Sectarian Translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia: The Case of the Ahmadiyya

Ahmadiyya’s translations of the Quran have some distinctive characteristics compared to the translations from Sunni Muslims. However, these translations, particularly Soedowo-Dutch translation of Muhammad Ali’s The Holy Quran, have been influential in Indonesian Sunni community in the first half of the 20th century. Against the opposition from the Muhammadiyah and the fatwa from Muhammad Rashid Rida of Egypt, which prohibited the use of Ahmadiyya’s translation, the Soedewo-Dutch translation was widely used by Dutch-educated intelligentsia as a main source to know about Islam. This article specifically answers the following questions: Why did Ahmadiyya’s translations of the Quran have a significant place in Indonesia? What was the appeal of these translations to Indonesian intelligentsia? What is the contribution of these translations to the study of the Quran in this country? This paper argues that the success of Ahmadiyya’s translation, particularly the Dutch version, during the revolution era is based on three reasons: language (Dutch is the language of intelligentsia), content (which fit with the need of intelligentsia who seek a harmonious understanding between religie and wetenschap), and form (the only available rendering of the Quran in modern form of publication). In the context of ideology, the reception of Muslim intelligentsia was mainly for their contribution in defending Islam against the penetration of Christian mission and the coming of anti-religion ideologies, particularly materialism and atheism, by strongly challenging their doctrines. [Terjemah al-Quran versi Ahmadiyah memiliki beberapa karakteristik yang berbeda jika dibandingkan dengan terjemah versi Islam sunni pada umumnya.  Namun demikian, terjemah seperti di atas, khususnya terjemah al-Quran dalam bahasa Belanda --yang dialih-bahasakan dari The Holy Qur’ān karya Muhammad Ali oleh Soedowo-- cukup berpengaruh di masyarakat muslim Indonesia pada paruh pertama abad ke-20. Bertentagan dengan fatwa dari Muhammadiyah maupun dari Muhammad Rashid Rida yang melarang penggunaan terjemah versi Ahmadiyyah, terjemha Soedewo ini justru menjadi rujukan bagi kalangan terdidik untuk memahami Islam. Tulisan ini secara khusus menjawab pertanyaan: mengapa terjemah al-Quran versi Ahmadiyyah ini cukup berpengaruh di Indonesia, apa yang menarik dari tterjemah ini bagi mereka, serta apa sumbangan pemikiran terjemah ini pada perkembangan keilmuan al-Quran di negeri ini. Menurut penulis, terjemah versi Ahmadiyyah, khususnya yang berbahasa Belanda, mengalami kesuksesan pada masa revolusi dipengaruhi oleh tiga hal: (1) bahasa Belanda  yyang dipakai adalah bahasa kalangan terdidik, (2) isinya sesuai dengan kebutuhan kalangan terpelajar yang ingin mencari pemahaman yang harmonis antara agama dan ilmu pengetahuan, dan (3) terjemah ini merupakan satu-satunya bentuk publikasi modern dari terjemah al-Quran yang ada pada masa itu. Dalam konteks ideologi, penerimaan kaum intelektual ini terutama terkait dengan upaya perlawanan Islam terhadap tekanan misi Kristen dan masuknya ideologi-ideologi anti agama, khususnya materialisme dan atheisme.

Fasting in Countries Where The Day is Very Long or Very Short: A Study of Muslims in the Netherlands

Ramadan falls both during winter and autumn months, when the days are cool and short, and spring and summer months, when the days are long and hot. Fasting in areas where the climate is extremely hot and the day is more than twenty hours is a double hardship that can be a dangerous assault on physical condition. In contrast to that, fasting in areas where the day is very short is, to some extent, like an interval between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner. This article, therefore, intends to discover how Muslims in the countries where the day is either very long or very short deal with the problem of the fasting time. This research is based on the practices of some Muslims in the Netherlands with a variety of countries of origin. This article attempts to answer the following questions: How did they manage their fasting time in the summer or when the day is very long? How did they manage their fasting time in the winter or when the day is very short? What kind of fiqh book or fatwā did they use as reference? Did they think that fasting obligation was dangerous for their health when the day was very long?[Bulan Ramadan bisa tiba pada musim dingin dan musim gugur, ketika siang hari pendek dan sejuk, tetapi Ramadan juga bisa tiba pada musim semi dan musim panas, ketika siang hari sangat panjang dan panas. Puasa di tempat yang sangat panas dan dengan panjang siang hari lebih dari dua puluh jam adalah beban yang berat dan bisa berbahaya bagi kondisi fisik pelakunya. Sebaliknya, puasa di tempat yang siang harinya sangat pendek terasa tak seperti puasa karena ia hanya seperti interval antara makan pagi dan makan siang atau antara makan siang dan makan malam. Tulisan ini didasarkan pada penelitian terhadap praktik berpuasa orang-orang Islam di Belanda dari berbagai negara asal. Pertanyaan yang ingin dijawab dalam tulisan ini adalah: Bagaimana umat Islam Belanda melaksanakan puasa pada musim panas atau ketika siang hari teramat panjang? Bagaimana pula mereka menjalankan puasa pada musim gugur atau ketika siang hari sangat pendek? Buku fikih apa atau fatwa dari siapa yang mereka pakai sebagai dasar praktik ibadah puasa itu? Apakah mereka berpikir bahwa praktik puasa di musim yang siang harinya sangat panjang akan berbahaya bagi kesehatan mereka

Fasting in Countries Where The Day is Very Long or Very Short: A Study of Muslims in the Netherlands

Ramadan falls both during winter and autumn months, when the days are cool and short, and spring and summer months, when the days are long and hot. Fasting in areas where the climate is extremely hot and the day is more than twenty hours is a double hardship that can be a dangerous assault on physical condition. In contrast to that, fasting in areas where the day is very short is, to some extent, like an interval between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner. This article, therefore, intends to discover how Muslims in the countries where the day is either very long or very short deal with the problem of the fasting time. This research is based on the practices of some Muslims in the Netherlands with a variety of countries of origin. This article attempts to answer the following questions: How did they manage their fasting time in the summer or when the day is very long? How did they manage their fasting time in the winter or when the day is very short? What kind of fiqh book or fatwa did they use as reference? Did they think that fasting obligation was dangerous for their health when the day was very long?   [Bulan Ramadan bisa tiba pada musim dingin dan musim gugur, ketika siang hari pendek dan sejuk, tapi Ramadan juga bisa tiba pada musim semi dan musim panas, ketika siang hari sangat panjang dan panas. Puasa di tempat yang sangat panas dan dengan panjang siang hari lebih dari dua puluh jam adalah beban yang berat dan bisa berbahaya bagi kondisi fisik pelakunya. Sebaliknya, puasa di tempat yang siang harinya sangat pendek terasa tak seperti puasa karena ia hanya seperti interval antara makan pagi dan makan siang atau antara makan siang dan makan malam. Tulisan ini didasarkan pada penelitian terhadap praktik berpuasa orang-orang Islam di Belanda dari berbagai negara asal. Pertanyaan yang ingin dijawab dalam tulisan ini adalah: Bagaimana umat Islam Belanda melaksanakan puasa pada musim panas atau ketika siang hari teramat panjang? Bagaimana pula mereka menjalankan puasa pada musim gugur atau ketika siang hari sangat pendek? Buku fikih apa atau fatwa dari siapa yang mereka pakai sebagai dasar praktik ibadah puasa itu? Apakah mereka berpikir bahwa praktik puasa di musim yang siang harinya sangat panjang akan berbahaya bagi kesehatan mereka? Keywords: Fatwa, fasting session, Ramadan, Islam in Europe</strong

Sectarian Translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia: The Case of the Ahmadiyya

Ahmadiyya’s translations of the Quran have some distinctive characteristics compared to the translations from Sunni Muslims. However, these translations, particularly Soedowo-Dutch translation of Muhammad Ali’s The Holy Quran, have been influential in Indonesian Sunni community in the first half of the 20th century. Against the opposition from the Muhammadiyah and the fatwa from Muhammad Rashid Rida of Egypt, which prohibited the use of Ahmadiyya’s translation, the Soedewo-Dutch translation was widely used by Dutch-educated intelligentsia as a main source to know about Islam. This article specifically answers the following questions: Why did Ahmadiyya’s translations of the Quran have a significant place in Indonesia? What was the appeal of these translations to Indonesian intelligentsia? What is the contribution of these translations to the study of the Quran in this country? This paper argues that the success of Ahmadiyya’s translation, particularly the Dutch version, during the revolution era is based on three reasons: language (Dutch is the language of intelligentsia), content (which fit with the need of intelligentsia who seek a harmonious understanding between religie and wetenschap), and form (the only available rendering of the Quran in modern form of publication). In the context of ideology, the reception of Muslim intelligentsia was mainly for their contribution in defending Islam against the penetration of Christian mission and the coming of anti-religion ideologies, particularly materialism and atheism, by strongly challenging their doctrines. [Terjemah al-Quran versi Ahmadiyah memiliki beberapa karakteristik yang berbeda jika dibandingkan dengan terjemah versi Islam sunni pada umumnya.  Namun demikian, terjemah seperti di atas, khususnya terjemah al-Quran dalam bahasa Belanda --yang dialih-bahasakan dari The Holy Qur’ān karya Muhammad Ali oleh Soedowo-- cukup berpengaruh di masyarakat muslim Indonesia pada paruh pertama abad ke-20. Bertentagan dengan fatwa dari Muhammadiyah maupun dari Muhammad Rashid Rida yang melarang penggunaan terjemah versi Ahmadiyyah, terjemha Soedewo ini justru menjadi rujukan bagi kalangan terdidik untuk memahami Islam. Tulisan ini secara khusus menjawab pertanyaan: mengapa terjemah al-Quran versi Ahmadiyyah ini cukup berpengaruh di Indonesia, apa yang menarik dari tterjemah ini bagi mereka, serta apa sumbangan pemikiran terjemah ini pada perkembangan keilmuan al-Quran di negeri ini. Menurut penulis, terjemah versi Ahmadiyyah, khususnya yang berbahasa Belanda, mengalami kesuksesan pada masa revolusi dipengaruhi oleh tiga hal: (1) bahasa Belanda  yyang dipakai adalah bahasa kalangan terdidik, (2) isinya sesuai dengan kebutuhan kalangan terpelajar yang ingin mencari pemahaman yang harmonis antara agama dan ilmu pengetahuan, dan (3) terjemah ini merupakan satu-satunya bentuk publikasi modern dari terjemah al-Quran yang ada pada masa itu. Dalam konteks ideologi, penerimaan kaum intelektual ini terutama terkait dengan upaya perlawanan Islam terhadap tekanan misi Kristen dan masuknya ideologi-ideologi anti agama, khususnya materialisme dan atheisme.

Manusia Modern Mendamba Allah: Renungan Tasawuf Positif

xxviii, 363 p. ; 21 cm

Pluralism, Liberalism, and Islamism: Religious Outlook of Muhammadiyah

Muhammadiyah has been perceived as an example of a successful blend between Islam and modernity. By adopting modern spirit of discipline, equality, and a hard work ethics, this organization has become a vibrant and independent movement. The number of Muhammadiyah educational and health institutions is only surpassed by those owned by the Indonesian government. Muhammadiyah has 177 universities; thousands of secondary, middle, and elementary schools, as well as hundreds of hospitals and other health institutions. However, the organization’s successes in social, educational, and economic do not necessarily indicate that it also embraces pluralistic values and religious tolerance. This paper, therefore, intends to describe Muhammadiyah’s position in the context of pluralism, liberalism, and Islamism. It argues that although Muhammadiyah is predominated by members with moderate religious inclinations, but a significant number of them are exclusively puritan in their theology. The organization’s focus on social services is the reason why Muhammadiyah has evaded Islamist tendencies

GEERTZ’S TRICHOTOMY OF ABANGAN, SANTRI, AND PRIYAYI: Controversy and Continuity

With the Presidential Decree on Hari Santri Nasional (National Santri Day) in 2015, the debate on Clifford Geertz’ trichotomy of santri-priyayi-abangan reemerges in Indonesian society. This article, first, intends to delineate the meaning of the trichotomy. Second, it summarizes three main critiques of the trichotomy, namely: 1) priyayi is more appropriately included in the category of social class, not religious category; 2) as social identity, abangan was not the term generally accepted by people in that category; 3) the category is not rigid and, in term of religiosity, most of Javanese people were actually in the grey area between santri and abangan. This article then shows that even though the trichotomy has drawn criticism from scholars, it has been accepted as a standard categorization of Indonesian society. The application of this trichotomy was not limited in the study of religion or anthropology, but it has been used in history, politics, economy, and military studies. The new challenges of this concept, i.e. the inclusion of social class or Marxist perspective in studying Java and the divergent of santri in contemporary time, which contributes to the reemergence of the trichotomy with a new spectrum is the last focus of this article