Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The Reformasi '98 and the Arab Spring: A Comparative Study of Popular Uprisings in Indonesia and Tunisia

Asian Politics & Policy
Volume 6, Issue 2, pages 199–215, April 2014

Ahmad Najib Burhani†
  1. Ahmad Najib Burhani is a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta. He received his PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California-Santa Barbara, USA. His academic interests include “minority religions in Islam,” “Islamic movements in Southeast Asia,” and “cosmopolitan sufism.”
 Keywords:
  • Ennahda party;
  • political Islam;
  • politik aliran;
  • Rachid Ghannouchi;
  • secularism
Abstract
By comparing popular uprisings in Indonesia and Tunisia, this article intends to answer the questions: What kind of condition made the Islamists successfully take over the state in Tunisia, while they failed to do so in Indonesia? What are the similarities and differences between the uprisings in these two countries? This article argues that the historical and sociopolitical position of Islamists during the authoritarian regimes determined the fate of Islamist parties after the uprisings. The role of Ennahda party as a symbol of opposition has contributed to its rise after the Tunisian Spring, while the involvement of Islamists in the regime during the last years of Suharto's rule contributed to the decline of Islamist parties in Indonesia. However, the strongest argument for the decline of Islamist parties in Indonesia is the fading away of political streams. Furthermore, the role of Muslim scholars in desacralizing Islamist parties in Indonesia has significantly challenged and undermined the identification of Islam with Islamist parties.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aspp.12113/abstract


Review to the article:
A Study of Islamist Politics in Indonesia and Tunisia
24th April 2014 Posted by nyucenterfordialogues 3 notes

Here is a great comparative study by Ahmad Najib Burhani of the models of Islamist politics in Indonesia – the most populous Muslim country in the world – and Tunisia – the birthplace of the “Arab Spring.”

Burhani explores the gains made by Islamist groups following the 1998 uprising in Indonesia and the 2010 uprising in Tunisia. In Indonesia, Islamist politics are no longer synonymous with Islamist parties. Although initially, in 1955, in the first democratic election in Indonesia following its independence, Muslims were urged to vote only for Islamist parties, the country has since developed a more nuanced understanding of Islam and politics. Burhani makes the argument that Islamist civil society organizations, like Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), have become the main forces behind Islamist politics in Indonesia, while the Islamist political parties have lost support.

In Tunisia, on the other hand, Ennahda, an allegedly moderate Islamist political party, wields virtually all of the Islamist political force. Ennahda won a plurality in the 2011 parliamentary elections (89 out of 217 seats) and used its gains to hold the Prime Minister’s office from then until January 2014. Although the Ennahda government was replaced with a coalition government in January, the party is still a major player in the Tunisian political field. It’s true that extremist Salafi group Ansar Al-Sharia makes the press with some its more high-profile tactics, but to most Tunisians, it is clear that the only Islamist group with any real sway is Ennahda. Yet, even Ennahda’s leader, Rachid Al-Ghannouchi, has made statements supporting a less politicized role for Islamism. Burhani points to a 2013 quote by Ghannouchi: “We do not need to impose Islam because it is the people’s religion and not the elite’s, and Islam has not endured for so long because of states’ influence, but rather due to the large acceptance it enjoys among its adherents, in fact the state has often been a burden on religion.”

Is it possible, as the Indonesian model seems to indicate, for Muslims, particularly “Islamists,” to support a secular political system? Should Ennahda take its leader’s advice and seek to keep Islam out of the formal governance structure? If so, perhaps Ennahda should consider empowering Islamist civil society organizations, rather than attempting to impose an Islamist order on the political system.

In Egypt, too, although the moment might be too late, it might be best for Islamists to reinforce the civil society aspect of the Muslim Brotherhood, instead of pushing for an explicit political role for the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). Had Morsi and the FJP not demanded Islamist policies during their year in power, maybe the tragedies in Egypt last summer could have been avoided. Maybe, for once, Egypt could have had an option that was neither an Islamist dictatorship nor a military coup.

http://nyucenterfordialogues.tumblr.com/post/83717502080/a-study-of-islamist-politics-in-indonesia-and

Also: http://blog.minaret.org/?p=11511&cpage=1#comment-1250767

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Trensains: Pesantren Alternatif Muhammadiyah

(Menyongsong Musyawarah Ittihadul Ma’ahid al-Muhammadiyah 14-16 September 2012 di Kaliurang)


Agus Purwanto*)

Suara Muhammadiyah, no 18, tahun ke-97, September 2012
Butir amanat muktamar Muhammadiyah ke-45 (2005) di bidang pendidikan, iptek dan litbang menyebutkan:”Membangun kekuatan Muhammadiyah dalam bidang pendidikan dan pengembangan sumber daya insani, ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, dan eksplorasi aspek-aspek kehidupan yang bercirikan Islam sehingga menjadi alternatif kemajuan dan keunggulan di tingkat nasional atau regional”. (Tanfidz KeputusanMuktamar Muhamadiyah ke-45 di Malang, 2005:61).
Muhammadiyah merupakan gerakan Islam yang dikenal dengan trademark pendidikan. Ribuan sekolah sejak PAUD sampai dengan Perguruan Tinggi Muhammadiyah berdiri dari Sabang sampai Merauke. Bukan hanya itu, di setiap kota yang ada sekolah Muhammadiyahnya hampir selalu ada lembaga pendidikan Muhammadiyah yang menjadi terbaik atau favorit. Muhammadiyah pun terus berupaya meningkatkan kualitas terlebih di tengah perubahan yang sangat cepat.
Muhammadiyah dan Pesantren
Amanat muktamar di depan adalah wujud dari sikap antisipatif Muhammadiyah terhadap dinamika perubahan masyarakat. Bagaimanapun kemajuan modernitas bagai mata uang dengan dua sisi, yakni sisi kemajuan material dan sisi degradasi moral. Ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi berkembang sedemikian pesat, tetapi pada saat yang sama liberalnya pergaulan membuat para orang tua mencemaskan keadaan putra-putrinya. Di tengah situasi seperti ini sekolah berasrama (boarding school) mulai dilirik masyarakat.
Pondok pesantren atau pesantren saja adalah lembaga pendidikan berasrama yang khas Indonesia dan mengkhususkan diri pada kajian Islam. Pesantren telah ada di Indonesia sejak ratusan tahun lalu sehingga lembaga pendidikan berasrama bukanlah hal baru. Motivasi awal kehadiran pesantren adalah kaderisasi ulama syariah. Memang, para ulama terkemuka di Indonesia lahir dari dunia pesantren.
Mengingat motivasi dan peran tersebut maka Muhammadiyah sebagai gerakan Islam meniscayakan kehadiran pesantren. Muallimin-muallimat Yogjakarta adalah pesantren andalan Muhammadiyah bagi kaderisasi ulama tersebut. Saat ini, sekretaris Itmam (Ittihadul Ma’ahid al-Muhammadiyah, Persatuan Pondok Pesantren Muhammadiyah) mencatat terdapat 102 pesantren Muhammadiyah di seluruh Indonesia.
Muhammadiyah makin merasakan urgensi kehadiran pesantren sebagai lembaga kaderisasi ulama maupun sebagai tuntutan masyarakat. Meskipun demikian, tidak mudah bagi Muhammadiyah untuk mendirikan pesantren karena ciri khas dari pesantren yang berbeda dari lembaga pendidikan umum yang banyak didirikan oleh Muhammadiyah. Pertanyaannya, pesantren model apa yang khas dan dapat direalisasi Muhammadiyah.
Tahun 2009 pondok modern Muhammadiyah yakni Muhammadiyah Boarding School (MBS) berdiri di Klaten. Misi utama MBS adalah mempersiapkan para santri untuk mendalami ilmu syariah di timur tengah. Singkat kata, MBS membidani lahirnya ulama syariah. Meskipun demikian, MBS juga memberi jalan bagi para santri yang ingin melanjutkan studi pada bidang umum seperti kedokteran.
Pesantren Imam Syuhodo Sukoharjo dan pesantren Darul Ihsan Sragen juga berstatus pesantren modern tetapi berbeda dari MBS pada penekanan muatan ajar. Dua pesantren terakhir menekankan pada materi sekolah umum khususnya IPA dan masih terlibat dalam event olimpiade berbagai bidang ilmu. Tipe pesantren modern seperti MBS, Imam Syuhodo dan Darul Ihsan cuku banyak di masyarakat dan bukan t khas Muhammadiyah. Saat ini, ada tipe pesantren yang sedang ngetren tapi belum banyak di Muhammadiyah yaitu pesantren penghafal al-Quran.
Islam vs Sains
Awal tahun 1960an Hossen Nasr intelektual muslim yang tinggal di Amerika memperkenalkan wacana sains Islam dan terus berkembang sampai saat ini. Di Barat, wacana sains Islam berkembang sejalan dengan wacana pergulatan antara agama dan sains. Ian Barbour doktor di bidang teologi dan fisika melakukan analisa dan mendapatkan empat pola hubungan antara gama dan sains. Keempat hubungan tersebut adalah konflik, independensi, dialog dan integrasi antara agama dan sains.
Nasr juga Ismail al-Faruqi, Naquib al-Attas, dan Ziaudin Sardar serta Osman Bakar memandang bahwa ketegangan antara agama khususnya Islam dan sains modern merupakan keniscayaan. Sebabnya, sejak diambil alih Eropa dari pangkuan Islam, sains dikembangkan secara reduksionis dan mengesampingkan transendensi metafisisnya. Karenanya, upaya mengembalikan sains dalam bingkai ilahiah merupakan tugas besar ilmuwan muslim saat ini dan mendatang.
International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) di Virginia Amerika dan cabang terkemukanya di Kuala Lumpur adalah lembaga bagi realisasi upaya tersebut. Salah satu program IIIT adalah memberi beasiswa mahasiswa pascasarjana bidang sains Islam di International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilizations (ISTAC) di International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuala Lumpur. ISTAC sendiri awalnya adalah lembaga independen yang didirikan awal 1980an oleh Naquib al-Attas bagi upaya unifikasi Islam dan sains, yang kemudian digabung menjadi program pascasarjana pemikiran Islam IIUM.  
Di Indonesia, gerakan ini mulai dilakukan dengan menata ulang IAIN menjadi UIN dan memasukkan fakultas sains dan teknologi di dalam UIN. Dua UIN paling aktif dalam upaya integrasi Islam dan sains adalah UIN Malang dan Yogjakarta. Beberapa cendekiawan secara independen juga terlibat dalam diskursus ini.
Pesantren Baru
 Sejak buku Ayat-Ayat Semesta (AAS) tahun 2008 penulis terlibat aktif sosialisasi wacana interaksi antara Islam dan sains dari kampus ke kampus, pesantren dan majelis-majelis ta’lim. Setelah empat tahun sosialisasi muncul gagasan trensains, pesantren sains, institusionalisasi AAS atau pun sains Islam.
Trensains mempunyai profil lulusan: i) lancar berkomunikasi dengan bahasa Inggris dan ii) bahasa Arab, iii) jago IPA dan matematika serta iv) paham diskursus pergulatan Islam dan sains. Transains berorientasi melahirkan ilmuwan, insinyur dan dokter yang basis al-Quran dan filsafat yang kokoh. Moto trensains, Generasi Pecinta al-Quran dan Sains.
Kemampuan bahasa Inggris dan Arab merupakan ciri umum pesantren modern. Karena orientasi alumni adalah studi lanjut baik di dalam maupun luar negeri maka diupayakan ketika lulus telah mempunyai skor TOEFL. Pemenuhan profil jago IPA dan matematika selain diterapkan dalam proses selama pendidikan juga diterapkan sejak saringan calon santri. Singkat kata, para calon santri harus mempunyai nalar matematika dan IPA yang kuat. Sampai di sini, trensains masih sama dengan pesantren modern yang telah ada.
Profil keempat paham wacana interaksi agama khususnya Islam dan sains menandai sekaligus membedakan trensains dari pesantren yang telah ada selama ini. Di pesantren modern biasa materi al-Islam, dan sains (biologi, fisika, kimia) juga diberikan tetapi tanpa dibahas hubungan dinamis keduanya. Materi untuk pemahaman topik ini adalah al-Quran dan hadits, logika, filsafat, sains, agama dan sains.
 Materi al-Quran diurai dalam seluk-beluk, pengantar tafsir, tafsir ilmiy, tafsir bil ilmiy dan eksplorasi pada ayat-ayat kauniyah. Materi hadits juga demikian, pengantar studi hadits, jenis dan fungsi hadits, serta eksplorasi hadits-hadits terkait alam dan fenomenanya. Hafalan al-Quran dan hadits dipilihkan bagian kauniyah dan yang terkait.
Materi logika dijabarkan dalam pengantar, jenis dan asas pemikiran. Sedangkan materi filsafat dijabarkan dalam pengertian, sifat dan fungsi serta sejarah kelahiran filsafat, filsafat Islam dan filsafat Barat modern. Kelahiran filsafat untuk memberi pemahaman mengenai proses penalaran sederhana dan terbentuknya teori-teori primitip. Filsafat Barat modern untuk memahami sifat dasar ilmu pengetahuan saat ini.  
Materi sains djabarkan dalam pengertian, sifat, topik tertentu dan sejarah sains sejak jaman Mesir kuno sampai sekarang. Riwayat singkat tokoh filsafat ilmu dan ilmuwan diberikan. Bidang sains yang erat dengan wacana islamisasi sains hanya ada dua yaitu astronomi, biologi dan fisika. Topik di biologi yang harus diberikan adalah asal-usul kehidupan, teori evolusi dan genetika. Sedangkan topik di fisika dan astronomi adalah teori atom, jagat raya dan kelahirannya. Teori relativitas dan kuantum diberikan dalam bentuk semi populer.
Buku The Bible, The Qur’an and Science karya Maurice Bucaille Perancis dan al-‘Ijaz al-‘Ilmiy fi as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyah karya Zaghlu an-Najar Mesir dapat dijadikan sebagai rujukan utama bagi tema kaitan antara al-Quran-Hadits dan sains. The Origin of Species karya Charles Darwin, The First Three Minutes karya Steven Weinberg, Brief History of Time dan The Grand Designer karya Stephen Hawking dapat dijadikan pegangan topik sains. Masih banyak lagi buku asing maupun yang ditulis oleh penulis dalam negeri yang dapat diperoleh di toko-toko buku. Materi-materi di depan tentu harus disesuaikan dengan tingkatan trensains, apakah tingkat SMA atau mahasiswa.
Untuk tahap awal, trensains akan direalisasi di Kesamben Mojoagung Jombang dan pesantren darul Ihsan Sragen. Trensains di Jombang bekerjasama dengan KH Shalahudin Wahid. Program dimulai dari awal, telah tersedia tanah sepuluh hektar dan proses pembangunan gedung dimulai September 2012 dan diupayakan telah menerima santri tahun ajaran 2012/2013. Trensains Darul Ihsan Sragen dilakukan dengan memodifikasi pesantren yang telah berjalan. Kedua trensains ini setingkat SMA. Muhammadiyah sangat mungkin untuk merealisasi trensains, baik level SMA maupun universitas.

*) Penulis, Anggota MTT PP 2010-2015, Pengajar Pascasarjana Fisika ITS, Visiting Fellow ISTAC-IIUM. Penulis buku BestSeller Ayat-Ayat Semesta

http://purwanto-laftifa.blogspot.com/2013/08/trensains-pesantren-alternatif.html

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Rationality and Enlightenment: A Comparison of Educational Reforms Promoted by Gülen Movement and Muhammadiyah



1. Introduction

I have been working on Islamic social movements in Indonesia over almost four decades now. Since the 1990’s, I have also extended my geographic coverage to other parts of the Islamic world mostly through Malay speaking peoples’ networks. However, it was only three years ago (2008) on my second trip to Turkey that I learned the existence of the GM. A Turkish Japanese couple organized a group tour, and my wife and I joined it. The couple has been supporters of the movement and trying to spread its network in Japan. In Turkey, my wife and I were introduced to the leaders of the Journalists and Writers Association, and visited a couple of Gülen -inspired centers in the eastern part of Turkey. Through that trip, we came to know for the first time the fact that GM in the form of ‘Turkish schools’ was extending to Indonesia, too, and also to other parts of Southeast Asia. Then, on a later occasion in Indonesia, we had a chance to visit Kharisma School in the out skirt of Jakarta, even though it was a very brief visit. Those visits made us curious of the GM very much and we started to learn more about it through its publications and website information. Then, the above-mentioned couple organized again a group trip to Turkey the last summer.  My wife and I were exposed again more of Gülen-inspired activities now going on in the country. 
Thus far, as you see, my knowledge and understanding on the GM has been very limited. But the movement is attractive enough for me as a researcher on Islamic movements to make me venture into a comparison with the Muhammadiyah movement in Indonesia, which I have been familiar with for many decades.
As pointed out by Barton, the two robust Islamic social movements in Indonesia, Nahdlatul ‘Ulama’ (NU hereafter) and Muhammadiyah, have many parallels to GM. However, I will focus my attention mostly on Muhammadiyah partly because its education system is perhaps the most extensive in the Islamic world and comparable to GM as Barton pointed out, and partly because I am more familiar with Muhammadiyah than with NU. Nevertheless, I will mention NU as well when it becomes relevant to my discussion.
Today, Muhammadiyah has grown to be the largest private school system in Indonesia with more than 10,000 educational institutions --- ranging from playgroups and kindergartens to colleges and universities. It also operates more than 450 institutions of medical services including hospitals, clinics, delivery houses; more than 450 social welfare institutions including orphanages, elders houses, the poor houses; and more than 550 economic mutual help associations including microfinance unions and cooperatives.[2] The movement is now widely recognized as the second largest Islamic faith-based civil society organization in Indonesia with roughly thirty million members and supporters, alongside its ‘rival’, i.e. the traditionalist Islamic organization, NU, which claims forty million members and supporters.

Monday, December 8, 2014

The Contested State of Sufism in Islamic Modernism: The Case of the Muhammadiyah Movement in Twentieth-Century Indonesia

Journal of Sufi studies 3 (2014): 183–219, doi 10.1163/22105956-12341269

The Contested State of Sufism in Islamic Modernism: The Case of the Muhammadiyah Movement in Twentieth-Century Indonesia
Herman L. Beck
Tilburg University (The Netherlands)

AbstractThe Muhammadiyah in Indonesia is commonly known not to be very sympathetic towards mysticism in terms of its manifestations in mystical religious fraternities and pantheistic identity mysticism. Although its stance versus these religious phenomena seems to be very clear, many of its members are struggling to determine their attitude towards the issue. The continuing uncertainty about its legitimacy is evident from the questions Muhammadiyah members send to the Suara Muhammadiyah regarding this topic. In this article I focus on the Muhammadiyah’s ‘official’ vision through its first hundred years of existence. My thesis is that its rigidness in rejecting ‘mystical and spiritual’ manifestations is not only caused by its fear of unbelief and heresy, but also closely related to the political and social circumstances in which it is confronted with these ‘mystical and spiritual’ manifestations in the first place.

Keywords: aliran kepercayaan – Indonesia – Islamic modernism – kebatinan – Muhammadiyah – mysticism – polemic – religious diversity – Sufism – tarekats

Conclusions
In answering the three questions formulated at the beginning of this contribution, it should be concluded that Hardjono Kusumodiprodjo’s opinion regarding the Muhammadiyah’s rejection of Sufism and ‘tarekat’ teaching requires some nuance. Throughout its history, the Muhammadiyah has accepted Sufism in its ‘ihsan form’ but Sufism and ‘tarekat’ teaching containing ‘heretical’ aspects were always repudiated. Kusumodiprodjo presented a rather biased view on the Muhammadiyah’s stance towards mysticism, Sufism, and tarekats. However, it cannot be argued that a kind of ‘officially’ defined Muhammadiyah position vis-à-vis mysticism, Sufism, and tarekats ever existed. The Muhammadiyah’s attitude to mysticism, Sufism, and tarekats could change depending on the contemporary social and political context, the ‘spiritual’ needs of the Indonesian Muslims, and the ‘denominational spirit’ of the Central Board in charge. This Central Board is elected once every five years and is supposed to represent, more-or-less, the mind ofthe majority of the members of the Muhammadiyah. It is important to take into account that, within such a huge organization like the Muhammadiyah, the existence of different denominational and political currents is unavoidable.137 Understandably, the Muhammadiyah’s policy was subject to fluctuation. Indeed, after its 43rd Muktamar in 1995, a ‘spiritual spring’ seems to have dawned with the election of a so-called ‘progressive’ Central Board. However, whether this ‘spiritual spring’ will continue is questionable because a ‘conservative turn’ seems to have taken place again since the election of the new Central Board in 2005.138 In any case, whoever wants to make a guess at the Muhammadiyah’s future attitude towards Sufism and tarekats would be wise to keep in mind the lesson the Muhammadiyah’s history teaches us: as long as Sufism is sharia-abiding and promotes morality it will be tolerated by the Muhammadiyah, but as soon as it becomes heterodox and heteroprax it will be challenged.