Islam in Indonesia

Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia, with 86.7% of the Indonesian population identifying themselves as Muslim in a 2018 survey. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority country, with approximately 231 million adherents.

In terms of denomination, the overwhelming majority (98.8%) are Sunni Muslims, while 1-3 million (1%) are Shia, and are concentrated around Jakarta, and about 400,000 (0.2%) Ahmadi Muslims. In terms of schools of jurisprudence, based on demographic statistics, 99% of Indonesian Muslims mainly follow the Shafi'i school, although when asked, 56% does not adhere to any specific school. Trends of thought within Islam in Indonesia can be broadly categorized into two orientations: "modernism", which closely adheres to orthodox theology while embracing modern learning, and " traditionalism", which tends to follow the interpretations of local religious leaders and religious teachers at Islamic boarding schools ('' pesantren''). There is also a historically important presence of a syncretic form of Islam known as '' kebatinan''.

Islam in Indonesia is considered to have gradually spread through merchant activities by Arab Muslim traders, adoption by local rulers, and the influence of Sufism since the 13th century. During the late colonial era, it was adopted as a rallying banner against colonialism. Today, although Indonesia has an overwhelming Muslim majority, it is not an Islamic state, but constitutionally a secular state whose government officially recognizes six formal religions.

Distribution

Muslims constitute a majority in most regions of Java, Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, coastal areas of Kalimantan, and North Maluku. Muslims form distinct minorities in Papua, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, parts of North Sumatra, most inland areas of Kalimantan, and North Sulawesi. Together, these non-Muslim areas originally constituted more than one-third of Indonesia prior to the massive transmigration effort sponsored by the Suharto government and recent spontaneous internal migration.

Internal migration has altered the demographic makeup of the country over the past three decades. It has increased the percentage of Muslims in formerly predominantly-Christian eastern parts of the country. By the early 1990s, Christians became a minority for the first time in some areas of the Maluku Islands. While government-sponsored transmigration from the heavily-populated Java and Madura to less-populated areas contributed to the increase in the Muslim population in the resettlement areas, no evidence suggests that the government intended to create a Muslim majority in Christian areas, and most Muslim migration seemed spontaneous. Regardless of its intent, the economic and political consequences of the transmigration policy contributed to religious conflicts in Maluku, Central Sulawesi, and to a lesser extent, Papua.

Islam in Indonesia by province & region

This is a data table of the percentage of muslims in Indonesia by province, provided by Ministry of Home Affairs:

Denominations

The Islamic schools and branches in Indonesia reflect the activity of Islamic doctrines and organizations operating in Indonesia. In terms of denomination, Indonesia is a majority Sunni country with minority of other sects such as Shia Islam and Ahmadiyya. In terms of Islamic schools of jurisprudence, the Shafi'i school is dominant in Indonesia at large. Proliferation of the Shafi’i school is considered to be due to Arab merchants from the southern Arabian Peninsula who followed this school of jurisprudence.

Division of Islam in Indonesia

Classical documentations divide Indonesian Muslims between "nominal" Muslims, or '' abangan'', whose lifestyles are more oriented toward non-Islamic cultures, and "orthodox" Muslims, or '' santri'', who adhere to the Orthodox Islamic norms. ''Abangan'' was considered an indigenous blend of native and Hindu-Buddhist beliefs with Islamic practices sometimes also called Javanism, '' kejawen'', ''agama Jawa'', or '' kebatinan''. On Java, ''santri'' was not only referred to a person who was consciously and exclusively Muslim, but it also described persons who had removed themselves from the secular world to concentrate on devotional activities in Islamic schools called ''pesantren''—literally "the place of the ''santri''". The terms and precise nature of this differentiation were in dispute throughout the history, and today it is considered obsolete.

In the contemporary era, distinction is often made between "traditionalism" and "modernism". Traditionalism, exemplified by the civil society organization Nahdlatul Ulama, is known as an ardent advocate of Islam Nusantara, a distinctive brand of Islam that has undergone interaction, contextualization, indigenization, interpretation, and vernacularization in line with socio-cultural conditions in Indonesia. Islam Nusantara promotes moderation, compassion, anti-radicalism, inclusiveness, and tolerance. On the other spectrum is modernism, which is heavily inspired by Islamic Modernism, and the civil society organization Muhammadiyah is a known ardent proponent. Modernist Muslims advocate for Islamic reform in Indonesia, which is perceived as having deviated from the historical Islamic orthodoxy. They emphasize the authority of the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and oppose syncretism and taqlid to the ulema. This division, however, also has been considered an oversimplification in recent analysis.Von Der Mehden, Fred R. (1995). "Indonesia.". In John L. Esposito. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

''Kebatinan''

Various other forms and adaptations of Islam are influenced by local cultures that hold different norms and perceptions throughout the archipelago. The principal example is a syncretic form of Islam known as '' kebatinan'', which is an amalgam of animism, Hindu-Buddhist, and Islamic—especially Sufi—beliefs. This loosely organized current of thought and practice was legitimized in the 1945 constitution, and in 1973, when it was recognized as one of the ''agama'', President Suharto counted himself as one of its adherents. The ''Kebatinan'' or ''Kepercayaan'' has no certain prophet, sacred book, nor distinct religious festivals and rituals; it has more to do with each adherent's internalized transcendental vision and beliefs in their relations with the supreme being. As a result, there is inclusivity in that the ''kebatinan'' believer could identify themselves with one of six officially recognized religions, at least in their identity card, and still maintain their ''kebatinan'' belief and way of life. ''Kebatinan'' is generally characterized as mystical, and some varieties were concerned with spiritual self-control. Although many varieties were circulating in 1992, ''kebatinan'' often implies pantheistic worship because it encourages sacrifices and devotions to local and ancestral spirits. These spirits are believed to inhabit natural objects, human beings, artifacts, and grave sites of important ''wali'' (Muslim saints). Illness and other misfortunes are traced to such spirits. If sacrifices or pilgrimages fail to placate angry deities, the advice of a '' dukun'' or healer is sought. ''Kebatinan'', while it connotes a denial of the militant universalism of orthodox Islam, moves toward a more internalized universalism. In this way, ''kebatinan'' moves toward eliminating the distinction between the universal and the local, the communal and the individual.

Other branches

More recent currents of Islamic thoughts that have taken roots include Islamism. Today, the leading Islamic political party in Indonesia is Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which is known for serving as a regional wing of Muslim Brotherhood movement in Indonesia.Bruinessen, Martin van, ''Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam Explaining the 'Conservative Turn' ''. ISEAS Publishing, 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2017.

A small minority subscribe to the Shia Islam and Ahmadiyya. There are around one million Shia Muslims in Indonesia, or 0.5% of the country's population, most of whom are concentrated around Jakarta. The historical Shia community is considered a descendant of the minority segment of Hadhrami immigrants, and it was spread from Aceh, originally a center of Shia Islam in Indonesia. In the contemporary era, interests toward Shia Islam grew after the Iranian Islamic Revolution, since which a number of Shia publications were translated into Indonesian. Another minority Islamic sect is Ahmadiyya. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimates that there are around 400,000 Ahmadi Muslims in Indonesia, spread over 542 branches across the country. Ahmadiyya history in Indonesia began since the missionary activity during the 1920s established the movement in Tapaktuan, Aceh. Both Shia and Ahmadi Muslims have been facing increasing intolerance and persecutions by reactionary and radical Islamic groups.

Organizations

In Indonesia, civil society

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases