In the centre of Tebu Ireng, Indonesia's most famous Islamic boarding school, is a mosque-graveyard complex which includes the grave of Hashim Ashari, the founder of Tebu Ireng who is remembered and revered as both a Sufi master and an Indonesian national hero. Around this physical and spiritual centre, a number of new spaces (schools, a telecommunications office, computer labs, and banks) have emerged. It is argued here that the very landscape of Tebu Ireng spatializes the kinds of relationships that the school's leaders argue that Muslims should have with the State, secular science, and the global market place

Lukens-Bull, R.A.

Leiden University Scholary Publications

Architecture and Space1 4 I S I M  N E W S L E T T E R  3 / 9 9Rel i gi o us  St ruc ture sR ON AL D A .  L U K E N S - B U L LIn the centre of Tebu Ireng, Indonesia’s most famousIslamic boarding school, is a mosque-graveyard com-plex which includes the grave of Hashim Ashari, thefounder of Tebu Ireng who is remembered andrevered as both a Sufi master and an Indonesian na-tional hero. Around this physical and spiritual cen-tre, a number of new spaces (schools, a telecommuni-cations office, computer labs, and banks) haveemerged. It is argued here that the very landscape ofTebu Ireng spatializes the kinds of relationships thatthe school’s leaders argue that Muslims should havewith the State, secular science, and the global marketplace. In East Java, the sacred geography of a pe-santren (Islamic boarding school) serves as amodel for how faith and modernity should beordered in the lives of Indonesian Muslims.Pesantren Tebu Ireng has been for many In-donesian traditionalist Muslims a model forhow to engage modernization through edu-cation. In addition to being a popular board-ing school for students from throughout In-donesia, it is also a popular pilgrimage desti-nation (over 2000 pilgrims each month). As aninstitution that has undergone a transforma-tion from being a traditional centre of Islamiclearning, famous for training ulama, to a reli -gious boarding school primarily for juniorhigh and high school students, Tebu Ireng’slandscape reflects a tension between main-taining tradition and modernizing.A balanced centreThe mosque and the m a h k a m ( g r a v e y a r d )at the centre of Tebu Ireng form the mostsacred space. The landscape proudly pro-claims that both normative piety (as exem-plified by the mosque) and mysticism (as ex-emplified by the graveyard and the activi-ties which take place there) must be part ofmodern life and Indonesian statehood, andit demands that they be placed firmly at thecentre. The Tebu Ireng mosque is of the distinctiveJavanese three-tiered pagoda roof style. Thethree tiers are said to symbolize Sharia,Tariqah, and Hakikat (Law, Mysticism, andTruth). At the entrance to this mosque standsa large drum (beduq) used to call the faithfulto prayer. Local lore holds that when HashimAshari built this mosque he said that, as longas it stood, students (santri) would find knowl-edge and baraka (blessing/power) at TebuIreng. Because of the special nature of themosque, some people have been antagonis-tic towards the building of additional mos-ques for the pesantren’s use.In addition to communal worship, themosque is used for the teaching of classical Is-lamic texts (ngaji) including those of al-Ghaz-ali. Besides regular lessons on these texts,some of the leaders hold special sessions dur-ing school breaks and the Ramadan. Thesespecial sessions are open to pilgrims and reg-ular students alike and start after salat Isyak ,the last prayers of the day, and continue forseveral hours, sometimes until midnight. To the west of the mosque is the graveyardof Hashim Ashari and his family members. Sa-cred geography places this graveyard be-tween the believers and Mecca when theypray. Because the dead are buried facing to-ward Mecca, the placement of the graveyardsuggests that the greatkyai (ulama) buried thereare still leading the com-munity in prayer. In Java,this pattern is rare for mostpesantren leaders, but iscommon for great saintsincluding the Walisonggo(the legendary nine saintswho brought Islam toJava). The graveyard is animportant source of barakaas it can linger in the bodyand is transmitted to thearea around the tomb. Pil-grims will take a copy ofthe Qur’an that has been atthe graves, absorbingbaraka, and leave a re-placement copy. The mosque-graveyardcomplex forms the physi-cal and symbolic centre ofthe p e s a n t r e n. This com-plex is, then, representa-tive of traditional Java-nese Islamic piety. It re-flects three dimensions ofpiety: S h a r i a h, scholarship,and mysticism. It clearlydemonstrates that thesethree dimensions must bebalanced; that one cannotexist without the other.The leaders of Tebu Irengreject the idea that that itis possible to transcendShariah by mystical prac-tice and therefore nolonger be required to up-hold it. They also reject the claim that Sufismmust be abandoned in order for Muslims tomodernize. Finally, classical scholarship mustcontinue to be an integral part of Muslim in-tellectual life.Secular, modern spaceAll of Tebu Ireng proper is wakaf ( l a n ddedicated to religious purposes). By incor-porating profane spaces within the sacredcomplex, the landscape of Tebu Ireng is de-claring what the relationship should be be-tween Islam and modernity. With Islam ascentral, Muslims may engage in all aspectsof modernity including education, medi-cine, banking, and marketing. At Tebu Ireng,these activities are located in spaces withinthe orbit of the p e s a n t r e n, depicting thatsuch secular activities are acceptable whenkept within the range of balanced Islamicpractice. Surrounding the mosque-grave-yard complex on three sides are studentdormitories where students sleep, study forschool, receive some n g a j i lessons, andstudy for n g a j i. Southeast of the mosque arethe library and the fully computerized p e-s a n t r e n office. The library at Tebu Ireng sub-scribes to a wide range of magazines andnewspapers, which the students are encour-aged to read in order to develop a broadworldview. This is in sharp contrast to tradi-tional p e s a n t r e n , which forbid any outsidereading material. The library is well usedand includes an historical archive that holdsthe k i t a b and journals of Hashim Ashari (inArabic) as well as copies of every researchproject conducted on Tebu Ireng. Anotherreflection of this greater openness to out-side material is a television in an open-aircourtyard which students are allowed towatch on Thursday nights after t a h l i l a n(prayers for the dead) at the graves. Just in-side the gate are interest-charging banks.These banks serve a number of functions in-cluding wire transfers and savings and loansfor students, faculty, and neighbours. Thepresence of interest-charging banks inside ap e s a n t r e n is a controversial move towardwhat some consider the dangerous side ofm o d e r n i t y .To the west of the main complex are thecompounds for the ‘secular’ junior high andhigh schools called Sekolah Mengenah Per-t a m a (SMP; First Middle School) and SekolahMengenah Atas (SMA; Upper Middle School),respectively. Outside the high school, a largesign proudly boasts that the school has biol-ogy, mathematics, and computer laborato-ries. Further west is the Madrasah Aliyahcompound and the campus of InstitutKeAgaman Hashim Ashari (IKAHA), whichwas originally established as UniversitasHashim Ashari (UNHASY) in the 1970s. Tebu Ireng’s involvement in state projectsis partially demonstrated by its educationalevolution. Next to the schools is a helicopterlanding area, said to be used for visitinggovernment dignitaries. The presence ofsuch a facility, whether regularly used ornot, makes a statement about the relation-ship between the u m m a t (Islamic communi-ty) and the government, as does its place-ment at the edge of the complex. Good rela-tions with the government are critical butnot central.Between the schools and the mosque-graveyard complex is the general kitchen. ByMay 1995, all students ate here, a change thatreflects aspects of modernity. In traditionalpesantren, students cooked for themselves, orin cooperative groups; this was seen as part ofthe training in kemandirian (self-sufficiency).However, since students are no longer cook-ing for themselves, this part of the traditionaltraining in kemandirian has been lost. More-over, since general education has reducedthe amount of time for religious education,Tebu Ireng and many other pesantren havesought to regain this time by preparing foodfor the students. Across the road from the north gate is anew losmen (small simple inn). Although thebuilding and the land are owned by YusufHashim’s daughter, the establishment isstaffed by Tebu Ireng santri. This five-roominn is designed for those visitors to the pon-dok who want a more quiet and comfortableenvironment than the crowded free gue-strooms in the pesantren. The inn reflects achange in pesantren clientele. Many who staythere are fairly wealthy parents from Jakarta,Surabaya, and other urban centres. It also re-flects a trend in which the family of kyai runbusinesses that cater to the needs of santriand their parents. However, detractors arguethat any such support services should be runby the pesantren’s neighbours, thus con-tributing to the economic development ofthe village. This brief treatment of the sacred geogra-phy of Tebu Ireng, a p e s a n t r e n in East Java,has shown how a summary of the landscapeprovides a model for reality. The pilgrim en-ters the p e s a n t r e n, all of which is w a k a f, andimmediately sees a bank, a telecommunica-tions office, and a library. He proceeds paststudent housing to the mosque-graveyardcomplex and performs a number of ritualsthere. As he leaves, he passes through theback gate and encounters government cur-ricula schools and a helicopter-landing padfor government visitors. As he moves throughthis landscape, he sees a model for how aMuslim should live in the modern world. Thismodel requires traditional piety and mysti-cism, as an important part of Islamic practicethat includes both religious and non-reli-gious scholarship, and good relationshipswith the existing government, even if it isnon-Muslim. ♦Ronald A. Lukens-Bull, PhD, is assistant professoro f Anthropology, Department of Sociology,Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, University ofNorth Florida, USA. E-mail: rlukensbul@aol.comGrounds of Tebu Ireng1. Mosque1b. Graveyard2. Student Affairs Office3. The kyai’s house4. Small store and Bank Rakyat Indonesia5. Overnight guest room6. Security office7. Staff dining room8. Stage (with TV)9. MAK dormitory10. General bathing room11. The former house of Kyai Wahid12. Skills centre13. Tsanawiyah building14. Cafeteria15. Courtyard16. Girls’ pondok17. Junior high school18. Senior high school19. Aliyah building20. IKAHA21. Dormitory22. Volleyball court23. Classrooms24. NU-SUMMA bank25. Pesantren office and libraryThe SacredG e o g r a p h yof an IndonesianIslamic Modernity

The Sacred Geography of an Indonesian Islamic Modernity

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The Sacred Geography of an Indonesian Islamic Modernity

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