Boston University OpenBU http://open.bu.edu Theses & Dissertations Boston University Theses & Dissertations 2015 The political economy of knowledge: Salafism in post Soeharto urban Indonesia Jahroni, Jajang https://hdl.handle.net/2144/14005 Boston University BOSTON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Dissertation THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF KNOWLEDGE: SALAFISM IN POST-SOEHARTO URBAN INDONESIA by JAJANG JAHRONI B.A., State Institute of Islamic Studies, 1991 M.A., Leiden University, 1999 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 © 2015 by JAJANG JAHRONI All rights reserved Approved by First Reader __________________________________________________ Robert W. Hefner, Ph.D. Professor of Anthropology Second Reader __________________________________________________ Augustus Richard Norton, Ph.D. Professor of Anthropology and International Relations Third Reader __________________________________________________ Nancy J. Smith-Hefner, Ph.D Associate Professor of Anthropology Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have come into being without the help of so many people. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my advisor Prof. Robert W. Hefner who has encouraged me to study anthropology. It started in the early 2000s when I assisted him during his research in Indonesia. Along the way we discussed a plethora of issues ranging from politics to education. I never thought that this assistantship would eventually bring me to Boston University. Prof. Hefner has been helpful during the making of this dissertation. He tirelessly advised me how to write a good dissertation and how to become a good scholar. Special thank goes to Prof. Augustus Richard Norton who became my second reader. Prof. Norton always welcomed me in his office and offered me valuable comments on my dissertation. Prof. Norton is one of the people who took my interest of study beyond Indonesia and Southeast Asia. I learned a lot from his class Civil Society in the Middle East. In the Department of Anthropology many people have contributed to the completion of this dissertation. I want to express my thanks go to Prof. Robert P. Weller, Prof. Charles Lindholm, Prof. Tom Barfield, Prof. Adam Kuiper, Prof. Nancy Smith- Hefner, Prof. Jenny White, Prof. Matt Cartmill, Prof. Kimberly Arkin, Mark Palmer, Kathy Kwasnica, and Martin Wraga. In the Department of Politics and International Relations, I want to express my thanks to Prof. Houchang Chehabi who becomes my committee members. In the “Fred class” on dissertation writing, I thank Christopher iv Taylor, Chun-Yi Sum, Matthew West, Huwy-min Liu, Andrea Chiovenda, Melissa Skye Kerr Chiovenda, Eric Michael Kelley, Chloe Mulderig, and Mentor Mustafa. Many friends and colleagues at Faculty of Islamic Literature and Humanity of State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, and Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) Ciputat have contributed in their own ways in the making of this dissertation. Their discussions, comments, and criticism have made this dissertation clear from time to time. Special thanks go to Prof. Azyumardi Azra, Prof. Komaruddin Hidayat, Prof. Bahtiar Effendy, Ali Munhanif, Dadi Darmadi, Ismatu Ropi, Dina Afrianty, Oman Fathurahman, Fuad Jabali, Saiful Mujani, Din Wahid, Didin Syafruddin, Murodi al- Batawi, Idris Thaha, Asep Saifuddin Jahar, Arief Subhan, Jajat Burhanudin, Tasman, Testriono, Nida Fadlan, Amelia Fauzia, Ida Rasyidah, and Chaider Bamualim. I also want to express my special thanks to Dick van der Meij who kindly edited my English. In LIPIA Jakarta, I thank Abdurrahim Mukti, Yusuf Harun, Budiansyah, Najib Khairi, and Gunawan. In Yogyakarta, I owed many thanks to Noorhaidi Hasan who allowed me to stay in his house during my fieldwork. I also want to thank Chairil Anwar, Widya, and Sarah who assisted me during my fieldwork. In Makassar, I have been assisted by the Wahdah ustadzs: Qasim Saguni, Ikhwan Abdul Jalil, Zaitun Rasmin, and Yusran Anshar. Last but not least, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my family members who accompanied me during my study in Boston: my wife Rahmawati, and my children Rifqi, Gabriel, and Autumn. They are the loves of my life and always helped me every time I lost focus. Their sacrifices are beyond my ability to thank. During the making of v this dissertation I lost my son Gabriel who died in a very tragic way. One Monday morning, I still had the opportunity to take him to school. From behind, I saw him entering his class. He was about to celebrate his 7th birthday. Then I flew to Yogyakarta for fieldwork. A week later, while awaiting my flight back home, my wife called me to say that he swam unattended and drowned. I wish I could have spent more time with him instead of going away to do my fieldwork. This dissertation is dedicated to him. Boston, February 20, 2015 vi THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF KNOWLEDGE: SALAFISM IN POST-SOEHARTO URBAN INDONESIA JAJANG JAHRONI Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 2015 Major Professor: Robert W. Hefner, Professor of Anthropology ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the production and reproduction of knowledge among Salafi groups in post-Soeharto Indonesia. It specifically discusses the issues of how Salafi groups produce the knowledge they claim to be based on the authentic form of Islam in the context of social, political, and economic change. Salafis advocate the need for a return to the authoritative religious sources: the Holy Qur’an, the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Salafi manhaj (methods and paths of Salafi teachings). Without the last element, Salafis claim, the proper understanding and practice of Islamic teachings are impossible. The research was carried out in three major sites: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Makassar, where significant numbers of Salafis are found. Ethnographic fieldwork, conducted from January to June 2011, and from July 2012 to February 2013, focused on the individual roles, organizational networks, and historical and sociological processes which shaped the reproduction of Salafi knowledge. To create an ideal community based on the Salafist understanding of Islamic ethics, many Salafis create separate enclaves where they erect madrasa and mosques, two strategic institutions fundamental for their development. Claiming to be based on the vii authority of the Prophet, Salafis develop a medicine and market it to other Muslim groups. Most Salafis engage in endogamous marriage to maintain the groups’ solidity. The roles of women within Salafi groups are highly circumscribed. While having careers is possible, women are expected to stay at home and take care of their families. Salafis represent only a tiny minority of Indonesian Muslims, and they compete with a diverse admixture of Muslim groups, which challenge Salafi interpretations of Islamic knowledge. The political aspects of Salafism are visible in a number of matters of religious knowledge and practice. Salafis use the issues of religious purification as a political tool to maintain their identities and to attack other Muslim groups. Heated debates between Salafis and traditionalist, and to a lesser degree, reformist Muslims, which sometimes lead to violent conflicts, are inevitable. While creating sharp social and religious divisions, debates also result in an exchange of ideas among Muslim groups, heightening the diversity of Salafist forms of knowledge and practice. viii Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv Abstract vii Table of Contents ix List of Figures xii Glossary and Abbreviations xiii Chapter One - Introduction 1 a. Scope of Dissertation 6 b. Theoretical Framework 8 c. Al-Wala’ wa-l Bara’, al-Hijrah wa-l Takfir 16 d. Global Salafism 20 e. Salafism as Knowledge 22 f. Authority and Power 28 g. Methodology 33 h. The Structure of the Dissertation 37 Chapter Two - An Overview of Indonesian Islam and Salafism 40 a. Early Islam 42 b. Education 49 c. Salafism and Wahhabism 53 d. Reformism and Revivalism 55 e. The Fragmentation of Salafism 62 f. The Development of Salafism in Indonesia 67 g. Traditionalist Islam 74 h. Local Initiatives, Global Politics 77 Chapter Three - Through the Ma’had They Learned Sharia, then Became “Salafis” 87 a. Why Students Come 89 b. The Background of Students 91 c. Why They Become “Salafis” 97 d. “Purification Clinics” 102 ix e. State Schooling 107 f. Arabian Coffee, Indonesian Cookies 108 g. Same School, Different Outcomes 111 h. A “Reformist” Salafi 112 i. A Shift of Paradigm 115 j. A “Revivalist” Salafi 120 k. From Assertive Politics to Quietism 123 Chapter Four - Charity and the Institutionalization of Indonesian Salafism 128 a. The Spill of Oil 130 b. Charity in Islam 134 c. Islamic Charity in the Modern Periods 137 d. State Charity Organizations 138 e. Sadaqa Jariya 143 f. Minna aw Minhum? 146 g. The Hadhrami Connections 149 h. Salafism Derailed 153 i. The Salafi Yayasan 158 j. Changing Urban Landscapes 162 k. The Distribution of Salafi Schools 164 Chapter Five - Ritual, Bid’ah and the Negotiation over the Public Spheres 172 a. The Issue of Bid’ah 178 b. Kafir and Shirk 189 c. Purification versus Capitalization 194 d. The Politics of Ritual 198 e. Embattling Mosques 205 f. Ritual and Social Practices 209 Chapter Six - Reframing “the Prophet Medicine” in the Indonesian Competitive Market 215 a. When Doctors Can’t Do Anything 218 b. The “Prophet’s Medicine” 224 c. Medicine, Jamu, and Herbal Potions 228 d. Afiafit, a Yogyakarta-Based Herbal Brand 231 x e. The Efficacy of Black Caraway 237 f. Standardization and Cooperation