Social groups: religious groups and communities Books

Book SynopsisMuhammadiyah, together with the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), are seen as the two pillars of moderate Islam in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah is currently often perceived to be the more conservative of the two and to have more affinity with Islamist groups. On political issues, for instance, it is steered by Islamist imagery. On cultural issues, Muhammadiyah is often guided by old enmity towards what is called the TBC (takhayul, bid’ah dan churafat; delusions, religious innovation without precedence in the Prophetic traditions and the Qur’an, and superstitions or irrational belief). This position has placed Muhammadiyah in an uneasy relationship with both local cultures and traditionalist Islam. Three issues that were raised in 2017—the banning of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), the recurrent controversy on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and the ruling of the Constitutional Court on Penghayat Kepercayaan—are issues where Muhammadiyah has been easily drawn towards Islamist and conservative tendencies. Be that as it may, Muhammadiyah remains a social movement guided by its long-held theology of al-M?`?n (kindness) and with a strong emphasis on social services. It is this doctrine that has prevented Muhammadiyah from dwelling on mythical or abstract issues and neutralized it against Islamism, making its members more realistic in viewing the world, more prone to distancing themselves from the utopian vision of a caliphate, from the dream of shariah as the Messiah that will solve every problem, and from the temptation to create an Islamic state. The “pragmatic Islamism” that Muhammadiyah has adopted allows it to handle social dynamics well.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe crisis of multiculturalism in the West and the failure of the Arab uprisings in the Middle East have pushed the question of how to live peacefully within a diverse society to the forefront. Against this backdrop, Indonesia—as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world and the third-largest democracy—has taken on particular importance. Some analysts say Indonesia offers proof of the compatibility of Islam and democracy, but sceptics argue that the growing religious intolerance that has marred the country's political transition discredits this. Based on a twenty-month project carried out in several regions of Indonesia, Indonesian Pluralities shows that when assessing democracy and citizenship in Indonesia today, we must examine not only elections and official politics but also the less formal yet more pervasive processes of social recognition at work. The contributors demonstrate that in fact citizen ethics are not static discourses but living traditions that co-evolve in relation to broader patterns of politics, gender, religious resurgence and ethnicity in society. This title is only available for sale through Eurospan in Japan.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe concept of the Islamization of knowledge was introduced by Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas in the late 1970s. It aimed to detach knowledge from Western culture and civilization in order to replace it with Islamic concepts, frameworks and values.The Islamization of knowledge was to occur in the fields of education and culture, manifesting in changes to the syllabus in institutions of higher learning and niche areas of interest in selected research institutes. In the field of culture, however, it resulted in an unintended consequence of Malay literature being heavily characterized by Islamic elements.Over the years, proponents of the Islamization of knowledge in Malaysia have moved beyond the fields of education and culture. They have entered the mainstream and become part of the state machinery, thus possibly impacting national policies.The concept has also evolved and arguably led to the strengthening of Islamic conservatism among Malaysian intellectual and cultural elites.More specifically, its exclusivist thinking does not augur well for intra- and intercommunal relations in the country.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less