3 research outputs found
Rethinking Javanese Islam. Towards new descriptions of Javanese traditions
The study of non-Western cultures
often relies on the knowledge of those cultures’ religions. This
certainly applies to Javanese Studies, where “Javanese Islam” is one of
its constitutive concepts. However, this notion is plagued by
theoretical problems, suggesting it misrepresents the Javanese religious
condition. Through a conceptual genealogy this research traces the
origin of “Javanese Islam”. Its conceptualisation is shown to be part of
a Western project of making sense of Javanese culture. However, the
origin of the twin-concepts “Javanese Islam” and “Javanism” does not lie
in the West’s ambitions for colonial dominance. Rather, they are pieces
of Christian theology. The West’s preoccupation with religion compelled
it to recognise certain Javanese traditions as elements of religion. It
thus came to see ngelmu as the core beliefs and slametan as the central
ritual of a Javanese religion. This representation however is not
supported by empirical evidence or theoretical proof. If, as this
research suggests, syncretist Javanese Islam is actually an experiential
entity in the experiential world of the West, new research questions
arise. Is there an alternative approach to gain insight into Java’s
traditions?Asian Studie
From puzzle to paradigm: a Kuhnian perspective on Javanese Islam.
Drawing on Kuhn’s understanding of scientific paradigms as exemplary ways of problem solving, this article critically assesses the current status of the study of Javanese Islam, in particular the long-standing debate on its nature. Is it a syncretist, animist religion or is it essentially Islamic? An analysis from a Kuhnian perspective indicates that both stances are actually the outcome of the same standardized theoretical approach. Consequentially, certain phenomena that are usually considered part of the Javanese religious condition now appear as anomalies of a paradigm. They will remain unsolvable, unless different theoretical approaches are developed. Locating a central assumption in the research into non-Western cultures – the universality of religion – is a step in that direction. From there, generating new descriptions and new research questions becomes a possibility.Asian Studie