Study tour Indonesia 2007

Lecture 1; Islam in Indonesia

Islam means submission, and refers to the total surrender of one’s self to Allah. It is a monotheistic religion, originating with the teaching of Muhammad, an Islamic prophet. Islam has twenty-five prophets, from Abraham to Jesus. Islam is all about belief, the five pillars of Islam and how to communicate with each other. The five pillars are praying five times a day ( salat), fasting during the Ramadhan month ( sawm), pilgrimage to Mecca ( hajj), giving 2.5 % of their income to the poor ( zakat), and the creed ( shahadah). To follow the five pillars is a minimum of what a Muslim should do. A Muslim is one who submits to Allah, and he/she does not regard Muhammad as a founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of the prophets. The message of Islam is the same as the message preached by all the messengers sent by Allah to human since Adam.

Islam is divided into three directions: Sunni, Shi`a and Sufism. Sunni means that what Muhammad did during his life, has to be followed by everyone. You find this direction mostly in Asia. Shi`a is mostly found in Iran, Iraq and Arabia. Sufism is a mystical form of Islam followed by Muslims within Sunni and Shi`a.

• History of Islam in Indonesia

Islam came to Indonesia by sea trading. It is uncertain who brought Islam to Indonesia in the first place, but it is most likely to be traders from Gujarat, India. In Indonesia you have different Islamic mass organizations like Muhmammadiyah and Nahdhatul Ulama. Muhammamdiyah means followers of Muhammad. They are supposed to do what Muhammad did. Their motto is that you should love each other, the way you love yourself. They have a modern school system. It is noted as a Muslim reformist organization.

Nahdhatul Ulama is a conservative Islamic group in Indonesia. Its traditionalist nature is evident in the name of Ulama, referring to the scholar’s preachers of Islam, trained in Quranic studies. Have around 40 millions followers, mostly living in rural areas. Other organizations are Islam Liberal Network, which aims to promote a pluralistic and more liberal interpretation of Islamic thinking. They also have Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, which advocate a pan-Islamic caliphate. Another one is Indonesian Mujahedeen Council, which advocates implementation of Shari`a as a precursor to an Islamic state. Islam came to Java through a new Islamic empire named Malaka by traders from Gujarat and Parsia. There were Javanese traders who visited Malaka, and took the religion back home. The characteristics of Islam in Java are the combination of beliefs systems. They have a special Islam in Java, who has the belief in Messiah, called Ratu Adil.