Mosques and Imams Everyday Islam in Eastern Indonesia

288 Pages·2021·2.046 MB·English

by  Kathryn M. Robinson (ed)

Mosques and Imams
Mosques and Imams
Everyday Islam in Eastern Indonesia
Edited by
Kathryn M. Robinson
NUS PRESS
SINGAPORE
© 2021 Kathryn M. Robinson
Published by:
NUS Press
National University of Singapore
AS3-01-02, 3 Arts Link
Singapore 117569
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E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://nuspress.nus.edu.sg
ISBN 978-981-325-120-5 (paper)
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be
invented, without written permission from the Publisher.
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data
Name(s): Robinson, Kathryn May, 1949– editor.
Title: Mosques and imams: everyday Islam in eastern Indonesia / edited by
Kathryn M. Robinson.
Description: Singapore: NUS Press, [2021] | Includes index.
Identifier(s): OCN 1144122575 | ISBN 978-981-32-5120-5 (paperback)
Subject(s): LCSH: Islam--Indonesia. | Muslims--Indonesia. | Imams (Mosque
officers)--Indonesia. | Mosques--Indonesia.
Classification: DDC 297.09598--dc23
Cover image: The imam, H. Ahmad Djufri, calls the newborn baby to Islam by
whispering the call to prayer in his right ear. Photo by Kathryn Robinson.
Printed by: Ho Printing Singapore Pte Ltd
Dedicated to
James J. Fox
Emeritus Professor of Anthropology
Australian National University
His innovative anthropological approach to studies
of Islam in Java, and his ethnographic research
in eastern Indonesia have been inspirational for
the authors of this volume.
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
A Note on Non-English Words xiii
Introduction 1
Kathryn M. Robinson
1. Lebe and Sultan: Serving the Mosque and Sustaining 24
Royal Authority
Muhammad Adlin Sila
2. Mediating Religious and Cultural Disputes: 44
Imam Desa and Conflict Resolution in Rural Indonesia
Faried F. Saenong
3. Shariaisation, Wedding Rituals and the Role of Imams 64
in South Sulawesi
Moh Yasir Alimi
4. A Bugis Imam Desa: An Authoritative Voice in 83
a Changing World
Kathryn M. Robinson
5. The Reproduction of Imams and Their Changing Roles 113
within the Contemporary Muslim Community in Wajo,
South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Wahyuddin Halim
6. Negotiating a Space in the Mosque: Women Claiming 143
Religious Authority
Eva F. Nisa
vii
viii Contents
7. Mosques and their Communities in Northern Ambon, 171
Maluku: Exploring Local Traditions as Islamic Practice
in Indonesia
Phillip Winn
8. Haji Badar Daeng Pawero: A Bugis Imam and His Roles 194
in Maintaining Islamic Law and Bugis Adat in Kupang
Stella Aleida Hutagalung
9. Being Muslim in Eastern Indonesia: Contemporary 219
Patterns of Islamic Practice
Andrew McWilliam
Glossary 243
List of Contributors 257
Index 258
List of Illustrations
Maps
Map 0.1 Locations of field studies and significant sites 3
in the spread of Islam in eastern Indonesia
Map 8.1 Kampung Oesapa 197
Table
Table 9.1 Butonese populations in selected regions of 221
eastern Indonesia (Census 2000)
Figures and Photographs
Figure 4.1 Imam H. Ahmad Djufri reading the Qur’an 94
at the Majlis Taklim
Figure 4.2 Teaching children Muslim religious practice 104
in the Workers’ Mosque (Masjid Karyawan)
Figure 4.3 Women watching their children graduate 104
from the TPA (Taman Pendidikan Al-Qur’an)
Figure 4.4 Women at the Majlis Taklim in the old mosque 106
Figure 5.1 As’adiyah Tahfiz al-Qur’an (TQMJ) programmes 118
Figure 5.2 A tahfiz student doing his daily memorisation 121
in the main hall of Masjid Jami
Figure 5.3 Masjid Jami viewed from K.H.M. As’ad Street 122
Figure 5.4 Tahfiz students lining up after performing magrib 123
prayer to submit their daily memorisation to their
teachers in the main hall of Masjid Jami
ix
x List of Illustrations
Figure 5.5 Imam tarawih and mubalig (preachers) ready to 131
be dispatched from the As’adiyah complex in
Lapongkoda, Sengkang, to their places of duty
in 2012
Figure 5.6 A group picture of students of TQMJ with their 135
director and teachers (Oct. 2012)
Figure 6.1 Students at the campus mosque in Makassar 146
Figure 6.2 Female students at their weekly religious 152
programme held in the campus mosque
Figure 6.3 Male students of HTI in a special (not regular) 153
public discussion on the caliphate
Figure 6.4 A flyer typically found in campus mosques 157
Figure 6.5 Female students greeting and talking to each 160
other before their halaqah
Figure 8.1 Al Fitrah Mosque 199
Figure 8.2 Akekah ritual 206
Figure 8.3 Bugis pre-wedding ceremony 209
Figure 8.4 The newlyweds after the Islamic marriage vows 209
Acknowledgements
The research for the individual chapters in this volume was conducted
by scholars who came together under the umbrella of the project
“Being Muslim in Eastern Indonesia: Practice, Politics and Cultural
Diversity”. This was funded by an Australian Research Council Dis-
covery Project (DP0881464). We acknowledge the vibrant research
community of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian
National University, and would like to thank the following scholars
who participated in our regular discussions and seminars and contri-
buted to the development of the approaches to the study of local-level
Islam: George Quinn, James J. Fox, Campbell Macknight, Wendy
Mukherjee, Virginia Hooker, the late Merle Ricklefs, Luthfi Makhasin,
Deni Hamdani and Safira Machrusah. We also acknowledge the con-
tribution of Partner Investigator, Nurul Ilmi Idrus. Diana Glazebrook
has provided invaluable research assistance including editing this
manuscript. Maps are provided by CartoGIS services in the ANU
College of Asia and the Pacific.
xi