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Defending Islam Nusantara
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (far left) delivers a speech during the national meeting (munas) of the Nahdlatul Ulama clerics at Miftahul Huda Al-Azhar Islamic boarding school in Citangkolo, Banjar, West Java on Feb. 27 (Antara/Adeng Bustomi)
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undreds of Muslim youth raised a variety of concerns on the new wave of religious puritanism and Islamism in early February. They found such ideas have affected many important parts of their lives, particularly regarding religious or cultural-based practices and political ideology.
The forum was called Rapimnas Pejuang Islam Nusantara (National Leaders Meeting of the Defenders of Islam of the Archipelago), with most participants culturally affiliated with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest Islamic organization that coined the “Islam Nusantara” concept.
Interestingly, most participants had never met before, only engaging with each other on social media. This offline meeting allowed them to voice their aspirations and concerns on the changing social and cultural constellation.
I attended this meeting and interviewed some of them, finding that the growing trend of aggressive movements to eradicate traditions has become a serious problem at the grassroots level. Meanwhile, the political movement of Islamists in campaigning for an “Islamic state” has affected their spirit of nationalism.
In the last few years, various media outlets have reported how hardline puritan Muslim groups have precluded or banned traditions. In Bantul, Yogyakarta, an intolerant group sabotaged and attempted to thwart sedekah laut (ritual of sea offerings) late last year.
Even a local government official in South Sulawesi expressed belief that cultural rites triggered the devastating natural disasters there. This presumption was institutionalized by the local policy asking people to reconsider their traditions that were assumed deviant based on “Islamic orthodoxy”.
Similarly in Sambas, West Kalimantan, Muslims were recently banned from joining the celebrations for Chinese New Year by the regency’s branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council. Again, the reason for the ban was the fear that people’s faith will be corrupted and lead to polytheism.
