Pesantren and the Preservation of Islam Nusantara
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PESANTREN AND THE PRESERVATION OF ISLAM NUSANTARA Edi Susanto & Moh. Mashur Abadi State College for Islamic Studies (STAIN) Pamekasan Jl. Raya Panglegur KM. 04 Tlanakan Pamekasan e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This article describes the background of the rise of an Indonesian moderate Islamic understanding in the midst of a trans-national Islamic movement with the scriptural-puritanical in it’s character which spread out pervasively in the country; and this new Islamic model is intolerant to local traditions. Meanwhile, historically, Islam Nusantara has been deeply rooted among the Moslems in ar- chipelago, and this traditional-moderate Islam has been developed by Walisongo (nines guardians). Islam Nusantara is accommodative to the local cultures and traditions. It produces a moderate and tolerant model of Islam. This article also describes the role of pesantren in protecting the heritages of Islam Nusantara. In this contex, Islam Nusantara is an understanding of Islamicity which is tolreant, peacefull, and accomodative to Nusantara culture. Therefore, it denies radicalism and avoids hostility. Abstrak: Tulisan ini mendeskripsikan latar belakang timbulnya paham keagamaan Islam yang ramah khas Indonesia, di tengah suasana semakin masifnya penyebaran Islam literalis-puritanis skriptural-transnasionalis yang garang terhadap tradisi lokal. Dideskripsikan Eetapa paham yang kemudian dikenal dengan “Islam 1usantara” adalah sesuatu yang memang berakar kuat dalam tradisi bangsa Indonesia dan sudah dikembangkan sejak masa paling dini oleh Walisongo, sehingga Islam Nusantara tidak perlu dipandang dengan kacamata curiga karena ia akrab dengan budaya dan karakter bangsa Indonesia sendiri, yang cenderung berwatak moderat dan toleran. Dideskripsikan pula peran pesantren dengan berbagai karakteristik, kelebihan, dan kekurangannya sebagai jangkar pewarisan budaya Islam Nusantara. Dalam hal ini, Islam Nusantara adalah sebuah pemahaman keislaman yang toleran dan damai dan akomodatif terhadap budaya Nisantara. Karenanya, ia menolak radikalisme dan kekerasan. Key Words: Universal Islam, Islam Nusantara, pesantren, moderate Islam, tolerant Moslem Introduction world suffers from the degradation of hu- In his speech at the 33th conference manity values; a world filled which chaos of Nahdhatul Ulama in Jombang, KH. A. and bloody conflicts. In the Middle East, a Mustofa Bisri said that nowadays the radical group speaks and claims themself KARSA: Jurnal Sosial dan Budaya Keislaman Vol. 23 No. 2, Desember 2015: 193-207 Copyright (c)2015 by Karsa. All Right Reserved DOI: 10.19105/karsa.v2312.718 Edi Susanto & Moh. Mashur Abadi in the name of Islam, but their actions and Nusantara is really deserved to get our deeds are in contrast with the genuine attention? There are a lot of reasons for values and spirits of Islamic teachings. that. One of these reasons is given by Said This radical group offers the world with a Aqil Siraj as mentioned below: horrible face of Islam. So, in response to The Moslems propagators, since the early some Moslems who claimed for themself times of their services, never banished as representing Islam, the international immediately the practices of local wisdom society asking themselves where is Islam and tradition –which had spread through- which, supposedly, teaches peace and gi- out Archipelago from a long time ago. They never regarded these “national heri- ves respect to humanity, Islam as rah- tages” of the Archipelago deserved to be matan li al-‘âlamîn, Islam as the great pulled out, and then to be replaced by Is- 1 source of mercy for all human race. lamic symbols literally. This attitude of In the midst of this bewilderment Islam Nusantara towards local wisdom and seeking for a kind of peaceful and mer- traditions is in contrast with the attitude of ciful Islam, a concept of Islam Nusantara2 ISIS, Boko Haram, or As Shahab when is now being promoted and offered to the they ruled a land. They destroyed histo- Moslem world seriously. Why this Islam rical heritages of this land, even the tombs have been violated abruptly. The journey 1A. Mustofa Bisri, ”Islam Nusantara: Revolusi of these Moslem propagators in Archipe- mental dan Amanat Hadratus Syaikh”, Aula: lago had proven that there was no con- Majalah Nahdlatul Ulama, No. 09 SNH XXXVII tradiction between nationalism and Isla- (September, 2015), p. 63. Machasin also mic teachings. They realized that the emphasized, “In Midle East so many practices of process of religious propagation needs a Moslems which expose violences. Today, the ima- conducive situation and a suitable locus ge of Islam worsened and dominated by the for the seeds of the religious values to middle east model of Islam. Whenever a talk have chances to grow well.3 about Islam aroused, it will be percieved as such. Amrullah, ”Islam Nusantara in the International Said Aqil Siraj also emphasized: Struggle”, Aula: Majalah Nahdlatul Ulama, No. 09 Islam in Indonesia has no radical root. The SNH XXXVII (September, 2015), p. 19. rising of radicalism and terrorism in In- 2 The term of Islam Nusantara is artifial and so it’s donesia is the result of religious culture sounded oddly just like the similar terms such as adopted from abroad. Radical Islam in Malaysian Islam, Saudian Islam, Turkish Islam Indonesia is an imported product, and etc. This oddness is resulted from the general then distributed inside the country. The believe of Moslems that Islam is based on the global communication technology makes same source namely The Holy Quran and The people easily absorbs foreign ideas from Prophet Tradition (Sunnah or Hadits). It’s true abroad and this absorption triggered a that Islam has fixed ordinances (tsawâbit), like the the basic teaching of beliefs (aqîdah) and rituals new model which is struggling to gives a (‘ibâdah). These teachings is unchanged. But the new meaning for Islamic teachings and it’s context of Islam Nusantara is nothing to do with practices.4 these basic and unchanged teachings. This Islam Nusantara related with the changing regulations 3 Said ATil SiraM, “Promoting Patriotism”, in Na- (mutaghayyirât), namely in the domain of human sionalisme dan Islam Nusantara, eds. Abdullah & relations and interactions (mu’kmalah) and the Mohammad Bakir (Jakarta: Kompas dan Lakpes- cultural aspect. Interview with Akhmad Sahal dam NU, 2015), p. 5. about Islam Nusantara, accessed at 4 Ibid., p. 6. http//koranopini.com/tokoh/wawancara/4792. KARSA: Jurnal Sosial dan Budaya Keislaman Vol. 23 No. 2, Desember 2015:192-207 Copyright (c)2015 by Karsa. All Right Reserved DOI: 10.19105/karsa.v23i2.718 194 | Pesantren and the Preservation of Islam Nusantara In spite of the facts above, there is Moslems,5 and so Islam which came to still a suspicion in seeing this idea of Islam Archipelago was a syncretic Islam, and it Nusantara at least there are three dangers even became decadent because it was related with Islam Nusantara. First, the polluted by different traditions which has idea of Islam Nusantara basically is a part been passed through by Islam in it’s long of secularization process which has been Mourney from it’s origin in Arabia to begun at 1980s by Nurcholish Madjid. Archipelago.6 The Idea of Islam Nusantara is no more The perspective mentioned above than secularization in the new cover. In resulted a negative image on Islam his book, Islam, Modernity, and The Nusantara. It is regarded pejoratively as Indonesiacities”, Madjid set forth to build an inclusive Islam, an Islamic model filled 5 Some historians set forth a theory about the with openness and tolerance to other coming of Islam to Archipelago stating that it came from India sub-continent, inspite of came religions and Indonesian culture. This is directly from Arabia and Persia. The first historian the same argumentation which set forth who set forth this theory was Pijnappel, a Ducth by the defender of Islam Nusantara who historian from Leiden university. He explained promoting openness and tolerance to the root of Islam in Archipelago saying that Islam other religions and Archipelago cultures. came to this land from Ghujarat and Malabar. His statement was based on the facts that the Arabic Secondly Islam Nusantara , the idea of has 0oslems, who followed Shafi’ite School, migrated great potention to lead Moslems to and dwelled in these cities; and then they brought conflicts triggered by primordial issues. it to Archipelago. This theory, later on, revised by So there will be Islam Nusantara, Middle Snouck Hurgronje. Snouck explained that when East Islam, Turkish Islam. etc. It is a kind Islam came to India sub-continent, it had strong base at the harbour cities in the southern of the of stick and carrot politic which has been country. Several Dakka Moslems who became used by the colonial rulers to weaken mediators in the trade relationship between Moslem societies. They also make Islamic Middle East and Indonesia-Malayan, came to bipolarization by using bipolarity cate- Archipelago as the first propagators of Islam. gories such as modernist-traditionalist, Later on, according to Hurgronje, they were succeded by Arabic Moslems, especially who cultural-structural, spiritual-politic, esote- claimed themself as sayyid (the lord) and syarîf rist-exsoterist Islam. Thirdly, Islam Nusan- (the noble) and they claimed as the descendants of tara will be the greatest hindrance for the Prophet Muhammad, and they propagated conducting Islamic law (sharî’ah) and Islam, wether as ulama (religious man) or as caliphate system. sulthân (ruler) in this land. He said that the most accepted time of this early Islamization in Furthermore, there are also skep- Indonesia-Malayan was around 12th century AD. tics who urged to say that Nusantara Azyumardi Azra, Islam Nusantara Jaringan Global (Archipelago) is the periphery of Islamic dan Lokal (Bandung: Mizan, 2002), p. 24 and Agus World, and that Islam didn’t come to Muhammad, “Islam 1usantara di Tengah Archipelago directly through the Arabic Gelombang Puritanisme”, Tashwirul Afkar: Jurnal Refleksi Pemikiran Keagamaan dan Kebudayaan, No.