantren salaf are cheaper than their alternatives. However, this reason is certainly not or no longer accurate because today secular public schools or pesantren with government recognised madrasah—as in the case of modern and semi-modern pesantren— may be cheaper than in the past as a result of government subsidies. Financial reasons are, however, likely to be just a part of the explanation. Another reason is that well-educated parents, especially those with secular educational backgrounds, prefer secular schools or pesantren with secular subjects.

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In terms of quality which can be measured by failure rates in National Final Examination, pesantren or madrasah are relatively less successful than secular schools. The available data of 2003 indicates that the failure rate at junior secondary madrasah (Tsanawiyah) is 10.9% compared to 3.9% at general junior secondary school. For senior secondary madrasah (Aliyah), the failure rate is 15.4% compared to 5.7% at general senior secondary school. This is because they tend to serve disproportionately a rural and poor demographic (Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007: 177-82). Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner (2007: 177-82) showed a statistic produced by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 2003 suggesting that over 50% of pesantren students were children of farmers or laborers. A survey in 1999, across ten provinces, indicated that 85% of pesantren are located in rural areas, 14 % in semi-urban districts, and just 0.8% in cities (Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007: 177-82). The most current data from 2012 suggests a similar success rate of 99.45% for both Madrasah Aliyah and secular high school (SMA).42 For secondary schooling, the success rate is 99.57% for secular junior secondary school (SMP), but there is no available data on the success rate for Madrasah Tsanawiyah only. The available data does not disaggregate the data for SMP and Madrasah Tsanawiyah.43

The success rate in the National Final Examination as a reliable indicator of the educational quality should be questioned, as there is a substantial amount of mass media reporting, which questions the integrity of this examination, due to practices such as cheating, the leaking of question and answer sheets, and an over emphasis on coaching for the examination by teachers who fear the possible failure of their students in this examination.

42 This estimation is based on a statement by the Directorate General of Islamic Education of The Ministry of Religious Affairs, Nur Syam, on 20 October 2013. < http://www.republika.co.id/berita/pendidikan/eduaction/13/10/22/mv1wq7-ribuan- madrasah-belum-terakreditasi> Accessed on 19 November 2013. 43 < http://pendis.kemenag.go.id/index.php?a=detilberita&id=6718> . Accessed on 26 April 2013. 40

Conclusion

As an Islamic institution, pesantren has played several important and crucial roles in the changing historical situation of Indonesia. It has survived different political contexts and continued to grow despite the changing socio- economic conditions of Indonesian people. In the colonial era, it tried to isolate itself from the influence of the European, non-Muslim, colonizers because they believed that the Islamic learning tradition would nurture a mastery in Islamic sciences and through this Muslims would be able to perform their religious obligations in line with the Islamic orthodoxy. Pesantren leaders saw a different goal in the colonizers' educational philosophy which was perceived as a worldly oriented system. Such a philosophy was regarded harmful to the ‘pure vision’ of pesantren learning tradition. As a result, pesantren education represented a solid block to the influence of the colonizers. Pesantren leaders maintained and developed an intellectual network with Islamic learning centers in the Arab speaking world through pilgrimage to Mecca and by studying in the Middle East.

Over the course of the late 19th century, the situation changed when traditional Islamic education in the Middle East was subject to a reform movement. This reformism was a result of self-critique on the backwardness of Islamic society throughout the world. One of the ways advocated to overcome this backwardness and to enhance the progress of Muslims was that Islam -and Islamic education in particular- should adopt aspects of Western notions of modernity. It resulted in the adoption of graded class model to replace halaqah model which had previously been the most popular. Another result was the incorporation of non-Islamic subjects as to equip students who were facing a competitive modern world. This reform greatly influenced pesantren in Indonesia, as evidenced by their adoption of graded class model in the form of madrasah system and the incorporation of non-Islamic subjects.

Later, the government of post-independence Indonesia put pressure on pesantren, so that they would be in line with national development priorities by integrating them into national education system. Up until the present, there has

41 been a dynamic negotiation and appropriation in the process of interaction between the Indonesian state and pesantren as independent entities, particularly with regard to curriculum content and the portion of Islamic subjects in it. In spite of its weaknesses as an educational institution, pesantren have continued to grow and play significant roles in maintaining the Islamic educational tradition, out of which considerable numbers of Islamic scholars and community leaders have been produced. Therefore, understanding pesantren remains important way of understanding the development of Islam in Indonesia.

While this chapter has presented only a brief history and general outline of contemporary development of Indonesian pesantren, the following chapter will present an overview on pesantren’s community engagement as a manifestation of their socio-economic role, beyond their ‘core businesses as educational institutions. The basic reason of pesantren’s involvement in the socio- economic problems of their surrounding communites lies on the multiple roles of kyai as both pesantren leader and informal leaders for the wider, local community.

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Chapter Three

Pesantren’s Community Engagement and the Changing Context

Introduction

In the previous chapter I discussed the history and contemporary development of pesantren in order to emphasise its primary role in educating young Indonesian Muslims. I highlighted the continuing importance of pesantren across the changing social and political conditions in Indonesia. In this chapter I turn my attention to how pesantren engage in a socio-economic manner with their surrounding community in light of changing political and social conditions. This chapter will provide a context for my discussion of two case studies on pesantren-community engagement in the subsequent chapters.

In this chapter I present two arguments. First, I argue that the multiple roles of kyai beyond their positions as pesantren leaders form the basis for diverse forms of pesantren community engagement. Second, I argue that some external factors such as partnerships with government agencies, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)44, and non-government organisations (NGOs) have not significantly strengthened pesantren’s capacity to carry out their socio-economic projects. This argument is built on my attempt to asses thetextent to which these organisations have contributed to the strengthening of the capacity of pesantren to manage socio-economic projects for their communities.

This chapter is organised into five sections. Following this introduction, the first section will provide a brief narrative of the multiple role of kyai as both

44 In Indonesia, there is a different meaning between mass organisation and non-government organisation (NGO). The first denotes organisations with mass followers which work in various fields, while the second refers to organisations without mass followers which work in specific fields such as legal advocacy and consumer protection. NU and Muhammadiyah are examples of mass organisation, while various locally called LSM (Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat) such as LBH (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum, Legal Aid Institutute) and YLKI (Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia, Indonesian Consumer Foundation) are examples of NGO or LSM. 43 pesantren and community leader. The second section discusses the current programs of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), particularly its organisational arms RMI (Rabitah Ma'ahid al Islamiyah, Association of Islamic Pesantren) and Lakpesdam (Lembaga Pengembangan Sumberdaya Manusia, Institute for Human Resource Development) which support the socio-economic role of pesantren. The third section will provide an overview of NGO’s programs in partnership with pesantren. The following section discusses examples of technical and financial support to pesantren from organisations promoting Islamic microfinance. The last section assesses government’s economic projects involving pesantren as to what extent they have affected pesantren’s community engagement. In discussing this, I present two case studies: 1 Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan, East Java and 2) Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi. I argue that these two case studies show that access to financial support from government or other external agencies has not necessarily enabled those pesantren to carry out significant engagement with local communities.

I. The Multiple Roles of Kyai

A kyai is not only a respected figure in his pesantren, but he is also respected by those who live around his pesantren through his role as an informal community leader. The relation of kyai and his community is based on mutual expectation. The community members usually expect kyai to provide them with spiritual, moral, and religious guidance, as well as playing a protective leadership role. Consequently, the community respect the kyai, so that the kyai gains the moral authority to disseminate Islamic teachings in the community. Furthermore, the kyai also deals with outside agents on behalf of his community, and mobilises the community to support causes the kyai advocates (Horikoshi 1976: 300). As such, in addition to his position as a pesantren leader, a kyai might play several roles in the community in one (or more) of these areas: Islamic rituals, Islamic propagation, politics and economics. Different kyai have different personal concerns and personal interests which also affect their multiple roles.

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Concerning Islamic rituals, a kyai usually meets his community’s expectations to lead religious rituals held in the village such as communal prayers in private slametan45 for certain rites of passage purposes such as celebrating a baby's birth, a wedding ceremony, and commemorating the death of family members (haul) or in communal rituals such as the celebration of Islamic holidays (Bustami 2009: 53-60). In addition to leading religious rituals for the community, kyai commonly serve the surrounding community who seek advice regarding their problems in everyday life. The community consult the kyai because in their view the kyai is a venerable figure with a deep knowledge of religion, superior spiritual and moral standards. From such interaction, a kyai learns of the daily problems of their community (Horikoshi 1976: 300).

In Islamic propagation, some kyai organise weekly or monthly religious sermons for the wider community living around his pesantren as a da’wah mission. As most people do not have the technical skill to read Islamic scholarly books and their knowledge of religion is often limited, the kyai adjusts his method of teaching, so as to transmit practical Islamic teachings persuading his audience to do what is required in order to fulfill religious duties and avoiding wrong- doing (Millie 2008).

Islam is a proselytising and missionary religion. The missionary aspect of religion is both outward oriented and inward oriented. Outward orientation leads to efforts to convert non-believers or believers of other faiths, while an inward orientation focuses on deepening and strengthening the religiosity of the existing adherents toward orthodoxy or the qualitative realm of the faith (Husin 1998: 13-14; Meuleman 2011: 236). In Islam, such a religious mission is known by the term da’wah, which means ‘to call or to invite’. The word da’wah and various derivations of it appear in 25 chapters (surah) of Al Qur’an, but there is no concrete guide as how to carry it out. Over time Muslims have interpreted

45 Slametan is a very popular ritual among traditionalist Javanese Muslims in which a host invites surrounding neighbors and a kyai to participate in a meal celebrating, a special occasion at which the kyai will also lead them in prayer. The ritual is concluded with a meal provided by the host (Geertz 1960a, Chapter 1; Woodward 1988). 45 these verses and realised da’wah through a number of approaches and manifestations which have changed according to social context (Husin 1998: 15; Meuleman 2011: 237-9). In modern Indonesia, Muslims have articulated da’wah in at least three ways, da’wah bil lisan or da’wah by preaching, da’wah bil qalam or da’wah by writing, and da’wah bil hal or da’wah by deeds (Meuleman 2011: 260-2; Sakai 2012: 12). Many pesantren kyai become regular preachers at religious events called pengajian, which can attract hundreds or thousands of people as their audience. At such events, the kyai stands on a stage addressing the crowd through loud speakers. For this service, the kyai is given a pecuniary honorarium (Franklin 2014: 161-2). However, not all kyai or pesantren leaders are interested in such activities or gifted enough to preach to such huge crowds.46

In the political arena, other kyai are more interested in politics and see politics as the most effective way to channel his community’s aspirations and to influence state policies (Franklin 2014: 170-4). Related to this, the anthropologist, Clifford Geertz (1960b) viewed kyai who played such political roles as ‘cultural brokers’. As a ‘cultural broker” the kyai mediates between the ongoing changes of politics, ideology, and economy at national level and rural population as his direct audience. In such cases, the kyai is perceived to be a learned man who holds an elite position in the rural social structure due to his relative superiority of Islamic knowledge, his land ownership, and social networks.

Up until the present, the role of kyai in Indonesian politics has remained strong though not as strong as in 1950s and 1960s (Fealy and Bush 2014). Karim’s study (2008) of pesantren in Madura has noted the resurgence of the kyai’s role in local politics following the implementation of multi-party system and decentralisation of power in post-New Order Indonesia. He has shown that many kyai are attracted to direct political involvement by participating directly

46 Islamic public sermons in present-day Indonesia are not a monopoly of pesantren kyai. Such public sermons have become a highly dynamic and sometimes commercialised religious sphere contested by preachers from a diverse range of backgrounds, ranging from so-called celebrity ustadz, to business motivators, to traditionalist kyai, to university professors (see Howell 2008; Muzakki 2008; Millie 2012). 46 in local political contests as candidates and as power brokers. Despite some successful endeavours in taking over the local leadership positions (bupati), many kyai do not have a clear vision of how to use their political power.

In economics, some kyai are more interested in guiding their community members through the economic transformation from rural-based agriculture to urban-based livelihood. A study by Horikoshi (1976) at a pesantren in West Java has shown how a kyai demonstrated a decisive leadership role in maintaining traditional values and culture, while at the same time encouraging the community to adjust to the rapidly changing economic environment.

Other recent studies (eq. Sakai and Marijan 2008; Sakai 2008; Isbah 2011; 2012) have suggested a more concrete role of kyai with his pesantren in improving the economic situation of the community. For example, Kyai Nawawi Abdul Jalil of Pesantren Sidogiri in Pasuruan, East Java has developed a growing Islamic microfinance business benefiting graduates and the neighbouring community. Through a remarkable growth of this business, the Pesantren now employes more than a thousand of its graduates. Initially, the Pesantren Sidogiri established a co-operative called Kopontren (Koperasi Pondok Pesantren, Cooperative of Pondok Pesantren) in 1961 for helping the welfare of the teachers and the students of the Pesantren itself through shariah-based capital loans and selling everyday goods, then it grew rapidly at the end of the 1990s. The existing Kopontren Sidogiri, which operated mostly in retail businesses, began to expand rapidly in the years between 1997 and 2000. The Pesantren initiated two other business hubs, the Cooperative of BMT MMU (Baitul Mal wat Tamwil Maslahah Mursalah lil Ummah) and the Cooperative of BMT UGT (Baitul Mal wat Tamwil Usaha Gabungan Terpadu), both of which provided micro finance services (Sakai 2008: 279). Sakai and Marijan (2008: 3) argue that the success of the cooperatives lies in the quality of the Pesantren Sidogiri leaders particularly their ability to mobilize networks of the Pesantren’s graduates.

Unfortunately, it is hard to provide any precise data of how many pesantren are managing socio-economic projects, which benefit their communities.

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Existing publications from the Ministry of Religious Affairs are mostly reports on its own successful projects in some pesantren (see Proyek Peningkatan Pondok Pesantren 2004; Direktorat Pendidikan Keagamaan dan Pondok Pesantren 2004). Throughout my fieldwork, however, I found a growing interest among pesantren communites in playing an active role in addressing the socio-economic problems faced by their communities. The majority of them, however, are still searching for projects or activities that would be suitable with their demographic conditions and the precise means of how to start such projects.

Many kyai undertake multiple roles in more than one area of interest. In such cases the fields in which they undertake these roles are frequently mutually supportive. For example, a kyai might engage in politics as well as Islamic propagation through his frequent public preaching. Based on his popularity as a public preacher, the kyai therefore gains a greater number of votes in elections or greater authority as a power broker.

In the subsequent chapters, I will present a more detailed discussion of case studies from two pesantren in order to show how the multiple roles of kyai have led to a more systematic engagement in socio-economic problems of the community. The following sections will discuss the external context influencing a pesantren’s community engagement in contemporary Indonesia.

II. Nahdlatul Ulama as a Cultural Umbrella of Most Indonesian Pesantren

The aim of this section is to show that NU is a cultural umbrella for most pesantren in Indonesia47, and the extent of its influence on pesantren’s community engagement. However, it is important to understand that pesantren's affiliation to

47 There is no available data providing a precise figure of how many pesantren are affiliated to NU. Of about 27 thousand pesantren throughout Indonesia, Muhammadiyah claimed to have only 122 pesantren at its 2015 Congress. There must be some independent pesantren, which have not identified themselves as having an affiliation with a particular Islamic organisation, but the majority, especially those in Java, self-identify as NU pesantren. 48

NU is not an organisational and financial affiliation, but a bonding sense of doctrine, school of thought, learning model, and cultural proximity.

The NU’s concern with socio-economic issues can be traced back to its official decision in its 1984 congress in Situbondo, East Java to withdraw from practical politics and to switch its focus back to the socio-religious affairs of its constituency. Following that congress, the NU promoted the syu’un ijtimaiyah (social concern) as its main platform in the following years (van Bruinessen 1994: Chapter 8). To promote that platform, the NU then established an organisational arm called Lakpesdam (Lembaga Kajian dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia, Institute for Human Resources and Development). The Lakpesdam was expected to energise critical studies on Islamic doctrine to be in line with societal changes through discussions and publications, and conducting popular education, mainly on political literacy.48 The Lakpesdam was the most crucial organisation for intellectual development of NU youth and that many prominent figures had spent some years there before pursuing their present academic, political, or religious leadership careers.49

Although most studies have analysed the NU’s political side (eq. Nurhasim and Ridwan 2004; Karim 2008; Ridwan 2010), I focus my analysis on its effort to strengthen the capacity of pesantren to engage with their communities. Such efforts have been pursued through its organisational arms: RMI (Rabitah Ma'ahid al Islamiyah, federation of pesantren) and Lakpesdam (Lembaga Pengembangan Sumberdaya Manusia, Institute for Human Resource Development). I argue that these two organisations –RMI and Lakpesdam- have not enhanced pesantren’s capacity to deliver positive socio-economic outcomes. This is partly because some kyai have not accepted the programs of RMI and Lakpesdam enthusiastically, and there has also been little or no strategy to sustain the programs’ funding.

48 http://lakpesdam.org/sejarah-lakpesdam/. Accessed on 30 January 2014. 49 Former members include Ulil Absar Abdalla who is currently a board member of Democrat Party, and M. Imdadur Rahmat who is currently a member of the National Human Rights Commission. 49

A. RMI (Rabitah Ma'ahid al Islamiyah)

The RMI is a division under the leadership of NU and exists at the central board level (PBNU), provincial board level (PWNU) and district board level (PCNU) of NU. Given its position as a division, the RMI's committee is appointed for a five-year period by the elected NU leaders. The role of the RMI is to manage NU's programs that target pesantren. So, it is not an association in the sense that pesantren's people have authority in the organisation, rather it is an organisational arm of NU's leadership at every level that deals with pesantren.

During the mid-1990s, RMI collaborated with PINBUK50, Inkopontren (Induk Koperasi Pondok Pesantren, the Federation of Pesantren's Cooperatives), P3M (Pusat Pengkajian Pesantren dan Masyarakat, Centre for the Study of Pesantren and Society), and Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI), to manage P2KER project (Proyek Peningkatan Kemandirian Rakyat, the People's Economic Empowerment Project) that was funded by the Ministry of Cooperatives. It was started by channeling financial assistance to pesantren in 15 provinces to establish Unit Simpan Pinjam (USP, Islamic savings and lending unit) in pesantren. By 1999 they had distributed Rp. 16.68 billion working capital to 1,500 USPs in pesantren, that was accompanied by a monitoring and supervision program of their management and funds’ distribution (Antonio 2011: 326-7). Given that the RMI’s committee changes every five years, however, the current committee has little or no knowledge regarding issues of continuity within this program.51

The committee of RMI who held their positions from 2010 to 2015 managed their work on pesantren affairs in three main areas. First, they advocate a policy of equality for pesantren in the national education system and equal recognition of its graduates for purposes of university admission. A product of this advocacy work is the ability of graduates of pesantren salaf to enrol in Islamic universities, and the provision of government special scholarships for high

50 I will discuss PINBUK specifically in the last section of this chapter. 51 In my view, there was also a major administrative shortcoming in the RMI secretariat in maintaining its corporate memory. 50 achieving pesantren graduates (PBSB, program beasiswa santri berprestasi) to continue their education in certain top Indonesian universities. Second, the RMI functions as a pressure group for the interests of pesantren on state budgeting. The RMI notes that the government has allocated less funds in the budget for pesantren compared to that for general schools. For this reason, they encourage the government to put more funding to improve pesantren facilities. Third, it acts to strengthen economic capacity of pesantren and their graduates. Such efforts have been pursued through promoting entrepreneurship in pesantren communities. In their view, pesantren in the past were mostly owned and led by wealthy kyai with extensive land and an abundant income. Today, with an excessive reduction of farming land especially in Java, the situation has changed significantly. The result of this change is that pesantren need to find alternate sources of income to maintain their economic self-reliance; that is through entrepreneurship. Moreover, most parents sending their children to pesantren are not necessarily expecting them becoming Islamic scholars or clerics, many of them expect their children to merely become good Muslims (berakhlak) and to have adequate knowledge and skill to face their future life challenges. For students of this sort, in RMI's view, pesantren need to furnish them with entrepreneurial skills.52

In a broader sense, entrepreneurship has also become an official mantra promoted by the Indonesian government to respond to the often predicted ‘demographic bonus’ of a relatively young, productive population in the near future. The government of Susilo Bambang Yudoyono often suggested that Indonesia will soon have a half of its population (around 123 million) under thirty years old and with a good education (Azali 2015). Nonetheless, the country had an unemployment rate of 7.14% in 2011 and this decreased only slightly to 6.32% in 2012. The government set a target to reduce the rate to less than 5% by 2014 (Hasan 2013: 182-3), but this failed as the rate remained at 6% in 2015. The unemployment rate suggested by the government here does not

52 Interview with Miftah Faqih, Secretary of RMI, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 51 truly illustrate the real poverty in the field as currently there are 28 million (15%) of population who live below a very low poverty line of Rp. 292,951 (USD 24). And if we use the World Bank’s USD 2 a day as minimum income, almost a half of the population can be counted as poor (World Bank April 2015).

Anticipating the limited formal jobs in government and private sector, the state has been seeing self-employment in “creative industries”53 and the informal sector as the best solution to the potential growth of educated labor force. Therefore, the government has been promoting entrepreneurship that targets youth. The government has established creative industries and design departments or supported entrepreneurship workshops in universities and has opened numerous new vocational secondary schools. The government has also broadly supported various entrepreneurship development programs initiated by both government and non-government entities through the National Movement for Entrepreneurship or Gerakan Kewirausahaan Nasional which was launched in 2011 (Hasan 2013: 185; Azali 2015).

To promote entrepreneurship in pesantren communities, the committee of RMI (2010-2015) started with a small project in Pesantren Darul Falah in Serang, Banten in late 2010.54 This project was funded by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Initially, the project aimed to strengthen the institutional capacity and social influence of the Pesantren in the neighbouring community. Part of the project aimed at improving the interaction between the Pesantren and the community. To do this, the project founded a community business group for garment manufacture as a prospective economic enterprise since many of the community members had formerly been workers in textile industry. While the Ministry of Religion provided sewing machines for the community, the RMI arranged training in business management and information technology

53 There is no clear meaning of what “creative industries” means. However, Indonesian government officials often picked computer and information technology related jobs like software development as an example. 54 Pesantren Darul Falah is a relatively small-size pesantren kholaf with around 300 students. It was established in 1973. . Accessed on 8 August 2015. 52 for some senior students and teachers. Eventually the Pesantren Darul Falah became the manager of this community business, dealing with the supply of raw materials and product marketing. While the actual purpose of the project was to strengthen the influence of Pesantren Darul Falah and its ability to promote peaceful Islam in the community, its method was that of an economic empowerment project.55

Later, RMI replicated this project in other pesantren in several provinces when it received CSR (corporate social responsibility) funding from the state- owned Bank Mandiri in 2011-2012. It named the project Wiramuda Mandiri Goes to Pesantren with a slogan Tradisi Mandiri Solusi Negeri (Self-Reliance Tradition as the Country’s Solution). The project was conducted through training, internships, capital assistance, coaching and supervision and had an ultimate goal of cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship among pesantren managers and graduates. Further development of this project was the popularisation of entrepreneurship in the pesantren world and its graduates. Recently a network of the project's alumni has formed the HIPSI, Himpunan Pengusaha Santri (association of santri entrepreneurs).56

In promoting entrepreneurship in the pesantren community, the RMI faced the following challenges.57 First, kyai as pesantren leaders were often reluctant to become directly involved in such programs. When the kyai were invited, they often delegated attendance to their close aides or senior students. Consequently, the participants of the workshop were unable to put into practice the knowledge and skill they learned in the workshop since they did not have ultimate authority in their pesantren. For this reason, Miftah Faqih, the secretary of RMI, encouraged kyai from every pesantren participating in the RMI's project to attend at least the opening ceremony of the workshop in which Miftah could explain the main goal of the project. With a better understanding of the project,

55 Interview with Miftah Faqih, Secretary of RMI, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 56 Interview with Miftah Faqih, Secretary of RMI, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 57 Interview with Miftah Faqih, Secretary of RMI, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 53 the kyai eagerly supported the realisation of the economic enterprises proposed by their aides. Second, many kyai consider that economic activities are not part of their role as pesantren and community leaders. For this problem Miftah Faqih persuaded the kyai that the future of pesantren depended on the quality of kyai and the reputation of their graduates. Miftah was of the opinion that pesantren graduates with entrepreneurship skills would become the leaders of the socio- economic activities in the community (penggerak masyarakat). As such, the reputation of pesantren in the community would be enhanced. With such a persuasive explanation, often given on a one-on-one basis, many kyai who were previously unenthusiastic about such projects became happy to be involved in them. Third, there was a popular perception that such a project was artificial, meaning it would end after all funds had been used. Such a perception, according to Miftah Faqih, was due to the widespread custom among governments and NGOs to distribute "social donations" (bantuan social) which were not directed at the funding of a clear project or activity.

In general, however, the activities of RMI have been constrained by funding issues. From 2010 to 2013, it solely relied on a grant valued at Rp 3 billion from Bank Mandiri that was part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund.58 As a result, the implementation of any ideas or programs depended on the ability to obtain further funding. A further consequence of this funding issue was that RMI could not deliver more systematic and long term programs.

B. Lakpesdam

Unlike the RMI which relied on domestic funding, the Lakpesdam was like a regular NGO. Most of its funding was from foreign donors as many of its programs were closely linked to issues of democracy and human rights, but in this case particularly Islamic perspectives were applied. However, its staff often refused to label Lakpesdam as an NGO, and insisted instead that it was an

58 Interview with Miftah Faqih, Secretary of RMI, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 54 official organisational arm of NU. It recently claimed to have 114 subsidiaries at provincial and regency level.59

Lakpesdam only rarely involves pesantren in its programs. During the course of my fieldwork, it managed three programs: the promotion of conflict resolution, the training for ulama cadres, and a program called PNPM Peduli (Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat, National Program of Community Empowerment).60 This is a government program funded by the World Bank and sub-contracted to a number of NGOs.61 Starting in 2011, Lakpesdam became one of its sub-contractors. The program consists of three types of project: economic empowerment, social justice promotion, and facilitating access to basic public services for marginalised groups. It manages the program in 28 districts located in 11 provinces. However, none of its partners have been pesantren because Lakpesdam has prioritised its subsidiaries at the district level.62

III. NGOs' Partnerships with Pesantren

In addition to the previously-mentioned partnerships, it is important to understand that Indonesian non-government organisations (NGOs) began to build partnerships with pesantren for socio-economic development projects in the early 1970s. Their initial tendency was a concern with socio-economic empowerment of communities. Later, beginning in early 1990s, their concern switched to raising political awareness through the dissemination of civic education, gender, human rights, and democracy themes.

The Jakarta-based LP3ES (Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information) was the first NGO to create a project attracting

59 Interview with Lilis Nurul Husna, former executive director and current board secretary of the Central Board of Lakpesdam, Jakarta 20 May 2013. 60 http://lakpesdam.or.id/category/program/. Accessed on 4 July 2015. 61 http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2013/04/04/indonesia-a-nationwide-community- program-pnpm-peduli-caring-for-the-invisible. Accessed on 4 July 2015. 62 http://lakpesdam.or.id/pnpm-peduli-phase-ii/. Accessed on 4 July 2015. 55 pesantren as its partner. Dawam Rahardjo, the leader of LP3ES and proponent of the project in 1970s and 1980s noted that the initiative was inspired by Dawam and his colleagues’ concern over the poor situation and backwardness of pesantren in contrast to the accelerating modernisation in non-Islamic educational institutions. Meanwhile, pesantren demonstrated a tremendous independence and self-reliance in the face of intervention from outside. Such aims attracted university graduates with pesantren background like Dawam and his colleagues at LP3ES with a view to improving living standards and establishing progressive worldviews through an ‘enlightenment and empowerment’ mission. The enlightenment approach manifested in the discussion of Islamic teachings in relation to social problems, supporting library and discussion clubs, while the empowerment approach was in the form of technical assistance in establishing business units, management training, and facility improvement.63

The LP3ES’s project on pesantren was started by conducting research that was followed by an experiment in eight pesantren located near Bogor, West Java, starting in 1971.64 The main purpose of this initial project was to identify potential economic enterprises that could be developed. As a result, it assisted the pesantren to establish fish farming and small scale industries. The second stage was a research project in other pesantren located in other provinces of Indonesia. At this stage, the research found that there were diverse perceptions and aspirations among pesantren regarding what they called ‘progress’ (Indonesian: kemajuan). Some pesantren saw a greater need of facility improvement and better libraries, while others saw the economic welfare of teachers and life skill training for students as being more pressing. Consequently, LP3ES could not establish the same follow up project in each pesantren. For instance, it supported the establishment of a good library in Pesantren Tebuireng, Jombang; an application of appropriate technology (teknologi tepat guna) in agriculture for Pesantren Guluk

63 Interview with Dawam Rahardjo, Yogyakarta, 28 August 2013. "Enlightenment and empowerment" is my translation from Dawam's words "pencerahan dan pemberdayaan". 64 The outcomes for this research and these experiments were compiled in Prasodjo (1975). 56

Guluk in Sumenep, Madura; and a revolving credit fund for micro enterprises in Pesantren Kajen, Pati. Such diverse aspirations on the part of the pesantren were due to different societal problems that each faced as well as different ways the pesantren interacted with their neighbouring community.65

The initial pioneer of such community engagement projects was Pesantren Pabelan in Magelang, Central Java. From its establishment in 1965, its leader Kyai Hamam Ja’far, a Gontor graduate, designed his pesantren to be an integral part of the local community. Symbolically, he did not build a fence between the Pesantren’s complex and the neighbourhood. Following Kyai Hamam’s interaction with LP3ES, Pesantren Pabelan started to carry out a more systematic approach in its community engagement. In 1974, it established three Student Working Groups (Kelompok Kerja Santri). The first group worked on health issues of the community (Penyuluh Kesehatan Lingkungan), the second group worked on social welfare issues (Penyuluh Kesejahteraan Sosial), and the final group worked on adult education and literacy (Pendidikan Masyarakat Desa). In 1978, the Pesantren established a special body focusing on community development activities, Balai Pengkajian dan Pengembangan Masyarakat (Bureau for the Community Study and Development).66 With the existence of this organisation, the Pesantren was able to conduct more varied projects in the community, that made use of its strengthened capacity and management (Anwar 1986: Bab III). Based on these achievements, Pesantren Pabelan became well- known both locally and nationally as a pioneer in pesantren-based community development works. After this, many social and NGO activists organised training and discussions in Pabelan, that even attracted attendees from overseas. Between the mid of 1970s and 1980s, Pesantren Pabelan became an important part of a network of pesantren with the same concerns and vision, like for instance, Pesantren Maslakul Huda in Pati, Pesantren Cipasung in Tasikmalaya and Pesantren An Nuqoyah in Sumenep. With LP3ES, and later through P3M,

65 Interview with Dawam Rahardjo, Yogyakarta, 28 August 2013. 66 Pesantren Maslakul Huda in Kajen, Pati also established a same organisation around the same time. 57 leaders and activists from these pesantren often met at training sessions and other knowledge sharing forums.67

After running for 10 years, and because of the donor’s own rules which limited the period over which projects with a particular organisation could be funded, the German donor Frederich Neumann Stiftung (FNS) was unable to continue funding for this LP3ES’s project. Finally activists of LP3ES, including Dawam Rahardjo, formed another NGO, P3M (Centre for Pesantren and Society Development) in 1983 with a purpose of continuing the project and were able to receive further funding from FNS.68 The P3M then became a pioneer of the broader promotion of development-oriented projects among pesantren (Rahardjo 1985), up until it concluded this project in early 1990s.69 We can find a number of publications on the theme of pesantren and community development produced in relation to this project, mainly in Indonesian and published by LP3ES and P3M, such as Rahardjo, ed. (1985; 1988) and Oepen and Karcher, eds.(1988).70

In a broader sense, both LP3ES and P3M represented the emerging activism of Muslim intellectuals who shared a concern with the negative impact of modernisation during the New Order era: in particular, economic inequality and the undemocratic nature of state management by the New Order from 1970s to 1998. They suggested that any development should be based on Islamic principles and values. Otherwise, they argued, a Western-style modernisation would erode the morals and culture of the Muslim community. Another criticism arose from their concern with economic injustice. Many perceived that the Indonesian state’s ongoing development projects were of

67 Furher information on Pesantren Pabelan during the leadership of Kyai Hamam Ja’far (1965-1993) can be found in Rosidi (2008). Unfortunately, there is no available written source telling the sustainability of Pesantren Pabelan’s community projects after the death of Kyai Hamam Ja’far in 1993. 68 Interview with Dawam Rahardjo, Yogyakarta, 28 August 2013. 69 Interview with Masdar Farid Mas’udi, the Director of P3M at that time. Jakarta, 20 June 2013. 70 Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any credible written data on the continuation of these projects in those pesantren beyond 1990s. 58 benefit mainly to the elites and the (non-Muslim) Chinese magnates and exacerabated wider economic inequality. This concern had been discussed among urban educated Muslim middle class from the early 1970s and led a number of Muslims intellectuals and activists such as M. Dawam Rahardjo (b. 19410, Adi Sasono (b. 1943), Mansour Fakih (d. 2004), Sahal Machfudz (d. 2014), and Masdar Farid Mas'udi (b. 1954) to develop a discourse that linked Islam with welfare and social justice. They tried to link Islamic doctrines and discourse to the contemporary global problems faced by the Muslim community by promoting anthropocentric Islamic terms such as ‘social piety', ‘social fiqh, ‘transformative Islam', and ‘justice religion' (Latief 2012: 85).

One of the successful partners of LP3ES and P3M throughout the 1980s and 1990s was Pesantren Maslakul Huda in Kajen, Pati, Central Java. According to my fieldwork survey in 2013, it still manages eight branches of a rural credit loan bank (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat, BPR), while other programs or business units had been closed due to mismanagement. According to Zubaedi (2009), the socio-economic activity of this pesantren relies in part on the vision of its leader, Kyai Haji Sahal Mahfudz, and his ability to contextualize Islamic teachings within a particular social context. Given the poor living standards of the surrounding community, Mahfudz coined the idea of fiqh sosial (social fiqh), an intellectual effort to drive the discourses of Islamic law from an overemphasis on ritual devotion to social concerns. In so doing, he promoted the concept of public good (maslaha) as the most important consideration in answering contemporary community problems. Inspired by Al Ghazali, a classic Islamic scholar, Mahfudz cites in his paper:

"an Islamic scholar should have a social sensitivity and be able to comprehend ‘the spirit of the era' for the sake of the umma's interests in the world. As maslaha changes over time, our interpretation of Islamic text should be temporal and flexible" (quoted from Zubaedi 2009: 73).

Budiwiranto, who conducted fieldwork in the Pesantren in 2005, has argued that what Pesantren Maslakul Huda did was an alternative to the ‘top- down' approach of the New Order's development policies and practices. Given

59 the fact that Indonesian pesantren are mostly managed through a living patron- client culture where the authority of kyai is unquestioned, the author examined whether the Pesantren was able to carry out a ‘participatory development' approach in practice. The ‘participatory development' projects that were introduced and promoted by some NGOs to the pesantren world from early 1970s to early 1990s were susceptible to collapse when the funding from foreign donors was terminated. Most pesantren were unable to mobilise the available natural and human resources to develop community-based economic enterprises, instead they created new dependency of the communities surrounding them. Therefore, there are no remaining outcomes of this project except for a small number of business units, such as microfinance cooperatives and grocery cooperative that belong to pesantren, rather than the community (Budiwiranto 2007; 2009).71

An Indonesian social activist Mansour Fakih who was involved in that project has expressed a deep concern over the internal paradoxes and ambiguities between the values advocated by the project and the culture of pesantren world. For example, some pesantren people felt that ideas such as ‘participatory development’, ‘social empowerment’, and ‘economic equality’ were often contradictory to the absolute leadership of kyai and ‘feudal’, deferential culture within pesantren (Fakih 1988).

Meanwhile, the continuation of several projects in Pesantren Pabelan can still be followed up until 2015. For instance, in 1978, the Pesantren organised training in basic health care for its students and local youth. They were then grouped into several task forces to raise awareness of healthy lifestyles such as house design, water and waste management for the local people. This program transformed the Pabelan village into a healthy and environmentally sustainable village, and the Pesantren received an award from the Indonesian government in 1978 for its community healthcare program and in 1982 for its environment

71 During the course of this research, I did not find any publication and reliable information about the current state of the project in other pesantren, and due to time constraint it was not possible to make a visit to all of those pesantren. 60 conservation project (Kalpataru). As a proof of the sustainability of this project, it received the same two awards again in 2007. Besides, the local artisans producing household equipment made from bamboo and stone still exist in the village although there is no longer business coaching by the Pesantren. According to Habib Chirzin – an activist who has been involved in managing various community project in Pabelan from late 1970s - the performance of the project fluctuates, but it is fine as long as the community’s activities which were derived from the project can be sustained.72

The P3M was committed to socio-economic issues in the pesantren world up until the early 1990s. Later, when Masdar Mas'udi became its director in 1994, the direction and priority of the organisation switched to discourse programs.73 Why did P3M shift from community development-oriented projects toward political education and contextualisation of Islamic teaching (penyegaran pemahaman Islam) projects? There are some possible explanations for this shift. First, there was a new understanding that poverty is a broader political and structural problem. To address these problems P3M needed to focus on democratisation and contextualisation of Islam towards material issues.

There was a popular anecdote among NGO activists in Indonesia: "if the fish pond is fully occupied by the powerful, how can people fish even if they are given a hook?”.74 Therefore, they saw the work needed at that time was to raise people's consciousness as to their state of oppression.75 A part of these efforts were projects on human rights, gender, civic education, and a theology of land

72 Phone interview with Habib Chirzin, a senior teacher at Pesantren Pabelan who has been involved in the project management since late 1970s. Canberra-Magelang, 4 December 2015. 73 It should be noted that during Masdar’s leadership period, the staff composition of P3M was dominated by young activists from NU background. This was different from the previous composition where staff was mixed between those from modernist (or Muhammadiyah) like Dawam Rahardjo and Lies Marcoes-Natsir and those from NU background. Interview with Suraji, a former staff member of P3M, Jakarta, 30 May 2013. 74 Its original Indonesian expression: “jika kolam ikan telah dikuasai semua oleh mereka yang kuat, bagaimana rakyat bias memancing meskipun diberi kail?” 75 Interview with Ahmad Suaedy, an NGO activist from NU background, Jakarta, 22 May 2013. 61

(teologi tanah).76 This last topic was a response to the increasing hostility between government and people regarding land occupation for the purpose of development projects in early 1990s, such as Kedungombo Dam construction project in Central Java which forced thousands of inhabitants from their homes without adequate compensation.

Second, this shifting concern might be shaped partly as a result of a growing dissatisfaction among development NGOs over their twenty years of work in development projects. They saw there was no significant political and economic progress in rural neighbourhood (Fakih 1996: 105-6). Fakih's study (1996) reveals that in the early 1990s NGO activists realised that their development projects were trapped within the same logic of developmentalism as that of the government's projects. As a result of this, they came to a conclusion that the reformative approach had to be replaced with a more transformative approach. The latter approach put emphasis more on political consciousness through popular education and counter-discourse production. A part of these efforts was the dissemination of Islamic liberal theology through a P3M-published magazine Pesantren (not to be confused, this is a magazine title) whose aim was the contextualisation of Islamic teachings in accordance with the current changes in worldly affairs.

Concurrent with the P3M’s intense promotion of community- development projects among pesantren in early 1980s was an internal dynamic within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) that aspired to move the focus of this organisation from politics to the socio-economic conditions of its followers. Part of this shift of focus occured when NU, as the socio-political organisation to which most Indonesian pesantren were affiliated, declared its withdrawal from the political arena at its 1984 National Congress. Van Bruinessen and Wajidi (2006) have argued that the branding of ‘social concerns' within NU was a result of the interplay between the influence of NGO activists affiliated to NU, mainly

76 Interview with Suraji, a former staff of P3M, Jakarta, 30 May 2013. An example of publications on Teologi Tanah is Mas’udi (1994). 62 those who were active in LP3ES and P3M, and the widespread political dissatisfaction among the younger generation within NU with the ‘stagnant and unprogressive' nature of the organisation due to its elites' involvement in political parties. ‘Social concerns' meant the withdrawal of NU from the political arena and the prioritising of the religious and social concerns of its constituency.77

Nevertheless, I argue that the formal withdrawal from politics actually did not reduce the involvement of NU activists in politics. According to Robin Bush (2009: 80), the withdrawal declaration meant a disaffiliation of NU from the (PPP), and a broadening of new political opportunities with the ruling party . As a result, the focus on socio- economic concerns as had been discussed in early 1980s was not articulated adequately in the organisation’s works. A notable example of this was the failed realisation of an ambitious plan in early 1990s to establish People Credit Bank (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat, BPR) named NUSUMMA with 2000 branches/units within twenty years (Rumadi 2008: 98).

After the downfall of Soeharto, a greater proportion of NU youth became NGO activists. This was in line with growth of tertiary educated graduates from pesantren or NU background in 1990s (van Bruinessen 2013b: 47-8). Most of them worked in NGOs whose programs were overwhelmingly concerned with the promotion of the progressive and contextualised Islamic discourses. Indonesian NGO activists commonly distinguish three types of NGO: development NGOs, advocacy NGOs, and discourse NGOs.78 Most NGOs linked to pesantren are discourse NGOs. The most prominent among them are LKiS (Institute for Islamic and Social Studies) in Yogyakarta, Wahid Institute and ICIP (International Centre for Islam and Pluralism) in Jakarta, and

77 For a more detail discussion on the rivalry between ‘the young-progressive camp' versus ‘the old-conservative camp' within NU in 1980s and its implication on the organisation's programs and concerns, see van Bruinessen (1991). 78 Interview with Lilis Nurul Chusna, a longtime activist at PP Lakpesdam NU. Jakarta, 20 May 2013. Prior to this, I had often heard similar categorisations by NGO activists. 63

Elsad (Institute for the Study of Religion and Democracy) in Surabaya. Such NGOs were initiated by a generation of pesantren-educated activists who had gained their tertiary education in big cities such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Surabaya. In addition, P3M remains active, but no longer with community development project.79 It has now become a discourse NGO, and its gender program has in turn inspired the establishment of other NGOs, Rahima and Fahmina, which focus on gender issues using Islamic perspectives (van Bruinessen 2013b: 45-47).80 It seems that there are no longer any significant NGOs which are involved in partnering pesantren on issues of economic development.

The dominant discourse of community development within pesantren community and among NU activists disappeared from the early 1990s. I do not have a precise explanation to this change. Van Bruinessen and Wajidi (2006: 225-32) have suggested two reasons for its disappearance: changing trends in issues of concern to NGOs, from community development to civil society empowerment in the early 1990s, and political liberalisation after the fall of ’s authoritarian regime in 1998. The initial NGO trend was concerned more with socio-economic empowerment of society, while the latter was more concerned with raising political awareness through the dissemination of civic education, gender, human rights, and democracy. This argument is in line with Hadiwinata’s (2003: 104) contention on the shifting trend within Indonesian NGOs world from being so-called ‘development’ NGOs to becoming ‘Movement’ NGOs. In the late 1980s, activists of Indonesian NGOs had begun to realise that their welfare and economic projects at the grass roots would not be successful unless they could change the political and economic structure in which the oppressed were trapped. The factors fuelling this discontent derived from the tightened authoritarian policy of the Suharto regime and the slow

79 For the current programs, see its website http://www.p3m.or.id/. 80 The most informative source on the dynamic of Islamic discourse among those NGOs is Rumadi (2008). 64 progress of those NGOs’ own economic projects. Hadiwinata (2003: 109) paraphrased the growing discontents as follows:

that too heavy concentration on economic aspects will reduce NGOs’ role to become simply pengrajin masyarakat (social artisans) which means that their works demands a high degree of commitment or attention, but has no meaningful, long-term impact on society because structural problems that have caused poverty and destitution (social injustice, economic exploitation, political domination and marginalisation) remain untouched.81

The discontent led most NGOs to reposition themselves from being development oriented programs to political empowerment programs. On 19 December 1990, there was a meeting attended by leaders of NGOs in Baturaden, Purworkerto, Central Java which resulted the so-called Baturaden Declaration. One part of the declaration stated: “put more emphasis on advocacy, information sharing and the provision of political education based on the principles of anti-kekerasan (non-violence) and solidaritas (solidarity) with the oppressed”. Subsequent meetings further radicalised the political views of the NGOs activists against the government (Hadiwinata 2003: 110).82

A further shift, which brought NU and pesantren further away from social concerns, was the political liberalisation following the fall of Suharto’s regime. Many young NU cadres, including former NGO activists, joined the new NU- affiliated political party, Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB, National Awakening Party). The political liberalisation also brought kyai back into the political arena, from which most had withdrawn in 1984. Many kyai played active roles in PKB.

81 This position could also be seen as a discontent against the state-backed dominant discourses within Indonesian social sciences which supported New Order’s developmentalism, see Dhakidae (2003, Chapter 4), Ganie-Rochman and Achwan (2005), and Heryanto (2005). 82 A similar assessment was also found in Fakih (1996: 102-5), that Indonesian NGOs in 1960s and 1970s worked under the logic of developmentalism and modernisation paradigm. Their saw the backwardness of the society was because of their work ethic and mentality, not political and economic structural constraints. From early 1990s, many of those NGOs had started to adopt a more transformative paradigm in which the social change had to be pursued through changing the political and economic structure. In addition to domestic factor mentioned above, this changing paradigm was also influenced by the popular reception of dependency theory, Frankfurt school of critical theories, and liberation theology among NGOs and student activist at that time. 65

The party was established by Abdurrahman Wahid as the vehicle for the political ambitions of the NU constituency. It had the effect of redirecting many human and economic resources away from educational and community-oriented activities to the struggle for political positions at the national and local levels (van Bruinessen and Wajidi 2006: 225-32). The more recent leadership of Hasyim Muzadi (1999-2010) had brought NU into deeper involvement in electoral politics at both national and regional level. Under the current chairman, (2010-2015), stricter rules have been applied for leaders at all levels with regard to contesting elections. Given a huge following and general perception that politics is a way to attract fund, the organisation is unable to be free itself from the temptations of politics (see Nurhasim and Ridwan 2004; Karim 2008; Ridwan 2010; Fealy and Bush 2014).

In addition to the explanation mentioned above, the policies of funding agencies were also believed to be contributing factors to the disappearance of community development project in late 1990s. Among the most important donors partnering with NU/pesantren associated NGOs above was The Asia Foundation (TAF). 83 Many NGOs had been recipients of TAF funds under its program of “Islam and Civil Society” from 1997 to 2007. This was the longest program with the largest budget that TAF has ever managed and distributed.

TAF’s initial interest in partnership with Muslim intellectuals and NGOs was based on an evaluation over its programs for women in early 1990s. They saw the women-oriented programs such as those concerning reproductive health and anti-domestic violence that were carried out by Muslim organisations or intellectuals were more effective and gained greater public acceptance compared to the same programs conducted by secular NGOs. TAF then came to the conclusion that promoting democracy and human rights in Muslim

83 TAF is actually not a donor who owns the fund, but it receives it from state and non-state entities in Western countries. Most of the funds comes from governments in developed countries such as that of USA, Australia, and some Western European countries. Given its function in receiving funding proposals from Indonesian domestic NGOs, however, Indonesian activists regard it as funding agency as well. (Interview with Budhy Munawar Rahman, a program office at TAF Jakarta, Jakarta 24 May 2013) 66 dominated society like Indonesia had to involve Muslim intellectuals or Islamic organisations. At the same time, the increasing popularity of Abdurrahman Wahid who had both mastered classic Islamic sciences and was able to blend them with modern ideas encouraged TAF figures to establish a more intense partnership with young intellectuals from a pesantren background. As a result of this, there was unprecedented NGO activism among NU/pesantren youth in that period, which extended down even to small cities. The program was terminated in 2007 after a fierce allegation by conservative Muslim groups that TAF was destroying Islam by spreading religious pluralism and such like.84

It is instructive to note here that the backlash against progressive discourse in Indonesian Islam has been indicated by the widespread negative reaction, including among those from the pesantren world, over anything associated with efforts to promote religious pluralism, democracy, and human rights using Islamic perspectives.85 This atmosphere also delegitimises activities of discourse NGOs with funding from Western donors (see Harvey 2009; van Bruinessen 2011). As a consequence of the termination of consciousness raising programmes, the situation has inspired the idea of using community development projects as a means of promoting civil values which is part of ‘discourse program’. 86 In 2008-2009, the PPIM (Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat, Centre for the Study of Islam and Society) of State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta and Puskadiapuma (Pusat Kajian Dinamika Agama, Budaya dan Masyarakat, the Centre for the Study of the Dynamics of Religion, Culture and Society) from UIN Yogyakarta tried to implement community

84 Interview with Budhy Munawar Rahman, a program manager at TAF. Jakarta 24 May 2013. Observers have noticed a backlash against progressive trends of Indonesian Islam from 2004-2005 onward as indicated by fierce rivalry between "liberal" and "conservative" camps in the congresses of Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah in 2004, and the publication of fatwa by MUI (Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars) on the prohibition of "secularism, religious pluralism, and liberalism" in 2005 (see Gillespie 2007; Harvey 2009; van Bruinessen 2011; Nasir 2014). 85 The term ‘progressive’ here means ideas that promotes human rights protection, especially of women and minority groups, and the empowerment of the weak and the oppressed. This term can be defined as antonym to the term ‘conservative’ (van Bruinessen 2013a: 16) 86 Interview with Budhy Munawar Rahman, a program office at TAF Jakarta, Jakarta 24 May 2013. 67 development programs in some pesantren in Java with a hidden agenda of disseminating civic values.87 In this project, the initial focus was on creating income generating business for the pesantren and strengthening their socio- economic role in the neighbouring community. In the process, facilitators from PPIM and Puskadiapuma inserted the civic values. This approach was relatively acceptable. A different reaction from pesantren world might have occurred if the delivery was started by discussing human rights or religious pluralism.88 This was the experience of the Jakarta-based ICIP (International Centre for Islam and Pluralism), when it suffered refusals from some pesantren that were invited to participate in its program as there had been a massive negative campaign against it. ICIP, together with Islamic Liberal Network (JIL), have been the major targets of such negative campaigns by conservative groups, alleging that they function as Western agents and wish to destroy Islam.89

I contend that there is currently no significant influence and support from NGOs and donors for pesantren in strengthening their socio-economic role. In contrast, the programs and funds for strengthening their capacity in education have increased tremendously in post-Soeharto era. For example, AusAID (the Australian government’s overseas development aid) has funded a capacity building program for English teachers of Islamic junior secondary schools (madrasah tsanawiyah), many of whom are affiliated to pesantren, in East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi. On economic development programs, AusAID has made budget allocations more on a government-to- government basis, rather than through direct engagement with micro economic development at grass roots level.90 Similarly, USAID of United States of

87 Interview with Ahmad Muqowim, the Director of Puskadiapuma, Yogakarta, 22 July 2013. 88 The contents of civic values program are actually similar to those of human right or civic education programs that were popular in the aftermath of the reformasi era. It comprises the principles of human rights, diversity, democracy, and gender equality (Jahar, Asep Saepudin et al. 2009). 89 Interview with Budhy Munawar Rahman, Jakarta 24 May 2013; and with Farinia, Executive Director of ICIP, Jakarta, 29 May 2013. 90 http://aid.dfat.gov.au/countries/eastasia/indonesia/Pages/economic-growth.aspx. Accessed on 30 January 2014. 68

America has been involved with Islamic schools in education programs, rather than economic development programs.91

IV. Proponents of Islamic Microfinance

In addition to technical support from organisational arms of NU, government, and NGOs, there have also been influence and support from proponents of Islamic microfinance for pesantren’s socio-economic community engagement. Although their coverage is limited to a few pesantren, their support has provided concrete outcomes in the form of Islamic microfinance business in some pesantren. The existence of organisations promoting Islamic microfinance is a further development of Islamic banking in Indonesia (Hefner 2003; Antonio 2008; Choiruzzad 2013). In addition to large Islamic banking sector, part of this trend has been the emerging Islamic microfinance enterprises or what are locally called BMT (Baitul Maal wat Tamwil, Islamic credit and saving cooperative) providing small and medium enterprises with more accessible loans (Sakai 2008) and a more effective way of propagating Islam to achieve social justice (Sakai 2014). Despite the growing interest in establishing such financial institution, only a few people know how to start and manage such microfinance businesses. Within this context, there have appeared organisations or associations that provide management training and other technical assistances as well as channelling funds from banks for the start-up of BMTs. The first organisation delivering such assistance was PINBUK (Pusat Inkubasi Bisnis Usaha Kecil, Centre for Small Business Incubation), which was subsequently followed by some others.

In this section, I discuss PINBUK considering its nature as a pioneer in promoting Islamic microfinance in Indonesia, and the fact that many of participants in its workshops were pesantren. Another organisation in the field of Islamic microfinance is ICA (Investa Cendekia Amanah). ICA is the first and

91 http://www.usaid.gov/indonesia/education. Accessed on 30 January 2014.

69 only microfinance institution that I could find that was born from NU and pesantren circles.

PINBUK’s first experience in promoting BMT movement among pesantren was through P2KER (Proyek Peningkatan Kemandirian Rakyat, the People's Economic Empowerment Project) funded by the Ministry of Cooperative in the mid-1990s. The project was conducted through a series of campaigns and workshops in pesantren in several regions (Antonio 2011: 326-7). Aslihan was the PINBUK officer in East Java who delivered the project. He obtained diverse responses from pesantren people who are mostly affiliated to NU: some were very excited and some others were indifferent. Some pesantren leaders had a negative view of PINBUK as they saw it being linked to ICMI which is strongly associated with Muslim modernist camp especially Muhammadiyah.92 As a result, they considered the BMT concept was part of a Muhammadiyah agenda. There were, however, some who accepted PINBUK enthusiastically. For instance, PINBUK’s workshop in Pesantren Genggong, Probolinggo in 1996 successfully inspired Pesantren Sidogiri to initiate what is currently the largest pesantren BMT (see Isbah 2011; 2012).93 Apart from obstruction that was the result of political rivalries, Aslihan also found a degree of inconsistency and poor management practices among pesantren in dealing with economic projects. When they were invited to a workshop which was to discuss BMT formation, pesantren often sent their teachers or students. Ironically, when PINBUK came to distribute funds to start up the BMT, the pesantren's kyai were often the recipients. Consequently, what they learned and planned in the workshop was often not in line with the kyai's plans regarding the funds.94 Along with the political change in Indonesia, PINBUK is currently not as strong as in

92 In fact, the affiliation or association of most pesantren to NU is merely through a shared culture of how Islam is practised, particularly in its worship rituals (ibadah) and learning tradition (see Dhofier 2011). There is no formal institutional affiliation. 93 Interview with Aslihan, Program Manager of PINBUK, Jakarta, 5 May 2013. 94 Interview with Aslihan, Program Manager of PINBUK, Jakarta, 5 May 2013. 70 the New Order era when it had access to numerous government projects and funds.

Meanwhile, ICA (Investa Cendekia Amanah) is a foundation established in 2012 by Cholil Nafis, a lecturer on Islamic Economics at the in Jakarta, Lukman Masyhuri, a former banker who switched to the BMT business over the last 13 years, and Kyai Mu'tasim Billah, the leader of Pesantren Sunan Pandanaran in Yogyakarta. All three were educated in pesantren and share the same vision of the economic potential of pesantren.

The foundation claimed to be committed to equal emphasis on business and empowerment. Cholil Nafis claimed that ICA tries to combine the good aspects of both NGOs and corporations. The good aspect of NGOs is their devotion to deliver empowerment, while their weakness is their dependence on donor funding. Meanwhile, the strength of a corporation is its persistence in maintaining sustainability of its business, yet their weakness is that they display little concern over the public good. So, combining the good aspects of these two will be a solution to issue of sustainability in social empowerment works.

Why did they choose Islamic microfinance as the form of business for their empowerment project? ICA considers BMT is the most feasible, as well as strategic, form of business for pesantren for the following reasons. First, with many students and teachers, the initial customers of BMT were already present in pesantren. Therefore, the first stage can be achieved by depositing the school fees into the BMT, providing credits to the teachers and financing the pesantren's projects. Second, the good reputation of pesantren and their leaders (kyai) is priceless capital in gaining the trust of the community. With such social capital, marketing expansion to neighbouring community is not too difficult. Third, BMT can be a trigger for subsequent pesantren or community-owned economic projects. Thus, BMT is part of ICA's broader mission to initiate community- owned business projects. In addition, regarding the propagation mission, BMT can be a medium for educating the community on how to conduct shariah-based

71 economic practices in practical forms, and not being limited to theoretical and discursive forms only (see Sakai 2014).95

Unlike PINBUK and some intermediary funding organisations, ICA is a franchise through which it becomes directly involved in the business process as a shareholder of every BMT unit in many pesantren. New BMTs do not need to register as legal entities, instead they use ICA's legal entity. So we find the brand of ICA accompanying the local brand such as BMT Sunan Pandanaran ICA in Yogyakarta or BMT Al Mas'udiyah ICA in Sukabumi. ICA put different amounts of capital funding into each of its subsidiary BMTs, depending on the funding capacity of the pesantren. However, ICA claims share ownership as compensation as an agreed percentage for the training, computerised system and supervision it provides.96

The technical stages ICA employs to establish such BMTs begin with the invitation of at least three people from a pesantren. These three people are seen as the projected operators of the projected BMT. Then, they are trained and sent on internships for considerable time, until they are confident in their knowledge and skills. When they are ready, they are sent back to their pesantren to start up a BMT. In the first three months, Cholil Nafis and Lukman Masyhuri supervise them intensively. Both of them often stay for a week in, and make frequent visits to, the BMT to make sure that its operation is running well. In fact, ICA has operated from 2010 but only in 2012 did it successfully established 5 BMTs in partnership with 3 pesantren in Yogyakarta, Sukabumi, and . In 2013, it planned to establish 7 more BMTs in a number of pesantren. In its experience, some pesantrens' BMTs can achieve profitability in less than six months.97 Having demonstrated such concrete outcomes, organisations like

95 Interview with Cholil Nafis, one of the founders and owners of ICA, Jakarta, 19 May 2013. 96 Interview with Cholil Nafis, Jakarta, 19 May 2013. 97 Interview with Cholil Nafis, Jakarta, 19 May 2013. 72

PINBUK and ICA discussed here, are, nevertheless, constrained by their limited reach.

In its attempt to persuade pesantren to become involved in this business scheme, ICA has had to face some obstacles. The first obstacle was that many pesantren people are found to be not confident in their abilities to start a profitable business using their pesantren brand. If they collect investment funds from their community and eventually their business fails, they are worried that their religious authority in the community will be diminished. The second obstacle was that in general pesantren people are now spending a greater proportion of their time dealing with educational affairs of their pesantren since most pesantren now operate schools with a tied schedule and are tightly governed by government regulations. Therefore, pesantren leadership feel that they no longer have spare time to take on other jobs. The last obstacle is the poor management practices inside pesantren in term of authority delegation. When a kyai was offered a partnership project, some of them then asked that one of his sons or a family members be put in charge in the project without considering their capability. Such problems have occurred mainly in small-size pesantren which do not have adequate quality staff and rely on support from the inner family members of the kyai.98

V. Government's Economic Projects Involving Pesantren

The Indonesian government has viewed pesantren as strategic agents in the mobilisation of grass roots level socio-economic development projects. Such a view was first revealed in the middle of the New Order era when became the country’s Minister of Religion (1973-1978). At that time, Mukti Ali tried to convince pesantren to be supportive of the regime’s national economic development agenda. Mukti Ali’s attempt was manifested in the Ministry’s programs to introduce life skills in pesantren’s curricula and to encourage pesantren

98 Interview with Cholil Nafis, Jakarta, 19 May 2013. 73 to establish income generating businesses such as livestock and farming (van Bruinessen 1994: 243). Most pesantren, however, responded badly to this government initiative. During the New Order era, there were political constraints on building good relations and partnerships between the government and pesantren. Most Indonesian pesantren were led and managed by traditionalist ulama affiliated to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), while the Ministry of Religion which funded most programs dealing with pesantren was always led by ministers from modernist backgrounds. As a political block, moreover, Nahdlatul Ulama mostly held a position that was not supportive of the regime. This broad political context meant that any initiative by the government was not accepted warmly, and often with suspicion, by the pesantren community (van Bruinessen 1994: 243). This is contrary to political configuration during Soekarno’s administration (1945-1966) in which the Minister of Religion was mostly occupied by figures from Nahdlatul Ulama or pesantren community.99

The demise of the New Order regime in 1998 created a new political landscape in which people from NU or pesantren background have been able to take various positions in government, especially at the Ministry of Religion which have been continuously held by ministers from NU. This political change has created a new period of warm relations between government and pesantren communities as they see that those who govern their affairs are their own people.

There are currently three ministries which have economic development programs that facilitate partnerships with pesantren. These programs are located in the Ministry of Religion (Kementerian Agama), the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementerian Pertanian) and the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises (Kementerian Koperasi dan UKM). The Ministry of Religion has two bodies to deal with pesantren, the Directorate of Pondok Pesantren and Madrasah Diniyah and the Division of Religious Education in its Research and

99 A full list of ministries including ministries of religion from NU during the period can be seen in Fealy (2003: 359-61) 74

Development Agency (Balitbang). The first manages more applied programs such as institutional and teacher capacity development, while the latter conducts researches on pesantren. To strengthen pesantren as agents of community empowerment, the Directorate's programs are more facilitative in nature. For example, the Directorate has collaborated with the Ministry of Cooperatives in delivering programs related to microfinance. In addition, their planned activities are mostly short term and without long term strategic planning.100 Therefore, it cannot claim a program as a success or as a failure as its position is merely that of a facilitator for the involvement of other government institutions and it has no capacity to engage further in such socio-economic programs. In addition, the Directorate does not engage in clear long term strategic planning for such programs.

The Research and Development Agency (Balitbang) of the Ministry of Religion has previously carried out participatory action research on pesantren. The research was started by a participatory assessment that aimed at identifying the needs and potentials of every participating pesantren, and was followed by a workshop whose final outcome was a business plan for participating pesantren. This was then followed by internships in other pesantren that demonstrated successful performance in relevant businesses. The final stage was the execution of the business plan with funding assistance from the Agency. After a year of operation, the Agency found three different patterns: those who tried to replicate the same business they learned in other pesantren, those who tried to create different business as an adjustment to their specific situations, and those who failed totally to execute their own plans.101 In general, pesantren which performed well were those that had an initial business unit, which meant that the project was like an injection to develop their existing business. In contrast, the project had little effect on pesantren that did not have a business unit. For

100 Interview with Ruchman Basori, former staff at the Directorate of the Pondok Pesantren and Madrasah Diniyah, Jakarta, 18 May 2013. 101 Interview with Husain Hasan Basri and Ta'rif, researchers at the Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Religion, Jakarta, 23 May 2013. 75 economic activities among pesantren to be successful, it seems that the initiative has to be coming from within, rather than be externally imposed. External encouragement and support are unlikely to affect outcomes in a substantial way.

The Ministry of Agriculture collaborates with pesantren in its program of LM3 (Lembaga Mandiri yang Mengakar di Masyarakat, Institutions with strong social roots). This program covers not only pesantren but also other religiously- based institutions such as Christian seminaries and Balinese-Hindu Subak.102 Given Muslims represent a majority within the Indonesian population, most institutions involved in this project were Islamic pesantren. The program was actually a continuation of the government's long term engagement with pesantren on economic issues. There had previously been a joint decree by the Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Religious Affairs number 346/1991 and several subsequent regulations that proposed the government's engagement through LM3. The reason to involve such institutions is that they are considered as having capability in disseminating ‘development messages’ to community through their moral and social education programs in the community. As such, they are regarded as having great potential to become grassroots agents of development.103 An official from the Ministry of Agriculture has claimed that 30% of recipients of this program could be categorised as successful, while another 30% are less successful, and the remaining 40% are failures.104

In addition, the growing popularity of ‘agribusiness’ in the post-New Order has given particular relevance to the LM3 program.105 As stated in its

102 Subak is a community-based irrigation management in which customary law is applied through the leadership of Hindu priest (see Dante 1992: 89-95). 103 This account is adopted from the background of the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture number 47/2007, p. 9-10. 104 Projects are categorised as successful if they demonstrate a concrete performance with clear sustainability when they are evaluated at the end of the funding term; less successful if they demonstrated a modest performance with doubtful sustainability at the time of final evaluation; and categorised as fails if they did not show proper performance. Interview with , an official at BPPSDM (Badan Penyuluhan dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia) of the Ministry of Agriculture. Jakarta, 5 June 2013. 105 The Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture number 47/2007 reveals that Indonesia government had started to introduce and promote ‘agribusiness’ since 1996. It is a 76 legal basis, the title of the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture number 47/2007 is “A Guidance for the Empowerment and Development of Agribusiness by Institutions with Strong Social Root”. By using the term ‘agribusiness’, this program advocates an entrepreneurial ethic in the agricultural sector. The government believes that agricultural development using agribusiness approach will be able to improve community welfare.106 In 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture allocated Rp. 250 billion to be distributed to about 1000 LM3 institutions in 33 provinces.107 According to a directory published by the Ministry in 2012, there have been 7.409 LM3 institutions which have received a grant (Badan Penyuluhan dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia Pertanian 2012). The Ministry published Directory LM3 Model containing a list of some selected recipients who are considered successful from which other LM3 institutions could learn. The current budget for the program unfortunately could not be obtained.

There are two critical issues regarding this project: grant distribution and fund usage. To obtain this grant, an LM3 institution theoretically should send its proposal accompanied by a letter of recommendation from local government to the Ministry. In practice, however, the proposal seems to be endorsed by politically influential figures or well-networked lobbyists. A kyai in Central Java who had obtained the grant twice confessed that he asked for help from a local politician with a good network in Jakarta to “escort” (mengawal) his proposal.108 I am unable to generalise as to whether grants that are channeled through such complex political channels and interests represent a majority of grants. Recent studies by Aspinall (2013) and Hamayotsu (2015), however, have implied that

combination of agriculture and business. This new concept was believed to be the right mantra as it encourages Indonesian farmers who were considered unable to produce marketable commodity. Therefore, the government viewed that the farmers need to be introduced with business skill, especially in product marketing, to increase the profitability of their agricultural labours. 106 Agribusiness approach is agriculture with a commercial and cash-income generating orientation. It is the opposite of subsistence agriculture. 107 Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture number 47/2007, p.10. 108 Interview with anonymous, a pesantren leader in Kudus, Central Java, 17 July 2013. 77 access to government funding sources has become an important form of “cement” for political affiliation and patronage that involves the state structure and political parties. Government projects (Indonesian: proyek) are widely used by those who have authority and access to decision makers as a way of obtaining political support from potential mass brokers and leaders, such as pesantren kyai. Consequently, many government grants are not distributed to appropriate recipients.

Related to the issue of use of funds, some pesantrens I visited could not properly account for or even demonstrate the existence of the agribusiness projects that were supported by these grants. This was the case with Pesantren Paculgowang in Jombang and Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan. Surprisingly, the LM3 projects for those pesantren were categorised as successful LM3 Model and listed in the Directory in 2011. The Directory describes Pesantren Paculgowang having three community groups in agriculture, livestock and small industry comprising 60 people. My observation did not find any continuation of such activities. Similarly, the Directory has reported that Pesantren Sunan Drajat was managing an agribusiness project, but in reality the soil in the Pesantren’s area was totally unsuitable for agriculture. 109

Likewise, researchers from the Ministry of Religion who were involved in pesantren projects I had interviewedcriticised the LM3 project as not achieving any concrete benefit for the pesantren.110 In their research, they did not see significant economic benefits for those pesantren. They concluded that if such grants were given to a pesantren which lacked the capability to carry out a project, then the funds would have been misused. Conversely, if the funds are granted to pesantren with growing economic activities, the fund must have been beneficial to them. So LM3 project looks like an artificial program that does not pay

109 I will discuss the case of Pesantren Sunan Drajat in a more detail in later part of this section. 110 Interview with Husain Hasan Basri and Ta'rif, researchers at the Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Religion. Jakarta, 23 May 2013. 78 serious attention on how pesantren create relevant income generating activities, rather it provides money for any purpose for which they wish to use it.

During my fieldwork I found the Ministry of Cooperatives delivered its programs dealing with pesantren cooperatives and other economic projects through a sub-contractor company called LPDB-KUMKM (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Bergulir Koperasi, Usaha Kecil dan Menengah, Managing Institution for Revolving Funds for Cooperative and Small-Medium Enterprises). The company could not provide any data due to business confidentiality.

I acknowledge the limitation of my data that I observed only four of the 20 pesantren listed in the LM3 Directory. Complemented by additional information I collected during my fieldwork and discussed above, I would say that the government’s programs have not significantly assisted pesantren in improving their capacity to conduct socio-economic projects.

In the following passages I will discuss briefly some pesantren which have been regular recipients of government’s grants in socio-economic projects, but I argue that they have not necessarily undertaken significant engagement with, and given much benefit to, their neighbouring community. This is despite the fact that Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan, East Java and Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi below have maintained a very good access to government funding. I argue that the kyai’s vision, managerial skills, as well as inclination regarding what they should provide for the local community affect the practice of their pesantren’s community engagement.

A. Infrastructure-Minded: Pesantren Sunan Drajat, Lamongan

The first example is Pesantren Sunan Drajat, located in the north part of Lamongan regency of East Java. Its current leader, Kyai Abdul Ghofur, is widely known as an influential political broker in the region. He has become a member of consultative body of Gerindra Party and acts as a close political advisor to

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Prabowo Subianto.111 In an interview with me, he stated that what he hopes to achieve by involvement in politics is the ability to influence public policy making and to channel state funds for the interest of Nahdliyyin (NU members).

The Pesantren Sunan Drajat was established by Kyai Ghofur in 1977. It has grown very rapidly in terms of institutional development, infrastructure and student numbers. It operates schools from primary to university level with relatively good quality facilities compared to other pesantren in the region I observed during my fieldwork.112 In 2007, the total number of the students was 4,238 and 2,907 of them were residing in the Pesantren’s dormitories or called santri mukim, while 1,331 students were from neighbouring community who commuted to the Pesantren for schooling only, the so-called santri kalong (Franklin 2014: 137). In 2015, the student number had increased by about 30% to 6,362 students. Of that number, 1,265 students were santri kalong. The students are distributed in five schools which employ 546 teachers.113

Paciran District where the Pesantren Sunan Drajat is located is on the northern cost of Java. The majority of the local residents work as fishermen and traders. The community is generally very poor. The available official statistics of the 2010 census data show that 36% of households in Lamongan regency were categorised as poor (pra-sejahtera), a regional percentage that is above the national average in that year. The Indonesian government defines pra-sejahtera household as household which is unable to afford basic needs such as housing, education, and health services at a proper standard (BPS Kabupaten Lamongan 2012). The region is also well-known as one of the main sources of immigrant workers in East Java. Although there is no available data on the precise number of the immigrant workers from Lamongan regency, I would estimate the number to

111 http://partaigerindra.or.id/uploads/Dewan%20Penasehat%20Gerindra.pdf. Access on 17 August 2015. 112 During my fieldwork in Paciran, Lamongan, I also visited some other pesantren in nearby villages. 113 Email correspondence with Abdul Halim, a teacher at the Pesantren Sunan Drajat, June 2015. 80 be in the tens of thousands as the mass media once reported that a village in Lamongan was sending to work overseas more than 1,500 workers of its total population of 10,000 inhabitants.114

Most migrant workers from Lamongan work in , Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. In those countries, they work as housemaids, baby sitters, drivers and labourers in palm plantations or on construction projects. An official from the local government released data that in 2007 there were 326 workers -273 males and 53 females- who had departed to various foreign destinations. In that year, the local government recorded 2,809 of its residents were working as migrant workers.115 However, the local government confessed that only a minority of migrant workers reported their departure. The actual number is more likely to be in the thousands, rather than the hundreds. Many of them have left without adequate legal documents for Malaysia.116 A study by Anggraeni (2006) has noted that Indonesian migrant workers tend to come from the poorer part of the population. Their reason for seeking jobs aboard is a combination of their desperation to earn adequate livelihood in their home country and their aspiration to make a better life. Most of them work aboard “in 3D” -dangerous, dirty, and difficult- sectors.

Kyai Abdul Ghofur, the current leader of Pesantren Sunan Drajat, is widely known as a rich kyai. He receives considerable income from both profitable enterprises and his involvement in politics as a power broker. His business covers Islamic microfinance (BMT), a grocery store, and bottled mineral water manufacturer, and lime stone (batu kapur) mining and extraction on 50 hectares of a mountainous area. For this business, he owns and operates

114 http://www.jpnn.com/read/2014/04/20/229543/Melongok-Desa-TKI-Payaman,- Solokuro,-Lamongan. Accessed on 26 June 2015. 115 http://health.kompas.com/read/2008/01/23/17061085/Minat.Warga.Lamongan.Jadi. TKI.Tinggi. Accessed on 27 July 2015. 116 http://www.tribunnews.com/regional/2014/04/12/ribuan-tki-yang-berangkat-yang- tercatat-hanya -ratusan. Accessed on 27 July 2015. 81

20 large trucks. The total number of employees in his business is about 100 workers.

Figure 3.1 The activities inside the bottled mineral water manufacturer

Figure 3.2 The activities of lime stone (batu kapur) mining and extraction

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In addition to various profitable enterprises, Kyai Ghofur also receives grants and donations from his involvement in politics. He admitted that politicians who seek his support often give him financial donations. Such donations were mostly given to him as donations to the Pesantren.117 As he was the ultimate authority in his Pesantren and there was no separation between his private personal assets and those of the Pesantren, all incoming funds were considered to be his income.

A Mismatch between a Kyai’s Priority and Community Expectation

Based on my fieldwork, I found Kyai Ghofur has allocated most of his income from business and politics to improve the infrastructure of his Pesantren. He claimed to have spent Rp 100 billion (AUD 10 million) on improving the infrastructure and facilities of his Pesantren especially dormitory and school buildings. In addition, he claimed he spent about Rp 700 million (AUD 70,000) every month for operational costs.118 Furthermore, the rapid expansion of the Pesantren Sunan Drajat’s complex through purchasing land and houses in the neighbourhood has created a level of anxiety among the neighbouring community. Some local residents informed me that anyone wanting to sell their land or house could do so to Kyai Abdul Ghofur, who was willing and very happy to buy at any price.119

Apart from the employment of about 100 local people, there was no broader scheme to attract the participation of the local community or to distribute the economic benefit to the locals. Consequently, there is an imbalance between the expectation of the local community and the magnitude of the Pesantren’s enterprises. Some local community members expected a greater participation in the business and benefit from the Pesantren’s enterprises. They were, however, not sure of a better business participation with

117 Interview with KH. Abdul Ghofur, Lamongan, 28 July 2013. 118 Interview with KH. Abdul Ghofur, Lamongan, 28 July 2013. 119 Interview with anonymous, a local resident who works as a teacher for the Pesantren’s school. 83 the Pesantren.120 This implies that kyai’s vision, managerial skills, as well as inclination regarding what they should provide for the local community as a complex picture affecting the notion of their pesantren’s community engagement.

B. Strong Dependency on Support from Political Elites: Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad, Mangkoso

The second example of pesantren with less significant contribution to local community is Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI). DDI is the name of a network of Islamic boarding schools, madrasah, as well as a mass organisation well-known in South Sulawesi. This research was undertaken at the site of Pesantren DDI located in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi as its ethnographic site. It is where the founder of DDI first initiated his education and dakwa movement which was later transformed into the mass organisation DDI. The Pesantren is located in three complexes of about 25 hectares.

Its history dates back to the late Anregurutta121 Abdurrahman Ambo Dalle who came to Mangkoso on the invitation of the local king of Soppeng Riaja122 to be an Islamic preacher for the local community in 1939 (Anshory Ch 2006: 57; Arief 2008: 158-9). At that time, before the independence of Indonesia, the society of South Sulawesi was organised according to a feudalistic power structure which comprised rulers of relatively small areas. Along with the deepening of Islamisation process in the region, many rulers built mosques near their residencies and appointed qodli or Islamic jurists.123 This was also the case in Mangkoso where the local king built a mosque in front of his palace and sought to find a capable learned Muslim to lead prayers and delivers sermons. Anregurutta Abdurrahman Ambo Dalle was that person. He accepted the

120 Interview with several local community members, Lamongan, 1 August 2013. 121 Anregurutta is Bugis’s word to call a much respected guru. It is equal to kyai in Java. For a lower degree of respect, Bugis people use Gurutta as equal to ustadz. 122 Soppeng Riaja has today become the name of district (kecamatan) in which Mangkoso village is located. 123 For further discussion on this issue, see a preface by Nurhayati Rahman, “Memahami Anreguruta Haji Abdurrahman Ambo Dalle dari Sudut Pandang Budaya Bugis”, in Anshory Ch (2006: xix-xx). 84 invitation after receiving permission from his teacher and patron in al-Madrasah al-Arabia al-Islamia (MAI) in Sengkang, a neighbouring regency, Anregurutta Muhammad Asád (Anshory Ch 2006: 55-6).124

In addition to leading prayers and delivering sermons for general audiences in the Mangkoso mosque, Ambo Dalle also tried to copy the Islamic learning model he found in Sengkang. Starting from a modest learning circle in the mosque, this learning circle then developed into several madrasah and dormitories. In that early period, the name of the institution was same as the one in Sengkang, al-Madrasah al-Arabia al-Islamia (MAI). Soon after beginning its operations in 1939, Pesantren DDI Mangkoso produced a lot of alumni and its leader Ambo Dalle became an important figure among Islamic leaders of the region. Through a congress named Musyawarah Alim Ulama Ahl as-Sunnah wa al- Jamaáh se-Sulawesi Selatan (Congress of South Sulawesi’s Sunni Scholars) on 7 February 1947, the participants agreed to form an association that focused on education and da’wah. Finally they agreed on the new name of Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI, the centre for da’wah and guidance). From then on, the MAI Mangkoso changed its name to Pondok Pesantren DDI. The name is also used by other Islamic educational institutions which have declared an affiliation to this movement (Arief 2008: 160-5).

Currently the organisation has regional chapters in 20 provinces, 274 chapters at regency (kabupaten/kota) level, and 392 chapters at district (kecamatan) level. The number of educational institution declared to be affiliated is 1,029 madrasah, 89 pesantren, and 18 academy/universities (Ambo Dalle 2013). According to one of its committee members, the procedure to become a branch of DDI starts with the establishment or the existence of Islamic educational

124 Anregurutta Muhammad Asád is considered to be the first traditionalist ulama who founded the pesantren educational tradition in South Sulawesi after he established his pesantren in Sengkang, Wajo in early 20th century and the most significant traditionalist ulama in his era as most prominent ulama in the region were his students. Some observers equated his significance with that of Hasyim Asyári of Pesantren Tebuireng in Java (see Arief 2008). 85 institution using the DDI brand. Most of these institutions are led by alumni of the existing DDI educational institutions.125

During my fieldwork in the Pesantren DDI in Mangkoso, I found that there were about 1,000 male and female students coming from all regencies and cities in South Sulawesi and some provinces where Buginese commonly migrate. The Buginese are the largest ethnic group in South Sulawesi,126 and have been known for their tradition of migrating (merantau) to other places in the archipelago and beyond. Today a significant number of Buginese can be found in Ambon, East Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Papua and even Selangor in Malaysia (see Acciaioli 2000; Ammarell 2002; Timmer 2010; Omar et al. 2012). Some of those migrants who have achieved sufficient prosperity in their destination lands, mainly through trading sector, send their children to study in pesantren in their homeland of South Sulawesi. In Pesantren DDI Mangkoso, around 30% of the students were children of such migrants. Many of their parents were graduates of this Pesantren as well.127

The students were enrolled in junior and senior secondary school as well as tertiary college. Students of its primary schools were mostly from local children. The current leader, Anregurutta Faried Wajdi, has led the Pesantren since 1988 replacing his father, Anregutta Amberi Said. Faried Wajdi studied in

125 Interview with Ahmad Rasyid, the Pesantren’s teacher and a younger brother of Anregurutta Faried Wajdy, the current leader of Pesantren DDI Mangkoso, Mangkoso 17 August 2013. 126 There are four large ethnic groups in South Sulawesi: the Buginese, the Makassarese, the Mandarese, the Torajanese (Magenda 1989: 545). However, after the separation of some regencies in its western part to be a new province of West Sulawesi in 2004, most Mandarese now inhabit the new province . Accessed on 26 June 2015. 127 I did not find any scholarly study discussing the practice of sending children to pesantren in their homeland among Buginese migrants, but I found a study on the same practice among well-to-do Madurese migrants in East Kalimantan who send their children to pesantren in Madura or East Java (see Nooteboom 2015: 41). There is no explanation as why they continue that practice, but I assume that it is part of cultural bonding to Islamic tradition in their homeland from where they absorbed Islamic teachings with local-culturally nuances from religious teachers with whom they feel comfortable culturally. 86

Al Azhar University in Cairo for his undergraduate and Master degrees majoring in Islamic law.

The Pesantren’s operational cost is covered by the tuition fees paid by students at about Rp. 500,000 (AUD 50) per month. This fee covers school, accommodation, and meals. This is relatively cheap compared to pesantren fees in Java. Apart from that, the Pesantren is struggling with the cost of upgrading its facilities and building new buildings. For such expenditures, it has so far to rely on public donations and profits from its economic projects. These economic project are two fishing boats which are operated by local fishermen, and 10 hectare fish farming, and horticulture site. All of these assets were received as an endowment from the community. In addition, the Pesantren also manages a modest cooperative store in every school serving the students only.

Figure 3.3 Examples of dormitory buildings for male students

87

Figure 3.4 One of the cooperatives located within Pesantren DDI’s school compound

The welfare situation of the Pesantren’s teachers and its neighbouring community are poorer compared to what I saw in other pesantren I visited during my fieldwork. About 90% of 221 teachers working in the Pesantren’s school are not government employees.128 Many of them live in modest houses provided by the Pesantren. The Statistic Bureau of the regency suggested that the region’s poverty rate was 13.49% in 2008, which decreased to 9.22% in 2012 (BPS Kabupaten Barru 2013). This is higher than the national poverty rate of 6% (World Bank April 2015). When I saw the general welfare situation of the village where the Pesantren is located, I concluded that the situation might be worse than the official statistics suggested.

128 In Indonesia, there are two kinds of working condition for school teachers: government employees (guru PNS) who receive monthly salary from the government and non- government employee (guru non-PNS) who recruited and paid by schools. The discrepancy between these two kinds of teachers are very high. The lowest rank of government employee-teacher can receive at least Rp. 2 million, while their counterparts from non- government employee-teachers can receive only around Rp. 300 thousand per month. Interview with Ahmad Rasyid, the Pesantren’s teacher and a younger brother of Anregurutta Faried Wajdy. Mangkoso 17 August 2013. 88

For the poverty situation, the Pesantren has established a credit-loans cooperative serving its staff members only. The cooperative has operated for almost ten years, but it has not served the neighbouring community due to limited funding and managerial capacity.129 Additionally, the Pesantren also manages a beef cattle farm funded by LM3 grants from the Ministry of Agriculture.130

In fact, the people of this Pesantren have serious concerns over the poverty of their staff members and the surrounding community. From my interviews with Anregurutta Farid Wajdy and some pesantren staff members, however, they do not have any ideas about what kind of socio-economic activities they can engage in to help them. Consequently, I took the opportunity to share my experience researching a pesantren which has successfully mobilised its wide alumni network for establishing a network of Islamic micro-finance business.131 I also described the general trend that Islamic organisations are now managing a zakat agency such as NU managing Lazisnu, Muhammadiyah managing Lazismu, and Hidayatullah managing Baitul Maal Hidayatullah (BMH). Given the fact that Pesantren DDI is part of the wider network of Islamic mass organisation (ormas) DDI with chapters scattered in 20 provinces and more than a thousand affiliated educational institutions, the Pesantren should be able to follow this trend. Responding to my information, they said they would reflect on what was feasible for them to do in the near future.

The Decline of Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance Spirit

During the course of my fieldwork I also came to understand that the leader of the Pesantren DDI and many DDI members are actively involved in local politics. Anregurutta Faried Wajdy has been an active local broker in every regent election. Both the present and previous regent (bupati) of Barru, the

129 Interview with Ustadz Ilham, the manager of the cooperative. Mangkoso, 18 August 2013. 130 See my discussion on LM3 project by the Ministry of Agriculture in Chapter Three. 131 That is Pesantren Sidogiri in Pasuruan in East Java. See Isbah (2011, 2012). 89 regency in which the Pesantren is located, have donated ample land to the Pesantren as a reward for Anregurutta Faried’s support during the contest.132 Anregurutta Faried Wajdy was also appointed to the chairmanship of the local government-owned zakat agency, Badan Amil Zakat Daerah (Bazda) Barru. Many DDI activists and functionaries are politicians and parliament members from various political parties. For the current period, 2014 – 2019, DDI records that 34 of its members have become functionaries of political parties at all levels, 13 people are members of regency and provincial parliament, and 4 people are in the national parliament.133

The direct outcome of the participation in politics and closer relation with political-economic elites was material donation to the Pesantren DDI. The gift should be seen as the reward for the votes from the Pesantren’s leader, staff, student’s parents, and the wider community. The fact that the two consecutive regents had given an endowment of 57 hectares and 23 hectares of land respectively to the Pesantren DDI supports this analysis. Moreover, the family of a famous Buginese politician (now Indonesian Vice President) is also among the regular contributors. Unsurprisingly, whenever the family members of Kalla run for any election, the Pesantren DDI always mobilises its support.134

To sum up, the wide network of the Pesantren DDI as an old and influential pesantren as well as a mass-based organisation has not led to the achievement of developing economic capacity of the community. There was no adequate concern among the leaders over the lack of independent financial capacity of the Pesantren. Instead, they were likely to be reliant on funding support from politicians and from their close engagement with governments.

132 Interview with Andi Syafruddin, the teacher of Pesantren DDI and Haji Anas, the local resident of Mangkoso village. Mangkoso, 18 August 2013. 133 Email correspondence with Yusuf Syawal, a teacher at the Pesantren DDI Mangkoso. May 2015. 134 This account is based on an interview with Ahmad Rasyid, the Pesantren’s teacher and a younger brother of Anregurutta Faried Wajdy, Mangkoso 17 August 2013, and a teacher in the Pesantren DDI, Mangkoso 18 August 2013. 90

Such dependency is detrimental to the Pesantren DDI’s own spirit of self- sufficiency and self-reliance. In this case study, the kyai’s vision and managerial skills have affected the notion of the Pesantren DDI’s community engagement. If Gurutta Faried Wajdy, the leader of Pesantren DDI, has an idea and adequate managerial skills to make use of the available social capital, the story would be different.

Conclusion

In this chapter, I have shown that the multiple roles of kyai in the community are the basis for diverse forms of pesantren community engagement. In addition, I have examined external factors to pesantren community engagement, such as partnerships and technical-financial support offered by NU, NGOs, government, and organisations promoting Islamic microfinance. These external factors, in my view, have not enhanced much the capacity of pesantren to address the socio-economic problems of their community. The poor performance of programs within these organisations was sometimes the result of ambivalent responses from kyai or poor internal management practices of pesantren themselves. Only organisations that promote Islamic microfinance, such as PINBUK and ICA presented here, have demonstrated more concrete and successful outcome in their partnerships with pesantren. As private and independent entities, however, those organisations do not have the capacity to form partnerships with many more pesantren due to their limited resources.135 A kyai’s vision, managerial skills, and their inclination regarding what they should provide for the local community are always measured against the local community’s expectation. Despite the limits of external support, some pesantren - which are discussed in the following chapters - show that they are undertaking dynamic engagement with the local community and are significantly improving the welfare of the local community.

135 On access to government funding discussed in the last section of this chapter, I could not obtain credible data beyond the business performance of pesantren’s enterprises. 91

Map 4.1 The Location of Pesantren Tebuireng in East Java Map

The position of Pesantren Tebuireng in the map is marked with the building symbol

92

Chapter Four Reaching the Community through a Charity Organisation: The Case of Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang, East Java

Introduction

In the previous chapter, I have presented an overview on pesantren’s community engagement in light of the changing political and social context in Indonesia. My analysis has emphasised the multiple roles of kyai beyond their position as a pesantren leader as the basis for diverse forms of pesantren’s community engagement. It has also argued that external factors such as partnerships with government agencies, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and non- govenrment organisations (NGOs) have not significantly strengthened pesantren’s capacity to carry out socio-economic projects.

In this chapter, I discuss the case of Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang which operates a charity organisation named LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng, Social Office of Pondok Tebuireng) dedicated to addressing the welfare problem of the neighbouring community. Building on my discussion in the previous chapter concerning the multiple roles of kyai, this chapter presents a detailed discussion on how a kyai articulates his role as an informal community leader through direct involvement in projects that address the socio-economic problems of his community.

There are at least two reasons to select Pesantren Tebuireng as one of the case studies to be discussed in this thesis. The first reason is its nature as large pesantren with a long history and a considerable degree of popularity and fame. Its long and illustrious history has provided the Pesantren Tebuireng with abundant social, cultural and political capital. The second reason is its massive exposure to the wider world through visits and movements of people from various locations and for varied purposes. Located by a major provincial road connecting the Jombang regency136 to Kediri as well as regency with

136 The division of territory in Java is arranged along with the structure of government. A regency (kabupaten) or city (kota) is divided into districts (kecamatan); a district is divided into villages (desa); a village is divided into hamlets (dusun). The number of population in each 93 public buses, which pass by every fifteen minutes, access to Tebuireng is easy from any direction. There is a large sugar mill and traditional market nearby that attracts traders both from nearby villages and out of towns. This location makes Tebuireng’s urban atmosphere more noticeable. The recent burial of Indonesian former President, Abdurrahman Wahid, in the Pesantren’s cemetery complex attracted thousands of pilgrims and also added a more observable movement of people from various places across the country to the Pesantren area. Added to this, on 1-5 August 2015, the Pesantren also hosted the national congress (Muktamar) of Nahdlatul Ulama with estimated attendants of around 50,000 people from across the archipelago as well as numerous journalists and foreign observers.137 These features more than suggest that Pesantren Tebuireng continues to occupy a position of a large and influential pesantren up until the present.

This chapter will pose a range of questions regarding the broader context in which Pesantren Tebuireng has carried out its socio-economic role through its status as a charity organisation; what is the significance of each program carried out in the broader context of socio-economic development of Indonesia; and to what extent these community engagements have affected the relation of the Pesantren with the local community.

To address these questions, I will examine how Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang, East Java has found ways to engage with the local community through the operation of a charity organisation. In the past, Tebuireng was very influential centre for the Islamic movement because it was led by great ulama whose Islamic knowledge and leadership capacity had been the catalyst for traditionalist ulama in the archipelago to form the largest Muslim association in the world, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). The rapid growth of this association in Java and the large enrolment of local children at Tebuireng in the past demonstrated

level of those territory units varies. For example, population of a regency can be from 500,000 to 1 million people; of a district can be from 50,000 to 100,000 people; of a village can be from 5,000 to 10,000 people; and of a hamlet can be from 300 to 1000 people. 137. Accessed on 12 August 2015. 94 the very strong support from the surrounding Muslim community for this Pesantren. Due to the decreasing intellectual capacity of its successor leaders, however, the teaching quality of Islamic sciences as well as the engagement with the local community had deteriorated. As a result, a disconnection appeared between the Pesantren Tebuireng and the local community and this has been shown in the very low enrolment of local children and the very low level regard in which the Pesantren is held by the local people. Only recently, has Tebuireng’s leader found a way to reconnect with the local community by addressing their welfare problems through operating a charity organisation, called LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng, Social Office of Pondok Tebuireng).

This chapter is organised into three sections. After this introduction, the first section presents a discussion on the history of Pesantren Tebuireng from its early foundation to the present. The second section provides an overview of the socio-economic conditions of the local community and showes the importance of the establishment of the LSPT in the local context. The final section discusses the LSPT’s programs by showing the benefit afforded to the local community. I outline five core LSPT programs: the provision of scholarships, economic empowerment, free health insurance and services, a role in disaster responses, and its support to da’wah missionary and religious programs in the neighbourhood. Finally, a summary of this chapter is highlighted in the conclusion.

I. The History of Pesantren Tebuireng The Pondok Pesantren Tebuireng is located about eight kilometers south of Jombang, East Java. The name Tebuireng is taken from the hamlet where it is located, Tebuireng. In Javanese, tebu means sugar cane, while ireng means black. According to local folklore, the name Tebuireng was used because the area was well known for its production of black sugar cane. The building of still extant sugar mill by the Dutch in 1853 opposite the Pesantren complex echoes this oral story. Pesantren Tebuireng started to operate in 1899 with eight 95 students and increased to 28 students three months later. In 1910 the student numbers had reached 200 pupils, and further increased to 2000 students ten years later (Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 4-6).

In addition to its large student number, Pesantren Tebuireng subsquently became a very important, if not the most important, pesantren up until early years of independent Indonesia. There were at least two reasons for this. The first reason was the fact that some of its leaders have played remarkable role in the history of the Indonesian nation state, from the colonial era, early independence to the contemporary era. In early twentieth century colonial era, its founder and first leader Kyai Haji Hasyim Asyári (d.1947) was a great patron of traditionalist ulama in Java and Madura since most kyai with major pesantren on the island had been his students. He was the most senior ulama involved in the establishment of the largest Muslim association, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in 1926 and held its supreme leadership until his death in early years of independent Indonesia (Dhofier 1999: 77). He was then succeeded by his son, , who also became Indonesia’s first minister of religion. Wahid Hasyim was one of the key persons involved in the formulation the country’s Pancasila ideology and constitution (Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 67-76). From the early 1980s, Wahid Hasyim’s son, Abdurrahman Wahid, continued the same tradition of important leadership in Nahdlatul Ulama until he was elected as Indonesia’s president in 1999-2001 (see Barton 2002). In short, Tebuireng has received public recognition as a pesantren managed by a family of great ulama with great authority and nobility of spirit.

The second reason is the high calibre ulama it produced, who later founded their own pesantren. During the leadership of Kyai Hasyim Asyári, there was a special class called kelas musyawarah (discussion class) in which a selected number of senior students studied under the direct supervision by Kyai Hasyim. The teaching model in this level was based on discussing some questions proposed by the Kyai. The students had to be able read the Arabic literature by themselves to find answers and to develop their arguments. This special class

96 produced high calibre ulama who eventually founded their own pesantren across Java and Madura. With their high reputation in Islamic sciences, most of their pesantren in turn became major centres with thousands of students (Dhofier 1999: 189-191). Many of these pesantrens continue to operate up to the present day. In 1926, when Kyai Haji Hasyim Asyári backed the foundation of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in response to the aggressive expansion of modernism and reformism in the archipelago and Arab world (see Hourani 1983), these ulama became his main supporters (see Bush 2009, Chapter 2). The fact that each individual ulama has thousands of students and followers made for the unprecedented growth of NU. In the early years of independent Indonesia, the association became a political party and took part in the first national general election in 1955. It received 18.41% of total votes nationally (Feith 2007: 434). This significant number of voters was believed to have been mobilised by local kyai who had direct social contact with the masses at a grassroots level through Islamic educational institutions and religious preaching (Naim 1960, Chapter. V). In the 1971 election, NU gained 18.67% of total votes nationally (Porter 2002: 43). Similar to Naim’s observation (1960) on the 1955 election, the significant number of votes garnered by NU in the 1971 election appears to have been the result of popular mobilisation by local kyai.

Educational aspects of Pesantren Tebuireng have been adjusted along with its changing internal situation and in line with broader changes within the Indonesian state and society. Zamakhsyari Dhofier’s book (1999) has well documented the changes made at different periods and in different circumstances. During its first two decades of operation, all students had the chance to experience direct learning interaction with the Pesantren’s great master, Kyai Hasyim Asyári. Students of this period then became great kyai with large pesantren and thousands of students and followers in their respective regions. This was because they had received lessons from high calibre ulama whose knowledge on Islamic sciences was unequalled (Dhofier 1999: 189-191). During its first period of operation between 1899 and 1916, the Pesantren employed bandongan and sorogan teaching systems. In Javanese pesantren, the

97 bandongan method is where a kyai or teacher reads a classic Arabic text called kitab kuning138 on particular subjects with literal translation into Javanese and some short commentaries. As the kyai does this, his students listen and write down the Javanese translation of the unknown Arabic words as interlining below the Arabic text in their kitab kuning. Meanwhile, the sorogan method is a different way of learning system in which a student reads the kitab kuning text outloud, and at the same time makes a complete oral translation of this text into Javanese, before his kyai or teacher. This is a way to test a student’s ability in comprehending the Arabic text in the kitab kuning (see van Bruinessen 1990, 226-269; 1994, 121-145). Some selected senior students who had been in Tebuireng for more than three years then joined a special class called kelas musyawarah (lit. discussion). This class was supervised directly by Kyai Hasyim to study advanced texts and discuss various problems using Islamic sciences as their reference. The members of this special class then became Kyai Hasyim’s aides in teaching junior students in the newly introduced halaqah system. The division of halaqah classes was based on student’s competencies (Dhofier 1999: 81). This system was the embryo of the system which was developed at a later period.139

In 1916, when the student numbers in the Pesantren had reached more than two thousand, the halaqah system was transformed into a more systematic graded classes and curriculum called a madrasa system. Kyai Hasyim had come to know of this this model when he had studied in Mecca between 1893 and 1899 (Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 43-45). At that time, the learning system in Mecca experienced some adjustments, moving from the public sermon-like (equivalent to bandongan in Javanese pesantren) to madrasa system with classrooms, curricula and examinations. This change can be seen as a response to modernism and reformism that was becoming more widespread both in Arab

138 Kitab kuning literally means yellow books. The classic Arabic books used in traditionalist pesantren are mostly printed in yellow paper and published by both local and overseas publishers. 139 Please see my discussion of madrasa system related to the current development of pesantren system in Chapter 2. 98 world and in other Muslim nations (van Bruinessen 1994: 20-24). The first director of Tebuireng’s madrasa was Kyai Maksum Ali, Kyai Hasyim’s son in- law. This system required students to spend seven years in order to graduate from the school. In 1919, Kyai Hasyim’s nephew, Kyai Ilyas, began to reside at Tebuireng to help his uncle managing the madrasa. In addition to competency in Islamic sciences, Kyai Ilyas had also graduated from a colonial Dutch- language school (Hollands Inlandse School (HIS) in Surabaya. This educational background seemed to shape his worldview regarding the knowledge was needed by future Muslim generations. With permission from Kyai Hasyim, Kyai Ilyas introduced a number of non-religious subjects such as Malay language, mathematics, and geography. He added Dutch language and history later on. The aim of this incorporation was to broaden the knowledge and vision of Tebuireng’s students.

In 1929, Kyai Ilyas replaced Kyai Maksum Ali who moved to a nearby hamlet Seblak to open a new pesantren for female students. With this position, Kyai Ilyas had a greater authority to transform Tebuireng’s madrasa. Later, in 1934 Wahid Hasyim, the first son of Kyai Hasyim, returned home after studying in Mecca. He then became Kyai Ilyas’s partner in introducing contemporary world issues and modern ideas into Tebuireng. Indications of these changes can be found in the establishment of a library which subscribed to various magazines published in both the East Indies and in Arab world, and also contained about a thousand books in Malay, Dutch, English, and Arabic. It was, thus, the first ever Indonesian traditional pesantren to provide reading materials from such varied sources. It should be noted that although the madrasa system and broader inculcation of modern ideas spread further, the traditional mode of teaching in the form of bandongan, sorogan, and musyawarah continued to exist (Zaini 1998: 54-66; Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 12-13).140

140 Around the same time, modernisation in Islamic education occurred among modernist Muslims in West Sumatera, with Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta, in Arab communities in some cities of Java and at Pesantren Gontor in Ponorogo. This was the result of interaction between the changing educational system and modernist and reformist movements and figures in Mecca and Cairo (see Steenbrink 1986: 35-65; Azra, Afrianty, and Hefner 2007: 99

When Kyai Hasyim died in 1947, the situation changed again because there was no successor of equivalent calibre. The immediate impact of this loss was the closing of musyawarah class which had previously been supervised directly by Kyai Hasyim. The leadership of the Pesantren passed to his son, Wahid Hasyim (d. 1953), but he held that position for three years only. He then moved to Jakarta to hold various positions in Nahdlatul Ulama, Masyumi, and the government of the newly born country. He felt called to represent traditionalist Muslims in this crucial period for the crafting of the Indonesian state’s ideology and constitution as well as the country’s defence from Dutch aggression against pro-independence Indonesian forces. This period represented a considerable dilemma for Kyai Wahid. On the one hand the Pesantren needed him yet on the other the situation of national politics forced him to take on important roles in national government (Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 67-76). When Kyai Wahid left Tebuireng, the leadership of the Pesantren passed to his brothers and brothers’ in-law.

In general, from this period onwards the teaching quality of the Islamic sciences decreased gradually. It should be noted that the incorporation of more non-Islamic subjects in madrasa had also reduced the levels of students’ mastery of classic Islamic texts or kitab kuning. As a result, the graduates of Tebuireng’s madrasa were no longer seen as sufficiently capable to be kyai. One effort to compensate this deterioration was the establishment of Madrasa Muallimin in 1950, a special school whose purpose it was to produce religious teachers. At that time, requests from Islamic schools for religion teachers, who were graduates of Tebuireng was very high. This period can be seen as a restoration period for many Islamic educational institutions across Java following the instability of World War II (Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 80). Kyai Idris Kamali, one of Kyai Hasyim’s sons in-law who began teaching at Tebuireng in 1953 tried to restore the musyawarah (discussion) class as a response to the demand for qualified graduates, though he himself was very much aware that he lacked Kyai Hasyim’s capacity. He began this initiative by selecting twenty students through

175-7) 100 a complicated testing in various subjects, most notably the skill of reading kitab kuning. Those who had been accepted had to promise not to quit the musyawarah class unless Kyai Idris had stated that student had acquired adequate qualifications to run a pesantren themselves. There is little information as to the extent to which this initiative restored the top reputation of Tebuireng at that time. When Dhofier did his fieldwork there in 1979, however, he found that almost all teachers at Tebuireng were the graduates of this special musyawarah class under Kyai Idris Kamali. In 1973, unfortunately, Kyai Idris decided to leave Tebuireng to live permanently in Mecca following a disagreement Kyai Yusuf Hasyim. Kyai Yusuf Hasyim was the Pesantren leader from 1965 to 2006, and the disagreement centred on the introduction of coeducation for male and female students within Tebuireng (Dhofier 1999: 87-8).

Kyai Yusuf Hasyim’s leadership of lasted from 1965 to 2006 or for 41 years. As Dhofier observed (1999: 88-9) and from information I received during fieldwork, Yusuf’s capacity was not that of a capable ulama as he had never taught Islamic sciences to students at all. He relied on the help of other family members to lead regular activities of the Pesantren and to teach students. Instead, he tried to implement some strange initiatives for that time, such as opening non-religious schools –Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) and Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA)- in 1975 and introducing coeducation within Tebuireng (see Turmudi 2006: 39). These initiatives created controversies and disagreement among kyai who taught in the Pesantren. Although he led the Pesantren, he also spent much of his time in politics (Dhofier 1999: 89-91). It seems that he had no passion to act as a kyai but held that position largely because of hereditary reason when his older brother, Kyai Kholik Hasyim, died in 1965. From a quantitative perspective (i.e. student numbers), however, his leadership can be regarded successful as enrolments reached almost 3,000 before he handed over the leadership to his nephew Kyai Salahuddin Wahid in 2006 (Yasin and Karyadi 2011: 99).

Under Kyai Yusuf Hasyim’s leadership, the focus on formal schooling through madrasa and sekolah system had led the Pesantren to pay greater 101 attention to the development of its schools. One of its impacts was the tendency to charge high school fees. As a result, most of its students came from big cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya, where incomes were higher than in the neighbouring community. Although I was unable to find credible statistical data on students in 1980s and 1990s, the majority of my informants in Tebuireng confirmed this tendency. A further consequence was the neglect of neighbouring community, especially with regard to access to study in the Pesantren’s schools from 1980s to the first half of the 2000s. This situation created a disconnection between the Pesantren and the neighbouring community. In addition, Kyai Yusuf Hasyim himself showed little or no concern for local community members.

In the year of 2006, Kyai Yusuf Hasyim felt that his old age had constrained his ability to continue in the leadership of the Pesantren. He initiated a process to find a successor before his death in order to prevent conflict within the Tebuireng family. With a definite future leader nominated, in his view, he could leave Tebuireng in a harmonious state. His choice was his nephew Salahuddin Wahid, a son of Wahid Hasyim (Taufiqurrochman 2011: 11). The reason to choose Salahuddin was not disclosed to public, but some informants told me that it was because Salahuddin was the most senior of the living descendants of Kyai Hasyim Asyári so he was believed to be more acceptable than other figures. He was also seen to be financially well-off so he would not use the Pesantren for his own financial interest, and was also seen to have adequate leadership and managerial skills for managing the Pesantren.141

Salahuddin or popularly called Gus Sholah (hereon I will use this name) was born in 11 September 1942 at Pesantren Denanyar complex, about 10 kilometers north of Tebuireng. It was the home of his mother Solichah, a daughter of Kyai Bisri Syamsuri.142 When he was seven years old, his family

141 Interview with teachers and other Tebuireng’s people, Jombang, September 2013. 142 Kyai Haji Bisri Syamsuri was also a student of Kyai Haji Hasyim Asyári and co-founder of Nahdlatul Ulama. He served as NU’s third spiritual leader (Rois Syuriah) from 1979, following the death of Kyai Haji Wahab Chasbullah, until his own death in 1980 (Barton 102 moved to Jakarta to accompany his father Wahid Hasyim who was appointed to be Minister of Religious Affairs during early 1950s (Taufiqurrochman 2011: 1-20). Unlike his famous brother, Abdurrahman Wahid, Gus Sholah had never gone to Islamic schools or pesantren. He spent all of his education in secular schools in Jakarta and obtained a degree in civil engineering from the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). His basic knowledge of Islamic sciences was taught to him by his father and other teachers who were invited by his mother to give him private lessons (Taufiqurrochman 2011: 21-40). Up to his appointment to lead Tebuireng, he had lived in Jakarta where he was known as social activist and politician through his involvement with the Central Board of NU. He had been one of its chairmen in the late 1990s, a commissioner with National Human Right Commission (Komnas HAM) between 2002 and 2007, and Vice Presidential Candidate in 2004 general election. Prior to this, he had worked as an architect and businessman (Taufiqurrochman 2011: 41-81).

With his educational background, professional experience and socio- political activism, Gus Sholah seemed to be aware of his strengths and his weaknesses as a pesantren leader. In spite of his unknown ability in reading kitab kuning-an important benchmark among traditionalist ulama-he attempted to position himself more as a manager for his Pesantren. He started with identifying serious problems in Tebuireng and consolidated support from all descendants of Kyai Hasyim Asyári (this kinship association is usually called Bani Hasyim).143 Some of the problems he found were the obvious decrease in quality of Islamic science teaching, the poor quality of many important physical facilities especially dormitories and kitchens, and the lack of social engagement with neighbouring community (Wahid 2011b: 2-15).

To address the first problem of the decreasing quality in Islamic science teaching, Gus Sholah re-opened Madrasa Muallimin which had been closed

2002: 38-40). 143 A more detail account of the leadership transfer can be found in Gus Sholah’s book, Wahid (2011a: 141-3). For the importance of kinship in traditionalist pesantren in Java, see Dhofier (1980, 47-58; 1999: 41-57) 103 during Kyai Yusuf Hasyim’s leadership144 and established Ma’had Aly. The study period in Madrasa Muallimin is for six years because it combines the level of junior and senior secondary school. Meanwhile, Ma’had Aly is equal to undergraduate level in university. These two schools follow a track where the teaching of basic to advanced kitab kuning is given priority. Only a few non- religious subjects are given such as Indonesian and English. This new track is part of efforts to reinvent the high quality Tebuireng of the past. It is expected to reach the same quality of musyawarah class under Kyai Hasyim Asyári of the 1940s and those of Kyai Idris Kamali from 1950s to early 1970s. To achieve this ambition, Gus Sholah has hired many teachers, who are graduates from universities in the Middle East with Master and Doctoral degrees (Wahid 2011b: 26-30). Meanwhile, the already existing schools such as SMP and SMA were pushed to improve their quality. To control this mission, Gus Sholah has established a Quality Assurance Body (Unit Penjaminan Mutu) which works under his direction and reports to him directly. The five members of the body are comprised of former school principals and experts in education. They often collaborate with organisations from universities in conducting research, assessment and training (Wahid 2011b: 32).

There are currently 1,700 male and 470 female students living in the Tebuireng’s dormitories. In fact, this Pesantren has had to reject numerous applicants because the capacity of its dormitories and complex cannot be enlarged (jombang.nu.or.id, 16 July 2014). Consequently, Gus Sholah initiated the construction of a new complex located about ten kilometres from Tebuireng. This new complex is equipped with a high quality secondary school specialising in science. Its current student population is 213 pupils and is expected to grow in the future. In the past, the Tebuireng complex could accommodate more than 2,000 students because the students slept on the floor. Today, each bedroom has bunk beds on which the students sleep, so the dormitories’ capacity is now calculated based on the number of the beds. The

144 There is no clear information of why this school was closed. 104 students go to different schools from 7am to 3pm. Madrasa Tsyanawiyah (MTs) has 713 sttudents, Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) has 784 students, Madrasa Aliyah (MA) has 655 students, Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) has 751 students, and Madrasa Muállimin has 197 students. Not all of the schools’ students reside in the Pesantren’s dormitories, the so-called santri mukim. About 67% of the student population are santri mukim, while the remaining 33% comes from surrounding villagers or reside in nearby smaller pesantren.145

It is likely that the santri mukim come mostly from relatively well-off families or middle class layers of Indonesian Muslim society, such as government employees, teachers, farmers, and entrepreneurs from across the country. The santri mukim are required to pay Rp. 880,000 per month for their school fees, accommodation, and health services. Meanwhile, those who do not reside in the Pesantren dormitories only pay the school fee of Rp. 190,000 per month.

Figure 4.1 The Current Building of Pesantren Tebuireng

Photograph by Ahmad Faozan, Majalah Tebuireng

145 This data was obtained from the Pesantren’s Foundation office (Kantor Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Tebuireng) by email correspondence with its secretary, H. Abdul Ghofar, on March 2015. There are now many pesantren around Pesantren Tebuireng such as Pesantren Madrasatul Qurán, Darul Hakam, Seblak, and Walisogo. Most of these pesantren have their own schools, while some others do not, so the students living there can go to whatever school they wish including the schools of Pesantren Tebuireng. 105

Addressing the second problem of poor facilities, Gus Sholah has rebuilt all of the dormitory buildings. In early 2007, there were 150 rooms of 12 square meters in which seven or more student lived in. They slept on the floor, sometimes covered with a thin carpet. For Gus Sholah, this situation was far from meeting decent health standards. To realise this project, he made most of his social networks of relatives and friends for fund raising. He did not ask them for money, but a whole building cost instead. For this purpose, he offered waqf concept (endowment) by which the contributors will get spiritual reward as the building is used for religious causes.146 In the first year of his leadership, 2007, a donation of two-storey building from Wisnu Hadi Suryokusumo, a brother in- law of his wife had been completed. The building was then named the Suryokusumo Building as its benevolence was intended to commemorate the late Wisnu Hadi’s father. In the same year, a three storey building named Haji Kalla Building donated by Jusuf Kalla, the present Indonesian Vice President and wealthy businessman, was made ready for use. Within only two years, the rebuilding project of all dormitories and infrastructure had been completed with some other three storey buildings named KH. Saifuddin Zuhri Building (from the descendants of former Minister of Religion), Nyai Hajjah Sholicah Building (from the descendants of KH. Wahid Hasyim), and KH. Ilyas Building (from the Ministry of Religion dedicated to the former Minister of Religion KH. Ilyas) (Wahid 2011b: 116-117). During my fieldwork in 2013, all buildings and facilities including the mosque were newly built. The completion of this project for which billions of rupiah were spent within a very short time –three years was an indication of the solid level of trust that had been placed in Gus Sholah.

When he first came to Tebuireng as its leader, Gus Sholah tried to engage with the community living surrounding the Pesantren. He attended collective prayers for the deceased (commonly called slametan and tahlilan) in the houses of

146 Waqf is a donation of asset with a long term benefit such as land and building for Islamic causes. An informative study on the practice of waqf in Indonesia is Abubakar (2006a; 2006b), Bamualim (2006), and Fauzia (2013). 106 the locals,147 and sometimes was involved in community gatherings. From this engagement, Gus Sholah’s developed sociable personal relation with the community members to the point that there were no longer cultural barriers between the leader of large pesantren and the ordinary people. In the era of Kyai Yusuf Hasyim’s leadership, according to some villagers I interviewed, the local community lacked the confidence to communicate with the Kyai since he had never engaged, or mingled, with the community. This situation had changed when Gus Sholah as the Pesantren’s leader adopted a more open approach towards them.

His personal involvement in the local community affairs then made the local community less reluctant to ask for his assistance including financial assistance in times of emergency, such as sending a family member to hospital and school fees for poor children. The increasing frequency of such requests for help to Gus Sholah made him aware that the community surrounding his Pesantren was in urgent need of more systematic welfare, not just spontaneous ad hoc giving. From this moment, he was keen to establish a special body in his Pesantren’s organisational structure to address the socio-economic problems of the local community.

…pesantren is established not only as an educational institution, but also has a social responsibility to the community. In the past, the pesantren was also an agent of change. The development of surrounding community is also part of our responsibilty…148

In short, the leadership of Gus Sholah has led Pesantren Tebuireng to have a greater concern for the welfare of the locals. In less than a year of his leadership and living in Tebuireng, he came to understand the situation of the neighbourhood as well as the potentials of what his Pesantren could do. After consulting with some well-established charity organisations like Dompet Dhuafa in Jakarta and YDSF (Yayasan Dana Sosial Al-Falah) in Surabaya, he eventually ordered his aides to establish a special institution within his Pesantren called Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng (LSPT, Social Office of Pondok

147 An informative study on slametan is Woodward (1988, 54-89) 148 Interview with KH. Salahuddin Wahid, Jombang, 20 September 2013. 107

Tebuireng). While the establishment of LSPT looked like Gus Sholah’s personal interest, it also should be understood within the context of traditionalist pesantren culture in which the kyai has an ultimate authority like that of a king. Dhofier (1999: 34) had noted this notion as follows:

The Kyai in Java claim that a pesantren is like a kerajaan kecil (small kingdom) in which the Kyai is the absolute source of power and authority. No santri (student) can challenge the authority of the Kyai. Only another, greater ulama can do this, and santri always expect their Kyai to be self-confident in all Islamic matters.

It is hard to find similar institutions in other pesantren. To the best of my knowledge, LAZISWA (Lembaga Zakat, Infaq, Sodaqoh, dan Wakaf) of Pesantren Sidogiri in Pasuruan, East Java, 149 Dompet Peduli Ummat (DPU) of Pesantren Darut Tauhid in Bandung,150 and Baitul Maal Hidayatullah (BMH) of Pesantren Hidayatullah in Balikpapan151 are among a few I could find. Those organisations operate in the same area of activities such as and the collection of alms, the distribution of the funds to finance health services for the needy and other charitable programs. However, I would say that such practices have not spread widely in the pesantren world.

II. A Socio-Economic Overview of the Local Community and the Establishment of the LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng)

Before proceeding to further discussion of the LSPT, let me describe the socio-economic conditions of the surrounding community, from Jombang regency down to Cukir village. My reason for providing such a multi-level

149 Fieldwork notes of my MA Thesis research in September-October 2010. 150 It should be noted, however, that Pesantren Darut Tauhid of the famous televangelist AA Gym is not like common pesantren where students reside for long time period of study. It is rather a home-base of AA Gym’s da’wah activities and in which people stay for a night or a weekend pilgrimage to have a short religious program organised by AA Gym and his crews. For detailed information on AA Gym and his Pesantren Darut Tauhid, please see Watson (2005, 773-792). 151 I made my personal observation in Pesantren Hidayatullah, Balikapapan in August 2013. 108 description is because the outreach of LSPT has encompassed the whole regency in its scope, particularly throughout Diwek district in which Tebuireng is situated. Based on recent data from the Statistics Bureau of the municipality (2014a), Jombang has an area of 1,159.50 square kilometres, comprising 42.19% of wet rice farming land (sawah), 19.46% of forest, 11.62% of dry farming land (tegal), and 24.08% of settlement. In 2013, there were about 1.5 million people living in its 20 districts (kecamatan). The population earn their livelihood in four main sectors: agriculture (26.90%), manufacture industry (10.77%), trading (38.03%), and services (11.45%). Unfortunately, the data does not provide unemployment figures. However, it provides figures for a household prosperity survey called Keluarga Pra Sejahtera. Although there is no clear benchmark in the survey, it defines a Keluarga Pra Sejahtera as a household that is unable to meet its basic needs of clothing, food, and housing. The number in this category is 78,690 households, while households that were defined as able to meet their basic needs at a very basic standard is 79,729 households (BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014a). That figure equals to 9.4% of the total population, and it is still lower than the national figure of 13%.152 Nevertheless, this figure implies a strong need of welfare provision among the bottom layers of Jombang society.

Tebuireng hamlet where the Pesantren Tebuireng and the LSPT are located is part of Cukir village. The village is inhabited by local residents and students of the many pesantren (santri) situated there. The recent official statistics suggests that the local residents of Cukir number 10,012 people, comprising 5,457 males and 4,556 females, while the total number of santri was about 5,800. In the wider Diwek district, the total population was 102,479 people (BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014b).

152. Accessed on 12 August 2015. 109

Table 4.1 Number of Schools and Pesantren with Their Students in Cukir, 2013 School Levels Number of Number of Schools Students Primary Schools 4 641 Junior Secondary Schools 8 2,380 Senior Secondary Schools 7 3,876 Tertiary/University 1 880 Pondok Pesantren 7 5,800 Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014, Kecamatan Diwek Dalam Angka 2014.

The presence of seven pesantren in the Cukir village is very noticeable. All of them have their historical roots in Pesantren Tebuireng as it is the oldest one. For example, Pesantren Walisongo located next to Pesantren Tebuireng was founded by one of Kyai Hasyim’s sons-in law, while Pesantren Madrasatul Qur’an located across the road from Pesantren Tebuireng was founded by one of Kyai Hasyim’s grandchildren. So, the seven pesantren can be said to be the expansion of Kyai Hasyim’s descendants, and all are related through family ties. Save for one government primary school, all schools are owned by those pesantren.

Table 4.2 Employment of Residents of Diwek district and Cukir Village, 2013 Types of Job Diwek district Cukir Village (Number of people, %) (Number of people, %)

Farmer 6,216 11.70% 154 3.75% Government 1,416 2.67% 128 Employee 3.11% Employees of Private 20,239 38.09% 1,579 Sector 38.42% Entrepreneur 24,091 45.34% 2,166 52.70% Military and Police 311 0.59% 14 0.34% Retired from 856 1.61% 69 Government Employee or Military and Police 1.68% Total Number 53,129 100% 4,110 100% Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014, Kecamatan Diwek Dalam Angka 2014.

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As shown in Table 4.2, less than a half of the local residents are in employment, 4,110 of 10,012 people. The official statistics does not provide a figure for unemployment, so we should assume that the half of the population includes those under working-age, the unemployed, and those who have reached retirement age. As the location of Cukir is on the provincial road and has the largest traditional market in the district (kecamatan), the majority of the locals work in trading sector. Only a very small number of them engage in agriculture.

Table 4.3 Housing condition, 2013 Scope Good Somewhat good Poor Diwek District 20,988 1,229 1,190 Cukir Village 1,639 52 47 Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014, Kecamatan Diwek Dalam Angka 2014.

Because the official statistics do not provide indicative figures on the poverty or economic prosperity of the village, I use housing conditions to indicate the existence of poverty in the village. In Indonesia and other demographic contexts, poor housing conditions are an indicator of poverty for those living there. The statistics explains that the houses categorized poor if they do not have cement walls and floor as well as lacking an adequate ventilation (BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014b).

Table 4.4 Senior Population, 2013 Scope Aged 65-69 Aged 70-74 Aged 75 - over Diwek District 2,473 1,844 2,149 Cukir Village 180 112 168 Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Jombang 2014, Kecamatan Diwek Dalam Angka 2014.

In addition, the area has a very significant number of senior population aged 65 years and over. Indonesia is a country without a universal superannuation system, so that only those who have retired from government employment receive a regular pension. Those outside of this category must rely on support and care from their children or family members. Because there is no

111 aged care housing and services, the welfare of these senior citizens is often at stake if they do not have a child or family member who can take care of them. I will show later how a senior female citizen was abandoned by her children were are also trapped in poverty and had to immigrate to distant places to find a better life.

The data presented above has shown that the socio-economic situation of the community living around the Pesantren Tebuireng is characterized by high levels of unemployment and underemployment, and a high number of elderly people living in vulnerable conditions. Therefore, the charitable activities of the LSPT have been designed to meet the needs of the community and re- connect the Pesantren with the locals as would be traditionally expected.

Figure 4.2 The Office of the LSPT

Therefore, the establishment and relatively rapid development of the LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng) in 2007 came about because of a combination of reasons. The first was the expectation of the local community that the Pesantren Tebuireng would exhibit a closer relationship and play a more concrete role in addressing socio-economic problems of the community. The second reason was Gus Sholah’s consciousness of his position as a kyai with multiple roles, as both pesantren leader and the informal protector of the local community. The third reason was Gus Sholah’s personal knowledge and 112 experience of socializing with the broader Muslim middle class, particularly from the modernist stream, in Jakarta. It is generally believed that modernist Muslims have progressed further than their traditionalist fellows in articulating their Islamic spirit in non-religious sphere, including the establishment of charity organisations (see Latief 2012).153 Additionally, Gus Sholah has had the experience of becoming a commissioner of the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) between 2002 and 2007 in which he dealt with a wide array of social and NGOs activists. From these activists he took on their social concern and activism. This knowledge and experience, in my view, has provided Gus Sholah with a better idea of how to utilise the available potential sources of social funds and to distribute them to the needy in a more structured and sustained way. The final reason is the availability of abundant funds from donation box placed in the Pesantren Tebuireng’s cemetery complex. I argue that a combination of these reasons has provided the cement that has reinforced the establishment and rapid development of the LSPT.

As a new leader who had previously lived out of the Tebuireng, Gus Sholah had difficulty in implementing his ideas and especially in selecting the right person for the new organisation. At first, Gus Sholah appointed someone who ultimately showed that he could not run the organisation satisfactorily. After several months, he replaced that person with Agus Maulana who occupied the LSPT’s chairmanship from October 2007 to early 2013. In this period, Agus built the structure of the organisation, recruited staff, and initiated programs. He faced a difficult situation. In the first two and a half years, the staff were not paid regularly. If they had been paid using the collected fund, LSPT would not have been able to fund the programs. The situation meant that most staff worked part time or casually because they had to spend their time on other jobs. Most of them, including Agus, were teachers in the Pesantren schools.

153 Gus Sholah has has long had a good friendship with some founders of Dompet Dhuafa and other activists with Yayasan Dana Sosial Masjid Al Falah in Surabaya. Interview with KH. Salahuddin Wahid, Jombang, 20 September 2013. 113

Donations that were successfully collected from local wealthy donors started at Rp. 2 million per month in the early period and rose to Rp. 32 million per month in late 2009.154 A drastic change occurred after 30 December 2009 when the former , Abdurrahman Wahid popularly called Gus Dur, Gus Sholah’s older brother, died and was buried in the Pesantren complex.155 Surprisingly his tomb attracts large number of pilgrims, with 3,000- 5,000 people making the pilgrimage on weekdays and 5,000-7,000 on weekends. The pilgrims commonly leave some money in the donation box (kotak amal) situated in the cemetery complex. The amount of money they put in the boxes is very surprising, around Rp. 200 million per month or more.156 As the official charity organisation of Pesantren Tebuireng, LSPT was given authority by Gus Solah to manage these funds. This new source of money brought the organisation into a new era, from being poorly to being lavishly financed.

Figure 4.3 An Example of Donation Boxes in Tebuireng Cemetery Complex

154 Interview with Agus Maulana, the Director of LSPT (2007-2013), Jombang, 18 September 2013. 155 There is a family grave yard within the Pesantren Tebuireng complex. Before the burial of Gus Dur, there were tombs of his grandfather and father, Hasyim Asyári and Wahid Hasyim. Pilgrims visited and prayed at these tomb, but their numbers multiplied tremendously after the burial of Gus Dur there. 156 Interview with Muhammad Asád, the current Director of LSPT, Jombang, 15 September 2013. 114

It is relevant to discuss briefly here the importance of the practice of visiting sacred graves, or what is locally called ziarah, among traditionalist Muslims especially those who identified themselves as members of NU in Java.157 Ziarah is part of complex cosmological relations between the living and the deceased among traditionalist Muslim community, and has constantly been labelled as heresy and deviance from the true Islam by the more reformist minded Muslims (Doorn-Harder and Jong 2001: 329-330). However, there are different modes of rituals practised by orthodox Muslim pilgrims (santri) and less orthodox ones. Both sets of practices are shaped by their respective theologies. The most popular ziarah practice in Java is visiting and praying at the tombs of nine saints (wali songo) who are believed to be the first propagators of Islam in Java (see Fox 1991). In addition to the nine saints, there are many tombs of saints or sacred people whose popularity is often confined to local communities (see Muhaimin 2006, Chapter 6; Christomy 2008). Other studies have demonstrated the significance of ziarah practice which besides revering sacred tombs, are also part of identity formation of particular regions (Quinn 2009b). They are used for political legitimacy (Quinn 2002; Fox 2002; Quinn 2009a), and to create an economic dynamic in surrounding neighbourhood (Quinn 2008, 63-79). In many other places in the archipelago, similar practices are also popular as an expression of a particular community’s belief in the living spirit of their ancestors and the importance of maintaining relation with them for the benefit of those living in the world (see Chambert-Loir and Reid 2002).

Based on my observations and conversations with pilgrims in Tebuireng cemetery, I have noticed that the pilgrims believe that their visit to the graves is an attempt to bind themselves spiritually to the ulama buried there. It is often said among traditionalist Muslims that because their spiritual quality is not good enough to gain blessing from the God in the hereafter, they therefore need to be included in the contingents of those ulama. The graves of Kyai Hasyim, Kyai Wahid and Gus Dur are particularly relevant for those who identify themselves

157 A similar practice also happens among traditionalist Muslims in other part of Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean region, see Mandal (2012, 355-372) and Zuhri (2013, 1-13). 115 as NU members. Because of the central roles of these men and their religious knowledge and perceived spiritual power, many NU members have made an effort to be included in their contingents in the hereafter by praying before of their graves.

Figure 4.4 The Grave of KH. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur)

In this study, Gus Dur’s grave in Tebuireng has indeed provided meaning and strategic benefit for the Pesantren Tebuireng. Its meaning lies in its contribution to strengthening further the religious authority of the Pesantren Tebuireng, while its strategic benefit can be seen in the visit of thousands of pilgrims every day and night that provides the Pesantren with an opportunity to raise the public donations. With such financial resources, therefore, the LSPT can develop easily. Up to now, pilgrims’ donations have remained the dominant income source for the LSPT (see Table 4.5 below)

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Table 4.5 Revenue of LSPT (1 January – 20 December 2014) Sources of Fund Amount Received ZIS from donors Rp 470,306,400 Infaq from pilgrims Rp 1,797,285,300 Dividend from Rp 23,572,347 Commercial Assets Total Rp 2,291,164,047 (AUD 229,116) Source: LSPT’s financial report of 2014

In 2013, LSPT restructured its management in order to increase its capacity and enhance its reputation. One of the critiques emerging since October 2007 of Agus Mulyana’s administration was that many of the staff, including Agus himself, worked at other jobs in addition to their work for LSPT. That resulted in less than maximum performance and time allocation. With subsequent management LSPT tried to find a chairman and staff that were available and willing to work full time for the organization. Finally, Muhammd Asád was the person chosen for the new chairman seat, and he was committed to work full time in the organisation.158

In the second year of Muhammad Asád’s administration, LSPT has established more proper organisational structures and functions. In contrast to previous administrations whose staff mostly worked part time, it currently has 15 full time staff. With an adequate number of staff, internal affairs such as administration and financial affairs have been managed properly. The only

158 Muhammad Asád holds a Master degree in Islamic Studies from Leiden University in the Netherlands. He does not have any family or previous instituional relations with Tebuireng; being neither a graduate nor having family links. He lives in nearby village at his wife’s home. His first encounter with Tebuireng was when he accompanied Japanese Indonesianist Professor Mitsuo Nakamura to interview Gus Sholah. From this encounter, his relation with Gus Sholah developed. Firstly, Gus Sholah asked him to be involved directly in the Pesantren by leading its library. After about two years in that position, Gus Sholah asked him to be the chairman of the LSPT. In Asád’s view, his appointment was due to the scarcity of Tebuireng’s people who have expertise in non-teaching affairs. All of them have been busy with teaching in schools and have paid little attention to, and have little interest in, non- educational matters. Interview with Muhammad Asád, Jombang, 19 September 2013. 117 internal issue which requires improvement is its capacity to collect zakat from the public. It is fair to say that the LSPT currently relies on the donations given by visitors to the Pesantren’s cemetery compound. As shown in Table 4.5, the amounts collected of zakat, infaq and sedekah or ZIS from donors is about a quarter of that from the pilgrims. In future, the administration is expected to be able raise significant funds from alms from the wealthy members of society. The main concern of the current administration is how to improve the quality and the outreach of their programs.

III. The Programs The majority of LSPT’s programs and funding allocations go to the local community through the provision of scholarships, economic empowerment schemes, health insurance and services, and supporting Islamic causes in the local community. Only the scholarship program and financial assistance to the Pesantren’s employees have been made available to the Pesantren’s students and internal staff. Those charitable programs are similar to the works of the established charity organisations in Indonesia (see Clark 1995; Alawiyah 2006; Helmanita 2006; Singer 2006; Challand 2008; Harmsen 2008; Latief 2012; Bamualim and; Lessy 2013). It is obvious that the limited capacity and quality of the state’s delivery in development and welfare services have partly led to the relevance and importance of the roles played by non-state actors including religious charity and philanthropic organisations like LSPT (cf. Sakai 2012a, 272; Thornton, Sakai, and Hassall 2012, 781-4).

Indonesian private charity organisations or sometimes called LAZ (Lembaga Amil Zakat) whose main business is collecting and distributing ZIS (zakat, infaq, and sedekah) have many shared areas of concern and programs with the government. A recent study by Halimatusa’diyah (2015) has demonstrated that many comparable programs by both government and private zakat agencies. These deal mainly in areas of poverty reduction, social assistance, and health and education. However, there are very low levels of coordination and little synergy between them due for various reasons. Among the obstacles, just 118 to mention a few, are that the LAZ see the complex and hierarchical government bureaucracy as a constraint on flexible and immediate responses to meet the demands of society; as well as a lack of mutual trust since the government sees the sustainability of zakat institutions as doubtful. The LAZ for its part also doubts the sustainability of government policies and programs when the governments changes (see Halimatusa'diyah 2015: 12-8).

Table 4.6 Expenditure or Fund Allocation of LSPT (1 January – 20 December 2014) Programs Amount Financial Assistance for the Poor Rp 260,548,000 and Orphans Health Program Rp 353,543,000 Education Program Rp 412,441,200 Humanitarian Program Rp 234,232,900 Da’wah Program Rp 537,184,800 Financial Assistance for the Rp 412,277,700 Pesantren’s Employees Operational Cost Rp 151,051,900 Administration and Miscellaneous Rp 85,299,500 Total Rp 2,446,579,000 (AUD 244,657) Source: LSPT’s financial report of 2014

Table 4.7 Number of Beneficiaries as of January 2015 Programs Number of Beneficiaries Amount of Fund Scholarship 46 students of schools Varied, depends on outside the Pesantren the schools’ fees and Tebuireng, and 152 students other costs of the Pesantren Tebuireng Financial assistance 248 children Rp. 300,000/month for orphans Financial assistance 247 households Rp. 300,000/month for poor household Pesantren’s 85 people Rp. 200,000/month Employees

119

Widows or Spouses 23 people Rp. 200,000/month of deceased Pesantren’s teachers Tebuireng Health 287 people Varied, depends on Card the health treatment costs Source: LSPT’s annual report of 2014

As we have seen in Table 4.6 and Table 4.7, most programs and funds from the LSPT have been directed towards the neighbouring community. The variety of programs is targeted at different layers of beneficiaries. For example, scholarships and financial assistance for orphans are directed to school age children, while the Tebuireng Health Card and financial assistance for poor household are mainly given to senior citizens. In the following account I will discuss the distribution of the programs as well as the impact of these charitable activities on the social standing of Pesantren Tebuireng.

A. Providing Educational Opportunities for the Deprived The significance of providing scholarships as a support to the deprived enabling them to access educational services can be seen against the complex organization of the education sector in Indonesia. The country manages 55 million students, 3 million teachers, and 236,000 schools situated in almost 500 regencies and cities (The Economist, 13 December 2014). After achieving universal enrolment at primary school level at a relatively high and stable rate, in 1994/1995 the government started to implement a plan for nine-year compulsory education which means that students are expected continue on and pass three-years of junior secondary school. The aim of the program was to achieve these targets in 2004, but in 2010 it has just approached 80% of the target. For senior secondary level, the enrolment was slightly lower, 63%. The main reason for students to drop out or not continue was a financial reason. Data from a survey conducted in 2009 shows that 66 of every 100 primary school students went on to continue to junior secondary schools, while 62 of every 100 junior secondary school students went on to senior secondary

120 schools. Those who did not continue on to higher school level were mainly from poor families. It is reported that 53% of them could not afford to cost of their schooling, and 6% of them had to work to earn a living (Suharti 2013: 24- 27).

The government has actually increased its budget for education sector. Starting from 12% of total government spending in 2001, 16% in 2003, 18 in 2008, and it now exceed the goal of 20% of total central government spending. It is a high share, even compared to many other countries including the United Kingdom and the United States of America which spent only 11.1% and 13.8% respectively of their budget in 2008 on education (Suharti 2013: 45-47). In 2014, the Indonesian government spent Rp. 368.9 trillion (around $368 million) on the sector and allocated Rp. 404 trillion ($404 million) for the year of 2015 (, 18 October 2014). However, more than half of that amount was (and is) transferred to provincial and regency governments which then use the funds mainly to payi teachers’ salaries and allowances (Suharti 2013: 47). Despite this huge budget, there has not been clear and apparent implementation policy of free-fee basic education across all provinces and regencies. The implementation of this policy depends on the political will of local leaders (governors of provinces and regent of regencies) (see Rosser, Joshi, and Edwin 2011). This situation means that children from poor households with low income or unemployed parents hardly have access to education.

The provision of scholarships, therefore, remains a popular program among Islamic charity organisations in Indonesia. Dompet Dhuafa (DD) can be seen as a pioneer in using zakat funds for scholarships (Helmanita 2006, 104- 111; Sakai 2012a, 272).159 Subsequently many other charity and philanthropic institutions including Al-Azhar Peduli, the zakat agency of Muhammadiyah in some regencies and the government-operated BAZDA (Badan Amil Zakat

159 Studies by Helmanita (2006, 104-9) and Fauzia (2013: 208-211) listed Dompet Dhuafa’s innovative programs with catchy brands such as Kesehatan Cuma-Cuma for free health services, Masyarakat Mandiri for economic empowerment, Aksi Cepat Tanggap for emergency and disaster relief, Lembaga Pengembangan Insani for human resource development which also covers scholarships, and Wakala for women’s empowerment. 121

Daerah) of Jakarta Capital City also created scholarship programs (Fauzia 2013: 229).

From a theological point of view this practice is justified by the recent interpretation of one of the eight eligible recipients of zakat funds, that is the fi sabilillah or those who follow in the way of God.160 This recent interpretation of fi sabilillah term encompasses a wide-range activities that can be considered in line with the God’s commands, such as supporting or financing da’wah mission and providing scholarships for students from poor families (Latief 2012: 13-14; Fauzia 2013: 233-4). This theological interpretation has become the basis for the current practice of contemporary Islamic charity organisations.

As a pesantren-affiliated charity organisation, the LSPT pays considerable attention to the problem of access to education for students who cannot afford its cost. The distribution of scholarships it provides is based on the need of the applicants and their academic performance. There are 46 students of schools outside the Pesantren, and 152 students within the Pesantren who receive this scholarship with varying stipends, depending on their schools’ fees. As an example is Fajrul Falah, one of the Pesantren’s students who receives the scholarship. He is now in the third year of Madrasa Tsanawiyah (MTs) of the Pesantren. His parents are casual teachers who have to finance the education of Fajrul and his brother who is also at Tebuireng.

The Pesantren Tebuireng charges approximately Rp. 800,000 (AUD 80) per month for school fees, accommodation, health insurance, and food. This amount is an average amount compared to other pesantren in the region, but it is affordable for parents on a very low income. Fajrul’s parents have to send about

160 Because one of the main funding sources of Islamic charity organisations is almsgiving (zakat), they distribute these funds based on the available guidance in the Al Qurán. In the Qur’an, there is a verse explaining that the eligible recipients of zakat: the needy (fuqara), the poor (masakin), those whose hearts are inclined to Islam (muallaf), the bond person/slaves (riqab), people in debt (gharimin), the wayfarer (ibn sabil), the zakat administrators (ámil), and those who follow in the way of God (fi sabilillah). For a more detail discussion on the current interpretations of the verse, see Helmanita (2006: 109-111), Latief (2012: 13-14), and Fauzia (2013: 233-6). 122

Rp. 1.6 million every month for their two children studying in the Pesantren Tebuireng. In addition, they also send pocket money of Rp. 200,000 per month for each of their children. During his first year at Tebuireng his parent always delayed payment of the tuition fees, though they always tried to send his pocket money on time each month. After his tuition payments were in arrears for a year, the Pesantren’s finance manager invited him to discuss the problem. Fajrul gave the finance manager details of his parent’s job and income. It was understood that they seemed to be unable to pay the fees and asked LSPT to consider whether Fajrul could be given a scholarship.

According to Fajrul, his family had realized that they are actually unable to pay the Pesantren’s fees, but his father has a strong desire to send some of his children to Tebuireng. This desire was because his late grandparent was a Tebuireng graduate. He had many children, so he could not send all of them to pesantren because of financial constraints. Fajrul’s father was one of those who could not be sent to pesantren. Therefore, sending Fajrul and his brother to Tebuireng became a mission to fulfil an unaccomplished family tradition and obsession.161

With the scholarship from the LSPT, he and his parents are now relieved of the burden of tuition fees. His parents only have to have to sendthe monthly pocket money. Fajrul is also demonstrating good academic performance in his studies. In addition, he has a talent for reciting Al Qur’an (tilawah) which gives him many opportunities to perform at many Pesantren events. He has just won a competition of Qur’an reading in his home municipality of Bekasi, West Java. With his academic performance and additional achievements, LSPT is very happy to support his future education.

Currently there are 152 recipients of scholarships in all Tebuireng’s schools and madrasa. Applications for the scholarships are made much easier for students coming from the neighbouring community. Gus Sholah has

161 Interview with Fajrul Falakh, a student at Pesantren Tebuireng, Jombang, 16 September 2013. 123 instructed LSPT’s management that anyone from local community who wishes to study at the Pesantren’s schools will be exempted from fees. The LSPT provides scholarships for them instead. He often speaks to the local community at their events, and if the local people are really unable to pay, they can come to LSPT to discuss their problems. Currently there have been dozens of students from neighbouring community who have received scholarships. By this means the Pesantren to increase the local community’s enthusiasm in sending their children to the Pesantren.162

Broadly speaking, there are 27,218 pesantren in Indonesia that are registered with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. These pesantren educate 3,642,738 students who consist of 1,895,580 or 52%) male students and 1,747.158 or 48% female students.163 There is no data available on the socio- economic background of their parents or family. Previous studies (e.g. Castles 1966, 37-40; Dhofier 1999: 32-3) have suggested that the most common socio- economic background of students’ parents was farmers with adequate farming land, mid-level entrepreneurs, or religious functionaries such as teachers, preachers, and employees of Ministry of Religious Affairs. My own observation on the current situation in some pesantren has confirmed this picture, but with an extension into several new professions emerging over the last decades. Nevertheless, there are always families who are keen to send their children to study at the Pesantren but who cannot afford to pay the tuition fees.

The scholarships were also provided to students of schools outside the Pesantren Tebuireng. Santi Erna Wati was one of the 46 recipients of such scholarships who studied at schools outside Tebuireng. Santi was in the second year of her junior secondary school at Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) Darul Falah in Cukir, about 3 kilo meters from Tebuireng. She did well in her studies but at times she was unable to afford to buy books and other needs for her schooling.

162 Interview with Muhammad As’ad, Jombang, 19 September 2013. 163 The data was adopted from a report of 2010/2011 academic year on the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ website: http://pendis.kemenag.go.id/file/dokumen/databooklet03a.pdf. Accessed on 10 April 2015. 124

Her parents made living from selling a meatball soup (bakso) from a modest stall in front of their small house. When I stayed there for about an hour, I saw only two consumers. It seems that there were too many food stalls in the area. Noticing Santi and her parent’s situation, one of her teachers who knew that LSPT could help in such circumstances, suggested that she apply for a scholarship to LSPT. Santi and her parents were not sure how to do so. A week later, the teacher invited Santi to go to LSPT’s office on her motor bike. Not long after the lodgement of her application, a staff member of LSPT visited Santi’s school and house to make a standard assessment. Soon after that, her application was approved and Santi or her parents could collect the stipend of Rp. 300,000 ($30) in the first week of every month from LSPT’s office.164

B. Economic Empowerment While the scholarship program is targeting school-age children from low- income families, the capital assistance program is targeting poor households in order to increase their earning capacity and income. Table 4.2 has shown that less than a half of the local residents are working, 4,110 of 10,012 people. The rest of them, excluding the school age children, might work casually in informal sector and don’t have a regular income. To address this issue, LSPT has been giving capital assistance of Rp. 500,000 to 1 million to start a new business among the unemployed. The management of the fund thinks that this is a more sustainable way of boosting entrepreneurship among the recipients so that they become independent more quickly. One of the ideas that they are discussing is the establishment of an Islamic microfinance institution. However, they are still studying its benefits, challenges, and organisational relationship with LSPT.

From an economic point of view, Indonesia is now a middle-income country with the third-highest rate of growth country in the G20 (The Jakarta Post, 23 September 2010), but this economic growth must be set side by side with the country’s large population, which the government must serve. Although the unemployment rate is only 6.3% –with the poverty line set at Rp.

164 Interview with Santi Erna Wati and her parents, Jombang, 14 September 2013. 125

200,262 per month (World Bank, 2014), approximately 27 million Indonesians or 15.1% of the population still live on less than $1 per day (equal to Rp. 10,000). If the benchmark is lifted up to a modest $2 per day, half of the population will be classified as poor (The Jakarta Post, 23 September 2010). There are 4.5 million neglected children and 2.8 million elderly people who do not receive proper care (Asia News Monitor, 22 December 2012).

Attempting to address this problem, the previous regime (Susilo Bambang Yudoyono’s administration)165 put several programs into place ranging from charitable assistance, low interest loans, to community-based development projects (Asia News Monitor, 22 December 2012). However, it is beyond the scope of this study to evaluate the outcomes of these programs. Suffice to say that despite the stable economic growth of around 6% of GDP over the last decade, the situation at the lowest levels of Indonesian society have not changed significantly as can be seen in the poverty picture above. Below is an illustration of the life of the poor. It relates to the circumstances of one of the recipients of the LSPT’s funds.

Nurita is 55 year old woman who had turned to begging as a means of livelihood 15 years ago after her husband became a victim of a hit and run accident. As a result of the accident her husband suffered a permanent injury to his leg and is unable to walk. From then on she was forced into begging the only source of livelihood for her husband and three children. At that time, they lived in Surabaya. She did not know how to start a new job and how to earn enough money for the family’s life. Eventually she started to be a busker (pengamen) at intersections and in public places. She was arrested by government security apparatus called Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja (Satpol PP) several times in Surabaya. Life became harder when her family were involved in a dispute with her husband’s siblings over ownership of the house they lived in. The house was inherited house from her husband’s parents. Finally they decided to leave the

165 This research began in the Yudoyono presidency and concluded during the presidency of , whch began 20 October 2014. 126 house and find a rented house. Through a complex and difficult process, they finally moved to Jombang where they were able to stay in a rented hut for Rp. 500,000 per year (up to 2013 when I conducted my research).

In Jombang, Nurita continues begging. She used to beg for a full day, but now she goes begging from 8am to 1pm due to her weakening physical condition. Every day she goes begging in different markets in regencies around Jombang municipality where she can earn between Rp. 30,000 and 40,000 a day. The furthest market she goes to is in Mojokerto, a neighbouring municipality. To get there she has to leave her home at 2am. She takes a bus and continues the trip by walking 17 kilometers. She is eager to go there as she can normally expect to earn around Rp. 70,000 a day.166

Her encounter with LSPT began with her regular begging in the Cukir Market, just across LSPT’s office. One day she saw a beggar go in to the LSPT office and she assumed that the beggar had received some money from there. After a while, she tried to do the same. Unexpectedly, she was asked to take a seat in the office and was invited to have a conversation with the Director, Muhammad Asád. The Director asked her about her life story, her experience as a beggar, and her family life. At that time, she talked about the difficulties she had in enrolling her child in school as she did not have a Family Card (kartu keluarga), a compulsory document for every household in Indonesia. Without this card, a family cannot access any government services. The sum of money needed to obtain this was Rp. 1,6 million.167 Finally, with the assistance of LSPT, she was able to obtain the Family Card for free. At that time, she was

166 Begging has become serious social problem in Indonesia. Some efforts have be made by Indonesian government to solve this problem, but the Ministry of Social Affairs has also noted that there are about 178,262 beggars throughout the country. This is an official figure, the actual figure must be much higher as most beggars are also homeless and nomadic, so accurate numbers are difficult to calculate. . Accessed on 11 August 2015. 167 This amount is likely to be a bribe to deal with a complex and corrupt bureaucracy. In Indonesia, based on my personal experience, it is almost impossible to deal with bureaucracy, especially to obtain documents such as family card, passport, or driver’s licence, without paying a bribe. 127 also given a blue card with which she can collect a monthly cash payment of Rp. 50,000 from the LSPT. When she proceeded with the enrolment of her child, she had to pay about RP. 700,000 for school fees, books, and uniform for. She then forced herself to come to LSPT with this issue. She had reached the door of LSPT office but she hesitated and went away. A day later she had not found any alternative solution to this financial problem. Finally she managed to go into the LSPT office where she found the Director. She explained her problem to him and looked to him for a solution. She would agree with any decision from LSPT so long as her child could go to school. The Director, Muhammad Asád, then made the decision to go to the school to pay the fees, and he left the LSPT’s phone number and advised the school to ring whenever they billed Nurita’s child. So far, LSPT has covered all of the child’s school fees and also provides a monthly payment of Rp. 50,000 for Nurita through the blue card. Then LSPT took further action in trying to change Nurita’s life by offering her capital for a possible small business. Nurita is now thinking of a feasible small business that she can develop with capital assistance from LSPT.168

Another recipient of this program is Sumiati, a 47 year old women from Pundong village, about 7 kilometers south of Tebuireng. She has been a single parent for her three children since the death of her husband four years ago. During her husband’s life, he worked as a labourer in a timber factory, while she was a housewife looking after their little children and managing the household. The sudden death of her husband placed her into an unimagined situation. Her relatives were keen to support her children’s education in primary school and kindergarten, but she still had to struggle to make a daily living. She took any work opportunity that was available in the village. A friend of hers suggested that she go overseas as a migrant labour, but she could not leave her three children who needed her care and affection. During the cultivation and harvest seasons, she was able to work as a casual labourer on her neighbours’ farms from which she could earn Rp. 30,000 ($3) per day. However, the job was

168 Interview with Nurita, Jombang, 18 Sepember 2013. 128 normally only available fora month during the planting session and a month during the harvest session. In short, it was not a sustainable job from which she could make a living for her family.169

One day her friend who had a garment shop in a market offered her an opportunity to become a reseller of goods such as veils and women’s and children’s clothing. Sumiati accepted this offer with an agreement to pay to her friend a month after she took the goods. She then started to offer the clothes in her neighbourhood through door-to-door sales. She offered her customers payment through a cash payment plus instalments. Many of her neighbours bought her goods on an instalment plan as many of them earned their money on a weekly or monthly basis from jobs on farms or in factories. Many of them asked for an instalment period of up to four months. A new problem then emerged when Sumiati had to pay back her supplier. She faced a financial problem due to unbalanced flow between the amount she received from the consumers and the amount she had to pay on her debt to her supplier. Luckily, her neighbour who works as a teacher in Pesantren Tebuireng tried to help her. The teacher came to LSPT’s office and asked whether the charity organisation could help Sumiati. Some days later, a staff member of LSPT came to Sumiati’s house to do a standard assessment, and approved this request. LSPT agreed to provide her with Rp. 2 Million ($200) to normalise the financial balance of her business. Finally, she was able to get through her financial difficulties and her business now runs well. She is now able to provide adequate livelihood for her three children and the cost of their schooling.170

Nurita’s and Sumiati’s stories also have shown the diverse patterns of poverty in Indonesia. Some poor people have fallen into poverty because they were born into poor families, and others due to a sudden change in their circumstances that that have affected their livelihood. In such situations, social relations of support play a crucial role in reducing the consequence of poverty

169 Interview with Sumiati, Jombang, 14 September 2013. 170 Interview with Sumiati, Jombang, 14 September 2013. 129 on their lives. Family, neighbourhood and friendship relations have become the only immediate source of support in the Indonesian context since the government does not have any scheme to anticipate the diverse and dynamic nature of poverty in the country. In both Nurita’s and Sumiati’s cases, the LSPT has played a crucial role in covering the limitations of support from these women’s social ties (cf. Nooteboom 2015).

Figure 4.5 An LSPT staff member distributes business equipment to a beneficiary as part of capital assistance program

Photograph: document of LSPT

During my fieldwork, the LSPT also provided capital assistance of one million rupiah ($100) to 83 unemployed people and petty traders like Nurita and Sumiati. Most of them were women over 50 years of age. This capital assistance was given along with a series of counselling sessions to enable them to find a good way to support their future life. The staff member in charge of this program appeared very conscientious when discussing plans with the recipients. He sometimes visited them in their houses or at their workplaces to talk about their business progress and other problems that might require help. It was hard to judge whether the program was successful or not, but in a pragmatic sense the program had given these people the opportunity to create a business. By

130 creating a business, they could look forward to better living conditions in the future even though their present was still uncertain and uneasy.

C. Free Health Insurance and Services Given the fact that health problems are the most prevalent in the surrounding community, a health service program becomes a matter of considerable concern. This is particularly the case because most people especially from the lower classes do not have health insurance and the government’s new health cover scheme has not been well distributed. The LSPT manages a program called Tebuireng Sehat (Healthy Tebuireng), a free health insurance program for poor people. The program was started in early 2013 by distributing the so-called blue card to 100 people living in Cukir village. With this insurance card, the recipients are able to go to the Pesantren’s health clinic for free. If the health clinic decides that they have to be treated in hospital, LSPT will cover these expenses. After a few months, the program was expanded to a wider area in Jombang municipality and was based on the demand for health treatment among the poor.171 The following story of Sumini is an example of the program’s delivery.

Figure 4.6 An elderly woman received regular home visit by medical nurse funded by LSPT

Photograph: document of LSPT

171 Interview with Muhammad Asád, Director of LSPT, Jombang, 19 September 2013. 131

Sumini, a 68 year old woman, has been suffered from diabetes for the last seven years. She lives in a tiny house alone. Her two children are married and live in other cities. They might visit her once a year. With no stable income, she lives on money from selling her land, little by little. The treatment costs for her illness amount to Rp. 250,000 for each doctor’s visit and this is simply not affordable for Sumini. The chairman of the neighbourhood committee (Ketua RT) is aware of and concerned for her plight. Through one of his relatives who is a teacher at one of the Tebuireng schools, the chairman of the neightbourhood committee managed to find a way to help her The teacher told the LSPT of Sumini’s situation who thenfacilitated her treatments at the Pesantren’s health clinic (Pusat Kesehatan Pesantren) for no cost. Up to the present, the charity organisation also facilitates her transport to the clinic, covers all medicine expenses, and provides her with monthly pocket money of Rp. 100,000. Her condition was recently getting better. In an interview with me, she indicated that her psychological state was happy as LSPT had assured her that it will continue to support her treatment and give her the monthly fund until she dies. She saw Pesantren Tebuireng as an angle helping her in a time of hopelessness.172

The concern about the provision of health facilities and services for the poor can be understood from at least two underlying factors. The first is that Indonesia is categorized as a weak and ineffective developmental welfare state in the provision of social protection. The national health care system has very limited reach. Data from the Ministry of Health (2011) shows that there are only 1,686 -private and government-owned- hospitals serving a population of almost 250 million. There are 9,581 community health clinics (Puskesmas), which means that every health clinic serves 25,000 people. The number of doctor is 40 for every 100, 000 people. More striking is the imbalanced distribution of medical practitioners (doctors, nurse and midwife) who tend to concentrate in large cities (Maftuchan 2014: 7).

172 Interview with Sumini, Jombang, 21 Sepember 2013. 132

In addition to the limited health infrastructure, the country is also known to be sparing in its health expenditure. In 2005, the central government allocated only US$ 3.5 per capita (exchange rate 9500 rupiah per US$) for health services (Kristiansen and Santoso 2006, 247-259: 249). These funds may have also been further depleted as they are distributed through local governments whose lack of transparency makes it hard to trace where funding goes. This is a particular problem since the implementation of decentralisation in reformasi Indonesia. In post 1999, the vision, capacity, and integrity of local government heads have played a crucial role in program realisation (Kristiansen and Santoso 2006, 251; Rosser and Wilson 2012).

The second underlying factor is the small number of people who take up health insurance in the society. In has been reported that only around 15% of Indonesians have health insurance (Kristiansen and Santoso 2006, 250).173 We might assume that most of those who have health insurance are government employees whose insurance is subsided by the state through Askes scheme.174 For ordinary citizens, health insurance has not been affordable as more than half of the population live on less than $2 per day. This picture implies that access to health services is very difficult for the majority of the population. It is not surprising, therefore, that the country faces the highest maternal mortality rate among Southeast Asian nations, 38 per 1000 baby deliveries (Johar 2009, 35).

In this context, there are two possible roles carried out by non-state actors: direct provision to recipients and indirect pressure on the state (Kim 2015, 37). To the best of my knowledge, civic organisations in the form of non- government organisations (NGOs) or locally called Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat (LSM) are likely to play a role in pressuring the state to improve the

173 Other data from The Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2000 suggested a slightly higher proportion, 20% of the population, has health insurance (Johar 2009, 35) 174 Prior to the current BPJS health cover, Indonesian government provided health insurance to civil servants and police-military members through Asuransi Kesehatan (Askes). This scheme has recently been integrated into the universal BPJS health cover. 133 function and provision of health services through lobbying and advocacy (Personal Communication, Ah Maftuchan, 8 April 2015). Meanwhile, most religious associations seems to play a significant role in the direct provision of such services, along with their better access to and engagement with grass root communities (see Sakai 2012a, 272; Latief 2012).

To address health problems in its local community, the LSPT provides a Tebuireng Health Card (Kartu Tebuireng Sehat). Recipients of this card can go to the Pesantren’s clinic for any medical treatment, that the clinic is qualified to provide. If the clinic cannot manage the illness, the LSPT will refer the card holders to hospitals elsewhere. In such cases, the LSPT will provide transport to the hospital and will cover all expenses including the cost of medicines if they is not covered by government health insurance.

Figure 4.7 Local media reporting on the launch of the Kartu Tebuireng Sehat (Tebuireng Health Card), Jawa Post Radar Jombang, 25 July 2013

Source: document of LSPT

Starting from 1 January 2014 the Indonesian government has implemented a universal health insurance called BPJS (Badan Penyelenggra Jaminan Sosial) Kesehatan,175 but its implementation in the field has yet to be felt by a

175 The universal health cover is part of the broader National Social Security System (Sistem Jaminan Sosial Nasional, SJSN) which was enacted by Law 40/2004 on SJSN. This is the first ever Indonesia has a universal health cover, after a long experience of various policies of 134 significant proportion of the country’s populations. The scheme was expected to integrate all kinds of health cover that have been initiated by diverse government bodies, at both local and national level. This scheme requires no payment by poor Indonesians, but instead the state subsidies their membership fee of Rp. 19, 225 per month, while those who can afford pay a relatively low fee, from Rp. 25,500 to Rp. 59,500, depending on their membership class (Vidyattama, Miranti, and Resosudarmo 2014, 393; Maftuchan 2014: 5). Currently the government has estimated that the number of subsidised member is 86.4 million people, and projected to be almost 100 million people by next year in accordance with population growth and poverty rates. This large number of subsidised members seems to be a political reason for the government not to speed up the registration process due to fiscal constraints. It is planned that all Indonesian citizens and foreigners residing more than six months in the country will be wholly registered by 1 January 2019 (Maftuchan 2014: 5).

Given its recent release, the implementation of the state health insurance (BPJS Kesehatan) in the field remains at a trial and error stage. An example of its problems is the discrepancy between the capacity of medical facilities and service providers relative to rising patient numbers. The consequence of this problem is a decreasing quality of health treatment and services. Another problem is the membership of all poor people is only expected to be achieved in 2019. This means that there are now still millions of poor people without this universal health cover.176 In this context, the health insurance provided by LSPT remains relevant and needed by the poor. In addition, the LSPT also gives a considerable attention and allocates large resources to cover what is left out of the government’s changing health cover polices.

The story of Akbar Ramdan Maulana, now nearly four years old, is an example of the many Indonesian citizens who are desperately in need of health state provided-insurance covering only certain segments of the citizens such as insurance for civil servants, military members, or formal labourers only. For a fuller description of the history of state-provided health insurance in Indonesia, see Vidyattama et al. (2014, 395-9). 176 < http://www.republika.co.id/berita/en/national-politics/15/03/10/nkzoea-health- minister-to-suggest-evaluation-of-bpjs-health-insurance> Accessed on 12 August 2015. 135 cover. He started to be unfortunate from his birth in 2011. He was born with some blue spots on his body and nails. Two months later, doctors informed his parents, Beni and Linggarwati, that Akbar had problem with his heart. Due to limited equipment and his doctor’s capabilities, he wassent to a provincial hospital in Surabaya, more than 80 kilometers from Jombang. Akbar was then hospitalized for three years in that hospital.

Figure 4.8 Fund Raising Ad tailored for the cause of Akbar Ramdan in local newspaper Jawa Pos Radar Jombang, May 2013

Source: Document of LSPT

At that time, Beni worked as a local public minibus driver and had only a tiny income. Due to his son’s condition, he had to quit his job. During this difficult period, his family lived on sympathy and support from relatives and friends. Given this background, Akbar was an appropriate recipient of government health support. When Liggarwati delivered her baby Akbar in a nearby hospital, they were covered by local government’s delivery support called Jaminan Persalinan. It was commonly known that the quality of this service was 136 poor. When Akbar had to be sent to a provincial hospital, his parents had to obtain a Surat Pernyataan Miskin (Letter of Poverty Declaration) that had to be processed through hierarchical and complicated bureaucratic procedures, from neighbourhood authority (rukun tetangga) to social office of the Jombang municipal government.

It also has to be understood that the government support only covered the hospital cost. On top of that Beni has to struggle with other costs: transportation cost, living expenses of his family and some medicines that were not covered by the government health cover. The sad situation of Akbar’s story was reported in a local newspaper. The story was then read by LSPT’s staff. After a quick assessment, LSPT decided to cover all expenses that were not covered by the government. After his three year stay in hospital, Akbar was allowed to return home with his parent. Since then, he has to return tp the Surabaya hospital every month up until the present.

In early 2014, when the Indonesian central government released BPJS Kesehatan, Akbar started to be covered by this scheme. However, his regular medical check up to Surabaya’s hospital requires reasonable transport from Jombang to Surabaya at least once a month. For this need, the LSPT provides the transport by its car, picking him up from his home and taking him to the hospital and bringing him back to Jombang.177 In addition, the LSPT also helps Akbar’s parent in dealing with any bureaucratic issues such as the BPJS procedures and hospital administration as well as the cost of any medicine that is not covered by BPJS Kesehatan. Its help and support have given the parents some relief, in that they no longer need need to worry about the unpredicted costs of medicine. Now, Akbar is waiting for further treatment in Jakarta.

177 During my research, the LSPT’s car normally went to Surabaya to bring the sick people back home eleven times a month. Interview with Tengku Azwani, the regular driver of the car, Jombang, September 2013. 137

D. Playing a Role in a New Field: Disaster Relief It is only recently that the LSPT has started to play a new role in the field of disaster response and relief. In fact, the organisation has not had a formal and permanent disaster relief task force. However, after sudden disasters occurred in nearby areas, a landslide in Ngrimbi village, in Ngoro district, about 15 kilometers from Tebuireng in January 2014, and the Kelud volcano eruption in Kediri regency in February of the same year, LSPT moved in to distribute emergency donation such as food and clothes.178 For these ad hoc actions, the Director instructed some of his staff to temporarily be involved in this mission. Some staff started to purchase the most needed items, such as food and blanket, while others began to raise funds from the public. In the field, LSPT worked closely with government’s disaster response task force, especially in providing logistic support for the victims. The LSPT’s car was also involved in the field. In addition to the distribution of basic needs, LSPT also brought in some medical staff from the Pesantren’s clinic to provide minor medical treatment and check-ups. With a striking banner in its car, the identity of LSPT or Pesantren Tebuireng was easily recognized by the local community. Among hundreds of pesantren in the region, it was only Pesantren Tebuireng that was involved in this disaster response. Although it was only an ad hoc action, the response was very meaningful to the victims. So far the LSPT has not seen the urgency of forming a permanent team for such humanitarian actions.179

178 Prior to this, Gus Sholah personally had been involved in the advocacy of victims of mud flow disaster in Sidoarjo, about 80 kilo meters from Jombang. His position with regard to the mud flow case was that he insisted that it is human-made disaster resulted from technical fault by the mining company, not a natural disaster. Therefore, he called the government to ask the company to be responsible of all the impacts. http://news.detik.com/berita- surabaya/1139482/gus-sholah-lumpur-lapindo-bukan-bencana-alam. Accessed on 16 July 2015. In his advocacy to mud flow victims, Gus Sholah has never used LSPT because it is more political advocacy, rather than ordinary disaster relief. 179 Interview with LSPT’s staff who were involved in the mission, Lutfia and Slamet Santoso, Jombang, 20 September 2013. In normal times, Lutfia is the LSPT’s secretary, and Slamet is a staff who assesses the eligibility of prospective beneficiaries. 138

Figure 4.9 LSPT staff members distribute logistic aid in affected areas of Kelud Volcano eruption, February 2014

Photograph: document of LSPT

In the Indonesian context, there was a co-incidence of two factors that have shaped the nature of many disaster relief organisations: the frequent incidence of natural disasters as well as communal conflict, and the decline of state’s authoritarianism and its associated corporatism. Soon after the fall of Soeharto, the country experienced widespread inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflict, in particular in some areas of Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Maluku which lasted for some years. This conflict was also a reflection of the weak capacity of the state to handle the situation at that time. Pushed by religious solidarity and attracted by political opportunity, some Islamic organisations formed special teams to distribute logistics and medicine to the victims of the conflicts (see Helmanita 2006, 102; Latief 2012: 105-9;).

Some years later, a tsunami devastated coastal areas of Aceh and Nias Island killing one-third of Aceh’s population in 2004. Along with the flow of humanitarian aid from foreign countries, many Indonesian Islamic associations also tried to reach the victims through initial spontaneous responses, and then formed organisational arms aimed to deal with similar incidents in the future. An earthquake in Jogja and Central Java in 2006 and many natural disasters 139 occurring later provided further opportunities for these organisations to show their expertise and generosity in disaster response. Before the fall of Soeharto, the country witnessed a much more dominant role by the state and the government-backed Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia, PMI) as the major, if not sole, humanitarian organisation at every disaster spot. The new political atmosphere after 1998 and a series of disaster hitting the country have led to the mushrooming of non-state actors in disaster relief.180 This account is the context in which the LSPT took on a role in disaster responses, in addition to the proximity of the natural disasters.

E. Supporting Da’wah Mission and Qur’anic Schools The last area of attention is support for da’wah mission. During my fieldwork, I found three programs in this area: financing Tebuireng’s students who carry out da’wah mission, funding the establishment of a da’wah centre (Griya Dakwah) in areas where the students demonstrate a good progress in their temporary missions, and providing supporting funding for Qur’anic schools in the neighbourhood.

Referring back to my discussion on da’wah in the previous chapter,181 let me restate that Indonesia Muslims have currently articulated da’wah through at least three methods, da’wah bil lisan or da’wah by preaching, da’wah bil kalam or da’wah by writing, and da’wah bil hal or da’wah by deeds (Meuleman 2011: 260-2; Sakai 2012b: 12). Da’wah bil hal has been manifested in a range of actions and institutional forms, from Muslim activism to support the government’s development agenda and non-government organisation’s community development outreach,182 to the establishment of private philanthropic and

180 For the current development of these organisations, see Sakai and Fauzia (2013). 181 I have discussed da’wah in Section I of Chapter Three. 182 The origin of da’wah bil hal term was a further theological conceptualisation of Islam- inspired engagement in development and welfare activities. During the New Order era, the previous term commonly used was dakwah pembangunan which implied Islamic support to the state’s development agenda. Then, the term was reconceptualised to be da’wah bil hal to cover similar actions but not necessarily initiated or managed by government, that non-state actors can use the term (Meuleman 2011: 254-6). 140 charitable organisations. A study by Latief (2012, Chapter 6) has suggested that the manifestation of da’wah by deed can be seen as an interplay between missions for universal humanity and welfare such as economic empowerment and health services and more religiously oriented activities such as supporting religious education and financing particular religious programs.

Related to da’wah mission, Pesantren Tebuireng has a program of posting some of its students to areas that are considered lacking in Islamic activities. This program has only taken shape in the last three years as a complement to the education given in the Pesantren and schools and to equip the students with the real challenge of da’wah in the community. Pesantren are expected to produce the future generation of Islamic missionaries. Many kyai and alumni of Tebuireng have suggested that the capacity of Tebuireng to produce reliable Islamic scholars in the last three decades has weakened due to the reduction of its focus and study hours for Islamic sciences in its formal schools. Gus Sholah also shares the same view. In order to re-strengthen the capacity, Gus Sholah established a new school called Madrasah Muallimin for secondary and high school level, and Ma’had Aly for university level. In the final year of their study, students of Madrasa Muallimin and Ma’had Aly are obliged to carry out a year da’wah mission. For this program, LSPT provides living allowances for students who are on the mission. Each year, there have been around forty students sent on this mission to various places in Indonesia, ranging from Sumatera to Papua.

Saiful Hadi graduated from the Ma’had Aly two years ago. After graduation, he was posted to the rural and hilly village of Ngimbang, part of Lamongan regency located about 30 kilometers north from Jombang. The area is known to be poor in terms of both its infrastructure and the economic condition of its inhabitants. Added to this, a “pull factor” for the Pesantren to send their da’wah delegates there was increasing activity of what they perceived as Christianisation (kristenisasi) in the area. Two years ago, Saiful Hadi was posted there with his three fellow students from the Ma’had Aly with a financial support from LSPT for two months. He started his mission by setting up religious programs and teaching the recitation of Al Qur’an in the village’s 141 mosque. The LSPT regarded the group’s mission as successful, and offered them further funding for a year to establish a da’wah centre (Griya Da’wah) in the village. The Pesantren then considered the village to be desa binaan or a village under its spiritual guidance and now consequently posts a group of da’wah cadres there. The da’wah cadres were rotated after finishing their mission after a year. During their time in the village, each of them received monthly living allowance of Rp. 700,000 from the LSPT.183

Another program in this area is the provision of a monthly supporting fund of Rp. 300,000 to Qur’anic schools (Taman Pendidikan Al Qur’an, TPA) that are scattered around Tebuireng. This support is a way to re-connect the Pesantren with Islamic activities of the neighbouring community. So far, there have been 24 TPAs that have received this financial support every month. TPA is an important Islamic institution which serves children aged 5 to 10 years and teaches them to read Al Qurán. Their study hour is commonly arranged in the afternoon, after the children leave their formal schooling. Learning to read Al Qur’an in such schools is the basic stage in the Islamic learning tradition, before continuing to higher stages such as studying Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), the Traditions of the Prophet (hadist), and Islamic law (Dhofier 1999: 4-5).

Figure 4.10 A class room activity in TPA Tarbiyatun Nasyi’in, Kwaron, Jombang

183 Interview with Saiful Hadi, Jombang, 16 September 2013. 142

Figure 4.11 Teacher Development Workshop catered for Qur’anic School teachers organised by LSPT

TPA Tarbiyatun Nasyi’in is one of the Quránic schools which receives monthly funding from LSPT. It is situated in Kwaron village, about 3 kilometers from Tebuireng. The school accommodates 80 students with six teachers. Its teaching hours start from 3pm to 4:30 pm. The operational costs of the school are covered mainly by voluntary donation from the local community whose children study there. There is no tuition fee for the students. Along with these donations, the monthly funding from LSPT is used for purchasing books, administrative needs, and teachers’ salaries.184

Another TPA is TPA Baiturrahman, located in Jatirejo village, about 4 kilometers from Tebuireng. It uses the fund to complement the tiny salary of its 9 teachers. Like other TPAs, it does not charge a specific fee to its 62 students, rather the parents provide voluntary donation every week. The average amount of such donations is between Rp. 1,000 to Rp. 5,000 per a week. With such a tiny income, the TPA provides a salary from Rp. 50,000 to Rp. 100,000 per

184 Interview with Maesaroh, a teacher at a TPA in Kwaron, Diwek, Jombang. Jombang, 22 September 2013. 143 month to each teacher for their 2 hour lesson during weekdays. Such a tiny amount cannot be considered as a proper salary, it is merely a gratuity or petrol subsidy for them. So their basic intention in this job should be seen as voluntary work. For the TPA’s principal, the financial support from the LSPT has helped his TPA overcome the difficulty of finding voluntary teachers in recent times.185

Eventhough it involves only a tiny sum of money, this support is re- connecting the Pesantren with the neighbouring communities. As a result, these communities will again be attracted to send their children to the Tebuireng’s schools. Recently there has been a gradual increase of local children’s enrolment in Tebuireng’s schools. The current data reveals that about 33 % of students in the Pesantren’s schools are from the neighbouring communities.186

Conclusion This chapter has demonstrated how Pesantren Tebuireng has re- strengthened its socio-economic role in its local community through the establishment of the LSPT. There was a combination of several factors behind the establishment and relatively rapid development of the LSPT: the expectation of the local community for the Pesantren Tebuireng to show a more direct involvement in solving the communities’ socio-economic problems, Gus Sholah’s personal awareness of the importance of the multiple roles of kyai beyond leading his pesantren, Gus Sholah's personal managerial knowledge of how to carry out charitable activities in a more systematic way, and the available abundant financial resource from the huge number of pilgrims visiting Pesantren Tebuireng’s cemetery. With the operation of the LSPT, the Pesantren Tebuireng has been able to re-connect itself with its local community through its economic, health and religious mission (da’wah) programs. As a result, the Pesantren Tebuireng’s

185 Interview with Miftahus Surur, the principal of TPA Baiturrahman, Jatirejo, Diwek, Jombang. Jombang, 25 September 2013.

186 The data obtained from the Pesantren’s Foundation office (Kantor Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Tebuireng) by email correspondence with its secretary, H. Abdul Ghofar, on March 2015. 144 reputation within the local community is now growing again as is indicated by the positive responses of recipients of its good works and the increasing enrolment of local children in its schools. In this case study we have seen the centrality of Gus Sholah as a kyai or pesantren leader in directing the development of the LSPT. Consequently, I argue that the sustainability of the LSPT in the future when the leadership of Pesantren Tebuireng is handed over to the next leader will depend on the strength and quality of its organisational structure. If the LSPT is able to strengthen its institutional capacity and to show its key role in improving and maintaining the reputation of the Pesantren Tebuireng within the local community, the next leader will see it as an important organisational arm of the Pesantren.

Linking this case study to the existing literature on Islamic charity and philanthropy in Indonesia, I would say that it has complemented the existing literature by presenting a case study of charity organisation operated by pesantren. Furthermore, my analysis here is in line with Fauzia’s hypothesis (2013: 9-11) that ineffective state capacity in the provision of welfare has created an opportunity for charity organisations to strengthen their role in the community. This case study also echoes Latief’s belief (2012: 317-8) that charity organisations have perceived the spirit of da’wah as a specific project for strengthening their relation with the beneficiaries, not as a general project for propagating Islam in the wider public. Thus, the LSPT has intentionally used its program outreach as a means to improving the reputation and social standing of Pesantren Tebuireng within the local community.

The next chapter will discuss the case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq in Bandung, West Java which represents a minor pesantren located in a rural area with only a village scale of influence. In contrast to Pesantren Tebuireng, Al Ittifaq found its way to engage with the local community through conducting a community- based agribusiness project by which the Pesantren encourages local farmers to cultivate vegetables, then uses the Pesantren’s cooperative as a middleman in their marketing to supermarket chains.

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Map 5.1 The Location of Pesantren Al Ittifaq in West Java Map

The position of Pesantren Al Ittifaq in the map is marked with the building symbol

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Chapter Five Empowering and Islamising the Community: The Case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq in Bandung, West Java

Introduction

In this chapter, I discuss the case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq. It is a relatively small-sized pesantren located in a rural and hilly area, about 3 hours by car or 6 hours by public transport from the city of Bandung, West Java. In contrast to Pesantren Tebuireng with its long history and national reputation, the influence and reputation of Pesantren Al Ittifaq is limited to the neighbouring village community. Nonetheless, Kyai Fuad Affandi, the current leader of the Pesantren Al Ittifaq, has his own way of articulating his multiple roles as a kyai. Because of the local demographic and socio-economic context, Kyai Fuad has chosen community-agribusiness projects as a form of community engagement for his pesantren.

Pertinent questions that may be asked about this case study are: what is the demographic and socio-economic context behind the establishment of Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s community-based agribusiness project; to what extent has the Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s economic project affected the life of the community; and how does this economic project links to the Pesantren’s primary role in religious education and as da’wah agent at a village level.

The Pesantren Al Ittifaq has successfully persuaded the local farmers to take part in its agribusiness project by cultivating and selling vegetables through the Pesantren’s cooperative. My analysis of this successful mobilisation looks at two fundamental strategies that the Pesantren Al Ittifaq has undertaken in the village. The first strategy is of organising the local farmers and overcoming local brokers, while the second is on strengthening their dakwah mission by posting their alumni in every mosque in the village as well as holding positions of religious authority there. Prior to their permanent residency in the village, Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s graduates were married through marriage arrangements brokered by Kyai Fuad. The regular marriage arrangement and the permanent 147 residency of those graduates in the village, in my view, have produced a rich social capital embedded in their social network in the village.

I. Pesantren Al Ittifaq and Its Demographic Context

The Pesantren Al Ittifaq is located in a hilly area of Ciburial hamlet (kampung), which is part of the larger Alamendah village (desa). The village is part of Rancabali district (kecamatan) in Bandung regency, West Java. The geographic characteristics of Alamendah are those of a rural landscape with abundant fertile land and beautiful panorama. That is why the village is called Alamendah which literally means alam indah (beautiful nature) (Manshur 2009: 52). Due to its position in a highland region (1,550 meters above sea level), the farming land in Alamendah village is more suitable for horticulture or vegetables such as cabbage, onion, carrot, broccoli, tomato, string beans, potato, chili, and asparagus, rather than rice or other water-intensive plants (Manshur 2009: 53).

Figure 5.1 A mountainous landscape of Alamendah Village

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Before being known as Pesantren Al Ittifaq, there had been a small unnamed pesantren established by Kyai Mansyur in 1934. Only in the mid-1970s was the Pesantren given the name Al Ittifaq by the current leader, Kyai Fuad Affandi. When Kyai Mansyur died in 1953, the leadership passed to his son Kyai Rifai. Throughout the leadership of these two kyai, the Pesantren provided instruction in Islamic sciences through an unstructured system. According to Fuad Affandi, his predecessors were very conservative in the adaptation of modern educational arrangements and broader worldviews. For example, his father discouraged his family members, students, and members of the community from studying in government-secular schools. He also rejected the establishment of a government-supervised school in his Pesantren. In addition, Fuad Affandi’s predecessors also prohibited the building of houses or schools using cement walls, insisting that they should have wooden walls instead. They also rejected extending good relations to government officials; going to school or studying the Latin alphabet; building toilets inside house; and listening to radio or watching television.

However, according Fuad Affandi, his predecessor’s theological interpretation must be understood in the context of the historical situation of that era. In the colonial era, all of those practices were declared forbidden (haram) by the ulama as they considered them to be those of Dutch colonizers (Muin and others 2007: 42). During the colonial era, many Muslim nationalists held and spread such views in order to cultivate nationalism, by emphasising a demarcation line between the colonizer and the colonized in culture and religion (see Ricklefs 2001, Chapter 15). When Indonesia achieved its independence from the Dutch in 1945, some segments of the society continued to hold the same views. This attitude was also applied to their arrangement of the educational system and its curricula. However, their views have generally changed as time has progressed in independent Indonesia (see Noer 1973; Steenbrink 1986; Dhofier 1999).

When Kyai Rifai, the then the leader of the Pesantren fell seriously ill in the late 1970s, he convened a family meeting and decided to ask one of his sons

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Fuad Affandi to continue the leadership of the Pesantren. At that time, Fuad was twenty two years old and had studied in a pesantren in Central Java. He was considered to be the most capable of his siblings because of his long study in pesantren (Muin and others 2007: 41-43). Fuad then accepted this responsibility on the condition that he was given full freedom to reform the Pesantren. He initially continued on with the educational model inherited from his father by providing education in Islamic sciences through the traditional learning system called salafiyah.187 However, he later wanted to see a progressive change in his Pesantren as well as the neighbouring community. Eventually he had the idea of making his Pesantren into the forerunner of an agribusiness project in which the local community would be actively involved. As a marker of this new vision, he named the Pesantren “Al Ittifaq” meaning collaboration (Muin and others 2007: 43-44).

Along with his concern over the improvement of his Pesantren’s educational arrangements, Fuad was also concerned with the impoverished conditions of his neighbours and community. Fuad was struck by their poverty and the absence of an agent who was able to drive the community toward a better life. At that time, the Rancabali district was a mountainous area with a high rate of poverty and illiteracy. Although some of the inhabitants owned considerable areas of land, about a quarter to a half hectare on average,188 they were unable to sell their products at a good price. This was because the road was poorly-built and the farmers did not have transportation facilities to carry their product to the cities. In such situation, brokers held a crucial role in deciding commodity prices. Consequently, their produce was commonly sold at a very low price, which did not contribute to improving their economic prosperity (Manshur 2009: 54-57).

187 See my discussion of varieties of pesantren learning system in Section III of Chapter Two. 188 A research conducted between 2007 and 2010 showed that the average landholding on Java is less than 0.5 hectare, while the average size on outer-Java is slightly above 1 hectare (Yamauchi 2014: 9). 150

The situation also caused substantial migration from the village to urban industrial areas. Between 1970s to 1990s, according oral histories from the locals, most youth and inhabitants of productive age from Alamendah village choose to live in cities to find income generating jobs there.189 Those who possessed low levels of education could find jobs in factories, construction projects or becoming petty traders, while those who had higher levels of education could find jobs as teachers, clerical staff or civil servants (Manshur 2009: 55). That period also coincided with widespread industrialisation on Java that had been encouraged by the Indonesian state and caused massive migration of labour from rural to urban areas in Java. This was especially case around big cities like Jakarta and Bandung (see relevant studies on that period, eg. Manning 1997; 1998).

Faced with this situation, Kyai Fuad was motivated to seek an alternate way of leading his community toward a better and more prosperous life as well as earning sufficient income for his own family. Since then, Kyai Fuad has taken on multiple roles as a kyai, leading his pesantren and guiding his community towards collective well-being and prosperity. He started to look for what were the available opportunities in the village. Finally he found them in the village’s very fertile soil. In 1978 he started to focus on an agribusiness projects by cultivating vegetables together with his community and seeking to find more profitable distribution chains for these vegetables. Previously, the villagers had cultivated vegetables but they did so as subsistence farmers or sold them to brokers or in traditional markets.

In addition to the fertile land in the area, he had other reasons for his strong belief in agriculture. The first reason was his conviction that farming is a job that does not require school or formal qualifications. So, everyone in his community could do it so long as they were eager and willing to participate. The second reason was that agriculture is a way of food production. And everyone needs food. Another reason was job security. Unlike industry or other

189 I tried to find the exact number of the migration in statistical data of that period, but unfortunately it is not available. 151 employment sectors, a farmer was unlikely to be discharged from his own land. The last reason was that he saw farming was the kind job whose practitioners can manage a balance between optimism and pessimism. They can be optimistic in referring to their good work, while at the same time they can be pessimistic because nature can ruin their good works with drought or heavy rain. With farming, therefore, people require persistent efforts (ikhtiar) as well as total submission to God (tawakkal) to achieve the final result of their effort (Muin and others 2007: 58).190

In reality, it was not easy for Kyai Fuad to convince his community to follow his ideas. The majority of the local inhabitants were farmers, but they did not innovate in either the planting process or at the marketing stage to achieve better results. Their income from agriculture was very tiny, and insufficient to cover their living costs. As a result, the flow of migration to urban industrial cities was very high. Many of them worked in the garment or manufacturing industries, while others worked as casual labourers in various sectors. Kyai Fuad recalled that in 1980s and 1990s, there were only a few people of productive- age left in his village due to the mass migration. Those who were strong enough to work tended to go to cities. Only old people went on farming. This reality frustrated him. He looked for new ideas and innovation from government and universities to boost local production, but received no satisfactory response.

The total area of the village is 505,60 square kilometers. About a half of it is farming land, and 174,70 hectares are forest, and the rest (330,90 ha) is residential area. The average ownership of farming land is 2 hectares per household, but in fact more than a half of the residents do not have farming land, while a few of them own about 5 hectares or more. There is an obvious inequality in the distribution of land ownership (Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Bandung Bagian Otonomi Daerah 2013). Along with an increasing population,

190 Ikhtiar means ‘effort’ and tawakkal means ‘submission’. Both are central concepts in Islamic theology regarding the relation of human beings with God. Every human being is obliged to make efforts for a better situation of her/his life in the world, and at the same time she/he has to surrender the outcome of her/his effort to God. 152 ownership of land and area of land owned is decreasing. Each landowner has an increasingly restricted area of land as most of the ownership is obtained through inheritance (Manshur 2009: 54).

Table 5.1 Employment of the Alamendah’s Residents, 2013

Employment Sector Number of people % Horticulture farming 2,647 16.30% (inc. vegetables) Casual labourer in 11,272 69.40% farming Plantation 1,050 6.46% Cattle 101 0.62% Construction 27 0.17% Transportation 1,017 6.26% Services, education, 128 0.79% government Total 16,242 100%

Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Bandung (2014), Kecamatan Rancabali Dalam Angka.

Up to now, however, the majority of the Alamendah’s population still work in the agriculture sector. Only about 2, 647 people have their own land and can be categorized as farmers, while about a half of the village residents or 22,673 people, do not have adequate land and who work as casual labourer on others’ farming land (see Table 5.1) (BPS Kabupaten Bandung 2014). The common working hours in the village farms for labourers is from 7am to 12 am, for which they receive Rp. 30,000 ($3) for men, and Rp. 20,000 ($2) for women.191

Table 5.2 Educational Levels of the Population Aged 10 and Over in Alamendah Village, 2013

School Level Number of People Primary School 5,394 Junior Secondary School 2,973

191 Interview with Rasman Triatna, Secretary of Alamendah Village, Bandung, 20 June 2013. 153

Senior Secondary School 2,163 Tertiary Education 16 No School Certificate 2,464 Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Bandung 2014, Kecamatan Rancabali Dalam Angka.

The Table 5.2 shows a very significant proportion of the village population who do not have any formal school qualifications. Unfortunately, there is no available data on the illiteracy rate, so we cannot ascertain whether those who do not have school certificate are illiterate or not. We might assume that they attended primary schools for some years but did not stay long enough to graduate. It is possible that the illiteracy rate in the village is higher than the national average of six %.192 The obvious consequence for those without any educational qualification is their limited employment opportunities. There is a very small number of the villagers who have tertiary education. My observations suggest that this small minority mostly works as teachers in schools in the village or as government employees in nearby towns.

Table 5.3 Number of School, Students and Teachers in Alamendah Village, 2013

School Number of Number of Number of School Student Teacher Kindergarten 1 58 No data Primary Schools 11 1,500 75 Junior Secondary 2 450 29 Schools Senior Secondary 2 No data No data Schools Madrasah Diniyah 7 No data No data Pondok Pesantren 1 No data No data Source: Adopted from BPS Kabupaten Bandung 2014, Kecamatan Rancabali Dalam Angka.

192 < http://www.republika.co.id/berita/pendidikan/eduaction/15/03/10/nkzk72-tingkat- buta-aksara-di-indonesia-tinggal-enam-persen>. Access on 12 August 2015. 154

Despite the generally low levels of educational attainment shown above, the village is equipped with relatively adequate educational facilities. As shown in Table 3, there is a kindergarten belong to Al Ittifaq educating 58 students, and 11 primary schools –one belong to Al Ittifaq- educating 1,500 students. The number of students in the village’s two senior secondary schools is less than those in the primary schools. This might indicate that some children go to the nearby towns such as Ciwidey to continue their senior secondary schooling. It is also possible that many of them do not continue their studies after graduating from primary schools. Madrasah Diniyah shown in Table 3 are Islamic schools that teach Islamic sciences only. In practice, they are conducted for about two hours in late afternoon in mosques. Madrasah Diniyah can be said to offer a complement of religious education to their students who continue to go to ordinary schools in the morning. Although the BPS statistics do not give any data on the number of pesantren students, I can confirm that about 500 students reside in the Pesantren Al Ittifaq.

II. Empowering the Community through Community-based Agribusiness

After years of applying innovations to vegetable cultivation, Kyai Fuad Affandi together with his community have eventually started to see better rates of production from their farms in early 1990s. This agribusiness project has brought a considerable movement to the Pesantren’s students and the local community. Now, Kyai Fuad Affandi is known as the leader of tarekat sayuriah, an allusion to his consistent campaign of vegetable planting. Tarekat is Sufi order, while sayuriah is a word-play on the Indonesian word, sayur, meaning vegetables. An American anthropologist, Anna Gade, who did her fieldwork in the Pesantren Al Ittifaq wrote:

At this pesanten, every bit of land as far as the eye can see is used for cultivation; whereas elsewhere house yards might have flowers or decorative tress, here every square meter seemed to have been planted with green beans, potatoes, carrots, containers of strawberries or the like (Gade 2012: 272).

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After Fuad and his community had successfully increased their vegetable production, they had to face the next challenge: marketing. Up until the early 1990s, they relied on brokers to buy their products. The problem was that the brokers were often in a dominant position regarding pricing, while the farmers could not do anything. Fuad and his community had no direct access to markets and depended on these brokers as middlemen.

Circumstances changed in 1991 when the Pesantren Al Ittifaq was invited by the government to become involved in its program anak asuh” or “child fostering”, which fostered links between large corporations and small enterprises. With this program, Hero Supermarket arranged to cooperate and supervise the Village Co-operative Unit (KUD) Pasir Jambu, a nearby community co-operative which mediated the marketing of local agricultural products. With this partnership, the KUD Pasir Jambu was in charge of supplying vegetables to the Hero Supermarket chain, and eventually it found Pesantren Al Ittifaq as its main product supplier. Intensive training in managing agribusiness in which Kyai Fuad Affandi took part was held by the Ministry of Agriculture prior to running this anak asuh partnership program. This arrangement eventually broke up in 1993 when the KUD experienced mismanagement. As a result, the Pesantren tried to find a marketing and distributor chain for itself, and dispense with the services of the KUD Pasir Jambu.

In the meantime, Kyai Fuad Affandi was given government funding travel to the Netherlands to study green house agriculture for three months in 1993, and in 1995 he was sent to Japan to study agribusiness product packaging and distribution in an established agribusiness company there for three months as well. He then attended training on agribusiness management organised by the Ministry of Agriculture in in 1996.193

The Pesantren Al Ittifaq eventually established direct access to a large supermarket with a wide store chain. Since then, they have attempted to find

193 Interview with Fuad Affandi, Bandung, 16 June 2013. 156 more supermarkets who are happy to accept their vegetables. Today, its business partners are several supermarket brands in Bandung and Jakarta such as Lotte, Gelael, and Yogya which can absorb about 2 tons vegetables per day. To deal with this marketing matter, the Pesantren set up a cooperative called Koperasi Pondok Pesantren (the cooperative of pesantren) or commonly called by its acronym, Kopontren Al Ittifaq in 1997.194 The Kopontren manages the supply of 25 vegetables as required by the supermarkets. Today, it takes 60% of the stock from the Pesantren’s farms and the remaining 40% sourced from neighbouring farmers. The value of the Kopontren’s transactions with the supermarkets is between Rp. 10 and 15 million a day.

During my fieldwork, I tried to understand the complex social map of the Pesantren’s relation with the local community regarding this economic project. What makes the Pesantren Al Ittifaq eager to attract the local farmers to its economic project, and conversely, what interests the community in joining the project? I eventually found a logical and rational answer to these questions in the fact that to be a reliable vegetable supplier to supermarkets, Pesantren Al Ittifaq has to be able to apply the 3-Ks to its products: These 3 Ks are in Indonesians: kualitas (quality), kuantitas (quantity), and kontinuitas (continuity).195 They have to be able to keep the quality of the vegetables to the standards demanded by the supermarkets. They have to be able to meet the supermarkets’ demands in terms of precise quantities. For example, if they are asked to supply 10 quintals of tomato each week, they have to meet that volume. The last principle is that they have be able to maintain a continuity of the supply in spite of climateand seasonal changes.

In order to be able to hold these 3-K principles, the Pesantren Al Ittifaq mobilises the neighbouring farmers to participate in this business. So, it can be said that there is a mutually beneficial partnership between the Pesantren Al

194 Some pesantren have also cooperative named Kopontren. They operate in diverse profitable businesses such as managing grocery shops, book shops and Islamic microfinance business. See my brief discussion on the Kopontren of Pesantren Sidogiri in Chapter Three. 195 This term is from KH. Fuad Affandi, and was often explained to visitors asking how the Pesantren Al Iitifaq manages the agribusiness project. 157

Ittifaq and the local farmers. For easier coordination and management, the farmers were organised into four groups. The groups were also used to manage a cultivation cycle so that there is no over production or shortage of a particular product. For example, if some farmers are planting tomatoes, others have to be at the harvest stage of their tomatoes. As a result, the Pesantren Al Ittifaq is able to supply tomatoes of a consistent quality and in consistent quantities at all times. In addition, the Pesantren Al Ittifaq has also tried to cut out vegetable brokers in the area by purchasing vegetables that the Pesantren Al Ittifaq cannot produce, and at the same time it sells any of its own under-quality products to the brokers. The brokers then sell the products in traditional market. In this way, the Kopontren Al Ittifaq supplies the supermarket with the required vegetables sustainably, and the farmers can gain the best price for their produce.

How did the Pesantren Al Ittifaq mobilise the local famers and maintain social cohesion as well as their loyalty for this agribusiness project? I suggest that there are two backbones of this social and economic mechanism that allow the business to run smoothly and cohesively. The first backbone is Al Ittifaq’s alumni who reside in the village. The graduates hold various strategic positions in the village such as mosque prayer leaders (Imam), religious preachers, Islamic teachers and village heads and functionaries. These positions have made it easier to mobilise support and participation from the locals.

The fact that many graduates reside in Alamendah village permanently and maintain close relations with the Pesantren Al Ittifaq through working for the Pesantren or through business collaboration has created strong social capital for the Pesantren and the graduates themselves. Social capital is “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition” (Bourdieu 1986: 246). Every social actor can gain benefit from the available social capital embedded in their social network for both individual and collective interests (Coleman 1988: 105-8). In this case study, I have found that the Pesantren Al Ittifaq has used the available social capital embedded in its network of graduates residing in the village to mobilise the local farmers to

158 become members of the farmers’ associations and the Pesantren cooperative or the Kopontren. Furthermore, those graduates have children who are very likely to study in the Pesantren Al Ittifaq and will sustain its religious authority in the village in the future. Indeed, there is a transgenerational reproduction of social capital.

The second backbone that supports the social and economic mechanism behind this project is the Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s ongoing efforts to cut out or restrict the role of the local vegetable brokers through business collaboration and market sharing as I have alluded above and will further elaborate below. The rule of the game is that the Kopontren purchases some commodities that the Pesantren Al Ittifaq and its farmers’ associations are unable to cultivate, and conversely, the brokers can purchase from the Kopontren its under-quality vegetables which cannot be sold to modern supermarkets.

A. Organising Neighbouring Farmers

There are than 50 alumni who have become permanent dwellers in the village. The Al Ittifaq’s graduates who reside permanently in Alamendah village have played a crucial and effective role in organising local farmers into becoming members of the farmers’ associations formed by the Pesantren. Starting from early 1990s, Al Ittifaq has facilitated the establishment of four farmers’ associations, Kelompok Tani Alif (Alif Farmer Association), Kelompok Tani Mekar Mukti (Mekar Mukti Farmers’ Association), Kelompok Tani Tunggul Endah (Tunggul Endah Farmers’ Association), and Kelompok Tani Jampang Endah (Jampang Endah Farmers’ Association), with about a hundred members in each. Through its graduates, the organisation of farmers as well as the mobilisation of their associations, Al Ittifaq’s economic agenda has been facilitated. Although these graduates reside in neighbourhoods as far as 20 kilometers from the Pesantren Al Ittifaq, they remained bonded with the Pesantren through various relations such as teaching, attending sermons, and

159 working in the co-operative. Therefore, they can be said to be Al Ittifaq’s ambassadors in their neighbourhood for this business agenda.

Figure 5.2 KH. Fuad Affandi is at the centre of a routine gathering with leaders of farmers’ associations and his close aides every morning after delivering dawn prayer (subuh)

Kang Nurul: From Arranged Marriage to ‘Ambassador’ of the Pesantren in the Village

Kang Nurul comes from a deprived family in the nearby regency, Cianjur, about 60 kilometers from the Pesantren Al Ittifaq. He started his education in Al Ittifaq in the early 2000s. In addition to exhibiting a strong willingness to study Islamic sciences such as Islamic theology and jurisprudence, he attended the Pesantren Al Ittifaq because it offered a fee-free education. He thought it was the best way for him to continue his studies without burdening his parents who could not really afford to fund his education. As a result of his studies, Kang Nurul was given the task of controlling vegetable stocks of the Pesantren Al Ittifaq before they were distributed to supermarkets. This job meant that he dealt with local farmers and local vegetable brokers from whom he purchased the required commodities. One of the local brokers with whom he became very close personally was Haji Ahmad. 160

In Alamendah village, successful vegetable brokers usually had high social status in the community because of their wealth, generosity, and support for Islamic causes. Many of them also went to Mecca on the hajj pilgrimage, and use the title haji in their names. This title adds prestige to their social status. This was the case with Haji Ahmad. His two storey house with bright green paint which appears to be the most luxurious house in his hamlet. He is also known to be one of the important vegetable brokers in the area. He purchases tons of vegetables from local farmers and distributes them to many vendors in the largest traditional market in Bandung. In addition, he also has a very large land holding on which he can cultivate various vegetables.

With his abundant wealth, Haji Ahmad initiated the building of a new mosque in his hamlet. He provided this project with Rp. 500 million (+$50,000) from his own pocket. This was complemented by donations from other community members, and the mosque was successfully built at a cost of Rp. 700 million (AUD 70,000). What followed the mosque’s construction was the question of who was to be the imam of the mosque? It is customary that every mosque has an imam with adequate Islamic knowledge to lead prayers and deliver sermons. With those skills, the imam also has considerable influence on the social life of his congregation.

Having a long business partnership with Pesantren Al Ittifaq, Haji Ahmad came to Kyai Fuad Affandi and discussed this issue with him. Kyai Fuad made an offer to him of sending one of his students to be the mosque’s imam on the condition that Haji Ahmad provided a proper house for the imam to reside permanently in the hamlet. After discussing it with his neighbours, Haji Ahmad then accepted this offer. He built a modest house next to the mosque. Haji Ahmad then chose Kang Nurul as he knew him personally. It had been some years since Kang Nurul, on behalf of the Pesantren’s cooperative, had bought vegetables from him. In addition, the community also donated a plot of land to Kang Nurul to be used as his source of livelihood. Before being sent to this hamlet, Kyai Fuad Affandi married Kang Nurul to one of his female students. Today, Kang Nurul lives in the hamlet with his wife and two

161 daughters. For his family livelihood, Kang Nurul cultivates vegetables on his modest plot of land and teaches in Al Ittifaq three times a week.

His daily activities are leading five daily prayers, delivering weekly sermons, teaching the Qur’an for children every afternoon in a Qur’anic school he established in the hamlet and organizing other religious activities in the mosque. In addition, he goes to the Pesantren at least three times a week for teaching and to attend sermons by Kyai Fuad Affandi. Outside of this regular schedule, he is expected to have a regular coordination with the Kopontren regarding his farmers’ association. In this way, it can be said that Kang Nurul is Al Ittifaq’s ambassador to this neighbourhood in terms of both economic and religious missions. 196

Furthermore, the residence of Kang Nurul in this hamlet has contributed to the outreach of the Pesantren’s influence in the community in terms of both religious and economic missions. In the economic field, he plays a role as the leader of a farmer association affiliated to Al Ittifaq’s Kopontren called Kelompok Tani Jampang Endah. The members of this association are the farmers of the neighbourhood who are also his congregation. His position as a mosque’s imam and respected religious leader in the hamlet has enabled him to communicate and socialize Al Ittifaq’s economic projects into his community more easily. Related to the religious missions, he has also been able to mobilise local support and participation for Al Ittifaq’s religious events and other agenda such as regular sermons and other religious events held in Al Ittifaq. (I will discuss the contribution of the Pesantren’s graduates like Kang Nurul to the Islamisation process of the village in the subsequent section of this chapter).

Another example similar to Kang Nurul, Dadang Rohman also came from Cianjur to Pesantren Al Ittifaq in 1987 after finishing primary school in his home village. Like other students, Dadang had also been involved in, and absorbed skills, from the agribusiness project. After marrying a fellow female

196 My account of Kang Nurul is based on recorded interviews, informal conversations, and observations of his daily life. Bandung, June 2013. 162 graduate in 1998, Dadang stayed in a housing facility provided by a mosque in a nearby hamlet. He cultivates vegetables for a living and works closely with the Pesantren’s Kopontren. He has also become the mosque’s Imam. Ten years ago, he was appointed by the village head as the chairman of the village’s Islamic Scholar Council (MUI). His main job is to coordinate and supervise all Islamic programs in the village.

In addition to this job, Dadang is also the leader of a farmers’ association called Kelompok Tani Mekar Mukti with 60 members from his hamlet. With this position, he coordinates the cultivation cycle requested by the Kopontren to maintain the regular stock of each vegetable. His social position as mosque imam and the village MUI chairman have enhanced his charisma in managing the farmers’ association. His success in this venture is indeed an interplay between his religious and economic positions.

My conversation with many of the graduates residing in the village revealed that they identify themselves not merely as students but as true children of Kyai Fuad Affandi because the Kyai has fed and educated them. They said that their parents also admitted to this notion as Kyai Fuad has done much more than themselves for the children since the parents had not spent anything during the children’s education. Within such a context, the students became very loyal to Kyai Fuad even with regard to their marriages and future life plans. This in turn contributes to the strengthening of social capital held by Pesantren Al Ittifaq.

All alumni who did not go back to their home village, and instead chose to stay and work in the Pesantren Al Ittifaq would eventually get married and reside in Alamendah village. As we have seen in the story of Kang Nurul and Dadang Rohman earlier, this process begins with an arranged marriage to one of their fellow female students or local girls.197 Kyai Fuad is the mastermind in

197 This is not very common practice in pesantren communities, but I found the same practice in some other pesantren such as in Pesantren Hidayatullah, Balikpapan and Pesantren Al Muhibbin, Tambakberas, Jombang, especially where the students have studied in the pesantren for free and hold a very strong loyalty to their kyai. 163 this process. Before the marriage process, the Kyai usually thinks of their possible residential houses and strategic position in the community. Some of the married couples then reside in a house provided by the Pesantren Al Ittifaq, for which they then pay back the price in instalments. Others receive housing because of their position as mosque leaders. Their life stories provide an example of how the social process has developed and illustrate the important economic function of alumni who have become permanent residents in the village in the community-based agribusiness project.

Related to this, to what extent has the participation of the local farmers to this project benefited them? In my current research, I did not have an instrument to measure the economic benefit quantitatively, but there is a relevant study that may be appropriately presented here briefly to provide us with a modest picture of the economic benefit. Ahkami’s research (2013) has argued that the farmers who are affiliated to Al Ittifaq’s farmers’ associations received much greater advantages relative to their counterparts who were reluctant to join the farmers’ organisations. For example, he noted that they were more open minded attitude to technological innovation and knowledge of farming techniques. As a result, he shows that they have cultivated a wider variety of vegetables, with greater capacity in cultivation planning, new technique implementation, and problem solving capabilities. Furthermore, the majority of them (88% compared to 64% of those who did not join the associations) were able to produce higher harvest volumes. In Ahkami’s estimation of potato cultivation, the affiliated farmers spent about Rp. 49 million (AUD 4,900) on production costs per hectare, while those who did not join the association spent around Rp. 47 million (AUD 4,700). However, the former were able to earn around Rp. 74 million (AUD 7,400), while the latter earned only about Rp. 60 million (AUD 6,000). It means that the farmers joining the associations earned a profit of around Rp. 26 million (AUD 2,600) from each cropping of potatoes per hectare, while their counterparts who had not joined the associations received only approximately Rp. 14 million (AUD 1,400) (Ahkami 2013: 89).

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Apart from that, the active participation of the local farmers in the associations, their membership of the Pesantren’s Kopontren, and the sustained marketing of their commodity for good prices have benefited them in many ways. As Kopontren’s members, the farmers have the opportunity to save their fund in the co-operative as well as to obtain loans whenever they need them, especially at the start of the cultivation period for vegetables. In times of unstable prices, the Kopontren Al Ittifaq is able to protect its members from opportunistic brokers. In a broader view, there is no longer massive migration by the village’s inhabitants to big cities to seek jobs in the industrial sector. Current statistical data reveals that only six people have moved out of the village against 21 people moving into the village in 2013 (BPS 2014).

B. Pesantren Al Ittifaq and the Local Vegetable Brokers

Let us now explore why the Pesantren Al Ittifaq is able to gain support from the local stakeholders in the vegetable business. Based on my findings, I conclude that the Pesantren Al Ittifaq has successfully created business collaboration with the local vegetable brokers based on a mutual benefit. It does so by the Kopontren Al Ittifaq purchasing some commodities that the Pesantren and its farmers’ associations are unable to cultivate, and conversely, the brokers can purchase from the co-operative its under-quality vegetable which cannot be sold to modern supermarkets.

To explain how this system operates, let me go back to the story of Kang Nurul presented earlier. That Haji Ahmad and many other vegetable brokers in the area were seen to play an important role.198 The brokers hold a crucial position in the chain of vegetable markets as they have the capacity to influence commodity prices. In order to keep the local farmers loyal to Al Ittifaq’s Co-

198 Haji is a title for those who have attended a pilgrimage in Mecca. In Indonesian context, the title Haji bestows higher social and economic status because the pilgrimage to Mecca is still not affordable for the majority of Indonesians. During a month-fieldwork in the village, I rarely encountered people with haji title. Therefore, I assume there are only a few haji in the village though I do not have a precise figure. 165 operative, the Pesantren Al Ittifaq has to create a consensus and game rules with the local brokers. On one occasion, I asked Fuad Affandi how his Pesantren Al Ittifaq dealt with the local brokers, to ask if there was any tough competition. He explained that there is no competition between Al Ittifaq and the local brokers because they buy produce of any quality from local farmers and re-sells it in traditional markets, while the Pesantren buys only high quality produce and re-sell it to modern supermarkets. There is conversely a mutual collaboration between them since the Pesantren often buy certain good quality products from the brokers to maintain the volume requested by the client supermarkets. At the same time, the lower quality vegetables harvested from the Pesantren’s farms are also sold to the brokers. In this case, the quality part of their 3-K principles becomes a rational economic mechanism by which the Pesantren collaborates with the local brokers. Both parties benefit from this arrangement.

This rule of the game is adhered to all parties and all reap benefits. The Pesantren is able to obtain about 40% of its vegetables from the farmers grouped in these associations, the famers can get a better price as well as economic protection and technical assistance from the Pesantren, and the brokers can swap commodities with the Co-operative. In this way, this market mechanism has created strong social bonds within the community.

In addition, there is also a socio-religious explanation. Based on my interaction with some local vegetable brokers, I noticed that they feel confident and blessed to be close to and associated with Fuad Affandi as a respected figure in the community. In the village, the brokers have high social status as most of them are wealthy entrepreneurs. Many of them have the title of haji as a mark that they have made pilgrimage in Mecca. This status affords additional value for their personal branding as both entrepreneurs and community members. With this title, they can make business deal more easily as their business partners see them as trustworthy and capable businessmen. For example, the brokers can buy vegetables in large volume with suspended payment because the famers are convinced that the brokers will be able to pay on time as they have promised.

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In summary, the consolidation of local farmers into four associations and the creation of mutually beneficial market sharing with local vegetable brokers has strengthened the capacity of the Pesantren Al Ittifaq in conducting and developing their agribusiness project. Both strategies are successful as they are based on rational economic mechanisms through which all parties can gain economic benefit.

III. Islamising the Community

More than 50 graduates of the Pesantren reside in every hamlet of the village. 37 of the 38 mosques in the village are led by them. Central to my argument here is that they serve a dual purpose for their respective congregations or jamaah:199 economic and da’wah. They have become the ambassadors of Al Ittifaq’s economic mission by mobilising the participation of their congregation in the farmers’ associations which are also business partners of the Pesantren’s Kopontren. At the same time, they are also imams, religious teachers, and preachers in the village. It is my contention, therefore, that there is an interplay between the economic and religious realms of Al Ittifaq’s engagement with its neighbouring community, and those two realms have arguably strengthened each other along the way.

In rural villages of Indonesia, the existence of Islam is represented by the existence of mosques, musholla (prayer hall), Islamic schools, state-Islamic functionaries, pesantren, and Islamic teachers and leaders. In Alamendah village, there are 38 mosques. The mosques are managed by a board called Dewan Kemakmuran Masjid (DKM, Board of Mosque Welfare) with one of its duties being the appointing of an imam. The imam has a task to lead regular prayers, deliver regular sermons, and manage other religious programs in the mosque.

199 The jamaah concept resembles umat or ummah concept. In Indonesia, however, the word jamaah is more often used to refer to a congregation in sense of ritual group or a limited unit of Muslim community under the leadership of a kyai or ulama, for example, the phrase of mereka jamaah kyai Azis, meaning: they are a congregation under the guidance of Kyai Azis.

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In Alamendah village, the number of the mosques is in line with the number of the village’s neighbourhood units (Rukun Warga, RW).

The mosque imam is an important leadership position in the Muslim community because imam serve and lead all major Islamic rituals conducted in the mosque or in local residents’ houses (see eq. Headley 2004; Millie et al. 2014; Wardak 2002). This is also the case in Alamendah village. The mosque imam has the responsibility of leading the mosque and other Islamic rituals in the village. For example, they are often asked to lead a special ritual in local houses for praying for their deceased ancestors. Such activity provides an intimate relation between the imam and the locals to whom they refer as their congregation. The following story of Cecep Taryana provides a clue as to what extent his position as a mosque imam has made it easier for him to popularise and apply the Pesantren’s da’wah agenda.

The family background of Cecep Taryana and his study in Al ittifaq are similar to those of Kang Nurul and Dadang Rohman in many ways. The difference is that he is married to a local girl. His marriage to this local girl has been very important to the advancement of the Pesantren’s da’wah outreach in the village. Before the deepening Islamisation of the community that we can see today, many of the village’s residents were guilty of various sines from an Islamic point of view, such as drinking alcohol, gambling, and prostitution.200 There was a lead actor and patron who protected and supported these activities. This man Mang Ahi had never participated in any Islamic events, including praying at the mosque. He also became a fierce critic and opponent of all Kyai Fuad”s initiatives in the village. Kyai Fuad Affandi made many efforts to approach and persuade this man to follow an Islamic way of life.

Then the idea of marrying one of his students to Mang Ahi’s daughter came to him. It was a strategy to get closer to, and to enter, the man’s family life. Cecep was the one who was ready for this mission. The strategy was

200 In Islam, the word for any activities that do not comply with Islamic principles is maksiat meaning rejecting God’s guidance. 168 evidently effective. After approaching the girl, Cecep reported to Kyai Fuad that the girl was happy to marry him. Then, Kyai Fuad came to Mang Ahi to propose that Cecep marry the man’s daughter. Unexpectedly, after much persuasion, Mang Ahi finally agreed with this marriage proposal.

After the marriage, Cecep lived in Mang Ahi’s house which was not too far from a musholla, a smaller prayer hall than a mosque.201 Cecep went to the prayer hall regularly, and sometimes he was asked to lead the prayer. Eventually he was asked to become the tenured imam of the musholla. Because of Cecep’s efforts, the musholla then could no longer accommodate the congregation. Eventually, Cecep and his congregation renovated the musholla to become a proper mosque. The presence of Cecep in the house and his reputation as mosque imam who regularly gave sermons made Mang Ahi reflect on his former behaviour. As time went by, he eventually started to join Cecep at the mosque. His habits then changed gradually, and now he has left all his bad habits behind and become an active participant in religious events of the village. Today the man has become a loyal supporter of Fuad Affandi’s da’wa activities, and is no longer the sponsor of activities (maksiat) such as gambling and prostitution in the village. Meanwhile, Cecep has also played an important role in socialising and promoting Al ittifaq’s economic agenda through his active involvement in one of the farmers’ associations.

The story has shown us the strategic position and effective function of mosque imam in Islamising the village’s inhabitants. The m osque is an institution and it becomes much more effective as a da’wah space when it is led by a committed imam. In this story, Cecep has both transformed the religious life of his parent-n-law’s family on the micro-scale and the hamlet neighbourhood on the macro scale by using the mosque as his medium and tool. When those in the village are happy to go to the mosque, they are also more likely to participate in other religious programs. Related to this is the regular

201 It is common in Indonesia for a new couple to live in their parent’s house for some time until they can afford to move to a new house. 169 sermon by Kyai Haji Fuad Affandi in the Pesantren’s mosque every Monday night.

Figure 5.3 Regular Monday night sermon by KH. Fuad Affandi attended by hundreds of villagers and vegetable brokers

The mosque imams have indeed become Al Ittifaq’s ambassadors in mobilising the da’wah outreach in the village. The large number of attendees at the regular Monday sermon by Kyai Fuad as their great patron is a proof of this. During my fieldwork there, I participated in the regular sermon three times. There were about 600 people, both male and female, who attended the sermon. From the afternoon on that day, about twenty cars and minibuses were parked in the mosque’s yard. I tried to chat with those people coming. Many of them were the graduates of the Pesantren coming with their congregation and vegetable brokers who were in business partnership with Al Ittifaq. After the maghrib (sunset) prayer, the number of the vehicles increased and occupied tens of square meters of the village’s street. Most of them were motor cycles. Then I noticed that these newcomers were residents living in the village. I saw several village officials, including the village head. Kyai Fuad delivered his hour long sermon straight after the Isya (night) prayer. The topic delivered was on ritual aspects of Islam and how to be a good Muslim. The important thing that I came

170 to understand was that their participation was directly or indirectly due to endorsements from the mosque imams. The latter made these sermons relevant to the circumstances of their congregation and they worked together with their respective hamlets.

The story of Cecep Taryana, Kang Nurul and Dadang Rohman represent stories from the 37 Al Ittifaq’s graduates who hold a position as a mosque imam in the village. Their stories of becoming mosque imam and residing permanently in the kampongs seem to be similar to others in their positions. Community members who live in the areas surrounding a mosque usually need a learned man to lead the mosque, to lead five daily prayers, to deliver sermons in Friday prayers and on other occasions. For this purpose, they have usually asked Fuad Affandi to send them one of his senior students. The appointed student initially comes to the mosque for the sermon only, but later they develop closer relation with the local community as they regard them as jamaah or congregation. When Fuad sees that one of his students has been accepted warmly by a local people of certain hamlet, he then endeavours to marry the male student to one of his female students. Figure 5.4 Arranged Wedding Ceremonies of Pesantren Al Ittifaq’ graduates during My Fieldwork

One of the traditions adopted by Pesantren Al Ittifaq is that the kyai often arranges the marriage of male and female students. This tradition has arisen 171 because the students give total loyalty and obedience to the kyai including in their life choices. This becomes understandable when one considers that the students have been raised and given education for free for most of their life. After marriage, the new couples are usually sent to a designated location where they carry out dakwa mission. In other cases, Fuad Affandi sometimes marries a male student to a local girl for a dakwa purpose as happened with Cecep Taryana.

Having its 37 graduates holding leadership positions as mosque imams and community leaders in their respective hamlets in the Alamendah village provides the Pesantren Al Ittifaq with abundant social capital. Slowly but surely, Al Ittifaq has started to advance its influence in the village by occupying strategic social and political positions such as village head and leadership of the village’s Islamic council (Majlis Ulama, MUI)-a village administrative body that manages Islamic activities in the village. Through vote mobilisation by the mosque imams, the Pesantren successfully supported a candidate in the village head election five months before my stay there. The elected village head was a local vegetable broker who had become a partner in the Pesantren’s business. He was also very active in supporting all Al Ittifaq’s events and mission. Before being elected, he was the committee chief for the Pesantren’s annual mass circumcision event. He received about 5,000 votes from 11,000 voters in the direct election for which there were four candidates. In his leadership role he has appointed Al Ittifaq’s graduates to some village positions. Within this power structure, Al Ittifaq now enjoys greater support from the village administration, and furthermore able to attract support from the village inhabitants more easily.202

During my fieldwork, I saw the great support given by the village head to the Pesantren during a program evaluation by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture. The officials assessed whether it was feasible for Al Ittifaq to become a government-approved training institution under the Ministry’s training programs. The Ministry has various training programs that require

202 Interview with Deden, the Chairman of Alamendah’s Islamic Council, Bandung, 29 June 2013. 172 partners for their delivery. If the Pesantren Al Ittifqa is recognized as a government-approved training institution, the Ministry of Agriculture will sub- contract some of its relevant training projects to the Al Ittifaq. During the assessment period, the village head was seen actively to endorse and promote Al Ittifaq to the Ministry’s officials. His support was a significant element in convincing the Ministry that there was a substantial partnership between the Pesantren and the village administration.

In addition, the Pesantren also has an annual festival for celebrating its foundation. On this occasion, many events are organised, ranging from collective marriage for graduates, free circumcision for poor children, special public sermons, to art performances. Based on oral stories from local inhabitants living near the Pesantren, support in the form of food, funds, and transportation facilities came from the community. It seemed that the festival was a village festival, and not confined to the Pesantren alone. This again proves the deepinfluence of Al Ittifaq on the community since it is viewed as an important and essential part of the village assets and identity.

Furthermore, one of the Pesantren’s alumni, Dadang Rohman has also occupied a top position in the village’s Islamic scholar council (Majlis Ulama Indonesia, MUI). This is an equal position to that of the village head, but with authority over Islamic programs in the village. The head of MUI is elected by all mosques’ imams in the village, then is approved by the village head. In short, by occupying many strategic positions in the village administration and the village’s Islamic authority, the Pesantren now has considerable influence and power to carry out its dakwa mission in the village. In general, according to Fuad Affandi and many local residents, the influence of Islam in Alamendah has been much more noticeable than two decades ago.203 Indicators of this are the increasing attendance in mosques, the increasing participation in Islamic study groups (pengajian), and the greater support for Islamic causes such as mosque and Islamic school building. For the Pesantren Al Ittifaq, the greater support

203 Interview with Fuad Affandi, Bandung, 22 June 2013. 173 from local community has also become more apparent in recent years in the community’s generous donations towards the Pesantren events such as the regular Monday night sermon by the kyai as well as annual collective marriages and circumcisions.

We have seen how arranged marriages of Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s graduates and their permanent residency in the village have two benefits for the Pesantren Al Ittifaq. First, they have contributed to the economic mission of the Pesantren through the Kopontren and farmers’ associations. Second, they have also contributed to the religious mission or da’wah through their positions as mosque imam and the chairmanship of the Islamic council. These dual functions have strengthened each other along the way. Therefore, we can see the more developed the economic mission of the Pesantren has become, the more deeply the Pesantren’s da’wah mission has reached the local community.204

IV. Life Skills toward Social Mobility: Students and Their Future Life

In addition to financial benefits, the running of the agribusiness project has also provided the Pesantren with an opportunity to arrange its educational system based on a combination of Islamic sciences and life skill development. Given the fact that most of the students come from poor families who are unable to pay for their education and living expenses, this system makes the students participate in the Pesantren’s business. The results of this participation pay for the students’ education and living expenses in the Pesantren. Moreover, the students also obtain appropriate life skills with which they will be able to achieve social mobility in their future. The combination of free education and nurturing life skills at the same time is still rare in Indonesian pesantren. Only in

204 I am aware of the diffusion of Islamic authorities when people receive information including religious knowledge through various media and sources from TV, radio to print media (cf. Turner 2007). Based on my observation in the village, however, religious authority that is channeled through routine face-to-face interaction and is integrated within the village’s social structure remains the dominant factor shaping people’s religious life in the village. 174 some pesantren with economic projects, it is common to involve students and graduates in the projects for life skill development (see Isbah 2011).

During my fieldwork, there were about 500 male and female students living in Al Ittifaq’s dormitories. 326 of them were enrolled in the Pesantren’s traditional learning system (salafiyah) which taught Islamic sciences only. To complete the curricula, students had to spend at least six years. Meanwhile, the rest of the student body participated in its modern schooling system (madrasah) which had just been started by the Pesantren in early 2000. 205 The salafiyah students are studying and living in Al Ittifaq at no cost. Most salafiyah students come from lower income families who are unable to send their children to other schools, including government schools, which usualy charge fees. Many of the parents are poor farmers, migrant workers, petty traders, and low skilled workers from rural areas around Bandung and neighbouring regencies and cities. The current Pesantren’s leader, Kyai Haji Fuad Affandi, and his family provide the students with three meals a day. At the same time, the students work on the Pesantren’s farms and in the Pesantren’s cooperative. Therefore, most of the Pesantren’s income from the business is spent covering their living expenses including food, accommodation facilities, electricity, books, and clothing.206

The students work for the Pesantren’s agribusiness project outside of their study hours. For this purpose, the Pesantren Al Ittifaq arranges their study periods around the five daily prayer times. Based on my observations the students had to wake up around 4am or before the dawn prayer time (subuh). After attending collective dawn prayer in the mosque, they moved to their classes straightaway to have lessons until 6:30am. The classes took place in the mosque in which they made circle by sitting on the flour facing a teacher with

205 See Chapter 2 above on a more detail information about the current educational arrangement found in Indonesian pesantren. 206 Interview with Agus Sunardi and Ridwan Hidayat, students of salafiyah group of Pesantren Al Ittifaq, Bandung, 20 June 2013. I found the same phenomenon in my previous research on the Pesantren Sidogiri in Pasuruan, East Java. The Pesantren manages a large scale Islamic microfinance business and employs its students and graduates have spread throughout some provinces (see Isbah 2011). 175 white board behind him. Having finished the class, the students went to a large kitchen to have breakfast, after which they then started to work. Most male students worked on the farm and with livestock, while most female students worked in packaging jobs. The marketing and distribution boys left earlier after dawn prayer. At 11am, all students as well as the neighbouring community stop their jobs and go home or to dormitories to prepare for the dzuhur (mid-day) prayer which starts around 12pm. After the prayer, the students move immediately to their classes to have lessons until 2pm. After the lesson ends, most students rest or enjoy free time, while some others go to a nearby farm to do easy jobs as required. The ashar prayer occurs at 3pm and is followed by classes until 5 pm. Then, the students enjoy free time while waiting for the maghrib prayer which comes at 6pm. The maghrib prayer is followed by lessons until the isya prayer at 7pm. After the isya prayer, there is another study hour until 8pm.

Figure 5.5 Female students are preparing products for sale

The schedule applies every day except for Friday which is a holiday for the students, and for Monday night when there is a public sermon by the kyai in the mosque attracting about 600 participants from neighbouring community 176 members and some Al Ittifaq’s alumni living in the region of Bandung and beyond. It means that the students have about 6 or 7 hour classes a day and take part in the Pesantren’s economic activities for around 4 hours a day. Compared to other pesantren salaf, this time arrangement appears more efficient and effective. Based on my frequent visit to many other pesantren salaf in Indonesia I observed elsewhere, students have much more free time as their regular lessons are only around 5 hours, from 7am to 12pm, or from 1pm to 4:30pm. For the rest of time they can use their time as they wish. For diligent students, they might use much of this time for self-study. However, this depends on personal preference, and I have seen many students just “hanging out” or sleeping for most of the time.

Related to time management and effective mobilisation of the Al Ittifaq’s students, Fuad Affandi told me that his key formula is organisation around the times of-collective prayers. Because all the students and many community members living around the Pesantren arrive at the mosque in time for the adzan207 call, he has found easy to manage all Al Ittifaq’s activities in a timely manner, as well as being able to mobilise the students into their designated jobs. Fuad has convinced his students to make most of their time except, but also insists on them taking adequate rest periods.208

The involvement of students in the Pesantren’s business was once misunderstood and the Pesantren was accused of employing children without a clear employment contract or merely exploiting them. According to Fuad Affandi, these accusations occurred in a report by local newspaper a couple years ago. Fuad Affandi, however, was aware of such a possibility and tried to explain his method and arrangement in educating his students and managing Pesantren Al Ittifaq. He convinced the community that he had never recruited students from their parents, but it was the parents who had given him a mandate to look after and educate their children.

207 A loud call in Arabic from the mosque to indicate that the prayer time has come. 208 Interview with Kyai Haji Fuad Affandi, Bandung, 23 June 2013. 177

In addition to the traditional learning (salafiyah) track, Pesantren Al Ittifaq had also opened a government-approved madrasa system, ranging from kindergarten (Roudltul Athfal) to high schools (Madrasah Aliyah).209 His modern madrasah began in the early 2000s. The students of the modern madrasah mostly come from the neighbouring families. Only about 100 of its 500 students live in the Pesantren’s dormitories. The curricula of the madrasah complies with the standardized curricula from the Ministry of Religion. The students of this learning track live in different dormitories and do not have to participate in the Pesantren’s agribusiness activities. However, I found some students are involved in the management of the Co-operative as administration support staff. They pay all expenses for their education and living.

In addition to responding to the growing demand for government- approved madrasah in the community, Kyai Fuad sees his decision to open government-approved madrasah as a strategic way to introduce Islam and as a means to the ethical improvement of the generation. He recognised that the majority members of his community are expecting their children to be able to pursue higher degree education or to obtain formal jobs out of agriculture. Another reason is that the availability of Madrasah Aliyah in the village is expected to increase the school enrolment in the community. In the past, children who wanted continue their studies to high school had to go to Ciwidey district, about 20 kilometres from the village or had to live in rented rooms (kos- kosan) in a nearby town. These options of course were expensive for the majority of the community members. Consequently, only a few children from the village continued their studies to a higher level of education. The other reason is Kyai Fuad’s concern over the widespread misbehaviour among teenagers as shown by the frequent brawls by school children in urban areas including Bandung city.210 With the establishment of the madrasah, he tried to prevent such a

209 Please see chapter 2 for more information on the hierarchy of government-approved madrasah in Indonesia. 210 http://www.merdeka.com/tag/t/tawuran-pelajar/dua-sma-di-bandung-terlibat-tawuran/. Accessed on 13 August 2015. 178 negative culture from occuring among the village’s teenagers. In short, with the salafiyah model Fuad Affandi has tried to serve poor children who want to study Islamic sciences only, and with the modern madrasah he has tried to respond to the changing educational needs and demand of his community. He has emphasised that he is open minded and eager to adopt new ideas for the improvement of the community as long as they do not violate Islamic principles.211

Figure 5.6 The school compound of Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) and Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Al Ittifaq

Having observed the education of students in both traditional (salafiyah) and modern (madrasah) tracks, Fuad Affandi now can distinguish their strengths and weaknesses. This is apparent in this quote: “formally schooled children (i.e. madrasah) know about everything but can do nothing, while the salafiyah students tend to know nothing but can do everything”. It means that students of modern madrasah have broader knowledge because they study more subjects, both general and Islamic sciences. However, they spend most of their time in studying

211 Interview with Kyai Haji Fuad Affandi, Bandung, 26 June 2013.

179 those subjects. They never encounter real life problems and needs. Therefore, when they are asked to solve a ‘minor problem like repairing a leaky roof, they cannot do it. In contrast, students of traditional learning (salafiyah) are generally unable to demonstrate knowledge as broad as their fellows from madrasah. When they asked to solve a ‘minor problem, however, they tend to demonstrate a much better capacity to do so. This different personal character development, according to Fuad Affandi, is because the different educational tracks put emphasis on different aspect of the students’ development, that is in relation to cognitive knowledge and life skill.212

Providing education and accommodation for children from lower income families through the traditional system and integrated life skill development at no cost has given Fuad Affandi great psychological satisfaction. He has explained this as “lifting them up from the sewer to be somebody (mengangkat mereka dari air comberan menjadi seseorang)”.213 The following story of Dede Madrais, one of the graduates of Al Ittifaq, attests to the success of the Pesantren in this new mission.

Bridging Social Mobility: Stories of Some Graduates

The involvement of the Pesantren’s students in the agribusiness project has indeed enabled them to learn life skills beneficial to their future. All of them come from the poor families, and these skills have provided them with opportunities to achieve a better life relative to that of their parents. In the Pesantren Al Ittifaq, I have observed that both male and female students have equal opportunity to study and to be involved in the agribusiness project. Due to my limited access to female students and graduates, however, all of my informants were males. In this section, I present stories of some Al Ittifaq

212 Interview with Kyai Haji Fuad Affandi, Bandung, 24 June 2013. 213 Interview with Kyai Haji Fuad Affandi, Bandung, 26 June 2013.

180 graduates who later made their living in areas related to the skills they acquired in the Pesantren.

Dede Madrais is one of the Pesantren’s graduates who has successfully made the most of the skills he received during his study in Al Ittifaq. He started his studies in 1991 when he was 17 years old. His intention was to study in pesantren (mesantren) in the Pesantren Al Ittifaq. He comes from a very poor family. His father was a balloon seller who walked around kindergarten and primary schools in Bandung to sell his balloon to school children. One day his father met Kyai Fuad Affandi and became involved in a conversation with him. Fuad Affandi told him that he would look after his children for free if he wished. Not long after that, his father brought Dede Madrais to the Pesantren Al Ittifaq.

In addition to studying Islamic sciences, Dede Madrais took part in the Pesantren’s economic activities. In his first year, he worked on the farm, cultivating and looking after vegetables. After acquiring sufficient knowledge of the production process, in the second year he moved to storage where he learned about the sorting, grading, packaging, and labelling of the produce. In this post, he was eventually appointed as Storage Chief whose responsibility was for receiving vegetables from the Pesantren’s farms and local farmers, and preparing this produce fordistribution.

He moved to marketing when the partnership of the Pesantren Al Ittifaq and Village Co-operative Unit (KUD) collapsed in 1993. It was Dede Madrais and some other students who struggled to knock on the doors of many supermarkets to offer their produce. Within a year they found Lotte, Gelael, and Yogya supermarkets to be open to selling the Pesantren’s vegetables. These are much bigger supermarkets compared to Hero which they formerly supplied, and they consequently demand a much larger volume of the produce. It was blessing in disguise for the development of the Pesantren’s business.

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Figure 5.7 Dede Madrais and his wife are packaging strawberries while receiving internship students from

During my fieldwork, I lived in a building next to Dede Madrais’s house. I had a number of conversation with him when he packed fruit such as strawberries and mangoes into boxes. Based on his experience in marketing the Pesantren’s vegetables to supermarkets, he started his own business as a fruit supplier to supermarkets after he married seven years ago. He had already known how to pitch a product to supermarkets, and who to deal with. His business has certainly developed on the skills he learned during his studies at Al Ittifaq. The quality of his house building and the vehicle he owns show that he is now economically prosperous. In a conversation he told me that he has registered himself and his wife for the pilgrimage to Mecca. Among Indonesian Muslims, especially in rural areas, being able to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca is an indication of economic prosperity as it costs about Rp. 50 million ($5,000) per person in 2013.

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Dede Madrais’ achievements obviously reflect the quality and relevant education he received at Al Ittifaq. He said:

“Mang Haji (the name his students and the community give to Fuad Affandi) has educated me comprehensively so that I can have a better life in a religious and material sense. My father was balloon seller who was unable to feed me and to send me to school. Mang Haji invited me to live in Al Ittifaq for free and guides my life so that I can have a happy family, comfortable house, and prosperity”.214

Didin Syarifuddin is another Al Ittifaq’s graduate who now operates his own business in the food industry. His home industry produces various food products made from fruits such as candy and sweets. He has been in this industry since 2005. Now, he employs 10 of his neighbours and the distribution of his products has reached various cities in Java and Sumatera. From the look of his house, he is rich by village standards.

Didin came from Panundaan village, about 5 kilometers north of the Pesantren. After finishing his junior secondary school, he did not continue his study and was unemployed for more than a year. In addition to his poor economic situation, his family seemed to not having the spirit to encourage their children to move onto a higher schooling level.215 As a result, along with similar minded teenagers, his behaviour became bad. Because they saw that he was taking the wrong path, his parents asked him to study in Pesantren Al Ittifaq. His parents chose Al Ittifaq because they knew that they did not need to pay for Didin’s stay and study there., This also meant that Didin would no longer a burden financially and socially for the family.

During his study at the Pesantren between 1991 and 1995, Didin was given responsibility for packaging vegetables, then maintaining and driving the Pesantren’s utility trucks. The vehicles were for transporting produce and students to and from more distant farms. In addition, he also sometimes helped

214 Interview with Dede Madrais, Bandung, 19 June 2013. 215 Table 2 of the current statistic data showed earlier in this chapter reveals that the enrolment rate of education especially after primary school level looks relatively low. The situation must be worse in Didin Syarifuddin’s schooling era in early 1990s. 183 transporting the products to supermarkets in Bandung and Jakarta. This engagement led to a familiarity with the fruit and vegetable business.

After his study, he worked in a car service centre, thanks to his skill in repairing cars and related automotive services during his studies in Al Ittifaq.216 After some years, the job did not provide him with a satisfactory income. Later on, he established his own new business in the food processing industry producing snacks from fruits.

This business was inspired by the abundant stock, and sometimes overproduction, of strawberries and other berry fruits in his village. In such situations, the farmers faced difficulties in selling their fruits. Many of them had to throw away the fruit. Seeing this phenomenon, Didin tried to find a way to process the fruits into a product with a longer shelf life. After learning from other people and doing some experiments, he is now able to produce various marketable products made from the fruits. Now, his business has saved the majority of fruit farmers in his village from wasting excess fruits.

Figure 5.8 Some products made from local fruits produced by Didin Syarifuddin’s home industry

216 In Indonesia, a person does not need a formal certificate to be involved in a car service business. 184

Up to now, Didin has maintained a strong relationship with Kyai Fuad Affandi and his Pesantren.He supplies the Pesantren’s groceries with products, and attends the regular sermons by Kyai Fuad every Monday night. He admitted to this in the following:

If I had not gone to Al Ittifaq in my teenage years and not known Mang Haji (a nickname of Kyai Fuad Affandi), I would never be like this. I feel I am blessed with religious knowledge and the many skills in farming, automotive services, and entrepreneurship that I received from Mang Haji. All this knowledge and these skills have made my life easier for going to the right direction. If I had not done this, I could not imagine how my life would look today.217

Most of the graduates living in Alamendah village work in the agribusiness sector. In general, their businesses seen to prosper, thanks to their close relations with the Pesantren and fellow alumni, from whom they derive mutual support. My fieldwork covered only Al Ittifaq’s graduates who reside in the village, so I cannot provide an account of those who live out of the village. Although I encountered some alumni who live out of the village when they attended Kyai Fuad Affandi’s regular Monday night sermon, I do not have possess enough detail of their daily life relating to their livelihood and welfare.

V. The Pesantren Al Ittifaq as a Destination for Study Tours and Student Internships

With this exemplary success in community-based agribusiness, Pesantren Al Ittifaq has now become very well-known among government agencies, other pesantrens, and academics with an interest in agribusiness in Indonesia. This can be seen from visits and internships by people from various backgrounds. During my stay there, there were about 15 students from the Agribusiness Department of Padjajaran University, a top university in Bandung, and 5 students from a same department of Muhamadiyah University in Yogyakarta. The students came

217 My account of Didin Syarifuddin here is based on several interviews and observations in his home. Bandung, June 2013. 185 there as part of their final project called KKN218 in which they are required to do internship-cum-research. Some of them lived in the Pesantren for a month, while some others stayed for periods of up to three months, depending on the requirement from their Department. They became good friends with me as we engaged in similar activities, such as field observations and interviews. I always involved myself in discussions with them while we had dinner together. For their stay there, they paid Rp 30,000 (AUD 3) a day for a three meals a day and modest shared bedrooms.

In addition to such internships and research by students, there were also frequent short visits by groups from diverse organisations. For instance, there was a day visit by a group of Islamic community leaders from Cilegon, Banten. Their travel was organised and funded by their local government as part of efforts to stimulate community-based economic projects in the region. Another short visit was by a group of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture in Jakarta. Their purpose was to observe and to discuss the possibility of Al Ittifaq becoming an official partner with the Ministry in hosting and giving training on agribusiness. The Ministry’s training sessions were always organised by its Training Units which are located in each province. They have plans to outsource some of these training sessions to agribusiness practitioners like Pesantren Al Ittifaq in order to provide better experience and environment. For this program, the Ministry will pay Al Ittifaq for all expenses.

The Pesantren have a lot of visitors who need accommodation, they have prepared facilities such as bedrooms –various types- and meal services. Visitors need to stay in the Pesantren because they need to observe and experience the life in Al Ittifaq. It is also much cheaper and practical compared to staying in hotels. To get to the Pesantren, the visitors have to spend at least three hours in travel time from Bandung City. The visit was like an excursion for them. Prior to the visitors’ arrival, they normally ring the Pesantren. There is a person in

218 KKN (Kuliah Kerja Nyata) is a compulsory requirement for undergraduate students at Indonesian tertiary educational institutions. It is a program where students live in villages and contribute to the collective life of the village. 186 charge of serving visitors. This person then usually asks about their length of the stay and the meal package they wish to have as there are different prices for different packages. In addition to increasing reputation of the Pesantren, it seems that this activity has also given the Pesantren some financial benefit as well.219

Figure 5.9 Visitors from Australian Rural Leadership Program, June 2015

219 A similar phenomenon is found in other parts of Bandung. Watson’s study (2005: 277-80) on the popular preacher AA Gym reveals a phenomenon of weekend pilgrimage by groups of people who want to attend AA Gym’s lectures and stay in his Pesantren Darut Tauhid during the weekends. The difference is, however, the pilgrims to Darut Tauhid is for a “spiritual meal”, while those who came to Al Ittifaq is to study agribusiness in the field. 187

Figure 5.10 Accommodation for short visitors and internship students from universities

The name of Kyai Fuad Affandi is now widely recognized among government officials at both provincial level of West Java and the national administration in Jakarta. He has been recognized for his perseverance and consistency in developing the agriculture potential of his village and for collective economic empowerment. The Pesantren Al Ittifaq has been used as prototype for a broader pesantren-based economic movement by both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.220

Conclusion

This chapter has discussed the case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq and its unique way to engage with the local community through a community-based agribusiness project. I see the Pesantren Al Ittifaq as being representative of a small pesantren located in rural area with a village scale influence. The reason for choosing agribusiness as an economic project in which to engage is because of

220 See my discussion on government’s initiatives and programs related to pesantren as agents for economic empowerment in Chapter Three. 188 the available natural and human resources in the village which suit such a project. After a long commitment, the project has evidently been beneficial to the Pesantren, its students and the local community.

Extending my earlier hypothesis on the multiple roles of kyai, this chapter has shown how Kyai Fuad Affandi has integrated his roles as pesantren and community leader through a simultaneous arrangement of his education, economic development and da’wah mission. I argue that the development and sustainability of the project is based on the two strategies that have been pursued by Kyai Fuad Affandi: organising local farmers and co-opting local vegetable brokers. Those strategies have become feasible and economically justifiable as they comply with the principle of 3K –kualitas, kuantitas, kontinuitas/quantity, quality and continuity- of vegetables as required by supermarkets. At the same time, business collaboration with the local famers and vegetable brokers has also provided the Pesantren with an easier way to advance its da’wah mission in the community. Crucial to both economic and da’wah mission is the existence of Al Ittifaq’s graduates who become the village permanent dwellers. Many of them take up strategic social positions such as mosque imam and chairman of Islamic council. With their social positions, they have also become the main proponents of farmers’ associations which were formed as business collaborators with the Pesantren’s cooperative. Thus, there is an interplay between the economic realm and da’wah realm in the Pesantren’s engagement with the local community.

Regular arranged marriages and permanent residency of the Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s graduates in the village have become the key means to produce social capital. This rich social capital has systematically been used for both economic and da’wah mission. That those graduates have children who are now also studying in the Pesantren Al Ittifaq is likely to reproduce the social capital which eventually will sustain the future of the Pesantren’s religious authority and economic interests in the village.

Additionally, the involvement of Pesantren Al Ittifaq’s students in the agribusiness project has provided them with life skills that have clearly been beneficial for them after their studies. The life skills have created further 189 opportunities for their social mobility. With the project, the Pesantren Al Ittifaq has now been recognized by government agencies, other pesantrens and in academia as a successful prototype of pesantren community engagement using local agricultural potential.

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Chapter Six Conclusion

I. Conclusions

In this thesis, I have analysed case studies of the socio-economic engagement activities or programs of pesantren with their neighbouring community. This research project has examined four different pesantren reflecting their respective local contexts and forms of socio-economic projects. The case studies of four pesantren presented here have included both developed and under-developed, successful and unsuccessful projects. My findings are summarised as below:

Firstly, in contemporary Indonesia there is an increasing trend for kyai to play their multiple roles in the community by addressing the welfare problems of their communities. The factors motivating kyai to undertake these socio- economic activities can be summarised as follows: 1) the expectations of the local community for the pesantren to show a closer relation and make a more concrete contribution to their socio-economic problems; 2) the need for the kyai to be conscious of his role as pesantren leader and informal protector/ leader of the local community; 3) the kyai’s personal knowledge of and commitment to community development projects. Kyai’s experience of socialising with a broader spectrum of relations such as with NGO activists and academia that might influence his view and enhance his consciousness have been vital here; 4) the available financial, natural and human resources in his pesantren and local community

Secondly, I highlight that the practice of pesantren community engagement sometimes appears complex, as has been shown in the case of Pesantren Sunan Drajat in Lamongan, East Java and Pesantren Darul Dakwah wal Irsyad (DDI)

191 in Mangkoso, South Sulawesi (Chapter Three, Section V). In these two pesantren, the issue is not one of the availability of financial capital or funding support from external institutions such as the government. Rather, their local communities perceive that the pesantren do not provide economic benefit to them despite their good business performance and the available potential and capital. It can be concluded, therefore, that the notion of pesantren’s community engagement is a reflection of kyai’s (pesantren leader) vision, managerial skills, as well as their inclination regarding what they should provide for the local community and the local community’s needs and expectation.

Thirdly, the size of pesantren, its geographical location, available potential and resources, and its demographic context shape the way pesantren are able to engage with their local community. For example, Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang has been reaching the local neighbourhood through a charity organisation named LSPT (Lembaga Sosial Pondok Tebuireng). Pesantren Al Ittifaq located in a rural mountainous area, near Bandung involved local farmers in its agribusiness project. Their decision to push the agribusiness is because of the available natural resources (fertile land for cultivating vegetables) and human resources (local farmers and unemployed workers) in the village. Given its magnitude as a small-size pesantren, Pesantren Al Ittifaq focuses this socio- economic movement within the village in which it is located. In contrast, the LSPT of Pesantren Tebuireng tends to reach as far as Jombang regency (kabupaten) in its service. This is arguably because Pesantren Tebuireng is a larger pesantren and able to earn considerable funds from donations.

Fourthly, the greater a pesantren’s capacity to carry out its socio-economic role, the greater its authority grows in advocating Islamic messages in the community. In the case of Pesantren Tebuireng, the operation of the LSPT has improved its reputation within the local community. Previously, the local community had seen Pesantren Tebuireng as elitist and as an institution for children from wealthy families only. Now, the outreach of the LSPT has changed their views, and they see a real contribution from the Pesantren

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Tebuireng to their local community through various LSPT’s programs. In the case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq, the great participation of local farmers in its agribusiness project has also provided the Pesantren Al Ittifaq with greater support for its da’wah mission in the village. There is reciprocal support between its economic project and its da’wah mission. The key strategy of Pesantren Al Ittifaq in the economic movement is its attempt to organise the local farmers and the local vegetable brokers. The key strategy in da’wah mission is through posting the Pesantren’s graduates in every mosque in the village to be an imam for which they reside permanently in the village. Prior to the graduates’ permanent residency in the village, they marry local women through marriage arrangements brokered by the kyai. The regular marriage arrangement and the permanent residency of those graduates in the village has produced a rich social capital embedded in the social network of the village. Their social capital is then used to mobilise community participation and support for both economic and da’wah agenda as every mosque imam has a congregation which can potentially be mobilised.

II. Contributions to the Existing Literature

This thesis has contributed to existing literature on the role of religion in development in both Indonesia and elsewhere. Additionally, it has also contributed to studies on religious authority and traditional Islamic schools or pesantren in a changing Muslim society.

Most existing studies on the role of religion in development have explored faith-based organisations (FBOs) consisting of religious NGOs and church missions under the heading of faith-based development. The majority of FBOs are based on, and collect fund in developed countries, then they use these fund to finance their outreach in developing countries (Bornstein 2005; Clarke and Jennings 2008; McCleary 2008; Clarke 2011; Haar 2011; Carbonnier, Kartas, and Silva 2013). Meanwhile, studies on Islamic FBOs often refer to Islamic charity organisations which are mostly specialised organisations working

193 on charitable programs (Benthall 2003; Bamualim et al. 2006; Latief 2012; Atia 2013; Fauzia 2013).

In contrast to these studies, this thesis has presented a different narrative from pesantren case studies. As I have discussed in Chapter Two and Three, the pesantren is an Islamic institution whose establishment and growth depends on the support from local communities. Likewise, a pesantren’s socio-economic projects are a result of its dynamic interaction with the community. There is a strong sense of self-reliance, a collective vision of achieving better life together, as well as a collective responsibility for project sustainability. Therefore, this thesis has presented examples of local agency in which grass-roots Islamic institutions strive for the welfare and prosperity of their immediate communities based on local resources and support. Indeed, this has been generally recognised and, there has been an understanding among government officials and Islamic organisation as well as NGO activists that the pesantren is a strategic partner in carrying out their development agenda. However, their efforts to build partnerships with pesantren have so far generally not been significant or sustained.

Studies on the contestation of religious authority within Indonesian Islam have often noted the increasing role of new sources of authority. These new sources of authority are Muslims scholars and intellectuals with modern university backgrounds (IAIN/UIN), the strengthened government-backed institutions like Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars (MUI), and Islamic political parties like the (PKS) which uses Islamic da’wah as its main method of recruitment (see Feillard 2010; Machasin 2010; Hasyim 2011; Fealy and Bush 2014). Those studies are both complementary to this literature, but to some degree writing against their conclusions, this study has offered an alternative narrative of how kyai and pesantren as the old, established religious authority are trying to maintain their standing in the eyes of the community. The case of Pesantren Tebuireng which has used the charitable programs of its LSPT to reconnect the Pesantren Tebuireng with the local community can be seen as an attempt to maintain its relevance as a 194 religious authority in the eyes of the local community. Although the Pesantren Tebuireng could attract more students from distant cities like Jakarta, having students from families in the surrounding area remains important to maintain its reputation in the local region.

Related to this, recent studies on Islamic propagation or da’wah have mainly explored the so-called celebrity preacher whose popularity depends on image building in the media (Watson 2005; Hoesterey 2008), as well as the use of popular publications (Muzakki 2010; Sakai 2012). This thesis has complemented these studies by suggesting that socio-economic projects by pesantren can also be seen as a means of attracting their local community to follow their Islamic way. The case of Pesantren Al Ittifaq has shown that its success in agribusiness project has led to its deepening influence in Islamising the village inhabitants.

Finally, most studies on Islamic schools in Indonesia have suggested that these schools have been trying to maintain their popularity with the public by embracing modernisation in the form of incorporating non-religious subjects, integration into national educational system, and improving their facilities with new buildings and high-tech equipment (Steenbrink 1986; Lukens-Bull 2005; Zuhdi 2006; Jackson and Parker 2008). This study has shown a different way of gaining public acceptance, that is by showing a concrete relevance to meet the socio-economic needs of the neighbouring community. In this way, the community becomes convinced that the Islamic school or pesantren is both important as an educational institution as well as relevant to their daily economic livelihood (cf. Isbah 2012).

III. Suggestions for Further Research

This study has been limited by several factors. I had a seven-month fieldwork period within a total research period of three and a half year and the research time was limited by a scholarship period of three and a half years.

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Firstly, my analysis on Pesantren Sunan Drajat and Pesantren Darul Da’wah wal Irsyad (DDI) in Chapter Three might not have presented a comprehensive explanation on the factors hampering kyai’s interest in conducting socio-economic projects throughout Indonesian pesantren. Further research focusing on possible catalysts and obstacles to pesantren’s community engagement in socio-economic issues of their community is needed.

Secondly, although I visited nine pesantren during my fieldwork, this thesis covers four pesantren only. Therefore, it cannot draw a broad generalisation on thousands of Indonesian pesantren. A follow up research employing a more statistical approach would cover much more samplings in order to draw a broader generalisation. The outcome of such research is probably more suitable particularly for policy making purposes.

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Appendix List of Interviewees

In Jakarta:

Ace Saifudin: Ministry of Religious Affairs Ahmad Suaedy: Abdurrahman Wahid Centre, University of Indonesia Amin Haidari: Ministry of Religious Affairs Amir Makruf: Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Aslihan: Pinbuk

Budhy Munawar-Rahman: The Asia Foundation Cholil Nafis: Investa Cendekia Amanah Farinia: ICIP Gamal Ferdi: The Wahid Institute Husain: Ministry of Religious Affairs Irfan Abubakar: CSRC UIN Jakarta Lilis Nurul Chusna: PP. Lakpesdam NU Masdar Farid Mas’udi: Dewan Masjid Indonesia

Miftah Faqih: Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU)

Mustholihin: Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Rumadi Ahmad: The Wahid Institute Ruchman Basori: Ministry of Religious Affairs Septi: LPDB of Ministry of Cooperative and Small-Medium Enterprises

Suraji Sukamzawi: Search for Common Ground

In Jombang, East Java: Abdul Ghofar, H. Abdur Rokhim Agus Maulana Akbar Ramdan Maulana Fajrul Falah

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Lukman Hakim Lutfia Maesaroh Miftahus Surur Muhammad Asád Nurita Santi Erna Wati Sumiati Saiful Hadi Salahuddin Wahid, KH. Sumini Sumaiyah Tengku Azwani

In Bandung, West Java: Afif Saifuddin Dede Madrais Didin Syarifuddin Deden Fuad Affandi, KH. Head of Alamendah Village Nurul Ridwan Hidayat Rasman Triatna Setia Irawan

In Yogyakarta: Ahmad Muqowim, Dr. Dawam Rahardjo, Professor Hasan, H.

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Muhammad Ridlo Purwoto Rohili

In Lamongan, East Java: Abdul Ghofur, KH. Abdul Mun’im Ahmad Iwan Hasan Hilal Sularso Muhammad Nur Halim Yitno Anonymous

In Mangkoso, South Sulawesi: Ahmad Rosyid Anas, H. Andi Syahruddin Faried Wajdy, AGH. Ilham Yusuf Syawal

199

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