Islamic Book and Islam in Indonesia: a Historical Perspective

Alongside the advance of Islamic reformism in the early twentieth century, one central element to pay attention is the rise of printed media, Islamic book, which enhanced the shaping of the reformist Muslims. Written in Malay with Rumi script, the books with Islamic substance first appeared as part of Islamic reform movement. Nearly all the authors were the leading activists of reformist organizations. This trend continued to develop, leading the books to emerge as an important pillar in the formation of Islamic intellectual discourses. This study focuses on the historical study of the Islamic books development and progression, with strong emphasis given to the ideas behind their rising in the courses of Indonesian history. Based on the classical theory of discourse of Michel Foucault, as well as the one of post-linguistic turn historiography, this article demonstrates, in reference to the three time periods which each presented a specific mode of intellectual thinking,  the growing importance of Islamic books in the making of print-based religious life, which paved the way for the strengthening of socio-religious plurality in modern Indonesia. Firstly, Islamic Book as the voice of Islamic reform, secondly, Islamic Books in 1950s-1960s, and lastly, Islamic Books in contemporary Indonesia. 

Accelerating the Empowerment of Madrasah

The empowerment of madrasah (Islamic school) is an important agenda item for the Indonesia Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA). As the formal body overseeing madrasah education, MORA has taken many strategic steps to improve the quality of madrasah schooling. These steps have been taken in response to demand for the improvement of madrasah education aiming to produce graduates who can compete with graduates of other institutions, particularly public schools under the management of the Ministry of Education. In recent years, MORA has be able to intensify, its efforts to improve the quality of madrasah as a result of loans made available by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) specifically for this purpose. The ADB loans, as a component the Basic Education Project, aims to improve the quality of basic education in madrasah in 15 districts within 5 provinces.DOI: 10.15408/sdi.v7i2.71

The Triumph of the Second Leaders: Ahmad Khatib and Rashīd Riḍā in Islamic Reform in Indonesia

The advent of Islamic reform in Indonesia at the turn of the 20th century is to be attributed to two scholars or called the second Muslim leaders. They were Ahmad Khatib in Mecca and Rashīd Riḍā in Cairo. Ahmad Khatib was an intellectual leader of mainly Malay-Indonesian section of Jawa (Southeast Asians Muslims) in Mecca when the Islamic reform began to be voiced by Cairo ‘ulama, Muḥammad ‘Abduh and Rashīd Riḍā. One crucial point to discuss in this article is that the two scholars shared similar religious thoughts, which hold a determining role in the development of Islamic reform, much more than the role of Muḥammad ‘Abduh, the first leader of the movement. As can be gleaned from Ahmad Khatib’s works and his intellectual orientation, as well as from the fatwas of Rashīd Riḍā in al-Manār, both scholars emphasized the primacy of pristine Islam (salāf), different from the thought of ‘Abduh. In fact, it was in the hands of Ahmad Khatib’s students that the Islamic reform reached wider audiences in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the early 20th century also witnessed the mounting request for fatwas to Rashīd Riḍā in al-Manār, which greatly contributed to the transmission of reform ideas from Cairo to the region

The Dutch Colonial Policy on Islam: Reading the Intellectual Journey of Snouck Hurgronje

This article will explore the intellectual journey of Snouck Hurgonje as a hired scholar for the colonial agenda. His life in Mecca and then the Indies, his knowledge on Islam and the Muslims as revealed in the works he produced, and the way it was transformed into the colonial policies, are the main subjects of the discussion. The way Snouck Hurgronje dealt with Muslims on his tour of duty, for example by collaborating with the penghulu, and working together with the Arab, Said Oesman, will also be explored. It should be stated that, in line with Snouck Hurgonje’s advice, the Dutch policy on Islam was directed (among other things) to draw the native elite --in this particular case the penghulu-- into the colonial orbit.[Artikel ini membahas perjalanan intelektual Snouck Hurgonje, seorang ilmuwan yang bekerja di bawah dan untuk kepentingan colonial Belanda di Indonesia. Kehidupannya di Mekah, kemudian kembali lagi ke Indonesia, pengetahuannya tentang agama dan orang Islam yang tertuang dalam kerya-karyanya, serta proses pengetahuan itu semua dalam mempengaruhi kebijakan pemerintah kolonial menjadi tema utama diskusi dalam tulisan ini. Selain itu, akan dibahas pula cara-cara Snouck Hurgonje dalam berhubungan dengan orang-orang Islam selama menjalani tugasnya, misalnya ketika bekerjasama dengan para penghulu atau ketika bekerjasama dengan tokoh Arab, Said Oesman. Perlu ditegaskan pula bahwa sejalan dengan saran-saran Snouck Hurgonje, kebijakan pemerintah kolonial Belanda tentang Islam antara lain lebih ditujukan untuk menarik kalangan elit pribumi, dalam hal ini adalah para penghulu, ke lingkaran pemerintah kolonial.

Survey Report: A Portrait of Muslims’ Socio-Religious Attitudes in Java

This report is based on two surveys, a baseline and an impact one, conducted by the PPIM in the framework of gauging the impact of the Islam and Development Program of The Asia Foundation in Jakarta. The first (baseline) survey was carried out in July 2008, just before the program started, while the second one was made after the program had ended in August 2009.Designed to measure the impact of the program, there were two categories of survey respondents: program participants (500 in each survey), who were randomly selected from the list of the names of those who participated in the program. They were interviewed before (July 2008) and after having attended the program (August 2009). As a control group, another 500 respondents were also interviewed in each survey. They had been randomly selected from the Muslim population all over Java.The questions posed during the surveys were related to the contents of the program, and were intended to illicit respondents’ views on such contemporary issues as civic values, democracy, socio-political and religious tolerance, pluralism, gender equity, and Islamism. Muslim responses to these ideas were analyzed in a comparative perspective between the baseline and impact surveys, and between program participants and non-participants. With this perspective, the survey was directed to discover the extent to which the program was able to contribute to the strengthening of the contemporary ideas mentioned above and of democracy in Indonesian socio-political spheres.DOI: 10.15408/sdi.v17i1.47

The Fragmentation of Religious Authority: Islamic Print Media in Early 20th Century Indonesia

Aside from the scarcity of historical sources, it is not the intention of this article to determine when the pesantren -or pesantren like institutions, namely surau in West Sumatra and dayah in Aceh- began to exist. Here, the main concern is that in the nineteenth century the pesantrens were established as the educational institutions of Indonesian Muslims. Dutch statistical sources from this period recorded that there were about fifteen thousands (15,000) pesantrens in Java and Madura, and about twenty-three thousand (23,000) santris (the students of pesantren) (van den Berg 1886: 518-9).DOI: 10.15408/sdi.v11i1.65