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THE JAPAN FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER Contents Interview With Interview with Dr. Makruf Jamhari Dr. Makruf Jamhari 1 The Japan Foundation’s (National Islam University, Indonesia) Activities 4 Book Review: The Tub Boats of Sado Island 6 “Sufism Has Created a Tolerant and Contribution 7 Cultural Highlights 8 Pluralistic Islamism in Indonesia” he Japan Foundation interviewed Dr. Makruf Jamhari, the executive director of the Center for the TStudy of Islam and Society, National Islam University, From now on, I tell those entranced Indonesia. He talked about the past, present and future of Islam in by the beauty of cherry blossoms to live in the mountains Southeast Asia. He also contributed a personal report on the and abandon this world, tsunami disaster in Aceh province. like me. A Unique Form of Islam 今よりは花見ん人に伝へおかん JF: Most people are familiar with Middle Eastern Islamic 世を遁れつつ山に住まへと culture, but are not as familiar with the history of Islam in Saigyo (1118-1190) Indonesia. Can you talk a little about Indonesia and the Is- lamic culture there? “Poverty is a breeding ground for Jamhari: Actually, there is a long history of Islamic culture in radicalism.” (At The International House of Japan, Tokyo). The Japan Foundation Newsletter is Indonesia. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Islam was distributed free of charge to individu- als and organizations interested in Japa- brought from the Middle East, and also by Indian traders. While these men carried out their trade, nese Studies and international cultural they taught Islam to our island. The second phase of the introduction of Islamic culture took place exchange. Requests for subscriptions or copies of articles that have appeared when many Sufis came to Indonesia in the middle of the fifteenth century and introduced Sufism. in the Newsletter should be addressed The Sufis brought a more pluralistic and inclusive Islamic teaching, and their teaching greatly to: influenced our notion of Islam. As a result, Indonesian Islam is quite tolerant and pluralistic. At the Editor end of the fifteenth century, a large Islamic kingdom developed in Aceh. Islam spread to other The Japan Foundation Newsletter Information and Resource Center islands in Indonesia through the influence of this kingdom. The Japan Foundation ARK Mori Bldg.21F JF: Sufism is different from traditional Islam. Isn’t Sufism a kind of mysticism? 1-12-32 Akasaka,Minato-ku Jamhari: Yes. What we call normative piety is based on the formal teachings of Islam, but the Sufi Tokyo 107-6021,Japan Tel:+81 (03)5562-3538 Islamic teachings were more spiritualistic and mystical. Therefore, the Sufis were more inclusive. Fax:+81 (03)5562-3534 They were open to accepting local cultures and influences. They could also accommodate local E-mail:[email protected] http://www.jpf.go.jp/ traditions and religion, and that is why Islam was able to spread throughout Indonesia. Although normative Islam and formal Islamic law did not leave any room for merging with the local culture, If you are already a subscriber, we would appreciate being informed of any our Islamic tradition has an inclusive and tolerant nature, owing to the Sufis. Even now, Sufism is changes in your address. still widely practiced in Indonesia. One of the largest Islamic organizations, NU (Nahdlatul Ulama) ©2004 The Japan Foundation. Repro- duction of Newsletter articles in whole has combined Sufi teachings with formal Islamic law and teachings. or in part is prohibited without permis- sion of the author. After permission has JF: In what ways is Islam in Indonesia different from that of the Middle East. been received, articles may be repro- Jamhari: There are a few differences. The first, as I mentioned, is that Islam in Indonesia has duced providing the credit line reads, “reprinted from The Japan Foundation accommodated local culture. Many Islamic practices, rituals, and forms of worship in Indone- Newsletter, Vol. xx, No. xx,” and The Ja- pan Foundation is notified. Dr. Jamhari is executive director, Center for the Study of Islam and Society, National Islam University (PPIM- Printed in Japan. UIN, Jakarta). Having received a Ph.D. in anthropology from Australian National University, he is a renowned ISSN 0385-2318 researcher on Islamic studies, focusing on the installation of democracy in Islamic society and on Islam’s compatibility with civil society. In 2004, he was invited to Japan to take part in the Asia Leadership Fellow Program, organized by the International House of Japan and The Japan Foundation. VOL.XXX/NO.4 APRIL/MAY 2005 This newsletter is printed on recycled paper. MAIN ARTICLE–POLITICS/ECONOMY sia accommodate local culture and religion, making it a plural- mentioned before. istic religion here. The second difference is that Islam in South- Our Islam has coex- east Asia provides more freedom and opportunity to women. isted with other reli- For example, in Indonesia, men and women pray together in gions since the fif- the same mosque. Also, throughout Indonesian history, we teenth century. have had a female president, female Islamic scholars, and fe- JF: People in the male judges. They can achieve a higher level of education, lower economic even in religious knowledge. And the third difference is that classes are often Islam in Indonesia can accommodate what I will call “western drawn to radical- Mesjid Agung Al-Azhar:One of the biggest ideas.” Right now, our Islam is practicing democracy. Some ism. Is that the case mosques in Jakarta, housing educational facili- Islam scholars say that Islam and democracy, which comes Indonesia as well? ties from kindergarten through university. from the West, are incompatible because they have different Jamhari: Yes. In 1999, Indonesia had a severe economic and perspectives. But in Indonesia, that is not the case. political crisis, which hit the entire nation. People turned to reli- JF: Is Indonesian Islam unique in that sense, compared to Islam in gion for relief and salvation from the messiah, or from a savior. other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia or the Philippines? And when we changed our political system to a democracy, de- Jamhari: No. I think that Islam in Southeast Asian countries mocracy did not work well. That gave Islamic radicals a chance like Indonesia, Malaysia, South Thailand, or the Southern to look for another political system to address this crisis. Right Philippine Islands and Mindanao has the same characteris- now, however, democracy is consolidated and economic recov- tics. Therefore, I’d like to say that Islam in Southeast Asia has ery is on track, so the popularity of radicalism has diminished. In a distinctive character. In terms of the Islamic population, in fact, in the 2004 election, Islamic political parties supported by Indonesia alone, almost 200 million people—which is 90 per- radical groups got only eleven percent of the vote. cent of the total population—are Islamic. This is larger than JF: In 2004, Mr. Yudhoyono was elected president of Indone- the total population of the Middle East. However, people have sia. Can you talk about his policies? tended to focus on the politics of the Middle East when study- Jamhari: Yudhoyono has three big tasks ahead of him. One is ing Islam, rather than looking at Islam in Southeast Asia. Yet, a political issue. He should support democracy by maintaining if people look at those numbers, they will agree that Islam in laws to uphold it, and he should educate people in the prin- Southeast Asia holds the seeds of possibility for the future of ciples of democracy. The second is an economic issue. Islam as a whole. Also, as the history of religion has shown, Yudhoyono has to deal with widespread corruption. If he can religions usually develop in countries other than their birth- tackle corruption, that will be very good for our country, be- place. For example, Christianity originated in the Middle East cause corruption is also a reason radicalism has emerged. Also, but developed in the West. Likewise, Buddhism was born in he should alleviate poverty. Currently, around 40 to 50 percent India and developed in East Asia and Southeast Asia. I be- of the population, and many members of radical groups, live in lieve that Islam will eventually make great progress in other poverty. Poverty is a breeding ground for radicalism. The third areas, one of them being Southeast Asia. task is the issue of security, which is a huge problem. Ethnic conflicts in Maluku, Sulawesi, Aceh and others must be re- Radicalism and Poverty solved within five years. JF: You mentioned that Islam in Indonesia is very tolerant JF: What do you see as a solution to the ethnic conflicts from and pluralistic. Yet there have been tragic incidents, like the which the various independent movements have sprung, and terrorist bombing of a nightclub in Bali in 2002. do you think these solutions will happen soon? Jamhari: That’s the sad thing. In the 1980s, all the media, espe- Jamhari: Of course, it will take time, but a concerted effort can cially the Western media and Western scholars, saw Islam in solve this problem. The biggest causes of ethnic conflict are Southeast Asia as the future of global Islamism. Unfortunately, political and economic issues. For example, the gap between since 9/11, terrorist acts including the bombings in Bali and the rich and the poor in affected areas like Aceh is quite wide. Jakarta hijacked the media. The Western and Indonesian media In Aceh, most of the local people belong to the lower class. are all suddenly talking about radicalism. However, the number The upper-class people are outsiders from Java or other coun- of radicals in Indonesia is small and insignificant in terms of tries. They prosper from oil and natural gas.