Muhammadiyah and Fatwā on the Indonesian Communist Party

Quoted from: Boland, B. J. 1971. The struggle of Islam in modern Indonesia. The Hague: Nijhoff. Pp. 145-146.

“An influential Muslim told me that in Java (perhaps in Central Java) a fatwā of the Muhammadiyah chairman had been a great significance in the extermination of the “Gestapu/P.K.I.”, because in this fatwā it was stated that their destruction ought to be considered a religious duty. The informant was probably referring to the statement issued at an emergency meeting of the Muhammadijah held on November 9^th- 11^th, 1965, in Djakarta.[17]

From this period, there are more statements known, made by Muslim leaders who declared this conflict to be a “Holy War”. This Muhammadijah statement, however, can be taken as an authoritative example.”

Under the heading Ibadah dan Djihad (Religious Duty and the Holy War), this statement explains that the action on September 30^th, 1965, is to be regarded as an extension of the Madiun Communist rising of 1948. Officers such as Untung, Latif, Supardjo, Bambang Supeno and others are said to have been involved in the Madiun Affair. Therefore this time a decisive follow-up ought to be carried through in order to prevent a third Communist attempt at a coup in the future. The statement continues as follows:

“Therefore it was right for the Muhammadiyah, together with [the leaders of] its youth movement, during an emergency meeting in Djakarta, November 9^th-11^th, 1965, trusting in God (tawakkal), to make this pronouncement: THE EXTERMINATION OF THE GESTAPU/PKI AND THE NEKOLIM IS A RELIGIOUS DUTY.[18] … This religious duty is not (only) recommended (sunnat) but obligatory (wadjib), even an individual obligation” (wadjib `ain…) … “And because this action and this struggle must be carried out by consolidating all our strength –mental, physical and material—therefore this action and this struggle are nothing less than a HOLY WAR (DJIHAD). This Holy War, according to religious law, is not (only) recommended, but obligatory, even an individual obligation…” Finally it is stated –in accordance with Islamic law—that when carrying out this djihad “destructive excesses, defamation, revenge, etc. must be prevented”.

It is not explicitly stated what interpretation the (modern) Muhammadijah at that moment gave to the term djihad. But the conclusion drawn by the average Muslim as well as his enemy can easily be guessed. It is, however, hard to assess to what extent this fatwā had a result similar to that which earlier “djihad resolution” had on events in Surabaja in November 1945.

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[17] Published in Suara Muhammadiyah, no. 9, November 1965.

[18] “NEKOLIM” is a SOekarno abbreviation for “neo-colonialist imperialists”; they, too, were not forgotten in this statement!

Contesting models of Islamic governance in Malaysia and Indonesia

Stark, Jan. 2004. "Contesting models of Islamic governance in Malaysia and Indonesia". Global Change, Peace & Security. 16 (2): 115-131.

Abstract

This article suggests that there is much to be learnt from studying Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia comparatively to trace their emerging similarities. Various models of an Islamic state, be it by directly involving the shariah as the only source of reference, as it is proposed Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), or by gradually Islamizing the society (shariah haraki), a model that has been applied with considerable success by both ABIM and the Mahathir administration and receives backing from Islamic mass organizations such as the NU and Muhammadiyah. This suggests that there is a gradual transformation of the Wahhabi-inspired dakwah-Islam of the late 1970s into new discourses of Islamic civil society undertaken by the emerging middle classes of both countries. However, Wahhabi-Islam is nevertheless still important and its impact on the future shape of political Islam in the region cannot be underestimated, especially since dakwah-organizations link up internationally and continue to be generously sponsored by Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion
It is neither the clash of Islam and ethnicity in multi-cultural Malaysia nor the 'thin veneer' of Indonesian Islam limited to the sphere of cultural anthropology that is able to explain the growing interdependence of the emerging main discourses on Islam in the region. What this article has tried to show is that these discourses center on a number of themes that are remarkably similar in Indonesia and Malaysia. One is the discussion on the various models of an Islamic state, be it by directly involving the shariah as the only source of reference, as proposed by Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), or by gradually Islamizing the society (shariah haraki), a model that has been applied with considerable success by both ABIM and the Mahathir administration, and also receives increasing backing from Islamic mass organizations such as the NU and Muhammadiyah. The ideological proximity between former ABIM president Anwar Ibrahim and Amien Rais of the Muhammadiyah over this issue has signaled the gradual transformation of the Wahhabi-inspired dakwah-Islam of the late 1970s into new discourses of Islamic civil society undertaken by the emerging middle classes of both countries.
Wahhabi-Islam is nevertheless still gaining ground in both countries, its impact on the future shape of political Islam in the region cannot be underestimated, especially since dakwah-organizations link up internationally and continue to be generously sponsored by Saudi Arabia: as such, groups fostering Islamic welfare and missionary work have played an increasingly political role in the propagation of fundamentalist Islam, such as the Malaysia Perkim, which considerably changed its orientation during recent years.
The emerging radicalism at the fringes of Southeast Asian societies is also a phenomenon that countries all over the region are facing, being partly motivated by the inabilities of central governments to offer conclusive models of economic development and political participation. On the other hand, Southeast Asia is increasingly drawn into the conflicts arising from globalized economies, political and strategic interests and the networks of Islamic militancy over the last decade. Looking at Southeast Asian political Islam from a more regional perspective might thus become even more necessary in the near future.

Crafting a New Democracy: Civic education in Indonesian Islamic universities

Jackson, Elisabeth. 2007. "Crafting a New Democracy: Civic education in Indonesian Islamic universities". Asia Pacific Journal of Education. 27 (1): 41-54.

Author: Elisabeth Jackson^a

DOI: 10.1080/02188790601142892
Affiliation: ^a The Asia Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia's post-1998 transition to democracy has presented Muslim educators with the opportunity to take part in shaping the future of Indonesian democracy in ways that are consistent with Muslim social, political, and educational aspirations. One of the key vehicles for doing so is civic education. For Muslim educators in the Islamic higher education sector, the challenge has been to develop a civic education curriculum which can educate the young generation about democratic citizenship while incorporating the values and perspectives of Islam on civil society, democracy, and human rights. This paper examines civic education initiatives in two Islamic university systems, suggesting that the development of the new curriculum reveals clear differences in perceptions about civil society and the state within the institutions which make up these two systems. This is reflected by the extent to which Islamic concepts of the state and citizenship are integrated with Western thought and practice on civil society and democratic pluralism in the civic education curriculum and in teaching practice. The success of the Indonesian experience, the paper concludes, provides an example of how Western and Islamic concepts and values can be successfully combined in the teaching of civic education.

Conclusion
This paper has provided an account of the development of a new civic education curriculum in Muslim institutions of higher education in the context of Indonesia's post-1998 transition to democracy. Within the plural environment of Indonesian Islam, the integration of Islamic concepts of citizenship with Western notions of democracy within this new civic education curriculum has not given rise to significant conflict among Muslim educators. Rather, with few exceptions, the curriculum has been welcomed by university administrators, teaching staff, and students alike. The introduction of participatory and student-centred teaching methodologies—a significant departure from the teacher-centred teaching methodologies which prevail in Indonesia's rural Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) and which characterised the teaching of civic education from the 1970s onwards—has also been received positively by both students and teaching staff.
What lessons can this experience offer for the development of civic education in other Muslim-majority nations? Firstly, the approach taken in the development of both civic education programs—whether in the texts produced for students or in actual classroom teaching—was an integrated one, in which principles of democracy, human rights, and civil society were represented as fundamentally compatible with the values of Islam. Secondly, the process of developing the new curriculum was itself a democratic one, in which all relevant stakeholders—university leaders, lecturers, and students—were actively involved at all stages. This approach helped to identify practical obstacles to the implementation of the curriculum as well as areas of conflict over curriculum content and approach early in the process.
Indonesia's experience of civic education curriculum innovation took place in an environment of increasing decentralisation and devolution of educational authority that was an integral part of the post-1998 transition to a more open and democratic political culture. This provided Indonesian Islamic higher education institutions with the autonomy to determine curriculum content. However, the implementation of the new curriculum in both the state Islamic university system and the Muhammadiyah university system, and its application in all institutions within these two systems, was a relatively centralised process, in which curriculum development took place and key decisions were made by two of the most influential universities within these university systems. The decentralisation of authority for education is not unproblematic. In some regions of Indonesia, decentralisation has enabled local conservatives to seek to limit public freedoms. Such efforts have important implications for educational independence, including freedom from political intervention in determining curricula. These developments underline the importance of a robust civic education curriculum in Islamic universities, which will produce citizens who are able to articulate their rights and interests and openly express their concerns regarding political freedoms.

'Aisyiyah og visjonen av det sanne islam: reislamisering gjennom sosialt og religiøst arbeid i Padang, Sumatra

Author: Sefland, SignePublished year: 2005Document Type: ThesisLanguage: Norwegian BokmålSupervisor (s): Kari Vogt

Oppgaven omhandler den indonesiske islamske kvinneorganisasjonen ’Aisyiyah. ’Aisyiyah er den kvinnelige fløyen av Indonesias største reformbevegelse, Muhammadiyah. ’Aisyiyah har et landsdekkende nettverk av sosiale og religiøse institusjoner som barnehager, barnehjem, skoler, fødselsklinikker, sykehus og Korangrupper. Med utgangspunkt i kvalitativ metode og feltarbeid i Padang på Vest-Sumatra, fokuserer oppgaven på ’Aisyiyahs forståelse av ”det sanne islam”. Som en del av reformbevegelsen ønsker ’Aisyiyah renselse og reform av samfunnsverdier, fordi de oppfatter dagens praksis og tolkning av islam som lite tilfredsstillende. Målet er å komme nærmere en forståelse og praksis av islam som samsvarer bedre med det opprinnelige budskapet. Gjennom sine institusjoner søker ’Aisyiyah å reformere samfunnet til å komme nærmere ”det sanne islam”.

Gjennom å se på ’Aisyiyahs struktur, arbeidsområder og ideologiske elementer, søker oppgaven å si noe om hva ’Aisyiyahs begrep om ”det sanne islam” innebærer. Oppgaven tar så for seg hvordan ”det sanne islam” søkes virkeliggjort i samfunnet.

Endring forsøkes iverksatt gjennom formidling av verdier og ideologi i organisasjonens institusjoner, samt gjennom såkalt praktisk politikk. ’Aisyiyahs misjon retter seg mot både individ, familie og storsamfunn. For å nå målet om et samfunn basert på ”det sanne islam” ser ’Aisyiyah det som svært viktig å bevisstgjøre folk om egen tro, moral og kunnskap. Det understrekes også at alle må utfylle sin funksjon på best mulig måte i samfunnet. I denne sammenheng fremheves kvinnens muligheter og viktige funksjon. Gjennom bevisstgjøring og nytolkning ser ’Aisyiyah muligheten til å endre holdninger, slik at islam kan bli svaret på en positiv utvikling av samfunnet.

I oppgaven ser jeg på ulike sider ved ’Aisyiyahs organisasjon, arbeid og ideologi, som et uttrykk for reislamisering. Reislamisering innebærer å islamisere på nytt, fordi gjeldende situasjon ikke blir sett på som tilfredsstillende. Oppgaven fremmer en forståelse av at ’Aisyiyahs arbeid er et utrykk for en stadig prosess av reislamisering, der målet for prosessen er ”det sanne islam”.

Un mouvement de femmes musulmanes : 'Aisyiyah

par Prof. BAROROH BARIED
traduction de Farida SOEMARGONO

Baried Baroroh. Un mouvement de femmes musulmanes : 'Aisyiyah. In: Archipel. Volume 13, 1977. pp. 129-135.

"La femme est le pilier de l'Etat,

Si elle a des qualités, l'Etat sera préservé,

Si elle est mauvaise, l'Etat sera anéanti".

Le domaine d'action de 'Aisyiyah est concentré sur les classes moyennes et populaires. Une grande partie de ses membres habitent les villages, les hameaux les plus reculés, aussi les transmissions de directives sont-elles parfois assez longues. Cette action pour apporter le progrès dans les villages et la société rurale est en accord avec les programmes d'Enseignement et de Formation religieuse (P2A) et d'Enseignement ménager (Pendidikan Kesejahteraan Keluarga) qui constitue un programme spécial en dix points : 1. Relations inter familiales. 2. Education des enfants. 3. Nutrition. 4. Habillement. 5. Hygiène de la maison. 6. Santé morale et physique. 7. Economie ménagère. 8. Organisation du ménage. 9. Sécurité matérielle et spirituelle. 10. Planification. Dans ce programme, la participation de 'Aisyiyah porte plus spécialement sur les points 6 et 9.

Les efforts et les initiatives de 'Aisyiyah sont connus à l'extérieur grâce à la collaboration, qui existe depuis 1972, avec The League of Women Voters (Overseas Education Fund) sise à Washington. Depuis lors, 'Aisyiyah en reçoit des invitations et participe à des séminaires traitant de la façon dont il faut diriger les organisations. En 1974, avec les suggestions et l'aide financière de cet organisme, a pu être publié un ouvrage intitulé : "Guide des Jardins d'enfants de Aisyiyah Bustanu'l-Atfal" (Buku tuntunan Taman kanak-kanak 'Aisyiyah Bustaniïl-Atfal). Au cours de ces dernières années, la colloboration a encore été renforcée et en 1975, a eu lieu en Indonésie, un stage de formation des cadres de 'Aisyiyah. Ce recyclage a touché l'association du sommet à la base.

'Aisyiyah est prête à participer à toutes les formes de coopération, mais sans renoncer pour autant à son principe fondamental qui est la propagation de la foi en vue de faire progresser les femmes indoné siennes et de faire en sorte qu'elles prennent conscience du rôle de la religion et du rôle des organisations dans la vie sociale.

Soekarno, Islam, and Muhammadiyah

Quoted from: Boland, B. J. 1971. The struggle of Islam in modern Indonesia. The Hague: Nijhoff.

[The Muhammadiyah bestowed title for Soekarno as] “Faithful Member and Great Support of the Muhammadiyah” (p. 133)

pp. 126-27

In Bencoolen (Bengkulu, Sumatra), where Soekarno had been taken by the colonial government in 1938, he came into contact with the reform movement and became a member of the Muhammadijah, where he found opinions at least partly acceptable to him.

However, Soekarno probably wanted to give a more radical interpretation of “the spirit of Islam” than many reformers. On the one hand, the point on the reformers’ programme concerning the “purification” of Islam from all superstition would not have interested him much. On the other hand, Soekarno could be called a true liberal. He was certainly more interested in the new world than in Islam. In his interpretation of Islam, he always emphatically repeated the slogans of Muslim apologists, such as “Islam is progress”, “no religion is more rational than Islam”, “Islam insists on scientific research”, “the science of Islam is knowledge of the Qur’an and Tradition plus general knowledge”, “the Qur’an and Traditionmust be interpreted with the help of general scholarship”, and so on.[1]

What Soekarno envisaged was certainly not a “return to the Qur’an and Tradition” in the way the salafiya reformers wanted to return to the pure belief of “the ancestors” (Ar. aslāf, sing. salaf). For Soekarno, the revolutionary, there was no “return”. Islam had to catch up its thousand years of backwardness. “Not back to the early glory of Islam, nt back to the time of the caliphs, but run forward, catching up with time (chasing time), that is the only way to get glory again.”[2] Does not Soekarno’s criticism sound like “Turkish” criticism of the Arab glorification of the past?[3]

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[1] A small collection of sayings by Soekarno is given in Solichin Salam, Bung Karno dan Kehidupan Berpikir dalam Islam, Djakarta 1964.

[2] Salam, Bung Karno, p. 91. When speaking of “catching up with time”, one must realize that the Indonesian expression ketinggalan zaman (obsolete, out of date) literally means that something is “left behind by time”.

[3] Compare Smith, Islam, p. 164ff.

The Indonesian Muslim women’s movement and the issue of polygamy: the `Aisyiyah interpretation of Qur’an 4:3 and 4:129

Mudzakkir, Rof'ah. 2005. "The Indonesian Muslim women’s movement and the issue of polygamy: the `Aisyiyah interpretation of Qur’an 4:3 and 4:129." In Abdullah Saeed. Approaches to the Qur'an in contemporary Indonesia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 175-192.

Rof’ah Mudzakir

Lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The interpretation of the Qur’an cannot be separated from its context, in which political, social and economic factors play a role. An exegete living within the values of his or her own time and place is heavily influenced by these factors. In understanding the interpretation of the Qur’an, therefore, one should always consider the context of the text. This study considers the above hypothesis by examining the interpretation of the tow Qur’anic verses relating to polygamy, namely Q. 4:3 and 4:129, offered an Indonesian Muslim women’s organization, the `Aisyiyah, the women’s wing of the Muhammadiyah. One of the largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, the Muhammadiyah was founded by Ahmad Dahlan in 1912 in Yogyakarta.

Indeed, in the history of the Indonesian women’s movements that emerged in the late nineteeth century, the issue of polygamy occupies an important position. Its importance lies in the fact that polygamy continues to be viewed as a barrier to the key objective of the women’s movement –that is, to modernise and improve the position of Indonesian women, both culturally and legally. It is not surprising, therefore, that since the first Indonesian Women’s Congress in Jakarta in December 1928, a fierce debate on polygamy has continued in Indonesia. The debate on polygamy has even led women’s organizations to disagree among themselves. While most organizations have decided to support the abolition of polygamy, some continue to support it, or at least to not reject the practice outright. In this debate, Muslim women’s groups represent the latter category, while Christian and non-religious organizations have chosen to contest the very validity of polygamy. Considering the importance of this issue in the Indonesian women’s movement, it is interesting to observe how Islamic groups justify their refusal to support the abolition of polygamy. In this article, we will examine why this is so, focusing on the `Aisyiyah.

The `Aisyiyah was founded on 22 April 1917 by Ahmad Dahlan in the expectation that this organization would help the Muhammadiyah, and act as a partner in promoting the Muhammadiyah’ ideas of Islamic reform. Thus, ideologically speaking, the establishment of the `Aisyiyah was based on Ahmad Dahlan’s belief that women and men are equal in the eyes of God. Considering this belief, it is not surprising to see that, in the early days of its existence, the `Aisyiyah changed the manner of participation of Muslim women in religious activities. Praying in the mosque, receiving religious training, and even wearing the veil were all signs that women (just like men) could publicly participate in religious observances. These kinds of activities were introduced by the `Aisyiyah as something that Muslim women had not experienced before.

Viewed from a wider perspective, the `Aisyiyah is no different from other women’s organizations in Indonesia which have attempted to represent women’s interests and have struggled for their advancement. However, as the female wing of the Muhammadiyah, this group has been one of the biggest Muslim women’s organizations in Indonesia. In 2002, the `Aisyiyah had 194,722 members throughout 30 provinces. More than other women’s groups, the nature of the `Aisyiyah as a mass-based group has allowed its activities to touch the grassroots level of society. Indeed, the role of the `Aisyiyah is not limited to religious activities. Its main concerns are more oriented towards social and community development, with women as the particular target, focusing on issues such as education, health and charitable activities. In fact, this organisation’s great contribution to Indonesian society can be seen in its establishment of hundreds of educational institutions, thousands of mosques, and hundreds of health centres and orphanages all over Indonesia.

Due to its role and nature, the `Aisyiyah has been described as representative of Indonesian Muslim women. It is important, therefore, to observe its response to the issue of polygamy. Another factor contributing to the significance of the `Aisyiyah in the discourse on polygamy is the development of the organisation’s arguments in justifying the practice of polygamy. Interestingly, rather than being the product of purely religious reasoning, this development is more affected by the social and political context of Indonesia. Thus, it is this point that is the main concern of this article.

Howard M. Federspiel

Howard M. Federspiel
Curricula Vita
(January 2007)
Ohio State University at Newark
1179 University Drive
Newark, Ohio (USA) 43055-1797 Tel. 614/366-9297
Box 769
Fax. 614/366-5047
e-mail federspiel.1@osu.edu
(Residence)
Newark, Ohio 43058-0769
Tel. 614/366-5337

I. Current Professional Position.

The Ohio State University at Newark. Professor of Political Science, 1979 to present; Associate Dean, 1979- 1984; Acting Dean and Director, 1979-1980.

II. Past Professional Positions. (Full Record)

1. McGill University (Montreal, Canada). Visiting Professor of Islamic Studies, 1997-1998, 1991-1992; Director of the Canada-Indonesian Islamic Higher Education Project (a technical assistance project), 1995-1996. (See description under VI. below)
2. Mid-West Universities Consortium for International Activities. Associate Director (senior American administrator) of the Joint Management Office, Second Indonesian University Development Project (a technical assistance project), Jakarta, Indonesia, 1987-1988. (See description under VI. below)
3. Mid-West Universities Consortium for International Activities. Team Leader for an educational technical assistance project at the University of North Sumatra, Medan, Indonesia, 1984-1986. (See description under VI. below)
4. Winthrop College, 1970-1979. Professor of Political Science and Department Chairman, 1974-1979; Director of International Studies, 1976-1979.
5. Lenoir Rhyne College, 1968-1970. Assistant Professor of Political Science and History.
6. Advanced Studies Group, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 1968. Fellow Scientist in international studies.
7. Research Analysis Corporation, 1966-68. Member of the Technical Staff in international studies.
8. Office of East Asian Affairs, U. S. Department of State, 1962-1966. International affairs specialist.
9. U.S. Army. 1955-1958. German language specialist and intelligence analyst

III. Education.(Full Record)

A. Degree Programs
1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada, Islamic Studies, MA 1961, Ph.D. 1966.
2. Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, Political Science, BA, 1954.

IV. Recognition, Awards, Fellowships, Honors (Past ten years)

1. Visiting Professorship, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, 1996-2000
2. Excellence in Scholarship Award, Ohio State University at Newark, 2001
3. Service Award for International Activities, Ohio State University at Newark, 2002.

V. Publication Record (Past ten years)

A. Books and Major Studies
1. Sultans, Shamans and Scholars; Muslims and Islam in Southeast Asia. Honolulu, University of Hawai’i Press, 2006 forthcoming February 2007.
2. Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals of the Twentieth Century. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2006, 96 pp.
3. Labiran Ideologi Muslim: Pencarian dan Pergulatan Persis di Era Kemunculan Negara Indonesia (1923-1957). (The Caldron of Muslim Ideology: The Founding and Struggle of the Persatuan Islam in the Era of Indonesian National Development 1923 to 1957). Jakarta, Serambi, 2004, 479pp. (Indonesian version of Islam and Ideology in the Emerging Indonesian State: The Persatuan Islam (Persis) 1923 to 1957. Leiden, Brill Academic Press, 2001
4. Islam and Ideology in the Emerging Indonesian State: The Persatuan Islam (Persis) 1923 to 1957. Leiden, Brill Academic Press, 2001, 365pp.
5. (Chief Editor). Anthology of Islamic Studies. Montreal, Canada Indonesia Islamic Higher Education Project, 1997, 401pp.

B. Articles in Books and Scholarly Publications (Past ten years)
1. “Islamic Values, Law and Expectations in Contemporary Indonesia,” in Islamic Law and Society, 5:1, 1998, pp. 89-117. Also in Shari’a & Politics in Modern Indonesia, edited by Arskal Salim and Asyumardi Azra. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002, 70-89.
2. “Modernist Islam in Southeast Asia: A New Examination,” Muslim World (Fall 2002) 92, 3& 4, 371-386.
3. “Hadith Literature in Twentieth Century Indonesia,” Oriente Moderno (2001) 21 N.S.,
115-124 (in a special edition titled “Hadith in Modern Islam,” edited by Roberto Tottoli).
4. “Indonesia, Islam, and U.S. Foreign Policy,” The Brown Journal of World Affairs (Spring 2002), 9, 1, 107-114.
5. “Contemporary South-East Asian Muslim Intellectuals: An Examination of the Sources for Their Concepts and Intellectual Constructs,” in Islam in the Era of Globalization: Muslim
Attitudes towards Modernity and Identity [edited by Johan Meuleman]. London, Curzon, 2002, 327-350.
6. “Fundamentalist Islam in Late Colonial Indonesia; The Persatuan Islam Revisited,”Al-Jami’ah: Journal of the Islamic Studies, (January 2000), 42-59.
7. “Muslim Intellectuals in Southeast Asia,” Studia Islamika 6, 1 (1999), 43-76.
8. “Islam and National Identity in Indonesia,” in Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Asia Program Special Report. Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Indonesia: A Crisis of Nationhood? Washington, D.C. (July 1999)
9. “Islamic Fundamentalism in Late-Colonial Indoensia: The Persatuan Islam Revisited,” Virtual files of the Indonesian Intellectual Society (ICMI), Montreal and Ottawa Chapter, June 1999, 12 pp. 73-85.
10. “Islam and Muslims in the Southern Territories of the Philippine Islands during the American Colonial Period (1898 to 1946), Journal of Southeast Asian Affairs, 29, 2 (September 1998), 340-356.
C. Papers Delivered at Academic Conferences and Seminars (Past ten years)
1. “Indonesian and Malayan Responses to Islamic Law,” presented to a special conference on “The Politics of the Shari’ah in Contemporary Malaysian and Indonesian Islam, at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, June 12, 2003.
2. “Modernist Islam in Southeast Asia (1900-1950),” presented on a panel on Modernist Islam throughout the Islamic World at the Middle East Society of America (MESA) in Washington, D.C. in November 1999.
3. “Islam and National Identity in Indoneisa,” presented at an invited seminar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. in July 1999.
4. “Islamic Fundamentalism in Late-Colonial Indonesia: The Persatuan Islam Revisited,” presented at the American Council for Study of Islamic Societies meeting in Villanova, Pennsylvania in May 1999 and Indonesian Intellectual Society of Montreal and Ottawa international meeting in June 1999 in slightly different form.
5. “Scholarship in Two Eras: Views of Southeast Asian Islam in the 1970's and 1990's” at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, November 1997 in a speaker’s series on Southeast Asian Islam sponsored by the Indonesia-Canada Islamic Higher Education Project.
6. “Islamic Values, Law and Expectations in Contemporary Indonesia” at the Southeast Regional Meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, at Savannah, Georgia, January 1997.
VI. Technical Assistance Work (Past 10 years)
1. Consultation on Southeast Asian Islam for the Strategic Assessments Group, a Washington-based R&D firm, working on a Defense Department contract. One day consultation. March 2004

VII. Professional Service Activities. (Past ten years)

A. Workshops and Seminars
1. Seminar on Islam in the Contemporary World. Ohio University, with sponsorship of the Ohio Endowment for the Humanities, June 23-27, 2003. Director of the academic program, opening lecturer and general discussant for the entire program. Seminar membership consisted of 25 secondary school teachers from throughout Ohio. Year-long planning effort and follow-on activities.
A. Lectures and Lecture Series.
1. Lecture on long-term trends in Southeast Asian Islam. Presented to the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Ohio University, September 15, 2006.
2. Lectures on Islam, terrorism and U.S. reaction to terrorism. Several lengthy lectures to general academic audiences and two short lectures given to civic associations 2001-2004.
3. Two interviews with Voice of America for broadcast to the Asian region, 2000-2001..
3. Three lectures on contemporary Indonesian matters given to a mixture of academic and public audiences at Athens, Ohio and in Montreal, Canada. 1999.

Retrieved from: http://polisci.osu.edu/grads/hfederspiel/vita.pdf

Api Pembaharuan Kiai Ahmad Dahlan

Judul Buku : Api Pembaharuan Kiai Ahmad Dahlan
Penulis : Robert W. Hefner, Sukidi Mulyadi, Abdul Munir Mulkhan
Penerbit : Multi Pressindo Yogyakarta
Cetakan : Pertama, Maret 2008
Tebal : viii + 150 halaman

Menghadang Ancaman Ideologi Lain

Tidaklah berlebihan bila Robert W Hefner - seorang Indonesianis kelahiran Columbus, Ohio (Amerika Serikat) - menaruh kekaguman yang luar biasa terhadap pendiri Muhammadiyah, KHA Dahlan. Dalam pengakuan Hefner, KHA Dahlan merupakan sosok pembaharu Islam dan penggagas luar biasa di Indonesia. Bahkan pengaruh gelombang pemikirannya melampaui batas puncak pemikiran Muhammad Abduh dari Mesir. Dan kini, Muhammadiyah merupakan gerakan ‘pembaharuan’ Islam terbesar di dunia.

Ungkapan Hefner memang logis. Muhammad Abduh - dalam sejarah dicatat sebagai inspirator KHA Dahlan dalam memperbaiki Islam di Indonesia pada awal abad 20 - ternyata gagal menembus benteng tradisional-konservatif institut di negaranya (Universitas Al-Azhar, Kairo), meski pemikirannya mampu menempatkan dirinya sebagai salah satu pembaharu Islam dunia. Sebaliknya, Dahlan justru mampu melahirkan karya besarnya yang terus bertahan dan berkembang hingga sekarang.

Hanya saja, lahirnya gerakan Reformasi tahun 1998 - yang notabene dimotori pula oleh tokoh Muhammadiyah, Amien Rais - sedikit banyak membawa pengaruh yang kurang menguntungkan bagi Muhammadiyah. Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah mampu menarik syahwat kelompok-kelompok ‘ideologi’ lain untuk memiliki Muhammadiyah. Terlebih kalau dihitung secara politis, Muhammadiyah yang telah memiliki kekayaan amal usaha dan massa cukup besar ini dipandang sebagai obyek sangat menguntungkan.

Fakta empiris terkait dengan dugaan Gerakan Muhammadiyah telah tercemari oleh ‘ideologi’ lain tersebut terlihat dari fenomena saling berebut pengaruh dalam organisasi ini. Pertama, sebut saja kaum konservatif yang dengan keras menolak pemikiran yang datang dari Barat, bahkan istilah-istilah dan kerjasama dengan lembaga berbau Barat. Kedua, sebut saja kaum liberal yang memandang perlu terus dilakukan penafsiran ulang terhadap al-Qur’an dan Sunnah karena penafsiran serupa juga dilakukan Kiai Dahlan yang daripadanya mendasari gerak Muhammadiyah di awal berdirinya (hal. v).

Berangkat dari indikasi adanya usaha untuk saling berebut pengaruh itulah, 2 orang kader progresif Muhammadiyah - Sukidi Mulyadi dan Abdul Munir Mulkhan - berusaha keras untuk menemukan simpul pemikiran KHA Dahlan. Tujuannya agar Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah tidak menjadi obyek tarik menarik ‘ideologi’ asing (konservatif dan atau liberalis) tersebut. Sebaliknya, kehadiran buku ini, paling tidak, menjadi penyadar bagi kader Muhammadiyah untuk tetap bisa menjaga agar Muhammadiyah tetap hidup sebagai gerakan Islam yang bercorak pembaharu.

Diakui atau tidak, akhir-akhir ini banyak kader yang dulu dibesarkan oleh Muhammadiyah justru ‘durhaka’ dan memusuhi Muhammadiyah. Bahkan ada sebagian mereka yang kemudian merasa telah sekian lama berada dalam kesesatan karena telah menjadi orang Muhammadiyah.

Buku ini tidak sekedar mengajak melakukan ‘napak tilas’ pikiran-pikiran KHA Dahlan, tetapi juga meluruskan pandangan-pandangan yang sesat tentang Muhammadiyah. Misalnya, pandangan bahwa Muhammadiyah adalah gerakan Wahabisme. Satu hal penting yang terangkum dalam buku ini ialah bahwa nalar Muhammadiyah harus dibedakan dari tradisi intelektual Islam yang hingga kini masih belum keluar dari skolastisisme dan kesadaran Sunni yang meniadakan kebebasan kreatif manusia.

Akhirnya, tidak ada alasan lain untuk bisa disebut sebagai kader Muhammadiyah kecuali mau memahami kembali gagasan autentik KHA Dahlan yang bersumber dari kesadaran Islamnya yang sangat menekankan etika welas asih. Karena dengan etika welas asih itulah, Muhammadiyah tampak lebih bersikap terbuka pada modernitas dan kemanusiaan serta pemihakan terhadap kaum lemah (proletar). Fatiananda

http://matanmajalah.blogspot.com/2008/11/b-u-k-u.html