Y

ogyakarta is discovering a new ideology, culture and civilization as a result of outside influences. The influences have come from the Middle East as well as from Western capitalist ideologies, both of which have marginalized the culture and civilization of the people of Yogyakarta, who are known to be friendly, kind, helpful, simple and extremely tolerant.

These influences can be seen from the phenomenon of santrinisasi (Islamization) in bureaucracy and capitalism in business.

Since the early 1990s, the politics of Islam began to penetrate the structural organization of Yogyakarta'€™s administration, where most of the government officials were priyayi and abangan.

Priyayi according to Geertz, is a traditional Javanese administrative class and cultural elite, primarily connected to the bureaucratic parts of the society, whereas abangan are Muslims who do not perform the five daily prayers prescribed by Islamic law or do not fast during the month of Ramadhan.

The phenomenon of santrinisasi in bureaucracy is obvious now. The greetings from Javanese culture, kulanuwun (excuse me), sugeng enjing (good morning), and sugeng rawuh (welcome) have been completely replaced with assalamu ngalaikum warochmatullahi wabarakatuh, both verbally and in writing. At the same time, Javanese and national costumes have been replaced by hijabs.

The names of Javanese communities and their activities have been replaced by names from Middle Eastern culture, even the names of a new born Javanese babies and the names of hospital wards have been changed in this manner.

There are also many settlements that are exclusively meant for Muslims and strongly reject non-Muslim tenants. Tragically, the process of santrinisasi has even influenced cemeteries. Cemeteries for Muslims and non-Muslims have to be separated.

So in villages, there are two kinds of cemeteries, one is for Muslims and the other is for non-Muslims. There are few Javanese people who still display wayang (traditional puppets) to decorate their houses or as symbols of good characteristics that should be followed and obeyed by the public. They prefer to hang kaligrafi (Islamic texts in Arabic) and other ornaments or photos, from Middle Eastern culture to replace the wisdom of Javanese proverbs and phrases.

The phenomenon of this influence can be seen in formal education from kindergartens to elementary schools right up to universities. The phenomenon of jilbab-isasi (the hijab) in schools is a result santrinisasi in educational institutions. In certain high schools in Yogyakarta, interactions between students are very similar to interactions seen in Arabic culture. They may not shake hands or even sit near different genders. There are even some students who do not like to follow the flag ceremony and honor the Indonesian national anthem and flag.

Universities are now much more focused on discussions regarding the politics and ideologies of the Middle East as well as Western culture and civilization instead of discussing general social sciences to help them become intellectuals who will fight for a pluralistic society.

In the last 10 years, there have been many businesses such as boarding houses, cafes, laundries, Internet cafes as well as car and motorcycle washes surrounding campuses run by Yogyakartans. The idea of capitalism, hedonism, and an easy going lifestyle inspires those business activities.

These businesses were once seen as tourism businesses, now they have become services for students from high schools to universities. Internet cafes and karaoke bars for students, for example, have also recently popped up near school campuses. Most of their activities consist of hanging out at these places all through the night even into the morning, instead of studying hard. They prefer spending their time at those places rather than studying seriously in the library or in their boarding houses.

Joko Wicoyo
Citizen Journalist
Yogyakarta