Islamic Organizations beyond Java

Research Proposal Islamic Organizations beyond Java Kevin W. Fogg, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies During Oxford’s 2016-2017 academic year, I have a sabbatical of two terms (roughly July 2016 to April 2017). I propose to work together with PPIM, UIN-Jakarta, during this window to research on the subject of Islamic Organizations beyond Java. Islamic mass organizations have been recognized by both scholars, both inside and outside Indonesia, as crucial to the social, religious, political, and education life of the country. 1 The scholarship on this phenomenon, though, focuses almost exclusively on the two mass organizations based on Java: Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. These two organizations are obviously important, but studying them cannot provide a complete or sufficient understanding of Islamic mass organizations in Indonesia. Instead, in the regions beyond Java it becomes necessary to study additional Islamic organizations that are more influential in the outer islands. These other organizations are pivotal in Indonesia’s religious landscape, even though they are not influential at the national center on the same scale as NU and Muhammadiyah. My proposal focuses on three organizations: • Alkhairaat, centered in Palu, Central Sulawesi • Jamiyatul Washliyah, centered in Medan, North Sumatra • Nahdlatul Wathan, centered in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara 2 These organizations have tremendous social, moral, and institutional influence in their respective provinces and beyond; each has spread to several regions through both organizational expansion and migration of organization members. I have chosen these specific organizations because of their relative similarities in size, scope, regional impact, and theological outlook. There are also interesting comparisons and contrasts to be made between the organizations, looking at questions of familiar or collective leadership, ethnic and national cultural orientation, approaches to building faith and religious conviction among their followers. Most importantly, though, Alkhairaat, Jamiyatul Washliyah, and Nahdlatul Wathan are also severely understudied—both at the national level in Indonesia and at the international level— because they have stood in the shadow of Java-based organizations. None of them was mentioned in Martin van Bruinessen’s 2012 work mapping the Islamic organizations in 1 Deliar Noer, The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia, 1900-1942 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1973); Andree Feillard, L'islam traditionaliste et le pouvoir en Indonésie (1965-1993): Le Nahdlatul Ulama aux prises avec l'État modernisateur, doctoral dissertation, Paris École des hautes études en sciences sociales, 1993; Robert W. Hefner, Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000); M.S. Ending, Muhammadiyah di Dua Matahari: Sinergitas Dakwah dan Politik (Mataram: Jaringpena Press, 2005); Azyumardi Azra, Indonesia, Islam and Democracy: Dynamics in a Global Context (Jakarta: Solstice, 2006); Rizal Sukma and Clara Joewono, Islamic Thought and Movements in Contemporary Indonesia (Jakarta: CSIS, 2007); Robert Pringle, Understanding Islam in Indonesia: Politics and Diversity (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2010); Carool Kersten, Islam in Indonesia: The Contest for Society, Ideas and Values (London: Hurst, 2015). 2 All of these organizations additionally have branches in other provinces, and for Jamiyatul Washliyah even the official national headquarters is now in Jakarta, but I am focusing here on the center of their social and educational activities. Additionally, as a historian I am interested in the place of origin of these organizations. Proposal for Cooperation: Islamic Organizations beyond Java Kevin W. Fogg Indonesia, and other foreign language scholarship has also ignored them. 3 Indeed, most of the scholarship in the Indonesian language on these organizations is limited to publications in their respective provinces of origin—not even coming from the national capital of Jakarta. Additionally, the Indonesian language literature on these organizations heavily emphasizes their political side. 4 I hope to research the organizations more holistically, looking historically at their educational and social impact. The goal of this project is to document and understand the historical evolution and current status of these organizations as Islamic mass organizations in Indonesia. My methodology will be historical, collecting data on them from the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) and the National Library (PerpusNas) in Jakarta, and from the organizations themselves, including books, media articles, information on past and current leaders, documents from previous organizational activities. The key methodological lens of history is to look for change over time, so I will be looking for this in two areas. First, I will look for changes in the organizations from their founding to today, to see how they have developed to accommodate the advancing societies in which they work. Second, I will look for changes in society to see how they responded to the positive influence of these organizations. Although I have stated support from leaders of these organizations to do this research and enthusiastic support from universities on Sulawesi, Sumatra and Lombok, I believe that the Pusat Studi Islam dan Masyarakat and Universitas Islam Negeri – Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, are the appropriate collaborators for my sabbatical. PPIM and UIN have the advantage of being a central and neutral location, such that my research is not overly biased in favor of a single organization. PPIM is also a leader in theoretical engagement with Islam in Indonesia’s social life, and its active publication program can provide outlets for spreading the results of this research. 3 Martin van Bruinessen, “Overview of Muslim Organizations, Associations, and Movements in Indonesia,” in Martin van Bruinessen, ed., Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam (Singapore: ISEAS, 2013), pp. 21-59. Even supposedly “exhaustive” Indonesian studies often omit these regional organizations, for example Dr Khalimi MA, Ormas-Ormas Islam: Sejarah, Akar Teologi, dan Politik (Jakarta: Gaung Persada Press, 2010). 4 To show that the literature has been both published mostly outside of Jakarta and disproportionately political, we have many examples. For Alkhairaat: Sofjan B. Kambay, Perguruan Islam Alkhairaat dari Masa ke Masa (Palu: S.K.P.B. Alkhairaat, 1991); Ahmad Bachmid, Sang Bintang dari Timur, Sayyid Idrus al-Jufri: Sosok Ulama dan Sastrawan (Jakarta: Studia Press, 2007); Gani Jumat, Nasionalisme Ulama: Pemikiran Politik Kebangsaan Sayyid ‘Idrus bin Salim Aljufriy, 1891-1969 (N.P.: Kementerian Agama R.I., 2012). For Jamiyatul Washliyah: Ahmad Hamim Azizy, Al-Jami’yatul Washliyah dalam Kancah Politik Indonesia (Banda Aceh: Yayasan Pena, 2006); Saiful Akhyar Lubis, ed., Peran Moderasi Al-Washliyah (Medan: Univa Press, 2008); Hasballah Thaib, Syeikh H.M. Arsyad Thalib Lubis: Pemikiran dan Karya Monumental (Medan: Perdana, 2012); Hasballah Thaib and Zamakhsyari Hasballah Thaib, Bersama Alm. Prof. Drs. H. Nukman Sulaiman (Medan: Perdana, 2012). For Nahdlatul Wathan: Mohammad Noor, Muslihan Habib, and Muhammad Harfin Zuhdi, Visi Kebangsaan Religius: Refleksi Pemikiran dan Perjuangan Tuan Guru Kyai Haji Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid, 19041997 (Ciputat: Logos, 2004); Masnun, Tuan Guru KH Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid: Gagasan dan Gerakan Pembaharuan Islam di Nusa Tenggara Barat (Mataram: Pustaka Al-Miqdad, 2007); Baharuddin, Nahdlatul Wathan dan Perubahan Sosial (Yogyakarta: Genta Press, 2007); Khirjan Nahdi, ‘Dinamika Pesantren Nahdlatul Wathan dalam Perspektif Pendidikan, Sosial, dan Modal,’ Islamica vol. 7 no 2 (Maret 2013): 381-405; 2 Proposal for Cooperation: Islamic Organizations beyond Java Kevin W. Fogg Although I hope to be sponsored by UIN-Jakarta, I also intend to spend a significant amount of my time working directly with the organizations in these provinces. The regions in which I will work are as follows: • North Sumatra: Kota Medan, Kabupaten Deli Serdang, Kabupaten Langkat • Banten: Tangerang Selatan (UIN-Jakarta) • DKI Jakarta: Jakarta Pusat, Jakarta Selatan (PerpusNas, ANRI) • Sulawesi Tengah: Kota Palu, Kabupaten Donggala, Kabupaten Parigi Moutong • Nusa Tenggara Barat: Kota Mataram, Kabupaten Lombok Timur My proposed timeline is as follows: • Mid-July 2016: Arrive in Indonesia, complete registration with MenRisTek, Imigrasi, MaBes PolRI, and other relevant government offices as required by law • August 2016: In Jakarta with PPIM, working through national context for the study • September 2016: Month of field research in Palu, Central Sulawesi, with Alkhairaat o Late September 2016: Possible seminar with IAIN-Palu, Universitas Alkhairaat • October 2016: In Jakarta with PPIM, processing data from Alkhairaat • November 2016: Month of field research in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, with Nahdlatul Wathan o Late November 2016: Possible seminar with IAIN-Mataram • Early December 2016: In Jakarta with PPIM, processing data from NW • Mid-December 2016-mid-January 2017: Possible return to Oxford for university obligations, refresh theoretical perspectives from Oxford collections • Late January 2017: In Jakarta with PPIM, processing data from NW • February 2017: Month of field research in Medan, North Sumatra, with Jamiyatul Washliyah o Late February 2017: Possible seminar with UIN-Sumatera Utara and USU • March 2017: In Jakarta with PPIM, processing data from Jamiyatul Washliyah and drafting outline of comparative book on organizations outside of Java o Late March 2017: Possible national workshop at UIN-Jakarta • Early April 2017: Concluding work with PPIM Jakarta, complete obligations with Indonesian government offices • Mid-April 2017: Return to Oxford I hope, in collaboration with PPIM, UIN-Jakarta, the organizations being researched, and partner universities across Indonesia, to run a series of academic seminars so as to facilitate the contributions of Indonesian researchers to this project. The themes will be determined by host universities looking at various points of focus, such as educational impacts, or religious positions. It is my desire to compile the best English-language papers from these conferences in an edited volume, to be published in Europe. Additionally, the best Indonesian-language papers could be published together as an edited volume from UIN Press. My own research will be primarily focused on creating a comparative monograph to be published in the United Kingdom that explores the parallel historical evolution of these organizations over the twentieth and twenty-first century. It will include themes of changing leadership, response to local cultural traditions, and building of civil society and social outreach. 3 Proposal for Cooperation: Islamic Organizations beyond Java Kevin W. Fogg This monograph will be submitted for publication with a major English-language university press. While at PPIM, UIN-Jakarta, I intend to present in the centre’s internal seminar series about my research, and to assist with the centre’s internationally-reputed journal: Studia Islamika. Additionally, I look forward to seeking out other ways that I can contribute to academic life in the centre and in the university more broadly. I hope that this research will be a contribution to international knowledge about the importance of Islamic organizations in Indonesia, and a catalyst for international-quality research on these organizations in Indonesia. 4