Suharto Jakarta, Indonesia By Saul William Allen

342 Pages·2015·3.24 MB·English

by  Saul Allen

Having Change and Making Change: Muslim Moral Transformations in Post-
Suharto Jakarta, Indonesia
By
Saul William Allen

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Asian Languages and Cultures)
in the University of Michigan
2015

Doctoral Committee:

Professor Nancy Florida, Chair
Associate Professor Miranda Brown
Professor Paul C. Johnson
Professor Webb Keane
ميْ حِ رَّ لا نمٰ حْ رَّ لا اللهِ مسْ ب
ِ ِ ِ ِ

َاللّه نَّ ّإ بُ رَ قْ َأ وَ ُه وْ َأ رّ صَ َبْلا ّحمْ َلكَ َّلاّإ ةّ عَ اسَّ لا رُ مْ َأ امَ وَ ضّ رْ َلأاوَ تّ اوَ امَ سَّ لا بُ يْ غَ ّلِله ّوَ
ر يدّ َق ءٍ يْ شَ لِّ كُ ىَلعَ
Acknowledgements
This dissertation was conceived and crafted with the assistance of family, friends,
acquaintances, supporters and critics. Even as their efforts within this project are acknowledged,
I claim sole authorship for its failings.
A host of institutions facilitated the research represented here. Thus I first acknowledge
the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation, the generous administrators of a Fulbright
Research Grant in Indonesia. Among the many helpful administrators and staff, I owe a specific
debt of gratitude to Nellie Paliama. The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the
University of Michigan, my home at the University, generously contributed to several different
sojourns conducted in the lead-up to the primary research term. I remain beholden to the capable
ministrations of our excellent program staff. The Rackham Graduate School at the University of
Michigan provided funding for post-research writing, as well as for conference attendance where
I honed early versions of some of these materials. The Sweetland Center for Writing, at the
University of Michigan, through its Dissertation Writing Institute, greatly increased the
likelihood of my eventual completion. Under the watchful eye of Louis Cicciarelli, real progress
was made.
The Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology, Kementerian Riset dan Teknologi,
provided valuable oversight during the course of my project. In addition to facilitating my receipt
of a research visa, the able staff at the Ministry reviewed my regular progress reports and
methodological updates. The Indonesian Interior Ministry, Kementerian Dalam Negeri, helpfully
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oversaw my research proposals and directed me towards the appropriate regional offices for
further permissions. Thus I thank the staff at the Governors’ Office in the Province of Tangerang
Selatan, as well as the oversight committee from the Special Capital Region of Jakarta.
At the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Irfan Abubakar and the Center for
the Study of Religion and Culture proved to be welcoming hosts and willing administrative
sponsors. I only regret that I availed myself of their hospitality so infrequently. The International
Office at the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah provided an on-campus base of
operations surrounded by eager volunteers and caring administrators. For this Bu Yeni Ratna and
Cut Erika deserve special mention. For the enduring patience of Mbak Iin, Ali, Dewi, Ega and
Zsa-zsa, and others at the IO, I offer thanks.
Tubagus Wahyudi, the patriarch of the broad Kahfi family, deserves my sincere and
humble gratitude. Along with his beloved wife Mbak Wie and their two sons, Om Bagus opened
his home, his institution and his life to my bumbling embrace.
Amongst the legions of deserving acquaintances, interlocutors and friends from Kahfi, I
can mention but a few. My apologies to any who feel neglected. An incomplete list would begin
with Syarif, Soryh, Ka Oji, Ka Bogie, Lina, Trian, Kak Sarim, Ustadh Latif, Mbak Titin, Sari,
Helen. At Initiatives of Change Indonesia, Umam oversaw my welcome. I owe further thanks to
the many members of the IofC community that accepted me with nary a wayward glance,
starting from Ka Huda and Ka Wazeen. Thank you, in no order whatsoever, Yudi, Iskandar,
Nenden, Vivi, Awen, Afif, Ary, Anggi, Rera, MAJ, Ratna, Aminah, and so many others. For
their perspicuity in matters of Islam, I own pointed thanks to Pa Sadiq and Ustadh Junaidi. For
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patience, hard work and clear insight, I want to thank Naf’an, along with his entire family, who
kept the doors of their home open to me.
Daniel Birchok, Ismail Alatas and Stuart Strange all provided invaluable criticism at key
moments in the drafting of this project. Cassandra Grafström and Amanda Hendrix-Komoto
similarly waded through dense prose in pursuit of sometimes elusive arguments. To all of them I
once more extend an open offer of reciprocity. Aaron, Brian, Corey, David, Jay and Peter helped
ensure that progress continued over the years – thanks to each of you, you’ve helped more than
you recognize.
Arvind-Pal Mandair contributed greatly to the theoretical insights I have sometimes
disguised here. Webb Keane and Paul Johnson, despite the inherent unreliability of their
interlocutor, made themselves available for the defining moments of this project – an immense
act of service. Miranda Brown has been a wellspring of professional advice, scholarly
mentorship and personal support. I am deeply indebted to her, not least for her incredible
willingness to assist when needed most.
There are few words that could do justice to over a decade of diligent supervision,
thoughtful criticism and personal warmth. Every piece of this project that succeeds reveals the
gentle touch of Nancy Florida, and each and every failure marks my departure from her
guidance. I am thankful to her for inculcating an ethic of scholarship to which I can still only
aspire. For the grace, dignity and concern with which she communicated such lessons, I am and
will remain profoundly grateful.
My parents, late in mention but early in my estimation, have supported me throughout
this process. Whether material, psychical or logistical, their generosity towards an oft wandering
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son leaves me chastened. My thanks too to my sister Anna for her contagious enthusiasm, and
for the inspirational figure she cuts in her own life. Building on the logistical support of my
parents is the incomparable service rendered by Tom and Barbara, my delightful mertua, who
dove in at the end to carry my parenting slack, gifting me with the precious moments necessary
for completion.
To Ira, my erstwhile competitor, long-time friend, and now collaborator. You’ve been the
best brother and the best editor one could wish for. Thanks for your faith, your ceaseless
encouragement, and your always delightful insights.
To Ilyas and Leena, my favorite distractions, my beloved simultaneous obstacles and
motivations, forgive a neglectful father in the course of his work, and my thanks for the needed
focus and smiles. Beth, you’ve been my pillar, a joyous companion and when needed, a piercing
critic. I couldn’t have done it without you and I wouldn’t have wanted to.
And finally, I thank my brother Isaac for all the different ways he has contributed to my
life. I imagine him having little patience for my circular prose, arcane citations and aborted
arguments. But he would have had a blast with the research. Zipping from place to place on an
underpowered motor scooter, weaving through crowded Jakarta streets and cool night-time air, I
bet he would have felt at home.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………….……ii
List of Figures…………………………………………………………..……….……vii
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...1
Chapter 1 Managing Change……………………………………………………31
Chapter 2 Changing Hearts and Lives at Initiatives of Change Indonesia…….101
Chapter 3 The Banquet of Change……………………………………………..157
Chapter 4 Kahfi Motivator School and Islamic Hypnotherapy………………..196
Chapter 5 Kahfi, Motivation, and Motivasi……………………………….……255
Afterward…………………………………………………………………….………305
Works Cited………………………………………………………………….………320

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List of Figures
Figure 1 Mass Hypnotic Induction………………………………………....…..206
Figure 2 Targeted Abilities and System of Instruction………………...………219
Figure 3 Rolling out the Prayer Mats at Kahfi……………………...………….233
Figure 4 Decorating the Walls at Kahfi………………………………………...233
Figure 5 Planning Session Upstairs at Kahfi.……………………………..……234
Figure 6 Rapid Recitation of the Qur’an….….……………………….……...…236
Figure 7 Sources of Thought from Al Qur’an (1A)…………………….………242
Figure 8 Sources of Thought from Al Qur’an (1B)…………………….………242
Figure 9 Sources of Thought from Al Qur’an (2A)……………………….……245
Figure 10 Sources of Thought from Al Qur’an (2B)……………………….……245
Figure 11 Sources of Thought from Al Qur’an (3A)………………………….…248
Figure 12 Sources of Thought from Al Qur’an (3B)…………………………….248
Figure 13 A PowerPoint-Mediated Interpretation of Pyscho-cybernetics…...…..272
Figure 14 Om Bagus on Public Speaking in the Conceptual Era…………..…....278
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Figure 15 Recruits and Facilitators at Kahfi Ospek 13…………………..……..298
Figure 16 A Military Aesthetic at Kahfi……………………………….……….300
Figure 17 Kahfi Motivator School Graduation for Cohorts 9-10………………303
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Introduction
Prelude
In 2008, when I started a project about revisionist history and post-New Order Indonesia,
I imagined the death of former President Suharto early in that year would galvanize further
historiographical reform. When the prophesied reforms failed to materialize, and when I
repeatedly failed to engage Indonesians of my acquaintance in a meaningful dialog about the
place and use of history, I moved in a different direction. My focus on history tended towards
systemic analyses. I was interested in the structural logics that enabled and constrained political
efficacy. My Indonesian interlocutors, however, voiced almost exclusive interest in agentive
accounts. Asked what was the most grievous issue facing the nation, “corruption” was the usual
reply. When I prompted for a solution, greater moral character was the almost-invariable
response. I could not engage my friends in a debate about corruption without the need for
personal moral accountability being the primary conclusion: my persistent wails of structural
inducements were summarily unconvincing.
Returning to conduct my fieldwork in 2010, I was pulled ever further afield from my
historical queries. Instead I was drawn directly into the operations of two small-scale
organizations dedicated to achieving the kinds of moral awakenings I had heard about in prior
years. Moral growth would salve social ills, the argument seemed to go. This was frequently an
element of my discussions at both Kahfi Motivator School (Kahfi) and Initiatives of Change
Indonesia (IofC), the two aforementioned organizations. Looking at themselves and their society,
my acquaintances in these groups advocated moral projects of personal transformation.
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