NUR FUAD - AF - PRHS - PHD - 2017
NUR FUAD - AF - PRHS - PHD - 2017
NUR FUAD - AF - PRHS - PHD - 2017
Doctor of Philosophy
University of Leeds
September 2017
ii
The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his/her own and that appropriate
credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others.
This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and
that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper
acknowledgement.
The right of Ai Fatimah Nur Fuad to be identified as Author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Acknowledgments
I must express my gratitude to all the members of my large family and relations in
Indonesia. Thanks go to my husband, M. Hilali Basya, for his consistent
encouragement and to my sons, Rafyal Fikri and Kafyal Rusydi, who bring bundles
of joy into my life. My deepest gratitude and love goes to my late father, Nana
Sutisna, who passed away at the end of my first year of my PhD studies, and to my
late mother Hj. Titin Kuraesin, who passed away at the end of my PhD studies. For
their endless love, prayers and motivation, I dedicate this work to my parents.
iv
Abstract
This thesis contributes to the analysis of the dakwah (Islamic preaching and mission)
of contemporary Islamist movements with a case study of the Indonesian Tarbiyah
movement. My analysis borrows from aspects of social movement theory and
conceptions of lived religion to illuminate both the official discourses and everyday
experiences of the movement in a novel way. I begin by providing an historical
framework for understanding dakwah and Islamist movements in modernity
(Chapter 1) and by locating Islam(ism) and dakwah in terms of the changing social,
political and religious dynamics of colonial and postcolonial Indonesia (Chapter 2).
To investigate the Tarbiyah movement, I collected qualitative interviews and
fieldwork data in Jakarta during 2012–13 (Chapter 3). In the key chapters of this
thesis, I focus on three main arguments: i) that the gradual transition of the Tarbiyah
movement from a politically repressed network of religious purists in the 1970-80s
into a fully-fledged dakwah political party (the Prosperous Justice Party/Partai
Keadilan Sejahtera, PKS) was the outcome of new ‘political opportunities’ which
emerged during a period of democratisation 1990-97 (Chapter 4); ii) that the
movement’s weekly Liqo (circle of religious teaching) illuminates both the synergies
and tensions between official, top-down framing by increasingly formal, outward-
looking and pragmatic PKS leaders and the more informal and more conservative
networks, the latter remaining a key resource for mobilisation (Chapter 5); and,
finally, that the lived experiences of female trainees in the Liqo suggest that this is a
space where Tarbiyah movement/PKS norms, lifestyles and dispositions are more or
less successfully taught, learned and reproduced principally through the disciplined
and repeated performances of embodied piety (Chapter 6).
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Table of Contents
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 9
6.7 Liqo women’s reception of Adab (Islamic ethics) and Fiqh (Islamic
jurisprudence) ...................................................................................................................... 256
6.7.1 Muslim women’s dress ...................................................................................... 256
6.7.2. Women’s roles in the private and public spheres .................................. 262
6.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 266
FIGURE 1 THE DAKWAH CENTRE OR MARKAZ DAKWAH (MD) OF DPP-PKS, JAKARTA ...119
FIGURE 2 POSTERS AT THE PKS OFFICE IN PARLIAMENT HOUSE (DPR), JAKARTA ............126
FIGURE 3 THE BOOK COVER OF THE TRAINING MANUAL MANHAJ TARBIYAH (2005) ........207
Introduction
Indonesian Islamist group named the Tarbiyah movement. In particular, I study the
synergies and discrepancies between official discourses and lived experiences in the
movement and the extent to which this reflects relations and tensions between
leaders and other members. By way of Introduction here, I firstly establish the
discourse in a modern global context and highlights the ways in which various
dakwah strategies are related to Islamisation projects. The second part of this
certain gaps in the existing literature with regard to the Tarbiyah movement. The
third part of this Introduction explains the theoretical driving force of this thesis,
while finally I present an overview of the structure of this thesis and underline its
movement are often associated with the increasingly formal and very public dakwah
managed by the Prosperous and Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, PKS),
members in middle and lower levels of the movement which have their roots in
informal networks mainly emphasise the personal impact of a more private dakwah
and embodied religious training in strengthening their individual piety and sense of
belonging.
The processes of globalised modernity that have been taking place in Muslim
countries since the nineteenth century and earlier have changed the relationship
10
modernisation, and the adoption of a largely Westernised legal system, has had a
profound impact on Islamic courts and the position of the ulama. Although they
have not been eliminated from postcolonial nation-states like Egypt and Indonesia,
the courts are now often restricted to dealing with family law, and have been
in these states, often replacing the role of Islamic law with respect to matters of
regulation and punishment. The limiting of the role of such shari’ah related
institutions in the colonial and now the postcolonial public sphere, and the
independence, is perhaps the main way in which so-called ‘Islamists’ – who struggle
through various political means to re-Islamise the public sphere - have encountered
‘the downfall of the hegemony of the symbolic Muslim system’ (Burgat, 2003:44).
least in the sense that it became the focus of their projects of Islamisation, secular
Western ideologies, from atheism to consumer capitalism, have been seen as the key
It was secularism that spawned the idea that the inherited normative capital
of nearly 14 centuries of civilisation was suddenly no longer the right way to
run the whole society. It was secularism that strongly believed in regulating
the sphere of personal status (marriages, inheritances etc) and more than this,
the relationship of society to its external environment or to its non-Muslim
components (2003:44).
Despite its potency as a vehicle of political resistance to the colonial powers, it was
in reaction to ‘the secularism of the postcolonial Muslim state’ that the Islamists
11
formulated a response to the rapid loss of the political authority of Islam and its
As Roy (2004) and Mandaville (2007; 2014) suggest, Islamism is a modern political
ideology that emerged as a new phenomenon during the Twentieth century. This
ideology was in many ways inspired and influenced by pre-modern revivalist figures
like Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328 CE) and Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-
1787 CE) (Rippin, 2005; Commins 2009). As revivalists, such figures attributed the
Islam. Revivalists believe that if Muslims return to ‘pure’ Islam as found in the
Qur’an and Sunna, they will be able to restore the ‘glory’ of the past. Hence, the
(cf. Wiktorowicz 2006 and Meijer 2009 on Wahhabi inspired Salafism in the global
Islamists are also to some extent influenced and inspired by the reformist ideas of
Abduh (1849-1905 CE), and Rashid Rida (1865-1935 CE) who are considered
ideas have a complex relationship to such modernist figures (Rahman 1979). The
1
These figures have a key position in between modernism and revivalism/Islamism. Al-Afghani, for
instance, through his idea of pan-Islamism, attempted to unite Islam politically against the power of
Europe, while Rida became a key figure in early Salafism (see Rahman 1979; Rippin, 2005).
12
modernity (Rippin, 2005). Richard Mitchell, writing of the first mass Islamist
movement, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which was founded in 1920s Egypt,
explains: “the Islamist movements aimed at a total reform of the political, economic,
and social life of the country” (1993: xv). Thus a general characteristic of Islamism
is the belief that Islamic teachings should encompass all aspects of life, from the
Although its origins can be found in the colonial period, as an ideology and a
movement, Islamism has consolidated and most strongly marked itself out in the
2007). Indeed, movements in the Muslim Middle East such as the MB mentioned
including in Indonesia.
As noted above, conflict between Islam and the West has been a defining response
to modernity for many Islamist movements and thinkers. In the Twentieth century,
other Western ‘isms’, such as liberalism, Zionism, and secularism. One concept that
has been particularly important in articulating this Islamist critique of the impact of
modernity is Ghazwul Fikri (‘the war of ideas’) (Hirschkind, 2009). While it evokes
the clash of civilisations thesis (Huntington, 1996), this concept can also be
movements, the increasing global hegemony of Western culture (as well as its
continuing economic and political power) is said to have undermined Islamic culture
in Muslims’ everyday lives. Islamists have argued that Western cultural hegemony
has attacked Islam and Muslim lives through the mass-media, popular culture such
as films and music, and the secular education system (Hirschkind, 2009).
imperialism of the West. They believe that this has caused the spread of distorted
worldwide. The dakwah of the Islamist movements is thus crucial for building up
consciousness of why Islam and Muslims find themselves in the circumstances they
do in modernity and how they can hope to overturn this situation through a religio-
political revival. This global Islamist discourse, and in particular its emphasis on the
war of ideas is evident in Sayyid Qutb’s (1906-1966 CE) work (Kepel, 2003;
Burgat, 2003; Mandaville, 2007). For the Islamists, dakwah is part of their struggle
to keep Islamic values alive, and retain Islamic identities. For this purpose, then, the
stages: (i) the Islamisation of individuals, (ii) the Islamisation of families, (iii) the
Islamisation of society, and (iv) the Islamisation of the political system or the state
This Islamisation scheme aims to create, in time, both individual piety and public
considered as starting logically from the pious individual who will then build up
from a pious family to a pious society that will eventually see the emergence of
14
pious public norms including ultimately the very state itself. For the MB and
Islamists in general, then, it is not enough simply to be a good Muslim just in the
personal or private sphere; Muslims also need to actively shape the society or state
they live in by seeking to make it more Islamic. Thus through this schema, Islamist
movements not only focus on disciplining the self via dakwah focused on individual
piety, but also (eventually) on creating and controlling public piety via public
dakwah.2 The former may be considered private Islamisation and the latter public or
state Islamisation (cf. Mahmood, 2005; Rinaldo, 2013). By ‘individual piety’ here
scholars typically mean the commitment to perform obligatory rituals such as the
individual piety, for the Islamist, is not only an obligation for Muslims, but also
aims to protect them from being influenced by Western modernity. In the debate
concerning the private versus the public role of religion (see Casanova, 1994), this
When they talk about ‘public piety’, scholars like Benjamin F. Soares (2004) mean
particular behaviour or practice performed in the public sphere that comes to have
political significance. The concept of public piety also implies that there may be
particular, are typically viewed as wanting to control and discipline Muslim societies
in terms of their behaviours and attitudes through the use of (often authoritarian)
public norms and state regulations. This discussion on individual piety and public
2
For some revolutionary Islamist movements, dakwah itself is not enough.
15
piety will be taken forward in my thesis, examining when, how and why both sorts
of piety have been developed through the dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement/PKS in
Indonesia. It also recognises that official ideologies of and individual appetites for
different sorts of public/private dakwah are changing e.g. in terms of recent debates
grew mainly in big cities as a response to social change and emerging political
opportunities (cf. Wiktorowicz 2004; Fox 2012). They were initially focused
typically on improving the private piety of individuals but then attempted to develop
more public agendas to Islamise society and the state. Since the pre-independence
period of Indonesian history, which ran from the beginning until the middle of the
twentieth century, Islam was used as an ideological means for campaigning against
colonialism and establishing the ‘Muslim’ character of the nation-state (Latif, 2008;
Effendy, 2006; Laffan, 2003). However, it was not until the 1980s and 1990s that
Islamism emerged more visibly in Indonesia, through the Tarbiyah movement and
other competing Islamist movements. This was also a decade of very public re-
such as the Iranian revolution (1979) and the Afghan jihad against the Russians, as
well as the global spread of Wahhabi and Salafi ideology through Saudi-sponsored
The Tarbiyah movement, in its early phase of development and during a period of
private piety and was composed only of small study circles (Halaqah; Liqo) of
Technology (ITB) and The Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB); these were the
starting points and epicentres of the emergent Tarbiyah movement. However, the
movement then developed and consolidated when President Soeharto (who ruled
effort to shore up his legitimacy during the final period of his government – from
1989 to 1998.
The changing political climate and a more democratic state in the post-New Order
era from the end of 1998 encouraged the emergence in the public sphere of various
revivalist Islamic groups such as the Islamic Defender Front (FPI), the Hizb ut-
Tahrir of Indonesia (HTI), and the Forum of Communication of Ahl us-Sunnah Wal-
Jama'ah (FKAWJ) (Hilmy, 2010; Hasan, 2006; Jamhari and Jahroni, 2004). In
addition, new Islamic political parties based on revivalist ideologies (including the
Crescent Moon Party (PBB) and New Masyumi Party) were founded following the
In this context, the emergence of a democratic state was also seen by the Tarbiyah
beyond the private to the public sphere and the state domain. Therefore, they
established a formal political party named the Justice Party/Partai Keadilan (PK) in
17
Jakarta in 1998.3 The decision to establish the party caused the Tarbiyah
its cadres and more actively attracting wider constituencies. Since the 2004 general
more on education for poor people, anti-corruption and clean governance, instead of
the formalisation of shari’ah and the other Islamic identity issues that were central
to their campaign in the previous election (1999) (Permata, 2008; Muhtadi, 2012).
members and promoting them as candidates for parliament (Plazdasch, 2009).4 This
organisation as most cadres, tended to obey the party. Although the Tarbiyah
movement and the party still seem organisationally solid, this does not mean that
their respective leaders’ perceptions of political issues is always in line with each
other (Permata, 2008; 2013). According to Permata (2008; 2013) the different
perceptions and characters of the two organisations – the Tarbiyah movement which
is more religiously purist and informal, and the party which is more pragmatic and
formal - has led to internal debates and tensions between key figures.
There are a number of books, doctoral and master’s theses, and academic articles
published on the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS, which have been written by both
3
The PK ‘’rebranded’ and changed its name to the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in 2004 because
as the PK it had failed to meet the electoral threshold requiring all parties to get more than 2% of
national votes. In the 1999 election, the PK only got 1.7% (see further in section 2.5).
4
We can also see this attempt in the case of the MB in Egypt who accommodated Christians. The
MB has also formed electoral alliances with nationalists, secularists and liberals (see Leiken and
Brooke, 2007).
18
none of these has undertaken a holistic in-depth study of the complex official
discourse of the elites and its relation to the lived experience of members of
(2002) and Yon Machmudi (2006) – have studied the development of the Tarbiyah
older Islamic groups from Indonesia, such as the Masyumi Party (e.1945) and the
Indonesian Islamic Dakwah Assembly/DDII (e.1967), or from the Middle East, such
Rahmat (2001) argues that the Tarbiyah movement/PKS is merely the continuation
of modernist movements like the Masyumi party and the DDII.5 Unlike Rahmat,
Damanik (2002) rejects the idea that the Tarbiyah movement/PKS evolved from
previous Islamic groups in Indonesia, arguing that it is a new group inspired by the
MB in Egypt. Mahmudi criticises both positions and argues that the Tarbiyah
5
Masyumi or (Majlis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia – the ‘Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims’
(Masyumi) was the first Islamic political party in Indonesia, established in 1945. The objective was to
unite Islamic organisations, including the Muhammadiyah and PERSIS (Persatuan Islam-The Unity
of Islam) and the NU (Nahdhatul Ulama). These Islamic organizations joined the Masyumi to win
the election from secular-nationalist parties. They came second in the 1955 election, won 20.9 % of
the popular vote, and got 57 seats in parliament. DDII or Dewan Dakwah Islam Indonesia-the
Indonesian Board on Islamic Dakwah is a non-political organization established by Mohammad
Natsir (1908-1993) in 1967. It was established in the context where President Soeharto started to
domesticate/incorporate Islam and Islamic organizations in the public sphere as part of his strategy to
gain people support for his final period of his leadership. The objective was to develop dakwah in
Indonesia, that is to call Muslims to be better Muslims and in general to spread Islamic beliefs and
practices throughout Indonesia.
6
The Muhammadiyah was founded by KH Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta in 1912. It is widely
associated with the first ‘modernist’ movement because it chose a modern approach to dakwah
programmes, mainly through education and social services (see Bruinessen, 2013; Nakamura, 2012).
Unlike the Muhammadiyah, the NU, has very strong roots in traditional Islam. It was founded by KH.
Hasyim Asy’ari in 1926 and commonly associated with village dwellers and the Islamic boarding
19
Indonesia and abroad. However, they pay more attention to the movement’s elites,
looking at the ideology of the movement, the official discourse promoted by its
leaders, and the connections between the leaders of this movement and those from
Other ‘outsider’ scholars, like Bubalo and Fealy (2005) and Imdadun Rahmat (2005)
have also explored the official discourse of the Tarbiyah movement and its leaders.
Bubalo and Fealy (2005) found that books by MB leaders such as Hasan al-Banna,
Sayyid Qutb, Sa’id Hawwa (1935-1989), and Yusuf al-Qaradawi (b.1926) have been
the greatest influence on the Tarbiyah movement/PKS. Bubalo and Fealy argue that
these books “formed the cornerstones of the Tarbiyah movement teachings of the
PKS” (2005:54). Moreover, Rahmat’s thesis (2005:163) argues that the Tarbiyah
movement of the PKS simply reproduces the ideology of the MB without any
modifications or adaptations to make it fit the Indonesian context. Like the previous
studies mentioned, however, such research has paid little attention to ordinary
official discourses, which also accounts for the vast majority of work on Islamism
per se, I pay attention to ordinary members’ lived experiences and discourses too.
reconcile its ideology with modern Indonesian values. Masdar Hilmy (2010) who
studied the PKS in comparison to two other Islamist movements, HTI and Majlis
Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), for instance, classifies the PKS as those who accept
The PKS is an example of ‘meliorist’ Islamism namely “those who occupy the in-
between position; on the one hand these Islamists stand firm on their Islamic identity
but on the other hand they try to accommodate democracy as a means of political
(2009), who compared three Islamist parties in modern Indonesia (PKS, the United
Development Party/PPP and The Star Crescent Party/PBB), suggests that their
promotion of ‘secular’ agendas such as political and social reform, economic justice,
anti-corruption, and human rights are played for external political audiences. This
‘secular’ agenda contrasts with their internal discourses which were overtly Islamist
which used violence in the past.9 He argues that while the PKS wants to take part in
Islamise Indonesian politics. Dhume therefore concludes that the difference between
7
Masdar Hilmy (2010) in studying the PKS, MMI and HTI, divides Islamism into two categories: 1)
Utopian Islamism i.e. those who reject existing systems and modern values and obsess about
establishing an ideal state and community based on Islam e.g. the MMI and the HTI; and 2) Meliorist
Islamism i.e. those who accept modern systems and values but attempt to control over them through
Islamizing them, for example, the PKS.
8
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is a Salafi jihadist group, inspired by the same ideology as al-Qa’ida (AQ),
which regards the Indonesian government, along with other nations in the region, to be illegitimate.
The JI seeks to revive a pure form of Islam and establish a Pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia,
governed by the tenets of shari’ah (Islamic law). The JI was founded in Malaysia on 1 January 1993
by Indonesian Islamic clerics Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. The movement represents
an evolutionary development of the Indonesian Islamic movement, Darul Islam (DI), which fought a
violent insurgency to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia in the 1950s and 1960s. However, in the
last decade their focus on the Islamic state shifted to a concern for the implementation of shari’ah
from below (Hasan, 2013).
9
When these researchers say that the PKS is ‘radical’ they mean that the PKS wants to Islamise the
state. They suggest that it is not satisfied with the secular system implemented by the government in
political, economic, social, judicial and other terms. However, they have not tried to ‘bring down’ the
existing government. Rather, through participation in elections they have become involved with the
process of government, aiming to change society from inside. So, they are radical in terms of their
opinions and political views, but not radical in terms of their actions.
21
these two groups is only one relating to their methods: Jemaah Islamiyah uses
revolutionary violent methods to seek their Islamic goals, while the PKS employs
To a certain extent, Dhume (2005) is correct in claiming that the PKS wants to
ignores the complexity of the PKS, which has been influenced by both its leaders
and its ordinary members, as well as by the social and political changes that have
He argues that even though the PKS tries to Islamise Indonesia, it is flexible and
the Islamist agenda of the PKS is not a cause for concern because the party is
saw that the party has revised their ‘radical goals along with substantive
founding member of the PKS and a senior Liqo mentor of the Tarbiyah movement.
Machmudi’s arguments must be contrasted with William Liddle and Saiful Mujani
Indonesia tend to have negative views about democracy and generally disagree with
rights. Nevertheless, Liddle and Mujani do not investigate the complexity of the
Many researchers, including Syahrul Hidayat (2012), Ahmad Norma Permata (2008)
and Ahmad Ali Nurdin (2009), have found the PKS an interesting party to study due
to its pragmatic behaviour since the 2004 General Election. In this period, the PKS
has behaved differently in terms of its political agendas and ideologies. Permata
(2008) investigated how the elite members of the party maintained the ideology of
the party within a more established democratic state, arguing that the more stable
and democratic a political system is, the more the leaders of the PKS are encouraged
to seek compromises between their Islamist ideology and the democratic system.
Regarding this change in political behaviour, Nurdin (2009) argues that this shows
the PKS’ ability to reconcile Islam with democracy. Thus, according to Nurdin, the
arguing that the PKS has been ideologically flexible and accommodating to political
changes since its inception, as Machmudi (2006) argued, both Permata and Nurdin
contend that the shift has occurred since the 2004 General Election, and was
influenced by changing social and political opportunities.10 As the result of this shift,
Hidayat (2012) points out that the PKS is facing member criticism for their
policies taken by the party leaders, but he differs from Permata (2008) in suggesting
that internal tensions have not led to internal divisions or splits. Permata believes
This body of literature shows the diversity of the recent research on the Tarbiyah
movement/PKS which has mainly been inspired by the rising political profile of the
10
There have been discussions in Indonesia that suggest this simply represents a PKS strategy to get
power at which point they will reveal their true colours (see Rahmat, 2005; Shihab and Nugroho,
2008). This is a common critique of Islamism worldwide.
23
PK (PKS) in the last fifteen years. These studies have shown that scholars’ interests
are primarily based on official, formal and party leaders’ discourses. As a result,
there has been relative neglect of internal variations within the movement, especially
conducted specifically on the concept and ideology of the dakwah of the Tarbiyah
movement and its weekly Liqo sessions as the core dakwah activity of the
movement.
Official Discourses and Lived Experiences: The Structure and Argument of this
Thesis
This thesis addresses the imbalance in the existing studies outlined above. In
particular, it aims to examine the dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement from the
perspective of both official discourses and the lived experiences of its leaders and
members. Every organisation has an official vision of how it will operate and an
official and often utopian ideology.11 This is conceptualised, voiced, and spread by
its leaders, who hope and expect that the movement will run more or less effectively
according to these official designs. Those members that hold leadership positions
within the wider movement and senior mentors of the Liqo have typically been
members of the Tarbiyah movement for more than ten years. They have also
generally been elite members of the formal political party, the PKS, since 1998.
However, as in any institution, the leaders of the Tarbiyah movement/the PKS must
result of changing social and political contexts and related opportunities (Fox,
11
By ‘official discourse’ in the context of contemporary Islamic movements I mean in particular the
movement’s stated conception of its dakwah ideology and vision, its formal membership structure
and recruitment techniques, its leadership and religious authority, and other official prescriptions, as
they are formulated, developed and transformed by leaders at the top levels of the movement (see
Chapters 4 and 5).
24
2012).12 Leaders may or may not seek to take account of the everyday lived
experiences of ordinary members at the grass roots level, who typically consist of
members who have been trainees and mentors of the Liqo for between
approximately five years and ten years and also newer recruits with less than one to
perspectives on the Tarbiyah movement I aim to advance a new account that is more
Central to my analysis of official discourses and everyday lived experiences here are
two key conceptual frameworks: i) social movement theory (SMT); and ii) the
of Islamic studies and ethnography, I have borrowed aspects of these theories from
an interdisciplinary approach within the social sciences more generally and seeks to
concerned with how social movements identify social problems, formulate their
response in terms of goals for social change, constructs a common identity amongst
its members, and mobilizes their support, also taking account of how changing
political contexts and dynamics influence movements. However, SMT has mostly
been studied in relation to Western societies (Wiktorowicz, 2004: 4). This has
encouraged scholars such as David Snow and Susan Marshall (1984), and more
Muslim societies. While in Western contexts social movements are often formal
12
Fox (2012) explores how the resources and opportunities available to key political actors in society
influence their ability to organize and mobilize. He also explains that religion is used by these leaders
(e.g. states, religious institutions, movements, and so on) to legitimize their political agendas,
dependent on different political opportunities and resources available to them.
25
(2001) found that Islamist movements facing state repression are more likely to
utilize less formal and informal networks or communities for collective action. Thus,
they may also use less publicly ‘visible’ means to mobilize supporters and build
Islamism in the last decade or so are Carrie Wickham (2002) and Abdullah al-Arian
(2014) on Egypt and outside Egypt Jenny White (2002) and Jenny Clark (2004).
However, in Indonesia, while SMT has been used to analyse the PKS it has not been
My research draws upon SMT to better illuminate how the Tarbiyah movement
that began their existence beyond the parameters of formal political organizations. It
did not originally have the structure and boards of formal organizations now
associated with the PKS. The movement consisted mainly, and to some extent still,
consists of small groups or ‘cells’ called Liqo.15 These each comprise just a small
number of people not unlike the base structure of the ‘prototypical’ Islamist
13
According to Wictorowicz (2004; 2001), formal SMOs are often utilized in the West because
formal, centralized and bureaucratic organizations are considered the most effective mechanisms. In
contrast, decentralized, less formal, and less bureaucratic organizations are likely to succeed in the
Muslim world where authoritarian secular states have typically sought to repress/co-opt efforts at
Islamisation ‘from below’ (Mandaville 2014).
14
An article written by Hamayotsu (2011) used two key strands of SMT (resource mobilization and
opportunity structure theories) to study the recruitment and mobilization patterns of the PKS. He,
however, only focuses his study on the recruitment aspect of the PKS and did not relate them to the
Tarbiyah movement in general or the Liqo in particular. The article “argues that the PKS’s relative
success in recruiting commited Muslim youth is explained by two interrelated factors: (1) merit-based
cadre recruitment and promotion which offers young and ambitious Muslim youth fair and
institutionalized political career opportunities and thus incentives to commit themselves to the party’s
collective interests; and (2) the timing of organizational expansion that coincided with a rapid
increase of state office -both executive and legislative- at the sub-national levels as a result of
localized democratic elections” (Hamayotsu, 2011: 227).
15
The Liqo is a small unit of religious activity held informally on a weekly basis by the Tarbiyah
movement. The Liqo is a loose gathering activity held in a trainee’s house.
26
movement, the MB in Egypt (Mandaville 2007; 2014). The political situation during
the time of the Tarbiyah movement’s emergence in the early 1980s saw state
structures (Wiktorowicz 2001; 2004) was one of the main factors causing the Liqo to
Only in the post-New Order period (begun in 1998) did the movement start to
generate its formal organizational structure in the shape of a political party named
the PK(S). At this point the movement had to begin to think about how to maintain
its formal, less formal and informal aspects (cf. Wiktorowicz 2001; 2004). The
provided by a more democratic government, while the less formal and the informal
aspects of their organisation supports the party in recruiting new members and
mobilizing its sympathisers. However, although SMT can help to explain such
general processes, it does not really help in an analysis of how particular members
perceive, experience and engage with the movement’s dakwah ideology and vision.
which may or may not vary significantly from what has been formally
conceptual framework that will allow me to better discuss members’ perceptions and
The everyday aspects of the Liqo of the Tarbiyah movement can be explained with
reference to the concept of lived religion. This relates especially to the experience of
lower level cadres and trainees. While the experience of these constituencies is
framed by the more formal religious and political agendas designed by the leaders of
the political party, the PKS, a key claim made by this thesis is that the lived
27
movements, I saw the general importance of providing a more balanced and nuanced
lived experiences of members. The intention of my thesis is not to reject the findings
forms of dakwah, but to look at them together with a study of informal everyday
lived dakwah and to describe and analyse some of the inherent tensions and linkages
therein. The aim is thus to provide a more complete picture of this Islamist dakwah
movement in Indonesia.
Among the pioneers of the concept of ‘everyday’ and ‘lived religion’ in the
sociology of religion are Nancy T. Ammerman and Meredith McGuire. Neither has
been concerned with the study of Muslim societies. Nevertheless, not unlike key
the everyday means privileging “the experience of non-experts” (2007:5). Thus the
(2014), who has studied Muslims in Europe, also highlights that discussing only
institutions, with all who belong to such movements having the same perspectives
and attitudes.
28
aims to distinguish “the actual experience of religious persons from the prescribed
embodied and enacted forms of religion and spirituality that occur in everyday life.
Dwelling on women’s experiences, McGuire argues that religiosity and gender self-
practice. She shows that “concrete body practices are involved in how gendered
selves are socially developed, maintained, and changed throughout life” (McGuire,
2008: 182). Thus, gender roles and identities in society are reproduced (and
contested) in large part through the enactment of norms through bodily practices.
Modern religious groups often ask their members to commit to developing “new”
selves in related ways (no matter how this process is understood – for instance as
‘spirituality’, ‘healing’, ‘conversion’): “all religious groups (at least for some
uniform clothing, assume certain gestures and so on to diminish the old or affirm the
new self. So, for many who join a religious movement and desire or experience such
personal transformation, new religious and spiritual practices may also be key
pathways to new gender roles and literally becoming a new kind of person.
16
Woodhead (2013) similarly mentions the religious practices of laymen and women.
29
individualistic forms of lived religion and spirituality at some distance from official
religion. Paying more attention to the relationship between the latter and the former
in the context of Muslim societies, Saba Mahmood (2005) studies the lived religion
from debates about performativity in feminist studies and applying them to the
Anthropology of Islam (cf. Butler 1997; Asad 1986).17 Going beyond a focus on
identity politics in the literature on Islamism, the women she studied seek to
transform themselves by donning more modest dress and more concealing veils, by
are exhorted to adhere to Qur’anic teachings and to act in line with the will of Allah.
continuum of practices that serve as the necessary means to the realization of a pious
self. Thus, disciplining and training their bodies through everyday practices is
McGuire’s study on women in mixed and ‘unofficial’ religious contexts within the
women. It also suggests that lived religion can play a key role in reproducing official
religion.
17
Mahmood discusses how Muslim women’s lived experience of dakwah circles evidences their
agency even while it reproduces the official discourses associated with Islamic tradition. Engaging
with Judith Butler’s discussion of the way that all social formations are reproduced performatively,
that is, via a “reiterated enactment of norms” (1997:14), she shows how the “structure of society
comes to be lived in human experience” (Butler 1990: 73; Mahmood 2005: 138). Seemingly ‘stable’
social formations like Islamic traditions are “vulnerable because each re-enactment [or performance]
can fail” (2005:19). Thus, for the women Mahmood studied in Egypt’s mosques “ritual performances
are understood to be disciplinary practices through which pious dispositions are formed” (2005:128).
Their bodies become “the necessary tool through which the embodied subject is formed” (2005:29).
30
Thus, the present study explores and reveals the complexity of dakwah perspectives
and practices within the Tarbiyah movement, both as they are formally and
officially framed and organised by its leaders and as they are understood,
important research questions which relate directly to the three fieldwork based
chapters which make up the second half of my thesis: 1) how is dakwah formally
conceptualised and how has it been developed and transformed by the leaders of the
Tarbiyah movement within the changing social and political dynamics of Indonesian
society and how do members respond to this in more and less formal settings?; 2)
how does the Liqo, as the main vehicle for the dakwah activities in the Tarbiyah
movement, but as a less formal network and or informal community, fit into the
more formal overall structure and ideology of the Tarbiyah movement, and how do
its members at the lower levels of the organisational hierarchy perceive the
relationship between the Liqo, the Tarbiyah movement, and the PKS party?; and 3)
how do female Liqo members experience, and to what extent do they subsequently
practice, the dakwah and discipline received through weekly sessions? In this study
dakwah, not only showing how and for what purpose the movement’s leaders design
and shape this formal dakwah ideology, but also examining how its ordinary
members deal with and experience joining this movement. In this thesis, I will
therefore argue that the cadres of the Tarbiyah movement in the middle and lower
individual piety, even though the perceptions of the movement are often dominated
This thesis is divided into six main chapters. The first chapter explains the
significance of dakwah (Islamic preaching and mission) within the Islamic world,
with a particular focus on the modern period. I briefly explain how dakwah was
performed by the Prophet Muhammad (7th Century) and by his successors in the
Classical period (7th–13th Century) and the Medieval period (14th–18th Century). The
periods of the prophet Muhammad and the four Caliphs are especially important
because they are the reference point for the development and contemporary
formulation of Islamist dakwah ideology, which sees Islam as having existed in its
purest and truest form during these eras. This exploration of dakwah will thus enable
me to explore how its meaning has altered in the modern period, particularly among
Islamising both the private and public domains. The explication of the significance
Tarbiyah movement. In this chapter I argue that although both dakwah Islamising
the self and dakwah Islamising society were performed in the era of the Prophet as
well as in the classical and medieval periods, these concepts – and especially public
Islamist movements.
The second chapter examines how context has influenced the dynamics of Islamism
in Indonesia, where the Tarbiyah community emerged and developed during the
begun in the colonial period, their reforms led to the removal of Islam from the state.
In this chapter I argue that, in Indonesia, Islamism arose among revivalist Muslims
in the early stages of modern nation-state formation, but then Islamism and
particularly the public project of Islamisation gained strength given the new political
opportunities that emerged following democratisation after the fall of the New Order
regime in 1998.
The third chapter explains the methodologies used to collect qualitative interview
and fieldwork data for my project between September 2012 and January 2013 in
Jakarta. It also reflects upon the challenges that I faced and the lessons that I
learned. The chapter is organised around five main discussion areas: 1) research
subjectivity and positionality, and 5) data analysis and interpretation. Jakarta is the
capital city of Indonesia and was chosen as my fieldwork site as the birth-place of
both the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS. The members of the Tarbiyah
top, middle and lower levels of the Tarbiyah movement and conducted observations
of their dakwah activities through their Liqo (small religious mentoring) sessions
In chapter four I explore the history, ideology and development of the Tarbiyah
18
The explanation of what and who is meant by ‘top, middle and lower’ levels of the movement are
discussed in Chapter 3 on Research Methodology (see Section 3.3.2.). I categorised them as such to
help me cluster them easily; ‘top’ refers to the current leaders who hold the highest leadership
positions, while ‘middle’ refers to the mentors or trainers of the Liqo, and ‘lower’ refers to trainees at
the grassroots who are engaged with the weekly dakwah sessions (the Liqo).
33
movement, the reasons for its eventual establishment of a political party, and the
impact of this on their dakwah concept. The chapter investigates the official
formal movement structure and organisation. These elites expected that the Tarbiyah
movement could achieve its dakwah more effectively through a party. As a result, its
dakwah concept expanded to a focus on public piety as well as individual piety. The
private aspect of dakwah has been important since the movement’s birth in the early
1980s to the present day. However, during the 1990s, and a post-New Order period
(1998-now) in particular, they had the opportunity to develop their private dakwah
in accordance with the social and political aspects of their ideology. Therefore, the
three stages of the dakwah process articulated by the MB – personal, social and
argue that the private and public concepts of dakwah are emphasised differently by
the more and less senior members involved in the movement. I saw that although the
movement claims that establishing individual piety remains the main concept of
dakwah for the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement, the coexistence of individual piety, public
piety, and political interests produced tensions when the movement started to preach
more overtly. This chapter extends the existing literature reviewed above in regard
to the internal tensions within the movement. In my research, the tensions are caused
by the coexistence of different dakwah orientations; private piety and public piety
along with political interests.19 This chapter seeks to answer research question 1) i.e.
how is dakwah conceptualised and how has it been developed and transformed by
the leaders of the Tarbiyah movement within the changing social and political
19
In previous research (Permata, 2008; 2013) it mainly referred to tensions among leaders caused by
their political attitudes.
34
Chapter five explains and analyses the significance of the Liqo as a weekly religious
training session attended by all the Tarbiyah cadres, something that has never been
studied in-depth before. The chapter investigates the structure, position, function,
and the lessons of the Manhaj Tarbiyah as the official curricula of the weekly Liqo
for both the Tarbiyah movement and the party (PKS). The Liqo consists of many
groups – from beginners and intermediate right the way up to the highest levels of
the movement. I found that the Liqo is used as a means for recruiting new members
to the Tarbiyah movement, to strengthen its members' ideology, and to connect the
Tarbiyah movement with the PKS' goals. I argue that the structure, recruitment,
management, and hierarchy of religious authority in the Liqo became more political
with the emergence of the PKS. This chapter seeks to answer research question 2)
i.e. how does the Liqo, as the main vehicle for the dakwah activities in the Tarbiyah
movement, fit into the overall structure and ideology of the Tarbiyah movement, and
how do its members at the lower levels of the organisational hierarchy perceive the
relationship between the Liqo, the Tarbiyah movement, and the PKS party?
Finally, in chapter 6 I examine the extent to which female Liqo members experience,
receive, and practice the dakwah designed and campaigned for by Tarbiyah leaders.
I focus on cadres’ stories about their lived religious experiences through joining the
Liqo, with special reference to the female Liqo group that I observed during my
particularly on why they joined the Liqo, how they moved from being outside the
Liqo to being a part of it, how their journey into the Liqo continues, and the ideas
they receive in the lessons that are developed and designed by their Tarbiyah
35
heterogeneity and complexity in the range of meanings that being a Liqo member
has for them, lived religion and piety was actually a key means of reproducing the
official Islam(ism) promoted by the movement and its leaders. This chapter thus
seeks to answer research question 3) i.e. how do female Liqo members experience,
and to what extent do they subsequently practice, the dakwah received through
weekly sessions?
My conclusion summarises the three main arguments of this thesis: i) that the
religious purists in the 1970-80s into a fully-fledged dakwah political party (the
Prosperous Justice Party / Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, PKS) was the outcome of new
ii) that the movement’s weekly Liqo (circle of religious teaching) illuminates both
formal, outward-looking and pragmatic PKS leaders and the more informal and
more conservative networks, the latter remaining a key resource for mobilisation;
and, finally, that the lived experiences of female trainees in the Liqo suggest that this
is a space where Islamist norms, lifestyles and dispositions are more or less
successfully taught, learned and reproduced principally through the disciplined and
So, although leaders seek to emphasise the official/formal dakwah ideology of the
informal, repeated and embodied practice of dakwah that creates the dispositions
that are at the heart of the movement’s reproduction and success (cf. Mahmood
36
2005). While this study therefore highlights the gap between the official/formal
field. Examples might include comparing the lived experiences of female and male
Liqo trainees or examining the extent to which the gaps and linkages between
official and lived experiences can also be found in other aspects of the Tarbiyah
movement.
37
Chapter 1
1.1 Introduction
This chapter explains the significance of dakwah within the Islamic world, with
particular focus on the modern period. I briefly explain how dakwah was performed
by the Prophet Muhammad (7th Century) and by his successors in the classical (7th–
including for the Islamists. The eras of the Prophet and the Caliphs have provided
sources of inspiration for Islamists because they see pure and true Islam as having
existed during these eras. This exploration of the performance of dakwah will thus
enable me to explore how its meaning has altered in the modern period, particularly
among Islamists, including the Tarbiyah movement – an Islamist dakwah group that
Islamist groups are regarded as the most prominent adherents of dakwah in both
stronger commitment to dakwah than was the case historically, believe it necessary
both the private and public domains. In this chapter I argue that although both
private dakwah (which concerns the Islamisation of the self to create pious
individuals) and public dakwah (which concerns the Islamisation of society to create
a pious society) were performed in the era of the Prophet, as well as in the classical
38
and medieval periods, these concepts, especially public dakwah, have different
public dakwah has resulted in large part from the disappointment that Islamists have
confronted regarding the relative absence of shari’ah (together with the lack of
exploring the impact that modernity has had on the Muslim world and outlining
three basic ‘types’ of Muslim response to the impact of globalised modernity. In the
final two sections I will focus on the contemporary Islamist movement, with special
reference to the MB in Egypt – a movement that (as we saw in the Introduction) has
Indonesia.
Dakwah is a noun that comes from the Arabic verb da’a, meaning ‘to invite’ or ‘to
call’. In a religious sense, it is the invitation addressed to humans by God and the
Prophets to believe in the true religion of Islam: “God summons to the Abode of
Peace” (Q 10:25).20 This Quranic verse invites humankind to live in accordance with
the will of God or the sacred law. In Indonesia, a Muslim who conducts dakwah
(dakwah in the Indonesian language) is commonly called a da’i (plural: du’at) when
20
All the monotheistic prophets’ religions are considered part of Islam and each prophet conducted
dakwah in various ways. The Prophet Muhammad’s mission was to repeat and act as the final seal of
the previous dakwah of the prophets that went before him
39
Islam is a faith in the monotheistic (tawhid) tradition, and the messages of Islam are
emphasised in texts such as the Quran (49:13) and the Hadith of the Prophet.
Dakwah has been conducted under this monotheistic and universalist outlook since
the beginning of Muhammad’s prophecy (610 CE),21 which he used to invite his
family and close friends to join Islam soon after receiving a revelation from God
(Lapidus, 2002:21). However, the way in which the Prophet invited people to join
Islam shifted during his lifetime. In the first three years following his initial
revelations, he conducted dakwah covertly, and the scope of his audience was
limited to his close family and friends (Lapidus, 2002:21). However, he began to
publicly declare his prophetic message in the fourth year after his revelation (Rippin,
2005), visiting different tribes to introduce the messages of dakwah and to call on
the people to join Islam more publicly, as seen in the dakwah he delivered during his
hajj (pilgrimage) period, and to the people of Ta’if (Janson, 2003). The Prophet thus
changed his approach to dakwah from its covert beginnings to its overt nature in His
later prophecy. According to Lapidus (2002:22), this change in the dakwah approach
arose because God instructed the Prophet to preach overtly and publicly, as revealed
in the Quran.
21
According to Muslim tradition Muhammad was born in Mecca in 571 CE and was appointed as a
Prophet in 610. For the history and life of the prophet Muhammad, amongst many others, see Haykal
(1976) for instance.
40
The central focus of the dakwah message of the Prophet was tawhid (monotheism)
(Lapidus, 2002; Poston, 1992), and social reforms such as the freeing of slaves and
the protection of orphans. Some scholars see these as two separate aspects: the
Meccan society's concept of God and the reformation of its society (cf. Hodgson
1974). However, I prefer to see social reform as the main message and monotheism
as the theological foundation of its reformation agenda (cf. Reza Aslan 2006). The
society and, after conducting dakwah for around thirteen years in Mecca, most of his
followers came from marginal tribes and oppressed social classes, including slaves
(Aslan, 2006), with the Prophet only gradually calling for Meccan society to join
However, the dakwah of the Prophet angered Meccan elites, who felt disturbed by
his movement. For them, Islam represented a threat to their old religions and beliefs
and, perhaps most crucially, to their economic and political dominance (see Poston,
1992). Their pre-Islamic religions had a significant link to both economics and
politics, and the dakwah of the Prophet was a direct challenge to the social and
economic order of the society (Janson, 2003). Engineer (1990) has also argued that
the Prophet’s dakwah changed the economic monopoly and political leadership of
Even though the Prophet faced resistance from Meccan elites, many of whom came
from his clan23 – the Banu Hashim – he insisted in continuing to deliver Islamic
22
Mecca, at that time, was a trade and business centre, and the Quraishi economy was dependent on
‘rites’ which people performed in order to get a blessing, especially Arab traders visiting the ka'ba (a
holy place where many idols for worship were placed). Disturbing the dominance of these ‘rites’
would affect the two other sides (economy and politics) (Haykal, 1976).
23
A clan is a smaller group of a tribe.
41
messages to the wider society (Janson, 2003). The resistance of those elites
increased after the death of the Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib, who was the leader of the
Banu Hashim clan and the key figure protecting the Prophet’s dakwah movement
from the Quraish elites. Abu Talib’s position in the clan was taken by Abu Lahab
who, unlike his predecessor, was hostile to the Prophet’s movement, and thus the
Prophet and his disciples became much more vulnerable after his uncle’s death.
Facing strong resistance in Mecca led the Prophet and his followers to look for other
cities that would accept them and tolerate their beliefs. Medina was finally chosen,
and they moved to the city in the thirteenth year of his prophecy (622 CE). He
continued his dakwah to Medinan people for ten years (622-632) – the rest of his
life.24
There was less resistance from non-Muslim groups and individuals to the Prophet’s
dakwah in Medina than there was in Mecca, and this enabled the Prophet to start to
established the first mosque, called the Quba mosque.25 He then built other mosques
in which Muslims could not only perform their prayers or other acts of worship
(ibadah), but could also conduct and attend religious meetings. Moreover, as Islam
had spread to several places outside Mecca and Medina, such as Yemen, the Prophet
also sent trained teachers to these new Muslim communities. As Rippin (2005:42)
states, Muhammad emerged as both a forceful religious and political leader in this
period – Prophet and statesman. For instance, in addition to calling for salvation in
24
Several tribes, such as the Aws and Khazjraj, supported the Prophet’s dakwah, and offered Medina
as the centre for his dakwah movement (Haykal, 1976).
25
The Quba mosque is well known among Muslims as the first mosque in Islamic history, whose first
stone was placed by the Prophet Muhammad soon after his arrival in Medina. The building of the
mosque was later completed by the Prophet’s companions. The mosque is mentioned in both the
Quran (At-Tawba: 108) and the Hadith (Sahih Bukhari, 2:21:284 and 2:21:285).
42
the Friday sermons, the Prophet Muhammad also started to enunciate public policies
prayer became a political as well as a religious obligation, since it marked the newly
The dakwah project of Islam continued after the death of Muhammad in 632 CE,
(the Rightly Guided Caliphs): Abu Bakr (ruled 632-634), Umar ibn Khattab (ruled
634-644), Usman ibn Affan (ruled 644-655), and Ali ibn Abi Talib (ruled 655-661)
replaced the Prophet’s position as leader of the Muslim community. 26 This is why
they were called Caliphs (khalifa), which means successors (though not, according
When the Prophet Muhammad died in 632 and Abu Bakr took over as the first
(Rippin, 2005:58), but under their leadership, they conquered other places outside
the Arabic peninsula, including Iraq (in 633), Syria (in 634-638), Damascus,
Palestine and Persia (in 638) and Egypt (in 639) (Rippin, 2005; Lapidus, 2002).
However, this territorial expansion did not necessarily mean that non-Muslims were
forced to convert to Islam. Many wars or military aggressions occurred under these
26
A group later known as Shi’a argued that fourth Caliph ‘Ali was the rightful Caliph and must be
appointed as the first leader after the death of Muhammad’. However, Abu Bakr was selected by a
group of elders as the most qualified person to rule at that time (see Rippin 2005:58).
43
Caliphs’ leaderships, and most of them were successful (Poston, 1992) but
conversion was not always a high priority in early times not least because of the
taxes paid by non-Muslims and the fact that any emergent Islamic ideology was
The territorial expansions continued under the first two dynasties of Islam – the
Umayyad caliphate (661-750) and the Abbasid caliphate (750-1258) – which ruled
after ‘the Rightly Guided Caliphs’. During both periods, the military expansion
continued – into North Africa, Eastern Europe, Spain (Western Europe), and central
Asia (Rippin, 2005). Scholars such as Lapidus (2002), Rippin (2005) and Poston
(1992) regarded the caliphates after ‘the Rightly Guided Caliphs’ as dynasties
because the transfer of leadership was primarily based on family ties. 27 In the period
with the emergence of a cosmopolitan urban peace economy based on Baghdad and
the spread of Islam mainly through transnational scholarly and Sufi networks (cf.
Mandaville, 2007), but military expansion increased again under the Ottoman
caliphate. Unlike the capital cities of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, which
were located in Damascus (Syria) and Baghdad (Iraq) respectively, the Ottoman
capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire and was near to Europe. The Ottoman
caliphate conquered many Eastern and Western European states and, as a result, its
territory extended, stretching from the Middle East, through Africa, Asia, and
Europe.
27
It is worth noting that these two dynasties originated from the Quraish tribe. They were thus from
the same tribe as the Prophet Muhammad, albeit from a different clan.
44
Dakwah messages in these classical and medieval periods (632–1700) were more
complex than those in the era of the Prophet. Muslims in this period were no longer
dominated by members of lower class society, but came from the upper, middle, and
lower classes and from a much wider range of ethnic groups (Poston, 1992). In these
periods, although monotheism and social reform were still one of the concerns of
Muslim dakwah, justifications for power expansion and political contestation also
marked the dakwah rhetoric. The former motivation (power expansion) could be
found among Islamic rulers, while the latter (political contestation) could be found
among both rulers and other Islamic dynasties in Muslim societies such as the
Abbasids.
claims that their aggressions aimed to liberate indigenous (local) people from the
supported by Thomas Walker Arnold (1965). They stated that non-Muslim rulers
2) if they rejected conversion, to pay a jizyah or tax to the Islamic authorities. Only
‘if they refused both these choices would they be attacked by Muslim soldiers’
(Janson, 2003:67). Thus dakwah was part of the ideology justifying the political
Political contestation within Islamic societies, both at the state and the grass roots
levels, also influenced the development of the dakwah concept during this period.
The Abbasids, for instance, oversaw a period of increasing equality among Muslims
of different origins with the faith open to all, and utilised this as part of their dakwah
message. Appeals to principles of equality were used by the Abbasids ‘to undermine
45
the political authority of the Umayyad dynasty as the latter’s more parochial policies
privileged Arabs over other ethnicities, thus denying the universalising potential of
In this classical period, however, the Caliphs did not dominate the development of
dakwah. There were also ulama, or religious scholars, who became the agents of
dakwah. Ulama is an Arabic word (sing. Alim), which refers to “a class of scholars
with privileged access to texts, methods, and traditions of knowledge that create
These ulama engaged in preaching Islam to their societies, either as an official part
religious scholars who were mostly outside the state’s authority. Moreover, the
Islamic views of the ulama were not monolithic, varying for instance between the
five main schools of law in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) – Ja'fari, Hanafi, Maliki,
Sufis from a variety of networks or orders (tariqa, pl. turuq) were also concerned
with the development of dakwah after the era of the Prophet. They were primarily
focus on purifying the soul away from secular or worldly affairs and building up
pious individuals. Sufi orders such as the Naqshbandiyya and the Qadiriyya are
associated with a traditional form of dakwah, and their religious authority is closely
28
Similarly, the Shi’a conceptualised their dakwah in a way that enabled them to fight against both
Umayyad and Abbasid political authority. The Shi’a developed the notion of ahl al-bayt (the family
of the Prophet) as the most authoritative for being both a religious and a political leader (see Janson,
2003).
46
blessings and wisdom (baraka) (Mandaville, 2007). Branches of the Sufi orders
have spread Islam to many countries throughout the centuries (Mandaville, 2007).
In contrast to the early period of Islamic history, during which the main agent of
dakwah was the prophet Muhammad, these classical and medieval periods had a
Muslims, including: 1) the caliphs, sultans, or kings, who held political power; 2)
the travelling traditional ulama or religious experts and their students, who had
religious training; and 3) the Shaykhs and followers of sufi tariqahs. It can therefore
be seen that the development of dakwah throughout Islamic history was dominated
From the Sixteenth century through to the Nineteenth, European society gradually
acquired and expanded its cultural, economic, and political supremacy (Lapidus,
2002). This growth was marked by the rise of the natural sciences, new technology
which enabled industrial capitalism and new forms of communication (such as the
(Lapidus, 2002).
29
In this context, ‘traditional forms of dakwah’ means that practitioners are well-trained as traditional
religious trainers or scholars.
47
The modern period was also the period during which Muslim supremacy declined as
European economic and political strength increased (Lapidus, 2002). Thus the
European conquest of Muslim lands also occurred in this period, with Britain,
France, and the Netherlands having conquered and colonised numerous Muslim
countries by the end of eighteenth century (Rippin, 2005). One by one, the Ottoman
caliphate's territories were occupied, and the caliphate itself – which was the only
remaining symbol of Muslim political supremacy – started to decline, with its final
collapse occurring in 1924 (Lapidus, 2002). The collapse of the Ottoman caliphate –
‘the sick man of Europe’ - was widely taken as the key symbol of Muslim political
stagnation.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s occupation of Egypt in 1799 not only brought French troops
armed with guns, but also modern science, administration, and technology (Lapidus,
2002). Later, Egypt was colonised by the British, who built modern hospitals,
schools, and scientific laboratories (Lapidus, 2002). Egypt’s Muslim leaders and
and these encounters made them realise how much Islamic countries had declined
came to acknowledge the superiority of European society and the end of their own
supremacy. They felt that the Europeans had left them too far behind in the fields of
modern education, economics, politics, and military power, and this loss of power
particularly within the arena of politics. They built freedom movements which
48
aspired to indigenous modern nation-states, often leaving the idea of the caliphate
and other traditional Islamic political systems behind. Nation-state building began
after World War I, and during this period, Muslim elites in countries such as Turkey,
Egypt and Indonesia endeavoured to establish modern political and social systems
political systems in Muslim societies, with Turkey, under the leadership of Mustafa
Kemal Attaturk, becoming the first Muslim country to reject the Islamic caliphate
and become a modern, secular state (Lapidus, 2002). For Attaturk, to develop the
state required Turkey to become westernised and Islam largely privatised (Lapidus,
2002), and such thinking led to similar modifications soon following in other
Muslim states.
2005). In the face of such challenges, many Muslims felt it necessary to defend
parliamentary institutions, and the replacement of Islamic law with European law.
Many regarded this reform as being incompatible with Islamic principles requiring
Muslims to use shari’ah as the central source of Muslim social life, and saw it as
removing Islam from Muslims’ public lives. As a result, heated debate emerged
during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries among Muslims, concerning how
Many scholars including Wiktorowicz (2006), Rippin (2005), Roy (2004), Kurzman
(2002; 1998) and Rahman (1982) have come up with different but related typologies
are theoretical categories that can help to identify tendencies, but social realities can
rarely be fitted neatly into one position or another. For the sake of simplicity, I will
scholars – the traditionalist; the modernist (and related secularist position); and the
Islamist.
other religious experts, maintaining a strong commitment to the religious beliefs and
practices that they have inherited from the past’ (Rippin, 2005:192). They believe in
that the changes brought about by modernity should not ultimately unsettle the
Their dakwah seeks to renew piety and assure the correct devotional practice of
belief and practice. As with Sufi networks, this dakwah movement is rarely involved
in overt political activities, but Mandaville (2007) is right to hold that although it
Whilst traditionalism represents maintaining the status quo in Islamic history, other
ideal types, such as modernism, promote various changes. Modernists hold to the
idea of going ‘back to the sources’ of Islam, but tend to produce radically modern
do not view the authority of the past as being entirely fixed or binding and may
question key notions such as revelation (Burgat, 2003, Hefner, 2005, Rippin, 2005).
The modernists perceive the need to reinterpret Islam in light of contemporary needs
modernity and Islam and that the two are thus essentially compatible. They adopt
modern and ‘Western’ ideas, such as equality, liberty, democracy, tolerance, and
justice, viewing modern knowledge and the use of reason to be necessary for
Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905 CE), and Rashid Rida (1865–1935 CE), Indian
scholars Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817–1898 CE) and Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938
CE) are considered amongst the most influential modernist Islamic figures (Rippin,
30
For an account of the work and life of Jamaluddin al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh, see Hourani
(1983), Keddie (1972), Kedourie (1965, 1966, 1997), Kudsi-Zadeh (1971) and Milson (1968); and
51
the modernist one. Given that modernist and secularist Muslims stand together in a
separate ideal type, but rather as being attached to the modernist one. However, most
notably, Muslims who seek to privatise Islam are classified as secularists. For them,
although Islam has a significant role to play in society, it should not be used either
as a basis for a state or for state law. According to Rippin (2005), Albania
exemplified this typology in the mid-twentieth as it replaced all Islamic values with
modern ones. This also happened in Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal
separated Islam from the state and public life entirely, with modern laws and modern
education replacing Islamic law and Islamic traditional education. The Turkish
government abolished shari’ah law, the practice of polygamy and Sufi orders, and
modernity are rejected by Islamism, which is characterised by its key ideology that
‘Islam(ism) is the solution’. In this regard, Islam is not only seen as a religion, but
also as a political ideology that should reformulate all aspects of society, including
politics, economics, social life, the law, and so forth (Roy, 2004), with Islamists
emphasising ‘the absolute character of the source of authority of Islam; Quran and
for an account of the work and life of Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Iqbal, see Ashraf (1975),
Malik (1980), Schimmel (1989), Sheikh (1972) and Troll (1978).
31
The Muhammadiyah is recognised as a modernist or reformist movement. On the
Muhammadiyah’s reformism/modernism, see Federspiel 1970, Nakamura 1980, and Peacock 1978;
on the Muhammadiyah’s attitudes to Javanese culture, see Burhani 2005, Nakamura 1983. The
Muhammadiyah is called modernist because it allowed its members to follow ijtihad (independent
reasoning to interpret the Qur’an and the Sunna) and they were thus not restricted to following a
certain school of thought. See www.muhammadiyah.or.id (Accessed and up-dated on 5 April 2017).
52
2005:183,192). They accept more restricted changes than modernists, and use the
two authoritative sources of the Quran and the Sunna to accept or legitimate changes
Westernisation but rooting certain aspects of modernity in the ‘pure’ Islam of the
Quran and Sunna. Thus, Islamists have ‘indigenised and Islamised’ many concepts
political actions to attempt to re-create a ‘true’ and ‘pure’ Islamic society utilising
shari’ah (Islamic law) to govern the state as well as public life (Roy, 2004). The key
message of their dakwah is that Islam should be strongly present not only in the
private sphere, but in the public sphere as well. Islamists also believe that the state
should aim to unite the ummah (global Muslim community), and that the ummah
should not be restricted to a specific nation (Roy, 2004). Most Islamists have sought
general elections whilst trying to show that Islam represents the best form of
democracy in Islam, but have accepted democracy per se in order to support their
Rippin (2005), Roy (2004) and Nasr (1996) consider Abul A’la Mawdudi (1903–
the earliest Islamist ideologues. They are founding fathers and intellectuals of
53
Islamist dakwah movements, namely the MB in Egypt (e.1928) and the Jamaat-i
Islami (JI) in Pakistan (e.1941).32 Through these dakwah organisations, the afore-
Muslim society. Also, whilst Mawdudi and al-Banna believed that the use of
persuasion and gradual changes was best suited for achieving Islamic goals, Qutb
young educated Muslims in urban areas with secular educational backgrounds (Roy,
2004, Mandaville, 2007). The MB attracted Muslims in the Middle East especially,
and some of their branches became prominent parties in the Sudan, Palestine and
Tunisia. By contrast, the JI became more prevalent among South Asian Muslims,
and their immigrant and diaspora communities in Pakistan, India, East Africa, the
UK, and the Caribbean (Mandaville, 2007:283). However, the MB also attracted
Muslims in Indonesia, and became the inspiration for an Islamist dakwah party,
revivalist, there is only one ultimate source of Muslim authority – that found in the
Quran and the Sunna. Revivalists believe that if Muslims return to ‘pure’ Islam, they
will be able to restore the ‘glory’ of the past, and they thus reject Sufism,
philosophy, and the use of rationality in interpreting the Quran and Sunna.34
32
For key studies on the Pakistani Jama’at Islami and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and its key
ideologues see, for instance, Nasr (1996), Zollner (2009), Al-Hudaybi (1969), Mitchell (1993), Lia
(1998), Kepel (1985) and Gilsenan (2000).
33
Islamists, as a consequence, are sometimes referred to as ‘revivalists’ or ‘fundamentalists’, with
many scholars using these terms interchangeably.
34
This is regarded by Rippin (2005) as one of the key points for distinguishing Islamists from
modernists.
54
Revivalism has a long history in Islam and emerged before the modern period, for
instance in the figures of Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) and Muhammad Ibn Abd al-
can be divided into pre-modern and the modern manifestations.35 Nevertheless, both
pre-modern and modern revivalist ideas focus on purifying Muslims from non-
Islamic faiths and any innovations (bid'a) that have entered their religious practices,
including local beliefs, customs, and superstitions. The spirit of purification among
revivalists holds that the essence of ‘true Islam’ will be corrupted by these
innovations.
Islamists have adopted and developed many ideas from revivalists, such as the
the two movements is that the revivalists’ focus on Islamising society through
purifying faith and rites, while Islamists are not only interested in this spirit of
purification, but also in Islamising the modern nation-state and the public sphere
through ‘active’ dakwah and politics. Islamists regard politics as the crucial arena to
occupy in order for Islamist leaders to create a more Islamic society and an Islamic
public sphere.36
35
Rahman (1982) mentions other characteristics of pre-modernism, namely a deep concern with the
socio-moral degeneration of Muslim society and a call to carry out revivalist reforms through Jihad.
Some pre-modern revivalist movements had a Sufi orientation.
36
There is an important relationship too between Islamists and the politico-Salafists of Wictorowicz’s
(2006) typology (see also Wahid, 2014; Rasheed, 2007; Hasan, 2005). Wiktotowicz divides Salafists
into three factions: ‘purists’, ‘politicos’ and ‘jihadis’. All observe strict monotheism, returning to the
Qur’an and the Sunna, and following the examples of the salafus shalih (the pious ancestors i.e.
companions (Sahabah), their followers (Tabi’un), and the follower’s followers). The difference
between these orientations lies in their strategies in promoting their ideas: 1) the purists: through
peaceful means such as dakwah for purification and education but largely disengaged from politics
and maintaining unconditional obedience to the ruler; 2) the politicos: who is engaged with politics
but typically pursues this through peaceful political means (like reformist Islamism); and 3) the
55
The debate concerning Islam and modernity indicates that there is a range of ways in
which Muslims have dealt with modernity. They differ in approaches regarding the
Muslims realise that Islam has been declining – in politics, economics, the military,
and sciences – and for revivalists or Islamists, this decline has been caused by
Muslims breaking with Islamic values and traditions. They view most Muslims as
failing to practice the ‘true’ Islam revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and contend
that the best way to solve this problem is to return to living by the Qur’an and
Sunna. By contrast, modernists consider conservatism as the key factor that led to
Islam’s decline and hold that in order to develop Islamic civilisations, Muslims
Modernity’s reshaping of Muslims’ lives (see Section 1.3) led Islamists to worry
about the decreasing role that Islam was playing in society and in the state. The
terms of culture, social life, economics, and politics, including the marginalisation of
the shari’ah court, the ulama's role in society, and traditional Islamic schools (see
Section 1.3).
Their worry about the absence of Islam in the public sphere led Islamists to become
the Islamic world by seeking to speak their truth to power (Hirschkind 2006).
jihadists: who engages in physical struggle against the unbeliever (kafir) even if that is a Muslim
ruler who does not apply Islamic laws (Wiktorowicz, 2006:217).
56
Islamism is the most ‘active’ Islamic dakwah movement in the modern period.
Activism is the key identity of this globally diverse movement, which routinely calls
‘Western’ modernity and emphasising Islamic identity are most attractive to urban,
lower middle-class Muslims (Burgat, 2003; Eickelman and Piscatori, 1996), who
transforming these societies into prosperous ones. For them, religious authenticity is
the key for this transformation (Rippin, 2005, Mandaville, 2007), and this is one of
the central factors that generates their interest in the ‘alternative’ to the state system
whose role is not only to transform their selves but also their society. During the
countries such as Egypt and India where Islamic organisations such as the neo-Salafi
37
I use the term ‘active’ or ‘activist’ dakwah in this thesis to reflect what I heard from daily
conversations in Indonesia in referring to the Tarbiyah community and also to reflect what I inferred
from the literature of Islamist movements. From this literature, I understood that Islamist groups are
regarded as the most prominent practicioners of dakwah, believing it to be necessary to be active (and
sometimes aggressive) in Islamising both the private and public domains (see Introduction).
57
movement, the mystical orders, and Islamic reformism were established (Meuleman,
2011). Examples of these groups include the MB, founded in Egypt in 1928 and the
Jama’ati Islami (JI), founded in India in 1941. Their dakwah emphasises the
promotion of Islamic teachings and the provision of information on Islam for both
dakwah or seeking to Islamise individuals, but also focusing on public dakwah with
the aim of Islamising the society and the state. For them, dakwah not only serves the
purpose of educating people, but should also be used for correcting their religiosity
and behaviour (Mahmood 2005). The focus of dakwah, for them, should go beyond
the level of the individual, and be instrumental in creating an Islamic society, either
through establishing Islamic political parties or producing impacts on the social and
(Hirschkind 2006). Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the core dakwah agenda of
these organisations is the same – to transform individual Muslims and their society
charity or social activity, building educational centres, religious places, and social
and public services such as hospitals and clinics to support their agenda. They also
travelled to many countries around the world to promote their dakwah ideology and,
organisations have adopted various new forms of dakwah, with new aims based on
58
their religious interpretations, their responses to public issues, and their involvement
Key Islamist figures such as Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and Abul A'la Mawdudi
their focus on locating Islamic identity within the public sphere and critiquing
modernity. They also exemplify more ‘gradualist’ (al-Banna and Mawdudi) and
the MB, was deeply concerned about the impact of Westernisation on the Islamic
beliefs and practices of Egyptian Muslims, perceiving Western culture and thought
regarded this influence as a cause of the moral and political decline of Muslims, and
created a new model of dakwah that called on Muslims to perform Islamic teachings
in their daily life to address this, ranging from issues regarding domestic affairs to
public matters. For al-Banna, Islam needed to provide the key guidance for Muslim
societies, and his influence is clear in the MB’s political views that Islam: 1) is a
from, and is based on, two fundamental sources – the Qur’an and the Sunna; and 3)
is applicable at all times and places (Mitchell, 1993). However, although he, like
other Islamists, promoted the establishment of a better Islamic state, he did not
propose violence as a means for achieving this goal. The ideas of al-Banna regarding
Like al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, who was born in 1906 in Asyut-Egypt and was hanged
by Gamal Abd al-Nasser in 1966 for his denunciation of the Egyptian regime, also
59
criticised modern cultures and thoughts.38 These criticisms are mostly presented in
his books, al-Adala al-Ijtima’iyya fi al-Islam (Social Justice in Islam) which was
written in 1949 and Ma’alim fi al-Tariq (Milestones) which was first published in
1964. The first book explains that the separation of religion and politics is a
societies. He argued that ‘there is no hierarchy among believers and the ultimate
authority lies with God alone and Islam is the basis for social equality and true
justice’ (Zollner, 2009:51). The second book deals with the key concept of jahiliyya
erroneously believe in sovereignty (hakimiyya) other than God. For Qutb, Muslims
in these societies are also living in jahiliyya (Kepel, 2005)40 – they are living in the
same condition as the Arabian people in the pre-Islamic jahiliyya before the Prophet
According to Qutb, any society that is not Muslim is an instance of jahiliyya (Kepel,
2005:47), and everything outside Islam must also be included in the category of
38
Qutb is well known as one of the leading figures of the MB. He became a member of this MB in
1951, then head of its department for spreading Islam (Qism nashr al-dakwah) in 1952, and an editor
of the weekly newspaper al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun in 1954 (Zollner, 2009)
39
Qutb, divided jahiliyya society, in which people are ignorant of divine guidance, into three types.
First, there is Communist or Atheist society, which denies God, and in which sovereignty (hakimiyya)
is exercised in the name of the people or parties; second there is Jewish and Christian society; and
lastly there is contemporary Muslim society (Kepel, 2005:47). This book is considered to be the key
text for the dakwah ideology of radical Islamists (Zollner, 2009; Qutb, 1992; Kepel, 2005).
40
Qutb’s critique of the modern jahilliya “stems from his identification of Islam with the dynamic
unity of the universe and his assertion of the autonomous character of human actions” (Lee,
1997:100).
41
Qutb drew on Mawdudi for the terms and interpretations of hakimiyya and jahiliyya (see Zollner,
2009)
60
implement shari’ah. Muslim rulers, as they existed in the history of Islam are,
therefore, not enough for Qutb and his followers: Muslim rulers must have a
Muslim society, according to Qutb, must apply Islam across the board, letting it
guide their faith, worship, legislation, social organisations and modes of behaviour.
As a result of these views, Qutb, unlike al-Banna, stated that Muslims are allowed to
fight against such 'infidel' governments (Haddad, 1983). Qutb therefore promoted a
new model of dakwah that emphasised the need for activism and political jihad in
order to turn Islam into a global power (Zollner, 2009). This shows Qutb’s goal of
making Islam the basis of a state – an orientation that demands a total human
submission to God (Khatab, 2006). Qutb thus rejected democracy, rationalism and
secularism, and held that Islam needed to be purified from Western influences. For
associated with a concern for material goods (Lee, 1997). Likewise, he rejected
Western ideas about separating religious from secular matters, and the West’s
aspects of human life (see Khatab, 2006; Moussalli, 1992; Shepard, 1992).
Giles Kepel (2005), who studied Islamic radical movements in Egypt, found that
many contemporary radical Islamist activists are influenced by Qutb’s ideas and,
like Kepel, Rippin (2005) classified Qutb and other Muslims who oppose their
the shift in the outlook of at least some of the MB’s members from holding
61
movement. His concept of Jahiliyya marks an obvious fission in the MB’s ideology,
as al-Banna never accused the Egyptian regime of his day of being non-Islamic
(Kepel, 2005).
Mawdudi was another key Islamist figure. He was regarded as an Islamist because
of his beliefs about God’s unique sovereignty, the universal application and
implementation of shari’ah, and the need for a democratic caliphate (Nasr, 1996).
According to Mawdudi, sovereignty over any aspect of life is only for God, since
God is the creator and the ruler of the universe.42 He criticised the concept of
democracy because he believed that it misleads people about the true concept of
should consider their position as being amanah (in trust) from God. Therefore, they
have to implement God’s commands – shari’ah – in the state and in all Muslim
society.
sovereignty also belongs to God alone. If there are human agents that seek to
Islam in a state, they will never succeed because of the limitations of their power.43
A democratic caliphate, for Mawdudi, means that the government is the only
42
Mawdudi elaborated his idea of sovereignty in his book, First Principle of Islamic State, published
in 1960. Sovereignty is that which de jure belongs to Allah, and de facto is manifested in the working
of all parts of the universe. Mawdudi refers to some verses of al-Qur’an (7:3, 12:40, 5:44) in which it
is insisted that the acceptance of the de jure sovereignty of God is the meaning of Islam, while
denying such sovereignty is kufr (unbelief). In other words, there is no space for any other
sovereignty in the world, particularly in a state. The sovereignty can be defined as the source of
power and law and, for Mawdudi, such a source is only found in God. Although people elect
government representatives, sovereignty does not come from people.
43
The agents are called ‘caliphates’, which means that they are not sovereigns in-themselves. Such
agents are the representatives of the real sovereignty. The agents or systems they construct are under
the sovereignty of God, who is the owner of the sovereignty both de jure and de facto.
62
fundamentally different from the Western democratic system, which is based on the
sovereignty of the people, whereas the caliphate system is tied to the sovereignty of
God.
To understand how contemporary Islamists apply their dakwah strategy, I will now
examine the MB movement in Egypt in greater detail. The MB has been chosen
because it has influenced the establishment and the development of the Tarbiyah
this thesis. Here, the MB is explored in terms of its strategy of utilising private
dakwah to Islamise individuals, and the public and political use of dakwah to
Islamise the public sphere. Founded in Ismailia in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna, the MB
hoped that it would be able make Egyptian society more Islamic through influencing
individual outlooks, and concentrated its movement first on changing the attitudes of
individuals, then families, and finally society (Mitchell, 1993, Gilsenan, 1982). This
indicates that the MB started with individual dakwah, and then extended this to
public dakwah.44
Given that the aims this movement adopted were to reform individual and social
morality, Tarbiyah (training, education) became the core ‘indoctrination unit’ that it
44
For further accounts of the dakwah strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Indonesian language,
see Hasan al-Banna (2001), Risalah Pergerakan 2 and Ali Abdul Halim Mahmud (2004), Perangkat-
Perangkat Tarbiyah Ikhwanul Muslimin. trans. Wahid Ahmadi et al. Both books are published in
Solo, Intermedia.
63
These Tarbiyah activities were (and continue to be) supported by the ‘family’
system (nizam al-usra), with each family system being composed of no more than
family (Mitchell, 1993:197). This family system conducts regular lectures and
‘family’ member. This Tarbiyah instrument is still the main dakwah activity and
The MB's character and ideology in its early period was influenced by al-Banna’s
piety. For al-Banna, education (Tarbiyah) represented the best approach for making
the views and attitudes of Muslims more pious and disciplined. The movement was
then called Tarbiyah (education), and its main activities were to educate adults and
education that was chosen by al-Banna as a method for achieving the MB’s ideals,
worship activities (ibadah), such as the practice of dhikr (mentioning God’s names
and other recitations), were also used to establish religious awareness among
return to the ‘true’ Islam of the Quran and the Prophet’s traditions (Sunnah).
A part of the MB’s focus on public dakwah was concerned with countering secular
ideas from the West that had started to emerge in Egypt. As Gilsenan (1982) notes,
external powers in the form of colonialism, Zionism and communism changed Egypt
64
radically, and represented the major impetus that led to the MB’s objective to
change Egyptian society. The MB believed that a society based on ‘true Islam’
provided the best model for a modern Egyptian state, in contrast to the ideas of
secular nationalism that were widely professed by Egyptian elites at that time. It is
morality. Moreover, the MB preferred to build Islamic social order within the
Nevertheless, the MB was not only concerned with colonialism, but also with
materialism, individualism, atheism and democracy being the destructive forces that
people with its teachings and thoughts and tried to dominate [the] social situation in
Egypt” (Gilsenan, 2000:229-230; Al-Hudaybi, 1969). For Qutb, this ‘spiritual and
mental invasion’ presented the true danger to Muslims. As a result, the MB’s active
dakwah was designed to counter the impact of this cultural imperialism, and to raise
The MB’s ideology appeared in a context where the discourse concerning the
necessity of reviving the caliphate (after its abolition by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in
65
Turkey in 1924) was being pushed by Muslim leaders. Rashid Rida and Ali Abd al-
discussing this issue at the time (see Salvatore, 1997). For Rida, the caliphate is
authorised by the Qur’an, and plays an important and central role in the history of
Islamic society. Although Rida realised that it would be unrealistic to rejuvenate the
the importance of ulama in providing guidance for a state, together with the
disagreed with this outlook, arguing that the Quran never takes a stand on the kind
of state that Muslims should establish, and argued that the existence of the caliphate
in Islamic society engendered repressive attitudes by the state towards its citizens
(Mandaville, 2007:52). However, there is a strong case to be made that the MB was
most concerned with shaping an Islamic social order through Islamising society, and
that it was largely ambivalent about whether this was done within the structure of an
Islamic caliphate or a modern secular nation state, so long as this primary goal could
be achieved.
As Kepel (1985:26) has observed, although the MB in Egypt was “officially a social
organization and not a political party, it represented the largest organised popular
force in the country”. Within a short period of time, the MB became a significant
Islamic movement in the political constellation of Egypt, having 2,000 branches and
half a million active members by the early 1930s (Mandaville, 2007:69). Perhaps
most impressive is the fact that its supporters came from a considerable range of
social milieus and professional sectors. Mitchell describes how “its membership
society”, from students and civil servants to urban labourers and peasants (1993:12).
66
According to Gilsenan (1982:220), this wide social range of MB members was “an
organizational and ideological response to, and a proffered resolution of their own
In its earlier incarnation, capturing political power at the state level was not one of
the MB’s goals, with al-Banna even prohibiting Muslims from establishing political
parties (Mandaville, 2007:60). The MB required the state to play its role in
Islamising society through such means as increasing the quantity and quality of
the Egyptian government led the MB to shift their approach in Islamising society
during the next periods of its development. During the middle to the end of the
1930s, ‘the MB’s political concerns began to increase’ (Mitchell, 1993:9). Given
that one of its objectives was to drive out colonialism, the MB began to take a more
direct role in criticising the government and other political authorities in relation to
British interference with the Egyptian government. As a result, the relation between
the MB and the government became increasingly strained, and an eventual conflict
was inevitable.
In the 1940s, the MB experienced suppression from the state, and some of MB’s
leaders were imprisoned (Mitchell, 1993). Moreover, the government was involved
in preventing al-Banna from holding public office. He was asked by the government
to withdraw his parliamentary candidacy, and his followers believed that the
government had manipulated the polling process to cause al-Banna to lose in the
election (Mandaville, 2007:72). It was undeniable that this strained relationship with
the government encouraged the MB to become more critical of them and to lead
67
protests against policies that ignored British intrusions in Egypt. On the other side,
the government suspected that the MB was involved in several violent local
attacks.45 This combination of factors led the Egyptian government to finally ban the
For the MB, public dakwah, public affairs, and politics cannot be separated. Given
their belief that dakwah permeates all aspects of a Muslim’s life, ‘the MB still
operated even though the government had repressed the movement, and during the
this period on, the MB began to gradually exist again in the public life of Egypt
establishment and its early history indicate that the MB has the capability to adapt to
in the general elections of 1942 and 1945, observing that although the government
had prevented him from being elected, the MB did not undertake any radical
retaliation in response. It is worth noting that under the rule of Anwar Sadat (ruled
1970-1981), who succeeded Nasser, the MB had been given a space to re-enter the
public sphere, but Sadat signalled that he would only welcome the “moderate” MB
into the public life of Egypt. This led to a conflict within the MB, with the ‘radicals’
having been co-opted by the government. The divide between the radical wing and
45
However, the MB countered ‘this regime’s charge of conspiracy by claiming that the attack had
been a police provocation’ (see Kepel, 1985:27).
68
However, the moderate wing, which was the mainstream of the MB movement,
came to have an increasingly significant public role during the 1980s and 1990s
such as student unions and councils, as mediums through which to plant its
welfare activities, such as providing aid to the victims of disasters. This social role,
which is viewed as part of their dakwah strategy, attracted wider public popularity
This alliance secured approximately 15% of the vote – around 58 seats. However,
the MB was only given 8 seats, while al-Wafd obtained 48. This allocation was not
beneficial for the MB since, while it was responsible for the political movement of
the alliance, it only got few seats in parliament. Thus, in the following election in
1987, the MB instead built an alliance with the Labour party and the Ahror
(Liberation) party. This alliance obtained 17% of the national vote, and 56 seats,
indication of this was seen when the MB reinterpreted verses relating to gender
the MB movement also began to give higher priority to political issues relating to
freedom, democracy, culture, education, and the economy, and put the application of
As has been suggested earlier, branches of the MB can be found in Arab and Middle
Eastern countries, Asia, Africa and Europe (Mandaville, 2007, 2014). Although the
symbolic and ideological linkage” (2001:4). For instance, one of their key
they hold different attitudes regarding certain issues, based on the particular social,
cultural, moral and political dynamics and norms of each country. Regardless of
their differences in responding to specific issues, they all share the same basic
ideologies of the Egyptian MB, including: (1) establishing a unity of religion and
politics, (2) the need to apply shari’ah in public life, and (3) the need for
purification. They also share the basic strategy of the Egyptian MB, which starts by
creating Muslim individuals, then Muslim ‘families’, then finally Muslim societies.
Although most of the MB’s branches have been transformed into Islamic political
parties, and their broader political significance has grown as a challenge to secular
leadership (especially in Muslim societies), they have all still implemented its
private ‘educational’ (Tarbiyah) instrument. Despite the fact that the MB has parties
that are prominent in several countries, including Indonesia, the Tarbiyah instrument
is still the main dakwah activity of the movement, and its ideological linkage is
1.6 Conclusion
This chapter has examined the significance of dakwah among Muslims, particularly
in contemporary Islamist movements. I have argued that although private and public
70
concepts of dakwah have existed and been practised in the history of Islam, these
concepts – especially the public concept of dakwah – have different meanings for
contemporary Islamists. In the past, dakwah was primarily concerned with Islam as
a monotheistic faith (tawhid), and had a universalist message that could be spread to
other people, regardless of race, ethnicity, and nationality. In the era of the Prophet,
Muhammad was an agent of dakwah who received the holy task of spreading the
message of Islam. In the periods of the Caliphs and the dynasties of Umayyad and
Abbasid, the dakwah was not conducted by Caliphs and kings alone, but also (and
mainly) by well trained, traditional ulama, sufis, and other religious experts.
The role that traditional ulama, sufis and religious scholars had in conducting
dakwah changed in the modern period as a result of the impact of modernisation and
religious discourses from ulama old and new, as well as modernists and Islamists.
dakwah through their dakwah movements. Modern Islamists strongly believe in the
need for Muslims to be active in Islamising the public sphere and the state, and the
absence of Islamic states, Muslim rulers, and public Islamic teaching are their main
concerns.
absence of Islam from public life that colonialism and secularism led to in Muslim
countries that Muslim immigrant and diaspora communities have spread to. The
71
Islamist dakwah ideology concerning the strengthening of Islamic identity and the
piety of Muslims, together with the creation of a more Islamic form of society, have
attracted young people from the urban lower and middle classes. These young urban
responsive to the modern period, and that provides a ‘better modernity’ – one that is
more Islamic, religious, spiritual, just and humane. As an Islamist movement, the
movements worldwide, attracting large numbers of young Muslims in Egypt and the
Middle East as well as in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The MB movements in these
countries have similar concerns and ideologies regarding the Islamisation of society
Chapter 2
2.1 Introduction
In the previous chapter, I investigated how the concept and practice of dakwah has
movements. I showed how Islamist movements throughout the world are very
concerned with the Islamisation of the public sphere, and gave particular attention to
the MB in Egypt. I argued that although both individual and public conceptions of
dakwah informed the practice of Muslims in the era of the Prophet, as well as in the
dakwah in a different age– the Islamisation of the public sphere. The global impact
between Islam and other Western or modern ideologies, are the factors that have led
to Islamists adopting this agenda regarding the public sphere and the state.
The purpose of this chapter will be to examine the context that influenced the
and holding visions of a modern and secular-nationalist Indonesian state and society,
were part of the structure of the state established in modernity. Their visions and
reforms led to the gradual removal of Islam from the state, which led Islamic leaders
to respond critically to these changes. In this chapter I argue that the original idea of
73
early Indonesian leaders were competing to form a nation-state, and then gained
strength in the more democratic political system that came into being after the fall of
In the first section of the chapter I explore Islamic movements in the pre-colonial
Islamic kingdoms that had been established a hundred years earlier, and I argue that
the repressive character of the colonial government and the decline in Islam’s
campaign for nationalism and independence. In this period, Islamic leaders focused
The next section explains how Indonesian leaders came to formulate the concept of
the Indonesian modern state. I argue that the secularist ideology promoted by
Indonesian leaders graduating from Dutch institutions led to the idea of Islamism
gaining strength among Islamic leaders, especially those who were part of revivalist
nation-state, was the main factor in leading these Islamic leaders to seriously
campaign for bringing shari’ah into the state constitution. The pivotal point of their
demand was that the structure of the state should be based on Islamic teachings.
The next part of this chapter investigates the attitudes that the New Order
government (1966-1998) had towards Islamist groups. I argue that during the first
period of the New Order, the government preferred to prevent the growth and spread
in the second period, the regime tended to ‘domesticate’ Islamists in order to gain
their support. The dakwah message of Islamism – to position Islam within the state
and public life – was regarded by the New Order regime as a threat to national
ideology, and the government thus prevented Islamist movements and their leaders
from having public roles in order to restrict the spread of their ideology to wider
audiences. Nevertheless, in the last period of their leadership, the New Order tended
to adopt an approach of cooperation with Islamist groups, which the regime had
In the last part of this chapter I will elucidate how the Islamist movement developed
in the post New Order era (1998–present day), at which point the political system
their dakwah audiences. They used this chance to establish new Islamic
shari’ah and Islamic symbols both through private dakwah in the individual sphere
and through public dakwah in the public sphere and at the state level. However,
although it did not suddenly emerge after the social and political reformation of
1998, these reforms did open the door for Islamic political parties and various
enormously from this political change, but the roots of the struggle for shari’ah and
75
Ricklefs (1993) observes that Muslim traders from the Middle East, China and India
had been present in some Indonesian islands for several centuries before Islam
archipelago through sea routes (Eliraz, 2004).46 Although it is not possible to give a
precise date for when Muslim traders first entered Indonesia, it is believed that it
was sometime between the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Century that there was a shift in
significant role in the spread of Islam. At the end of Thirteenth Century, travellers
that passed through Indonesia, including Marco Polo (1254–1324) and Ibn Battuta
(1304–1377), found that it was not only ordinary Sumatran people that had become
Muslims, but that the ruler of Sumatra had done so as well. By the Fourteenth
Century Islam had started to develop in Northern Sumatra, and was gradually
adopted by other parts of Sumatra and Java. By the end of the Sixteenth Century it
had become the dominant religion in several Indonesian islands (Demant, 2006).
was influenced by the scholarly networks of Indonesian-Malays and the Middle East
(Azra, 2004). According to Azra (2004), scholars (ulama) who came from different
46
According to Eliraz (2004), the spread of Islam within Indonesia in these periods was dominated
by traders from the Middle East. These traders introduced the Islamic teachings and knowledge that
spread in the Middle East countries, and when it first arrived in Indonesia, this teaching and
knowledge was not only influenced by Indian but also by Middle Eastern traders, especially the
Hadramis (immigrants from Hadramaut-Yemen).
47
Some Islamic kingdoms were established between the thirteenth and the fifteenth Century, such as
Samudera Pasai (13th century), Aceh (15th century), and Demak (15th century).
76
parts of the Muslim world, met and built extensive networks especially through the
annual pilgrimage (hajj) in Mecca and Medina. They produced a scholarly discourse
and shared their common spirit to reform and renew their societies. Their ideas of
reformism and renewal then spread and transmitted to many part of the Muslim
colonised the region in the Seventeenth Century, where they remained in charge
until the middle of the Twentieth Century (Ricklefs, 1993). Islamic kingdoms
gradually declined and fell under the control of the Dutch colonial government. This
colonialism was the main factor that led Indonesian leaders – especially Islamic
independence from ‘infidel’ rulers. The Islamic leaders said that it was the
obligation of all Muslims to resist the Dutch because they were infidels (Laffan,
2003), and that Muslims should be led and controlled by a Muslim government.
In the next section, I will show, in greater detail, the important role that Islamic
from the Western colonial state during this period through establishing Islamic
propagated, and new Islamic ideas spread with the help of journalists and the
technological innovation of the printing press. Newspapers such as Wazir Indie and
Al-Imam spread Islamic ideas. Wazir Indie, first published in 1878, claims to be the
first Muslim newspaper (Laffan, 2003:146), and built a printing press and
nation (umat Melayu) invokes what Benedict Anderson (2006) has referred to as an
‘imagined community’, and the newspaper promoted this as the ideal homeland
from its very first publication. The development of the printing press and the spread
among Indonesian Muslims (Anderson, 2006), and Al Imam was regarded as one of
the most important vehicles for the dakwah of revivalism, pan-Islamism and, to a
lesser extent, modernism. Although this newspaper was based in Singapore, the
A few years after al-Imam was published, the use of its printing press was expanded
to not only produce newspapers, but also periodicals, and by the 1920s new
newspapers such as al-Munir, Seruan Azhar and Pilehan Timur were also being
published (Laffan, 2003; Eliraz, 2004). The development of these periodicals was
78
given Rida’s shift towards revivalism and turning al-Manar into a major vehicle for
voices, and can be seen as part of dakwah agenda of revivalists. This is not
surprising, given that Muslim revivalists have been the quickest in using almost all
forms of modern technology, including the printing press, social media, and the
Moreover, these newspapers also improved the literacy rates in Indonesia, aided in
the growth of a new vision of education and teaching, and contributed to the
increasing interest of Muslims in learning about events and situations in other parts
of the Islamic world. Thus, the idea of pan-Islamism – an issue close to the
revivalist’s heart – spread among literate Indonesian Muslims in this period. The
Furthermore, the two earliest Muslim newspapers – Wazier Indie and al-Imam –
part of faith”48 (and other relevant Quranic verses) in order to raise the national
only concerned with community-building and religious reform, but also with the
48
This phrase – “love of the homeland is a part of faith” (Hubb al-wathan min al-iman) – is very
popular phrase among Indonesian Muslims. Muslims in the pre-colonial and colonial periods tended
to assume this phrase to be a Hadith (a collected saying or anecdote reporting the Prophet’s words or
deeds), and used it in the hope that early modern Indonesian people would struggle to defend their
country against colonialism. In fact, this phrase is not a Hadith from the Prophet Muhammad, as it
was generally assumed. This phrase as declared by al-Saghany and al-Albany is fabricated (mawdu).
79
struggle against the colonisers, and became a unifying source for nationalism
through Islam.
During the beginning of the Twentieth Century Islamic leaders established several
political rights, economic opportunities and education. These included the ‘proto-
Islamist’ Sarekat Islam (SI) in 1911,49 the modernist Muhammadiyah in 1912, the
These organisations also implicitly demanded and mobilised support for Indonesian
independence from colonial rule (Latif, 2008). Muslims played an important role in
the social movements of these organisations and, in this period, Islam was important
for establishing national unity. Effendy argues that “Islam served as a link which
tied together the sentiment of national unity against Dutch colonialism” (2003:15).
A political agenda demanding the independence of the Indonesian state was most
strongly expressed by the Sarekat Islam (SI) movement (Latif, 2008; Saleh, 2004),
with the main objective of SI during 1912-1929 being to spread an Islamic form of
nationalism (Saleh, 2004; Laffan, 2003). This organisation developed from Sarekat
Dagang Islam (the Islamic Trading Association), which was established in Solo-
49
Sarekat Islam (SI) was co-founded by Tjokroaminoto (1882-1934) and Agus Salim (1884-1954)
(see Saleh, 2001).
50
There is a very comprehensive and detailed study on PERSIS written by Federspiel (2001).
51
The NU was established to protect Islamic boarding schools and Islamic traditionalism from
modernism. It is categorised as traditionalist because it refers only to standards set by the Syafi’i
school of thought for all of its decision-making (www.nu.or.id, accessed on 5 November 2014). The
NU was established by traditionalist ulama K H Hasyim Asy’ari (1875-1947), and focused on Islamic
traditional learning and countering revivalist ideas It was a response to Muhammadiyah’s attempts to
develop modern educational systems (see Barton, 2002; Bruinessen, 1994).
80
Central Java in 1911. The SI was able to attract mass attention from religious leaders
to Muslim traders, and from both urban and rural areas in Indonesia, and ‘succeeded
(Effendy, 2003:16).
The success of this organisation was, however, short-lived. Sarekat Islam failed to
continue their efforts towards establishing independence because the leaders of the
regarding political idealism (Latif, 2008). The internal conflicts between the leaders
emerged in the mid-1920s, and ‘increased after Marxism was introduced to the
experienced further internal conflict and fragmentation between its leaders and its
In contrast to the SI, the modernist Muhammadiyah and the traditionalist NU were
more concerned with purification and Islamic education than with politics (See
Saleh, 2001; Barton and Fealy, 1996). Their concentration on the fields of
although as noted in the Introduction and elsewhere the overwhelming focus of the
education to Indonesian (Javanese) Muslims and to purify their Islamic rituals from
52
The conflict in Sarekat Islam emerged as a result of the different orientations of the leaders and
activists. Some were influenced by Marxism, and wanted to develop the organisation into a socialist-
oriented movement, whilst others were influenced by Pan-Islamism and wanted to develop the
organisation as a political Islam movement. During this period, Marxism was not only opposed by the
supporters of Pan-Islamism in Sarekat Islam, but also resisted by many other Islamic organisations,
such as the NU and the Muhammadiyah. They considered Marxism as communism, and part of the
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) (see Noer, 1978).
81
syncretism (Nakamura, 2012; Saleh, 2001). This meant that its organisation’s
also led it to being seen as a form of revivalism. The organisation has focused on
building modern educational systems, and combining them with Western modern
subjects and Islamic themes in order to allow its students to take advantage of both
colonial and traditional educational systems (Alfian, 1989). It should be noted that
thinkers Muhammad Abduh (1845-1905) and Rashid Rida (1865-1935) (see Chapter
Since their inception, the leaders of the NU and Muhammadiyah – the two largest
nationalism, either within their respective organisations or through the SI. Many of
the Muhammadiyah’s leaders, including Ahmad Dahlan (the founder and first
educational institutions, which spread throughout the country, the leaders of both
[for] the country is part of the faith’ (Laffan, 2003). The Muhammadiyah and the
both organisations are widely known for their roles in social and religious arenas
(Barton, 2006).53
53
The Muhammadiyah, with its modernist vision of combining spiritual and intellectual reform, is
actively involved in work on education and social welfare in Indonesian society. This organisation
has hundreds of modern educational institutions, from kindergartens to universities, which are spread
throughout Indonesia. It embraces a modern secular curriculum in schools and avoids traditional
approaches to education, including the rejection of Sufism as a subject (see Nakamura, 2012).
82
Indonesian leaders with Dutch education, and expressed in the ideas of the nation-
state and nationalism, led to the consolidation of Islamism among Islamic leaders, in
particular among the revivalists. The idea of the nation-state insisted on the
separation of Islam from the state (e.g. the rejection of making Islam the foundation
of the state, Islam as the state law, and the requirement for a state leader/President to
state law. Soekarno (1901–1970)54 and Mohammad Hatta (1902–1980)55 were the
most prominent secularist leaders of this time, becoming the first President and Vice
should be based on a national identity that accommodates all ethnic and religious
values.
Soekarno and Hatta were the leaders of the nationalist-secular party – the Indonesian
National Party (PNI) – which was established in 1927. The main visions of this
modern political ideas, believing that the ‘backwardness’ of Indonesia was the result
amongst the Indonesian people. Soekarno emphasised that his party’s objective was
According to Soekarno, it was not necessary for the party to have an Islamic basis
54
After graduating from the Europeesche Lagere School (the Dutch-Medium Junior Secondary
School), Soekarno studied in the Hogere Burger School (the Dutch-Medium Secondary School) and
the Technische Hoge School (the Technical Institute Bandung). During 1916–1926, he was actively
involved in student organisations (Latif, 2008; Ismail, 1995).
55
Hatta studied administrative laws in Rotterdam University in the Netherlands (Latif, 2008; Ismail,
1995).
83
(Ismail, 1995), as its two main aims were to oppose imperialism and capitalism and
to create an independent nation-state with unity among Indonesian people per se.
the 1930s onwards, Soekarno, Hatta, and Sjahrir promoted nationalism as a key tool
Ideological debates between nationalist and Islamic revivalist leaders were thus
unavoidable. The debates initially focused on the nature of nationalism, with the
Islamic revivalists believing that it should be based on Islamic teachings, while the
nationalist group thought that the diversity and heterogeneity of national values
consciousness of being united in one group and one nation, while leaders of Islamic
organizations such as the leader of the more pan-Islamic oriented Sarekat Islam or
“Islamic Union” Agus Salim (1884–1954) and the founder of the Persatuan Islam
Mohamad Natsir (1908–1993), the leader of the largest Islamic political party in the
1940s and 1950s called the Masyumi stressed Salim and Hasan’s opinion that
(ridha) of Allah (Noer, 1978:276). Effendy (2003:20) points out that these two
different groups emerged within a certain political context in which Islamic leaders
56
Sjahrir studied law in the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands (see Mrazek, 1994; Sjahrir,
1990; Latif, 2008; Ismail, 1995).
57
By ‘these secularist-nationalists’ I mean intellectuals who frequently published their opinions on
social, political and economic issues. They were also concerned with long-term strategies for
educating the Indonesian people using modern educational systems. Mrazek (1994)’s lengthy and
detailed study of Sjahrir, however, offers a more subtle insight than the simple conclusion that he was
a secularist. The same can be learned from his memoir “Renungan dan Perjuangan” (1990).
84
were not only united to fight against colonial rule and engaged in a struggle for
nationalism and independence, but were also struggling in a debate with nationalist
figures about what the constitution and foundation of the country should be.
In the early 1940s, the debate between these two groups shifted to the nature of the
relationship between Islam and the state – a debate that represented the key
published in 1940, Soekarno argued for the separation of Islam from the state
(1964:369–500), on the basis that the formal-legal relationship between Islam and
Natsir – a founder and leader of the Masyumi – promoted the idea of unity between
religion and the state (Kahin, 2012; Effendy, 2003). Since the beginning of the
1930s, Natsir had been very active in propagating the idea that the state and religion
were indivisible (Effendy, 2003) – an idea that is typical of the general ideology of
Islamists in other Islamic countries, such as the MB in Egypt, and Jama'ati Islami
(JI) in India and Pakistan (See Chapter 1). Natsir’s Islamist ideas on the state and
religion cannot be separated from his international network both in Pakistan through
the Muslim World Congress (Mutamar al-‘Alam al Islami) and Saudi Arabia
through the Muslim World League (Rabitah al-‘Alam al-Islam) (Kahin, 2012).
The momentum in the debate between these two groups increased in the run-up to
1956–1959. The first gain in momentum came at a time when Indonesians were
formulating the state constitution in preparation for independence in 1945, while the
second came in the formative years of the Republic of Indonesia, when they were
85
completing and revising the constitution after the first general election in 1955.
The first meeting of the Investigating Body for the Preparation for Indonesian
BPUPKI) was held on 29 May 1945, and at it Islamic and nationalist groups
discussed the philosophical basis and ideology of the state (Ismail, 1995). During the
meeting, the Islamic faction argued for the importance of inserting the clause ‘with
the obligation for the adherents of Islam to practice shari’ah (Islamic law)’ into the
constitution, while the secularist group rejected this (Effendy, 2003, Latif, 2008).
This Islamic clause became referred to as ‘the seven words’ in the so called Piagam
At this meeting, the Islamic representatives argued that Islam should be mentioned
Indonesia. Moreover, Natsir contended that the Muslim majority had taken the
greatest role in the struggle for Indonesia’s independence, and that an integral part of
this struggle involved the objective of implementing Islamic teachings and shari’ah
in the country (Kahin, 2012; Mahendra, 1995). Moreover, the Islamic groups
appealed to the fact that Muslims made up the majority of the Indonesian
population, constituting 90% of it in 1945 (Ismail, 1995:51). In this period, the spirit
to strengthen Islamic identity among Muslims was very high, and the Islamic leaders
insisted that the constitution of the state should clearly mention the application of
shari’ah to Muslims, believing that this would guarantee that the state would
58
This clause was a key part of the content of the Piagam Jakarta or the ‘Jakarta Charter’ (see Latif,
2008; Effendy, 2003; Ismail, 1995).
86
formalise it as official state law. This idea coloured the political thinking of the
Islamic figures in both the Investigating Body’s (1945)59 and the Constitutional
religions, ethnicities and traditions. They argued that the constitution should not
prioritise a particular religion, ethnicity or tradition and dropped the ‘seven words’
of the Islamic clause from the constitution’s preamble, arguing that Indonesia was
different from Saudi Arabia and Egypt because it was unique in terms of its
nationalists – doubted whether shari’ah could meet the demands of a modern nation-
state (Ismail, 1995). Instead, the secular-nationalists, led by Soekarno, promoted the
idea of the Pancasila or ‘Five Principle Doctrines’, whose first doctrine referred to
‘the belief in one God’ (Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa) (Ismail, 1995, Effendy, 2003).
Even though the Islamic faction was unable to achieve its goal of having the
‘shari’ah clause’ in the constitution, this polemic had strengthened the idea of
‘Islamism’ (the use of Islam as a political ideology to Islamise the state) among
Muslim leaders – the unity between Islam, politics, and law – and the urgency for all
Muslim factions, including traditionalism and the NU, to unite (Platzdasch, 2009).
59
This investigating body was established on 29 April 1945 for the preparation of Indonesian
independence with the agenda of formulating the philosophy of the state. The outcome of the meeting
was the Jakarta Charter, which includes an obligation for the state to implement shari’ah as state law
for Muslims. However, in another meeting, the chapter was changed by removing the Islamic clause.
The committee then agreed to use this amendment of the chapter (see Nasution, 2001).
60
The Constitutional Assembly was a body elected in 1955 to make decisions regarding a permanent
constitution for the republic of Indonesia. They held meetings on 10 November 1956 and 2 July
1959. After these, they decided on the constitution. Soekarno ended their duty on 5 July 1959 (see
Herbert, 2007; Ricklefs, 1991).
87
and the NU, established an oppositional Islamic political party in 1945 named the
(Platzdasch, 2009; Saleh, 2001; Noer, 1987). These Islamic organisations joined the
(Effendy, 2003), and their struggle in this period thus shifted its focus from a fight
against colonialism and a struggle for independence to the fight to become the
strongest Islamic political party. Despite the strong legitimacy of its initial
1950s, Masyumi only survived until 1960 (Platzdasch, 2009; Saleh, 2001; Noer
1987). Masyumi was a breeding ground for the key Islamic politician, Mohammad
including the Muhammadiyah, which was powerful during this period.61 Therefore,
the participation of the traditionalist NU in Islamism was odd. I argue that the NU’s
from the ‘Islamists’ and established its own political party, called the NU party in
1952. Moreover, after 1959, the NU preferred to ally with the government's
secularist party, the PNI, and left the ‘Islamist’ group. The traditionalists believed
61
I categorized Muhammadiyah as reformist Islamist because of the Muhammadiyah’s stance on the
relationship between religion and politics and in particular on the role of Islam in the Indonesian state
on one hand, and on the other hand, the Muhammadiyah’s focus on education, social work, and
management of organisations (see Burhani, 2000; Mulkhan, 2000; Noer, 1978).
88
that the government had to be supported so long as Muslims were free to perform
their worship. This view contradicted the more clearly ‘Islamist’ (Masyumi) position
that insisted on the implementation of shari’ah within the arenas of politics, law,
and the economy. As a result, the NU became closely allied with the government,
entering into a coalition with them, and its leader occupied the position of Minister
of Religious Affairs during the Old Order Soekarno regime (Kahin, 2012; Barton,
2002).
For Islamic leaders, winning in a general election and dominating the parliament and
NU resigned from the Masyumi and created a new political party as noted above,
Islamic leaders were united on a common issue: to introduce shari’ah into the
constitution. In total, these Islamic parties gained 230 seats in parliament, while the
secularists gained 280 seats (Effendy, 2003:33-34). From 1956 until 1959, the
polemic on the relation between Islam and the state rose again, and the parliament
was deadlocked. The polemic ended after the President disbanded parliament in
1959, arguing that the state had become endangered by the conflict of ideology
organisations. Based on these different attitudes towards Islam, the New Order
government under Soeharto was divided into two periods: the early and the late
period. In this section I show that, in the earlier period, the New Order government
89
sought to prevent the growth and spread of Islamist ideology among religious
movements through various restrictions and regulations, while in the later period,
the regime sought to domesticate Islamist groups in order to gain their support and
sustain the New Order government. Recalling my comments about SMT in the
Introduction (Wiktorowicz 2004; Fox 2012), I argue that these different political
impacted on the dakwah activities and strategies chosen by both Muslim leaders and
Islamic organisations.
In the early period of the New Order (1966-1985), Islamic movements and political
parties were considered to be a potential threat to national ideology, unity, and the
survival of the New Order regime. In this period, the government ideology of
Pancasila was reaffirmed, with Soeharto using it as a vehicle for uniting Indonesian
2006:360). During this period, Soeharto also ‘refused to incorporate the Jakarta
The regime attempted to restrict Islamic groups from having public (political) roles,
with Soeharto creating limitations for and depoliticising the roles of Islamic
movements and political parties. Moreover, Soeharto sustained the ban on Masyumi,
that challenged the modern nation-state, and also considered what so-called later
religious and social programmes were closely monitored, and had to be kept in line
90
servants to be loyal to the government. The regulation was issued by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and required civil servants to swear allegiance to the government
(Porter, 2006:26), which included an obligation to vote for Golkar62 as the official
government party. During this period, many Muslims coming from Masyumi’s
families worked as civil servants, and thus the regulation had a significant impact on
the vote that the Islamic party received in the general elections at that time. In 1973
a regulation was made to consolidate Islamic political parties into one single party –
the United Development Party (PPP) (Kingsbury, 2002). It was thought that this
merger would support the government in controlling and preventing ‘Islamism’ from
growing within the Islamic party. For Muslim activists, of course, this government
The government also passed Law No. 3 as late as 1985 which forced Islamic
organisations and political parties to adopt Pancasila as their sole ideology and
ideological basis, which meant that they had to reject Islam as their philosophical
foundation (Abbas, 2005:56). Failure to comply with this law resulted in the
62
The GOLKAR (Golongan Karya, the Functional party) was formed in 1964 to counteract the
growing influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). It was the ruling party during the
Soeharto (1966-1998) and the Habibie period (1998-1999). In the latest period – the Yudhoyono
period – this party has been part of the ruling coalition (2004-2014).
91
regime also punished those who criticised or reacted against this rule. For instance,
in Tanjung Priok-Jakarta in 1984, the regime ordered the military to shoot hundreds
Pancasila as the ideology for their Islamic organisations and parties (Porter, 2006:2).
repressing any signs of Islamism. In 1968, it changed the leaders of the Partai
Muslim Indonesia or the ‘Indonesian Muslim Party’ (Parmusi) – a new Islamic party
endorsed by the government and run by former leaders of the Masyumi. Moreover,
was strongly restricted by the President. The Soeharto regime removed ‘Islamist’
instances in the early history of Indonesia – in 1945 and 1959 – in which Islamists
Islamism would lead to disharmony and instability in the secular nation-state and
disunity among the people. In these first two decades of the Soeharto leadership,
Islamist groups were thus seen as a threat to the state (Latif, 2008), and Islamism
was regarded as being opposed to state ideology (Effendy, 2003:194). Within such a
climate, many Muslim activists withdrew from party politics entirely (Latif, 2008),
choosing instead to disseminate their political views through educational, social, and
religious activities. For instance, Natsir shifted his political activities towards
political domain led Islamist figures to transform their dakwah movement through
cultural aspects such as education and training. Because of the suspicious attitude
adopted by the government, the Islamist leaders also tried to deflect attention away
individual piety.
Several Islamist organisations also emerged within this political context, including
Dakwah Islam Indonesia),64 Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), and the Tarbiyah
movement (Hilmy, 2010; Platzdasch, 2009). They emerged during the 1960s, 1970s,
and 1980s when there was no context for doing political activity. Their emergence
this thesis.
from the development of dakwah in international Muslim society. For instance, the
establishment of the DDII in 1967 and the LDII in 1972 in Indonesia related to the
momentum of the oil boom in Saudi Arabia (Kahin, 2012; Hasan, 2008).65
Outcomes of the wealth generated by this oil boom included the diffusion of Islamic
63
The DDII was founded on 9 May 1967 to continue the mission of the Masyumi party, which had
been banned by the Soekarno government. The key individual behind the establishment of DDII was
Natsir, the former leader of Masyumi (Kahin, 2012; Platzdasch, 2009). The official website of the
DDII is http://www.dewandakwah.com/ (Accessed on 4 November 2014).
64
LDII was founded by H. Nurhasan Ubaidillah Lubis (d.1982) after his return from Mecca (living
there for ten years). As its name implies, it is a dakwah organization. It has revivalist character
(Ricklefs, 2012). I found two official websites of the LDII: http://www.ldii.or.id/ and http://ldii-
online.com/(Accessed on 4 November 2014).
65
They established close contacts and often received financial support from Saudi authorities (Hasan,
2008).
93
(and more particularly Wahhabi and Salafi) beliefs and practices through the export
Indonesia, Saudi Arabian authorities give grants for various dakwah activities such
as building mosques and the training of preachers (da’i) (Kahin, 2012). Thus, the
circumstances.
Social and political stabilisation became the main concern of the government at this
time (Eliraz, 2004), and this resulted in the dakwah activities of Islamic
organisations being excluded from the public sphere. Dakwah and other religious
activities were held for limited audiences and held in private places such as
members’ own houses. According to the leaders of the HTI and the Tarbiyah
these groups though there is limited documentation of this period in the literature
accommodating policy towards Islamic activists than the early period, not only
towards those who had Islamic modernist and traditionalist orientations, but also
some extent, found ways to integrate themselves into the New Order’s policy
66
See, for instance Mandaville, 2007. McLoughlin (2005:527) points out that the circulation of
money, people, goods, and ideas have facilitated ‘trans-national’ movements across the borders of
nation states. Kersten (2011) adds that, in this circulation of ideas or money, there was an ongoing
creative process or negotiation between foreign ideas and local political, cultural, and religious ones.
94
(Effendy, 2003:195). The fact that the Muslim population comprised more than 85%
of the overall population of Indonesia was seen as having a new significance for the
state. In this phase, the government thus tried to ‘accommodate’ Islamists. The
Islamists at the end of the 1980s (Hefner, 2000:167), and was indeed very different
movement’ emerged led by Nurcholish Madjid, known as Cak Nur. Cak Nur’s
movement took inspiration from early-twentieth century modernism, but was critical
appreciated the intellectual dimensions of the Islamic tradition that had been rejected
rejected primordial Muslim politics with his famous slogan “Islam yes, Partai Islam,
no!” (Kersten, 2011). This movement emphasized understanding the essence of God
and the Prophet’s message while also paying attention to context. In the 1980s, this
movement received positive coverage from the media because they gave an Islamic
only to Cak Nur, but also to his mentors Mukti Ali and Harun Nasution (see
Munhanif, 1996; Muzani, 1994; Hassan, 1980). This renewal movement led to an
There were also other key figures that spread similar ideas to Cak Nur. Gusdur, with
his traditionalist background, was one of them. He did not join the renewal’s
Nurcholish, but he actively spread ‘liberal’ Islam and influenced many young
issues that attracted a public response was women’s share in inheritance i.e.
According to Syadzali, women should receive an equal share with men. He argues
that the stipulation of the Qur’an that a son should inherit twice that of a daughter is
These ‘liberal’ ideas, especially those promoted by Cak Nur, were rejected by those
in former Masyumi circles who later became key leaders of DDII. The main ideas
legitimation of the New Order, openness toward other religions, respect for ‘local
Islam’ (Saleh, 2001; Platzsdach, 2009). These ideas were also unacceptable to the
Tarbiyah movement and they kept up the struggle against such ideas as we shall see
in Chapters 4 and 6.
2008; Hefner, 2000). The establishment of the ICMI showed that the government
had neutralised their previous attitudes towards Islamism or at least viewed support
for the ICMI as a means of balancing other Islamic forces. In this regard, the ICMI
gained advantage from this regime’s shift (Platzdasch, 2009). The ICMI members
were composed of new middle-class modernist and Islamist figures from the
Masyumi family, who still favoured the idea of a shari’ah-based state and voiced
this discourse of the Islamisation of the public sphere. Platzdasch (2009:34) points
out that the ICMI is ‘one of organizations that have continued the Masyumi
96
tradition’. The ICMI was intended to improve the contributions that Muslim
Another sign that the government was accommodating Islamists was the close
relations that they built with conservative Islamist dakwah organisations such as the
DDII and the Indonesian Committee for Islamic World Solidarity (Komite Indonesia
sought support from these two dakwah organisations and, according to Hefner
(2000), both groups happily responded to the invitation and supported the regime.
These movements engaged so readily because it was necessary for their own
survival and they believed that the regime would not support their dakwah activities
(Effendy, 2003).
This change in the political context and opportunities also led to the emergence of
new Islamic social and dakwah movements and the diversification of dakwah
began to engage in socially and culturally-oriented Islam not unlike the MB in 1980s
this period, and thus dakwah at the individual or private level started to grow again
and diversify in this period. These social and dakwah movements were primarily
1990s, they were actively promoting the idea of Islamisation and calling for the
return to pristine Islam (Hilmy, 2010). Their dakwah and other social and religious
67
KISDI was formed by Muslim activists who were also involved in The Indonesian Council for
Islamic preaching (DDII), and who had mostly graduated from Middle Eastern Universities. This
organization called for militant action in the defense of Islam (Jamhari and Jahroni, 2004; Fox, 2004).
97
within the wider society – could now be performed in this political context.
for the Soeharto regime rather than as a threat during this later period, the policies
that Soeharto’s regime created to accommodate them were based in his belief that
they would support him in the 1997 election. Effendy (2003) referred to this policy
experimented with by the regime in order for it to retain control. The Soeharto
regime used more Islamic symbols itself and issued more ‘Islamic’ policies. This
strategy was also used in many other Muslim-majority countries in which the
In this second period of its rule, the Soeharto government strategy was thus to
domesticate Islamists rather than to restrict their practices as they had during the
first period, and the 1990s were considered as a crucial phase for Soeharto’s regime
to secure its political power. Islamic organisations and leaders, including Islamists,
were expected to be new allies to support and sustain the government. However,
many experts, such as Robert W. Hefner (2000) and William Liddle (1992), contend
that the military, which had been the New Order's partner for two decades, had come
68
Studies have found that Muslims’ governments in numerous countries have turned to Islam to
enhance their political legitimacy and authority, as well as to mobilize popular support for their
programmes (Esposito, 1998). Rulers such as Qaddafy (1969) in Lybia, Sadat (1970-81) in Egypt,
Khomeini (1979-89) in Iran, al-Numayri (1968-85) in Sudan, and Zia ul-Haq (1977-88) in Pakistan
are among those have used Islam in a variety of forms (through monarchs, military and the clergy) to
strengthen their policies (see also, for instance, Esposito, 1998).
98
into conflict with the President.69 The President regarded this source of conflict as a
threat that endangered his position. In addition to this threat, many people began to
criticise the practices of Soeharto and his family for their corruption, collusion, and
Soeharto’s regime, and the regime’s need to curtail the growing criticism of its
corrupt, collusive, and nepotistic practices (see Hilmy, 2010; Platzdasch, 2009).
President Habibie, who was appointed after Soeharto’s fall in 1998, announced the
represented a new change in direction from the New Order government that had run
a very tightly controlled and centralised political system. This new political
liberalisation partially resulted from the fact that Habibie was a civilian president
who lacked strong support from the military, and thus needed support from the
Muslim population and its various interest groups to retain his power (Mietzner,
2009). His policy created a political atmosphere conducive towards a free and
democratic political system. The Habibie regime allowed all political and
result, numerous political parties with varying ideologies and objectives sprang up
between June and August in 1998, only a month after the fall of the Soeharto regime
69
The relation between Soeharto, the military and Islamists can also be found in Mietzner (2009) and
Sidel (2006).
70
Habibie was the Vice President of the New Order government in 1997-1998. He replaced Soeharto
as President when the latter resigned from his position in 1998 due to the severe economic and
political crisis that had gripped Indonesia.
99
Islamist groups saw this new political system as a great opportunity to establish a
variety of dakwah organisations and political parties with Islamism as their main
implementing their religious and political programmes and thus, in this era, the
Islamist presence within the public sphere was much more obvious than it had been
in the final period of the New Order. Their emergence indicated that they already
had the agenda to be involved in public affairs and politics in either direct or indirect
through Islamic political parties such as the Star Crescent Party (PBB) and the
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), while others did so through Islamic organisations
such as FPI, HTI, MMI, the Communication Forum of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah
(FKAWJ), and the Indonesian Committee for Solidarity of the Islamic World
formalisation of shari’ah in the state. For instance, the main aim of the
establishment of the FPI soon after the collapse of the regime in 1998 was to
conduct dakwah. They claim to seek ‘to command the truth and prevent sin or al-
the FPI–Habib Rizieq Syihab – stated that ‘it was primarily founded for the purpose
shari’ah and other Islamic teachings in public life, and their dakwah movements
within Indonesia’s public sphere became highly visible, being frequently covered by
the national media. They attracted the media and people’s attention because public
100
places that were considered as being against shari’ah (such as cafes and night clubs)
were attacked and destroyed by the violent and puritanical FPI (Bamualim, 2011). In
addition, other Islamic groups – such as the Ahmadiyah, Syi’ah, and the Islam
Liberal Network71 – also became the targets of their public, disciplinary form of
dakwah, as these groups were regarded as being ‘deviants’ and ‘non-Islamic’. The
FPI believe that all Muslims are obliged to implement shari’ah in every aspect of
their lives.
Like the FPI, the Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) was re-launched publicly in this
transitional era.72 The spokesperson of HTI – Ismail Yusanto – reported that the HTI
has conducted dakwah activities and programmes since the 1980s, but because of
the limitations and regulations that the New Order regime imposed during the 1980s,
for their loyal members during this period (see Section 2.4), only beginning public
activities after the fall of the authoritarian regime (Jamhari and Jahroni, 2004). The
core idea behind the establishment of the Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia was the same as
that behind Hizb ut-Tahrir per se – to re-build the Islamic caliphate (khilafah
Islamiyah) (see Taji-Farouki, 1996). Masdar Hilmy --who focuses his study on three
Islamic organizations in Indonesia, namely (1) MMI; (2) HTI; and (3) PKS --,
categorises the HTI as utopian Islamism because “they are obsessed with
establishing an ideal state of being and an ideal community based on religion. Yet
utopia is more than mere imagination”. (2010:7-8). The HTI believes that Islam, as
practiced by the Prophet and his companions (sahabat), is the system that should be
71
The Islam Liberal Network (JIL) represents the most outspoken critical opposition to a literalist
interpretation of Islam. Research on this organization has been conducted by Ali Nurdin (2005).
72
HTI is a political movement founded in 1982. It connected to the international Hizbut Tahrir
founded by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (1909-1977) (see Hilmy, 2010).
101
Another Islamic organisation that was founded after Soeharto’s fall was the
founded by Ja’far Umar Talib in February 1999, and its creation was motivated by
the political and economic crisis in 1998. The forum promoted Islamic doctrines, in
particular shari’ah, as the solution for this multi-layered crisis. FKAWJ was also
concerned with supporting Muslims who were engaged in conflict with Christians in
In August 1999 Abu Bakar Ba’asyir (b. 1938) launched MMI, which was based on
his ideology. He was widely known in Indonesia for actively opposing the
government for being secular and anti-Islam, and he was banned from forming any
(Hilmy, 2010). After this, he left for Malaysia, claiming that Indonesia was no
longer conducive to his dakwah movement. Soon after the fall of the Soeharto
continuing his dakwah movement, and he criticises the government for its ‘secular’
status to this day (Hilmy, 2010). The previous government, led by President Susilo
radical Islam movements,73 and maintained that they had enough evidence to prove
Although these organisations have different characters, they share the dakwah
73
On 6 June 2011, Ba’asyir was re-sentenced to 15 years in prison, being convicted of supporting a
Jihadi training camp was actively involved in al-Qaeda activities in Southeast Asia, especially in
Indonesia. (www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/09, accessed on 5 January 2013).
102
adopting a literal understanding of Islam. They believe that Muslims should practise
only the pure and pristine form of Islam implemented by the Prophet Muhammad
and his Companions (Salaf), and thus use Islam in the Indonesian public sphere to
As Meuleman (2011) has pointed out, a variety of dakwah movements and dakwah
limited influence among Indonesian Muslims. The new type of dakwah movement
which is more active and aggressive has attracted only small numbers of Muslims,
who are generally young and from urban and secular educational backgrounds.
Older organisations, such as the Muhammadiyah, PERSIS (Persatuan Islam) and the
NU, have very strong ties with their large numbers of followers.
The new Islamic organisations above are only some examples of institutions,
organisations and political parties that were established in Indonesia after the fall of
the Soeharto regime. These groups have sought to create a better climate for their
They thus came to regard the Habibie period as the time for them to speak up for
their rights and freedoms, and did so through their organisations and political
parties. These organisations competed, not only with each other in spreading their
dakwah messages and influence in the public sphere, but also with old dakwah
organisations such as the Muhammadiyah, PERSIS, and the NU. Moreover, they not
74
See Johan Meuleman’s article “Dakwah, Competition for Authority and Development” (2011).
103
only competed in seeking sympathetic ears from Indonesian Muslims in general, but
The Tarbiyah movement, to which we turn our attention in Chapter 4, was one of
the organisations that took advantage of the 1998 change of power as a political
opportunity to build an Islamist party, which it named the Prosperous Party (PK). (It
then changed its name to the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in 2004.) This more
democratic political setting provided the movement and many others with an
enlarged public space in which to advance its religious and political views and
2.6 Conclusion
the crystallisation of Islamist ideas. Islamic leaders were concerned with the place of
shari’ah and Islamic identity in the state, and inevitably there were contests between
secularist and Islamic groups over the appropriate form that the state should take.
showed within other parts of the Islamic world. In Turkey and Egypt, for instance,
The relationship between Islam and the state has continued to be the most important
of issues contested by Islamists, from the Old Order through to the New Order
as state law and this, indeed, has become their main dakwah message. For Islamists,
Indonesian population and, as such, have made the most significant contributions to
the development of the country since its early history. Islamists believe that in the
colonial period, Islam became the main symbol of resistance to the oppressors.
Many experts, such as Noer (1978), have asserted that the pivotal dakwah message
of the Islamic movement in the colonial period was the call for Indonesian Muslims
to be united under the concept of Islamic nationhood and to fight against the colonial
state.
messages under the repressive New Order government as they were forbidden to
conduct their dakwah in the political domain. The government was suspicious of
them, regarding Islamism in any form as a threat to the Indonesian modern nation-
state. For this reason, many Islamist figures not only changed their political
approaches, but also transformed the dakwah message to individual piety in place of
by these Islamic figures received more space within the public sphere when the New
Order government needed their political support to counter the threats from military
Islamist ideologies were developed and implemented more thoroughly within the
105
more democratic political system that emerged after the downfall of the New Order
in Indonesia in 1998, with the ‘reform era’75 marking the beginning of the
Indonesia’s social and political systems were brought about through the introduction
of political policies that supported the emergence of new organisations and political
parties.
opportunity to play a more significant role in public life. As a result, many Islamic
organisations and parties emerged in this period, including the Prosperous Justice
Party (PKS). The PKS was established by the Tarbiyah community, which had
existed since the beginning of the 1980s, and believed that Islam should govern both
individuals’ ways of lives and behaviours and the running of the state. The PKS
wanted to implement shari’ah, not only in relation to the social and cultural aspects
of lives, but also within the political arena of Indonesia. They thus decided to pursue
the Islamisation of Indonesia from the individual, family, and societal level through
75
In the history of Indonesia, ‘the reform era’ (Indonesian: reformasi) is the term widely used for the
post 1998 era. It was called the ‘reform’ era due to the more liberal social and political conditions that
it introduced into Indonesia.
106
Chapter 3
Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
for exploring Islamism and dakwah in Indonesia. This chapter describes the
methodological approaches used and issues arising from this project. The main
research questions this project asks are: 1) how is dakwah conceptualised and how
has it been developed and transformed by the leaders of the Tarbiyah movement
within the changing social and political dynamics of Indonesian society and how do
members respond to this?; 2) how does the Liqo, as the main vehicle for the dakwah
activities in the Tarbiyah movement, fit into the overall structure and ideology of the
Tarbiyah movement, and how do its members at the lower levels of the
organisational hierarchy perceive the relationship between the Liqo, the Tarbiyah
movement, and the PKS party?; and 3) how do female Liqo members experience,
and to what extent do they subsequently practice, the dakwah received through
weekly sessions? This chapter explains the choice of the research methods selected
to collect the data to answer these questions, as well as the processes used to analyse
that data. It also engages with other relevant issues thrown up by this study in
The Introduction provided a general outline of the methodology used in this thesis,
and this chapter elaborates on that discussion whilst showing that appropriate
procedures and processes were followed. I provide my reflections not only on the
methods that I used, but also on the challenges that I faced and the lessons that I
2012 and January 2013 in Jakarta. To elucidate on this fieldwork experience, the
chapter has been organised around four main discussion areas: 1) research processes
and methods, 2) data collection techniques, 3) ethical issues and subjectivity, and 4)
account detailing which research methods were selected for data collection and why
and an examination of the ethical issues that arose in conducting the study. Finally, a
discussion of the use of reflexivity in analysing and interpreting the data during the
I decided that this research would be best undertaken using both inductive and
deductive methods. Its inductive component involved leaving the research open-
ended in order to capture any new concepts and understandings that emerged during
the data analysis, which can help to bring new insights to studies (Merriam, 1998). It
is deductive in the sense that it started with a theoretical framework on Islamism and
dakwah and a list of research questions to keep the research focused on the case
study and the research topic, as well as to capture any contrasting views between the
existing literature and the perspectives provided by the participants (Yin, 2009).
108
An ethnographic approach was chosen in order to capture the social meanings and
and to participate in their dakwah activities. As I planned to study the dakwah of the
al. (2001) might put it, the ‘lived or felt’ religious experiences of its members, a
methods are useful for exploring areas “where previous understanding appears
meanings have not previously been explored (Hassard, 1990). This research method
is also appropriate for generating in-depth data (Bryman, 2008). Thus, this method
was adopted because it was deemed to be suitable for uncovering the values,
movement.
Ethnographic research uses case studies to produce focused and natural research,77
and the current research involves a case study of female Liqo activists, using both
the more informally-organised Liqo group that I studied and other Liqo groups that I
interviewed, together with a study of more formal and official perspectives (cf.
Wiktorowicz 2001; 2004). The Liqo group that I studied was one for new recruits,
and it was important to observe such a group as I wanted to examine the lived
experiences of members in terms of how they became interested in joining the Liqo,
76
According to Brewer, “Ethnography is the study of people in naturally occurring settings or ‘fields’
by methods of data collection which capture their social meanings and ordinary activities, involving
the researcher participating directly in the setting, if not also the activities, in order to collect data in a
systematic manner but without meaning being imposed on them externally” (2000:6).
77
The case study approach is one of the five basic research approaches outlined by Bryman
(2008:33–55).
109
how they moved from being outside the Liqo to its core, and how their ‘dakwah
Yin (2009), who argues that such approaches are very useful for describing,
contexts. Moreover, Gerring (2007) claims that it is generally more suitable for a
piece of qualitative research to employ a single case study than multiple ones. While
I still needed to put the PKS dakwah in its wider religious and political context in
Indonesia, a single case study allowed me to examine also one element of the PKS
dakwah – the weekly Liqo sessions. Furthermore, this was an exploratory study to
answer questions of the form ‘what is going on’ and ‘is there any relationship
research does not claim to represent all the Liqo programmes of the PKS in
Indonesia. Gerring (2007) has criticised the case study method for not perfectly
representing the population but, nevertheless, a case study can be seen as a single
see the case study as an approach that is concerned with in-depth research into a
particular event or organisation. The approach that I have adopted does not aim to
generalise findings, but rather focuses on the way a specific group of people see
particular issues. By engaging with the general discourse of the dakwah movement
78
According to Merriam (1998), a case study should be understood as an analysis of defined single
units or systems. Gerring (2007) says that studying a single case in a research project is more
intensive than studying multiple cases.
110
and using publicly available literature, my research adopts an approach that has been
My research explores the meaning of dakwah, both conceptually and practically, “to
the particular individuals I interview, [in terms of] how they make sense of it, and
how they use it to make sense of their world” (Spickard and Landres, 2002:2). I seek
particular issues that they teach in their weekly Liqo sessions and encounter during
their interactions with other Liqo cadres. Using this framework, I did not attempt to
understand their whole society, but instead “listened, watched, questioned, thought
and listened again to make sense of my informants’ lives” (Spickard and Landres,
expressions and practices are complex and dynamic. I concur with her claim that, “at
the level of individual, religion is not fixed, unitary, or even coherent” (McGuire,
2008: 210). Thus, part of this research involves examining how the dakwah
expressed by the female cadres in the context of their everyday lives in the wider
view for comparing empirical findings in which propositions and theories are
revised and/or rejected (Yin, 2009), and thus aims to contribute to the accumulation
The ‘weaknesses’ of the case study approach outlined above can be mitigated
sampling to produce the primary data for my case study. According to Rubin and
Rubin (2005), it is necessary for the researcher to select a good sampling strategy in
order for the chosen sample to accurately reflect the lived reality of those she is
studying, and to ensure that the full range of relevant views and experiences are
because they can select their respondents based on their research needs. Bouma and
Atkinson (2005) stress that purposive sampling allows the researcher to select
‘typical’ samples for his or her research project, and it was employed here to
identify respondents who could provide multiple perspectives on the research topics
under study. Thus, the interviewees and participants selected for this study were
chosen on the basis of their ability to give relevant and valuable information on the
concept and practice of the dakwah adopted by the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement of the
PKS in Jakarta.
The sampling targeted mentors and students from the weekly Liqo sessions to give
including the Head of the shari’ah council (DSP), the Head of the Advisory Council
(MPP), other influential figures from the Liqo-PKS and first generation Liqo
official aspects of the movement’s dakwah. However, because accessing and making
appointments with these high-ranking officials involved a long and difficult process,
well. This was employed to identify potential interviewees who were unknown to
79
According to Patton (1990), snowball sampling is one of the various types of purposive sampling,
along with convenience sampling and critical case sampling.
112
Having outlined the design of the research process and the methods adopted to carry
the research out, this section will now explain how each method was applied within
my research. As interview and observation are the most effective and well-
established techniques for generating qualitative data, these were the main tools used
for data collection in this research. Using these techniques, I aimed to understand the
official perspectives and lived experiential aspects of those involved in the research
– the leaders, mentors, and trainees of the weekly Liqo sessions – and to construct
explanations and understandings of the weekly Liqo sessions and other dakwah
events, such as dawrah (lectures) (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). To investigate the
practice, I also reviewed official texts associated with the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement
and conducted focus group discussions (FGDs; see section 3.3.4 below). The
group discussions, was used to corroborate my findings across different sorts of data
and also to spot gaps in the evidence base. As Bryman (2008:379) maintains:
shall see in 3.3.4 below triangulation made my research more robust, validating the
data gathered from a variety of sources in response to the possible limitations that
As my project aimed to locate any differences between the official discourse of the
Liqo-Tarbiyah movement of the PKS and the lived religious experiences of its
members, the official documents and publications of the movement were used as a
source of data. These official discourses can be found in books that collect leaders’
speeches from a variety of dakwah events. Examples of such books that I accessed
are: Dari Qiyadah untuk Para Kader; KH Hilmy Aminuddin (DPP PKS, 2007a), Seri
Pemikiran Anis Matta; Integrasi Politik dan Dakwah (DPP PKS, 2007b); Dakwah
adalah Perubahan ke arah yang Lebih Baik; and Bunga Rampai Pemikiran Tiffatul
Sembiring (DPP PKS, 2007c). Official discourse can also be found in other official
records, publications, and public forms of discourse that include the vision,
variety of archives, such as dakwah syllabi (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005), the official
religious guidance and decisions of the movement (fatawa); and in party guideline
books, brochures, posters, and pamphlets. However, not all archives were open to
me, especially those relating to the early periods of Tarbiyah movement in the 1980s
and 1990s. My thesis is limited in this way because the Tarbiyah movement has not
yet produced or published any official texts about their movement in that early
period. The archives that can be accessed relate only to the period of the PK(S), i.e.
after 1998. This includes the version of the Manhaj Tarbiyah (2005) manual that I
have used as the main reference for explaining the weekly Liqo ideology and its
Liqo lessons in Section 5.3. These contemporary publications are produced by the
PKS to (retrospectively) narrate and position the history of their dakwah movement
have also helped to build my understanding of the movement but based on a limited
Given the importance that these official written resources have for my research, I
started analysing them from the beginning of my study. My review of this written
literature provided me with relevant information and the ‘clues’ that I needed to
explore and examine the movement further during my fieldwork (Stake, 1995).
its private and public dimensions. This background knowledge on the subject area
focus group discussions. During the review of these written sources, I took every
through their website and through newspaper coverage.80 This media coverage
provided a useful and relevant resource to use for engaging its members during
the participants about the latest newspaper coverage of the PKS’s dakwah
movement. This helped me, as a researcher, to overcome the formal structure of the
‘questions and answers’ session. I used these written data sources for researching
the official aspects of the movement’s dakwah. The purpose of analysing these
written texts was also to expand my personal horizons on the research topic
(Bryman, 2008). This was necessary for enabling me to develop a wide knowledge
80
The official website of the PKS is www.pk-sejahtera.com. An example of newspaper coverage is
www.thejakartapost.com/channel/national, accessed in 20 September 2012.
115
and a good understanding of the topic and the local setting of the research (Holstein
It is worth mentioning finally, here, that all these primary texts were written in the
Indonesian language. Quotations from these texts were all my own translations and
not those of the authors. This raises a methodological question about the extent to
which my translations provide a full and accurate sense of the intended meaning of
their original statements, a point on which there is some relevant literature in other
fields of qualitative research (see, for example, Temple and Young 2004; van Nes et
meanings with other publications and going back to the original fieldwork record
My research aims to discover how the Liqo of the Tarbiyah movement of the PKS
was conceptualised, and how the movement practises and organises its dakwah
ideology and strategy. As the interview is the most popular and effective technique
used for qualitative research, I adopted it to examine the worldviews of the PKS
81
According to this literature, the key problem of translating non-English data into English is the loss
of the meaning of the original statements (van Nes et al, 2010). To try to avoid this and keep the
research valid, some procedures are suggested: (1)To keep the record of all fieldwork data in the
source language. Thus, in the situation where the choice of words is not fully suitable to express the
intended meaning, this retained record of the original words would be useful, especially when in later
phases the translation need to be adapted. So, in my case of analysing the data, I kept going back to
the original words in Indonesian so I can get the meaning and the feeling of the word. (2)To be
supported by a professional translator or proofreader. In my case, I did use a professional proofreader
to cover myself for two situations: firstly, to discuss some points in the text when I was not really
sure about whether an English word was suitable or not and secondly, to check the validity of my
own interpretation.
116
interviews as they facilitated a fully open discussion with the interviewees, whilst
allowing me to focus on the main research themes (Bryman, 2008). This technique
based on their particular lived experiences. Both the official and lived experiences’
aspects of the data gathered from the interviews are important for my research.
In order to elicit diverse responses and perspectives from both the official and lived
the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement’s hierarchy, comprising the top rank (ten past and
present leaders of PKS/the Liqo), the middle rank (twelve mentors or murabbi of the
Liqo that trained the students in the weekly dakwah sessions) and the lower rank
(twelve trainees or mutarabbi who regularly joined the Liqo sessions), together with
nine PKS and non-PKS ‘public’ scholars/activists and two ex-Liqo/PKS trainees.
These different ranks and positions marked one of the criteria for selecting the
participants, apart from gender and locality. My reviews of the written resources on
the movement and the broader literature on global Islamism informed me that the
activists of almost all the Islamist dakwah movements are typically young graduates
because I knew from my reading that gender segregation is practised within their
dakwah activity, I tried to strike a balance between male (19 respondents) and
1. Leaders 10
2. Mentors 12
3. Trainees 12
4. Ex-trainees 2
5. Public scholars/activists 9
Out of the forty-five interviewees, most of the leaders and scholars were ones that I
had identified at the beginning of my study, while half of the mentors and
participants of the Liqo were suggested by the Liqo-PKS leaders or mentors as being
appropriate for my research, and the other half were identified and recruited by me,
mainly on the basis of their involvement in the Liqo programmes. Although the
The trainees of the Liqo programmes (Mutarabbi) were identified on the basis of
two main criteria – amount of experience working in the Liqo programmes and
holding a college or university level education. For the female trainees of the Liqo
group that I observed, the first criterion could not be applied because they had only
82
The shar’i education mentors had mainly graduated from Islamic institutions in Saudi Arabia,
Egypt and Indonesia. The non-shar’i education mentors had graduated from ‘secular’ campuses in
the West and Indonesia (see Chapter 5).
118
just joined the Liqo. Most of the trainees I interviewed, however, were very active in
the Liqo, with at least ten years’ experience. I also met two trainees with only two
years’ experience in the Liqo programmes, and three female trainees who had quit
Liqo programmes as a result of dissatisfaction (see Chapters 5 and 6). The majority
of Liqo trainees had completed undergraduate degrees at universities, and only one
of them had not gone beyond senior high school. They mostly came from ‘secular’
universities, with only five having religious school backgrounds from Islamic state
During the interviews, I was also concerned with the economic and social status of
the trainees. This factor was taken into consideration in examining whether they had
social or economic motivations apart from their religious interests (see Chapters 5
and 6). During my fieldwork planning I attempted to balance the number of women
and men I would interview so that I could explore whether women had the same
religious programmes run by the PKS (see Chapter 6). During the actual fieldwork,
however, women were more accessible to me than men because of my own gender. I
successfully interviewed nine women (Murabbiyah) but only three men (Murabbi)
from the mentor level, and eleven women (Mutarabbiyah) and one man (Mutarabbi)
from the trainee level. Nevertheless, these figures were useful, as I was mainly
interested in exploring the women’s experiences and feelings regarding the Liqo.
the Tarbiyah movement’s dakwah or the dakwah ideology of the PKS. Their
expertise was assessed from their academic achievements and publications, such as
books, journal articles and PhD dissertations. These contributors gave me useful
119
insights not only into my research themes but also into practical issues based on
their research experience. It was easier to make appointments with scholars and ex-
Liqo trainees as they responded positively after initial contact was made via email or
The interviews with the leaders and senior mentors of the Liqo took place mainly in
the PKS central office (DPP-PKS)83 and the PKS Fraction Office at Parliament
House.84 The interviews with the PKS Liqo trainees were mostly held either in their
83
The DPP-PKS is often referred to as the Markaz ad-Dakwah (MD), or the Dakwah Centre. It is the
national head quarters of the PKS, and is located on the main road of Simatupang in South-Jakarta.
During my fieldwork, I visited this office once or twice a week to meet PKS/Tarbiyah activists and
leaders.
84
The PKS Fraction Office is located on the 3rd and 4th floor of the Indonesian Parliament House in
Jakarta. The PKS has participated in four general elections – in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. In the
most recent election in 2014, they received 6.92 % of the popular vote. This represented a decline in
votes from the 2009 general election, which saw them receive 7.88% of the popular vote. In 2014,
they came fourth out of all the parties (nationalist-secular and Islamist parties) that participated in the
election, and first among Islamist parties. There are 59 PKS parliament members working in this
Fraction Office, and a large number of staff assists each member. In the 2004 general election, the
party tripled its votes from the previous election to 7.34%, receiving almost seven times as many
120
local dakwah offices or their houses, while the interviews with scholars were mostly
held at their campuses in Jakarta. However, I also visited smaller cities near Jakarta
and trainees.85
Jakarta was chosen as the main field site because it is distinctive in terms of its Liqo-
known for Tarbiyah population growth compared to other cities in Indonesia. Rural
migrants move from their hometown to Jakarta for studying or work. As a result, it
secular issues, and on how to combine such outlooks with their Islamic identities
(see Chapter 6). Because the National Headquarters (DPP) of the PKS is located in
Jakarta, this also gave me the opportunity to attempt to elicit an official perspective
status as the centre for public discourses on religion, politics, and dakwah in
such issues. From a practical point of view, Jakarta also represented a good choice,
because it is where I live and work, which made my fieldwork easier and more
manageable.
seats in parliament as they won in 1999, with three ministry positions. In 1999, the PK (the previous
name of PKS) only received 1.36 % of the vote and failed to achieve the parliamentary electoral
threshold. (The results of the general election are provided by the General Election Committee at
www.kpu.go.id, accessed in December 2014; Platzdasch, 2009).
85
A dormitory town is a place from which many people travel in order to work in a bigger town or
city.
121
Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi were also visited when required.86 For example, I
visited these cities to interview five senior activists and leaders of the Tarbiyah
movement, either at their houses or at public dakwah events that they were holding
in these cities. Although these three cities are smaller than Jakarta, they are very
Islamic identity within the public sphere, such as the application of the regulation
These cities were thus helpful in terms of providing an understanding of the main
field site, and the wider context of dakwah in the Tarbiyah movement.
conduct all the interviews on a one-to-one basis, but six of the interviewees with
secretary or staff. In each case this was to satisfy Islamic/ist norms of gender adab
the secretary or staff were not involved in the exchange apart from one instance of
member of his staff. I did not record or transcribe this and have made no use of it in
of the interviewees were very open and happy to carry on talking,87 while the other
half were more restricted in the answers they gave. The latter sometimes claimed to
86
These three cities contain a variety of religions and ethnicities. However, Muslims are still the most
dominant religious group in each. The PKS has significant influence in these cities, as shown by the
fact that its local leaders came from the PKS dakwah party background.
87
The interviews that contained the best responses were mostly followed up by an informal
discussion about my research topic and a conversation about family or academic life.
122
be ‘very busy’ but were also slow or unwilling to answer my questions the
particulars of dakwah approaches and the relatively ‘closed’ and ‘committed’ culture
of the Liqo.
The interview questions covered three broad areas: the dakwah history and ideology
of the Tarbiyah movement and its transition into a political party (PKS); the role of
the Liqo in the structure and dakwah ideology of the Tarbiyah movement; and the
lived experiences of female Liqo members, including their reception of the themes
taught in the weekly Liqo sessions with reference to the discussion of private
religiosity and how it links to public or political issues. These three areas were
drawn from the main research questions on the private and public dimensions of the
official and lived religion. Before the interviews, I rehearsed the main research
question and the three broad areas of questions numerous times, and developed them
There were different emphases in the questions that were directed at those who held
religious decisions (fatawa), and other issues relating to official discourses to the
leaders of the movement. With Liqo activists (mentors and trainees), I focused on
their religious experiences of joining the Liqo, and their understanding and reception
88
For each group of interviewees, I prepared ten questions using the main research questions and the
three broad areas of questions. However, there were about five questions in common for all
interviewee groups, such as those concerning their personal experiences and opinions about dakwah.
I assumed that every interviewee had a particular opinion of dakwah based on her own experiences
that differed from the official conceptualisation of dakwah provided in the dakwah manuals (Manhaj
Tarbiyah, 2005).
123
Several relevant themes emerged through the broad range of questions utilised for
the semi-structured interviews. This allowed other issues to come to the fore, such as
questions about the political strategies the PKS adopted as a response to the election
of Jakarta’s governor and the Presidential election.89 Questions on this topic were
relevant to my research because many ideological issues arose during the 2012
election period in Jakarta regarding how their dakwah appeared to the public (see
Chapter 6).
I started each interview session by trying to put the participants at ease through
discussing their current jobs and responsibilities, their educational and family
backgrounds, their stories of how they became involved with the Liqo-Tarbiyah
movement, and their opinions on certain public issues related to both their dakwah
and political movements. This strategy was useful for helping the respondents to feel
relaxed and to feel that they could express their opinions in a natural way. However,
for the leaders, who were familiar with public discourses, I decided to go straight
into my questions out of consideration for their time limitations. During the
interviews, I was aware of being sensitive about the sentiments of the interviewees. I
carefully chose suitable phrases for the questions for different interviewees in
different situations, being aware of the need to be very humble, polite, formal and
89
The latest ‘hot’ issue was about an allegation of corruption that had been made about the President
of the PKS. LHI, the president of PKS, was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commissions
(KPK) for using his position and influence to secure a lucrative government contract for the import of
Australian beef for a private company (see the article written by Endy Bayuni: “Can Indonesia’s main
Islamist Party Recover from Scandal?”). Many debates and discussions emerged in response to the
case that was reported in January 2013. As the well-known PKS slogan ‘clean, caring and
professional’ suggests, the PKS is very active in campaigning against corruption in Indonesia.
Moreover, they have a very strong agenda on Islamising the society and the state. This corruption
case shocked the PKS party as well as the wider Indonesian people.
90
The phrases used in the interviews with older interviewees were different to those used with
younger ones. I used different phrases because this is part of the ethics (adab) of how to show respect
124
I recorded all except two of the interviews digitally, with the exceptions being the
result of a noisy background, and for these I took notes manually. These interviews
speaker. I also took notes when appropriate during the other interviews. I found
course, it was seen as respectful by some interviewees (Blaxter et al., 2001). The
notes were not only used to write up my research question-related themes, but also
to record my personal reflexive feelings about the events, circumstances and people
that I interviewed, for example, when I was upset about the attitude of particular
leaders to the fact I had studied at a Western university (see section 3.5 below). Not
all notes, however, were taken in full during interviews as it would have distracted
the flow of the interview. Rather, some additional and more expansive notes were
also written up afterwards. Notes were also helpful to me in preparing ideas and
questions to follow up in the next interviews. I also conducted two follow-up email
and to ask emerging questions that I had not begun to formulate during the
of Leeds’ data protection procedure, I saved all the digital recordings of interviews
to older people. However, for both formal and relaxed occasions, I maintained my key position as a
researcher.
125
watching, listening, talking and thinking. Bryman (2008:369) notes that during
observe and listen with a view to gaining an appreciation of the culture of a social
group”. In order to understand and appreciate the culture of the Liqo community of
the PKS, I established a good relationship with them and observed their ‘everyday
practice of Islam’. I used this technique for my research as it provided flexibility for
my investigations in terms of the research design and the details of the approach
develop ideas for responding to any events that may occur during my observation.
Most of the observations took place in Jakarta between October 2012 and January
2013, and during this period I successfully attended about 15 Liqo meetings. Each
meeting ran for a length of two to four hours in the trainees’ (Mutarabbi) homes (see
Chapter 6). The observations were more difficult than the interviews in terms of
approaching people and gaining their trust through attending their weekly Liqo.
Apart from the weekly Liqo sessions, I attended a range of PKS dakwah training
91
The daurah is one of the religious programmes run by the PKS under the umbrella of the Tarbiyah
movement (see also Chapter 5). The daurah programme also relates to the Liqo, as both are used for
spreading the Tarbiyah messages of dakwah. This is shown by the lessons in the daurah and Liqo,
which are mixed together in one manual book, called Manhaj Tarbiyah (2006, 2008). During my
observation, however, I discovered that these two programmes have differences, especially in terms
of their audiences and lessons. The audiences taught through the daurah are larger than those of the
Liqo. The audience of the daurah can also be of mixed gender, including both male and female
126
held by other dakwah institutions (such as the Muhammadiyah and the NU) to help
me to understand the distinctive role that the Tarbiyah movement/PKS plays in the
wider context of dakwah in Indonesia. Observations were also made during my visit
to the headquarters of PKS (DPP-PKS) and at the PKS fraction office at Parliament
House, for instance, checking their posters and flyers on upcoming events and the
Upcoming events were notified on the display walls of the ground floor in the DPP-
PKS building, and also on the 3rd and 4th floors where I conducted the interviews.
exegesis of certain verses of the Qur’an (Tafsir). Eleven observations of Liqos were
Tarbiyah activists, and there are no limitations about which members can attend. The daurah lessons
also cover larger and more up-to-date materials and agendas, including issues arising in the elections,
other political discourses, and developing peoples’ skills. Thus, daurah can be seen as being more
concerned with issues relating to public life than the Liqo is.
92
Within this PKS office, at the time where I conducted my interviews/observations, there are 59
PKS legislators in the People’s Representative Council (DPR) for the period (2009-2015),
http://www.pk-sejahtera.org, accessed on 15 November 2014.
127
recorded manually through note taking and four were recorded electronically. The
note taking was mostly conducted during the events to avoid misunderstandings and
to prevent information from being forgotten, with some notes being made after
dakwah events so that the natural flow of the events was not interrupted. My
decisions on whether to take notes during or after the dakwah events were made
after I had learned the whole circumstances of the dakwah events. Before the events,
my research topic, while gave them and explained to them of participant Information
sheets.
I also made informal observations about the daily religious and social lives of the
places. It was thus my habit to write down the ‘research’ information I acquired
comparing and contrasting it with what I learned from formal dakwah events and
interviews, from asking questions about the participants’ daily experiences and
observation, I also held two FGDs. Focus groups are “a form of group interview
qualitative methods (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011; Mason, 2002). Therefore this
method was chosen to provide more evidence to support the data gathered from
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other methods, particularly the interviews. One of the strengths of FGDs is that,
interview, participants will argue and challenge each other’s opinions in a group
dakwah community, this research method helped me to ‘fill in the gaps’. Therefore
data gathered from the FGDs were useful to triangulate (clarify, strengthen,
compare, and contrast) the data collected from other methods (see also section 3.3
above). For example, the FGDs helped me clarify the culture of polygamy and the
issues were not often mentioned during the interviews and observations. Using
FGDs to triangulate my research enabled me “to see the same thing from different
perspectives and thus be able to confirm or challenge the findings of one method
I identified and recruited participants purposively for the group sessions based on
either their level of experience in Liqo sessions or their familiarity with my research
topic. The participants had come from a variety of different Islamic organisations
(The Muhammadiyah, the NU, and the Tarbiyah movement) and covered an age
range of 30-45 years of age. Using this research method, I allowed each participant
in a group session to discuss their own views and their reasons for holding them. I
provided some direction to the discussion as the researcher, and the participants’
emphasised issues that they felt were significant to my main research topic. This
129
method thus helped me to gather more realistic and accurate views of what the
Muhammadiyah of Prof. Dr. HAMKA (UHAMKA) – in Jakarta with the main aim
invited a mixture of scholars, University lecturers, NGO activists and one senior
Tarbiyah activist. I decided to invite this senior Liqo activist as he was also a
researcher on Islam and Middle Eastern issues and had a doctoral study background.
In addition, I thought that it would be useful to invite participants that were senior
lecturers, and thus had well established interactions with the dakwah community of
the PKS that had been formed over a period of time. Fifteen participants attended,
most of who were lecturers at UHAMKA, and the majority were Muhammadiyah
activists, while the rest of the group came from different backgrounds of Islamic
participant).
the discussion with a short introduction about the dakwah of the PKS in Indonesia,
and then gave the first speaker time to talk about his opinions on the Liqo-dakwah of
the PKS. The first speaker was a senior dakwah activist of the PKS, but he preferred
to see himself as an academic. During the discussion, all the participants projected a
spirit of knowledge and enthusiasm, sharing their knowledge about the Liqo of the
PKS dakwah and their experiences of interactions with Liqo-PKS activists. They
130
also raised questions and comments on their dakwah concepts and practices, and I
was very aware of the sensitivity of some of the issues raised, such as the
widespread practice of polygamy among the dakwah community of the PKS and
their rigid social interactions with the wider society (see Chapter 6).
The second FGD was conducted in Tangerang – the closest neighbouring city to
Jakarta. In order to fill in the gaps that existed in the previous discussion, whose
audience was dominated by male contributors, I invited six female activists only to
this focus group, all from the lower Liqo level. The core aim of this second FGD
joining the Liqo. I expected that they would be able to share their opinions and
feelings on their lived religion before and after joining the weekly Liqo sessions. I
thus decided to use this group session to focus more on a particular issue. As
Bryman (2008) explains, there are two types of focus group discussion – the group
interview, which often spans a number of topics; and the focus group, which
generally emphasises single themes. Unlike the first FGD, which spanned a number
of research themes concerning the Liqo’s conception and practice of dakwah, this
FGD focused solely on how joining the weekly Liqo sessions affected the
Although I had only had three months of interaction with the participants, they
agreed to take part in the discussion after I explained my research project in detail
verbally and via the Participant Information Sheet (see Appendix B). The discussion
was arranged in a more relaxed and informal way than for the first focus group, with
the participants being asked from the beginning to talk about their personal,
religious and social life before and after joining the Liqo of the PKS. As they started
131
to express their feelings and views, I then made sure to let the discussion flow as
I asked the participants at the beginning to try to talk straightforwardly on the topic,
and reminded them of this during the discussion were possible. A small number of
the participants expressed their opinions on the media coverage of the PKS or on
certain election issues relating to the PKS, before sharing their experiences and
perceptions of their weekly Liqo. They highlighted that the Liqo of the PKS had
transformed their perspectives on Islam and its practice within their society and,
accordingly, had transformed the way that they behave (see Chapters 4, 5 and 6).
The maturity of participants, both in terms of their involvement in the Liqo and their
academic experience came through in their discussion of the dakwah practice of the
PKS through their subjective opinions and experiences. I made an audio recording
sessions.93
Methodological and practical issues both emerged during the data collection using
the methods above, and I learnt two key lessons. Firstly, it is difficult to control the
observation and discussion. However, I could not judge whether some data was
was sometimes only revealed during the analysis stage. Thus, what I classified as
significant during the analysis was sometimes different from my assumptions about
93
Like the recordings of the interviews, this recording was transcribed and later coded and analysed
based mainly upon my key research themes (see Section 3.5).
132
this type of research, as the influence that the participants and the field site have on
was still manageable when I restricted the interviews to a maximum of two per day,
leaving it more flexible by having a good interval between the two interviews, which
also allowed for the fact that working in the very busy and hot climate of Jakarta
their research that relate directly to its integrity. Ethical issues might arise at a
variety of research phases, with many emerging during the data collection phase.
The topic of concern is the ethical issues that are generated from the relationship
between the researcher and research participants. For example, two ethical questions
that it was pertinent to answer prior to conducting my fieldwork were “how should I
produce?”
In this section, I will discuss the ethical procedures and issues that are outlined in the
research ethics forms used by the University of Leeds. The key ethical standards that
participation in this project was voluntary, and that they provided informed consent
to take part; 2) that all interviewees were offered anonymity to ensure their privacy
was protected; 3) that no participants came to any harm as a result of this project;
and 4) that all the interviewees and participants of the FGDs were appropriately
133
informed about the nature and purpose of my research through clear, simple and
may exist for my participants’ understanding, such as language barriers. I was aware
that the participants needed to understand their rights from the outset. Because I was
aware about this issue, and I knew that the majority of my participants use the
Information Sheet and the Consent Form into Indonesian. The advantage of
Regarding the privacy of participants and the confidentiality of the information that
they would provide, the Information Sheet that I gave them provided details about
the whole process that I would use to maintain their confidentiality and keep their
hiding their true names and hiding the most significant identifying data such as their
main work (e.g. nurse, engineer) in writing up my research (see Appendix C for a
list of anonymised signifiers used, however I exluded two public intellectuals from
this list because they are well-known public writers on the PKS). There is also the
question of whether this research may cause harm to any participants. I made every
effort to make sure the participants enjoyed their contributions to and participation
in my research, and to reduce possible stresses. However, it was not always possible
The last issue was to avoid any possible deception or misinformation being
propagated by this research. I believe that the Information Sheet and Consent Forms
weekly Liqo sessions and dawrah activities, I explained my role to the Liqo mentor
and trainees and to key individuals of the dawrah (lecturer and some participants),
but not to all dawrah participants as this was not practical given that dawrah was
attended by large number of participants, and would have disrupted the activities.
Thus, the informed consent was negotiated in dawrah sessions. However, this did
not involve misinforming them or deceiving them about my role, and my permission
to participate in the activities had already been granted by leaders of the PKS.
As “both researchers and respondents ‘speak’ from a variety of subject positions all
of which are context bound” (McLoughlin, 1998:5), I also needed to consider what
impact my subject positions had upon this research. This section, therefore, provides
my reflections on the extent to which my own identities impacted upon the research
within the PKS in Indonesia. Given that social scientists accept that no knowledge is
during their research, and also of how their respondents view their positions and
to different situations.
interviews with male leaders and male Liqo mentors and trainees. I knew that a few
other female researchers were studying aspects of the Tarbiyah movement or the
present during meetings with men,95 I provided male interviewees with a choice of
It was their free choice. In fact only three male leaders chose to be accompanied by
Muhammadiyah (Nasyiatul Aisyiah) two years before.96 At some points, I felt that
94
See, for instance, the work of Rachel Rinaldo (2008a, 2008b, 2013) from the National University
of Singapore.
95
The Liqo-PKS activists believe in the concept of ghadd al-bashr which requires both male and
female Muslims to “lower their gaze” in each others’ presence. The idea of ikhtilath forbids Muslims
of different genders from meeting or gathering in one place (see Section 5.3). These beliefs are based
on the Prophetic tradition (Hadith), which suggests that it is forbidden for a man and a woman to be
alone together because ‘Satan would be their companion’. We can easily find the Liqo-PKS activists
practicing this teaching in their daily life. This teaching led the PKS leaders to separate their
programmes for women and men. For instance, the Liqo programmes never mix two genders in one
Liqo group (see Chapter 6). Unlike the PKS activists, most Indonesian Muslims, including activists of
Islamic organisations such as the NU and Muhammadiyah, are very flexible regarding this issue, and
conduct religious programmes (Pengajian) and meetings which gather men and women in one place
where they can talk to members of different genders as well as look at them. In my opinion, this is the
wider norm that is practiced by Muslims in Indonesia.
96
Along with other young activists, I was also involved in a series of workshops, discussions and
seminars on Islam and the new social movements of the ‘Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity’
during 2003–2006. Muhammadiyah has many organisational wings and educational institutions,
136
respondents, especially PKS leaders and senior activists from Liqo, as I assumed in
still regarded as having neutral and independent opinions concerning their research.
At other points, however, I worried that this position would lead to some questions
about the dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement, such as that their dakwah is too strict
and that they too often adopt a polarised ‘black and white’ or ‘enemies and friends’
position. However, I attempted to put these views to one side and focus on the
evidence that I collected in my fieldwork. A few years ago, there was some
discussion about the ‘soft conflict’ between Muhammadiyah and the PKS. Several
assets of the Muhammadiyah, including mosques and schools, were used, taken
over, and finally dominated by Liqo-PKS activists (see Chapter 6). I thought that
this ‘conflict’ would have some influence on the respondents’ willingness to give
obedience to dakwah. However, I found that none of the interviewees raised this
issue, instead simply responding to my questions and sharing their opinions and
The last identity that respondents frequently ascribed to me was that of a student at a
choosing to study Islam in the West, and nine respondents even reminded me to be
reaching from the lowest to the highest levels of education, and is the second largest Islamic mass
organisation in Indonesia, with branches concerned with educational, social and religious aspects of
Indonesian Muslim life (Alfian, 1989).
137
cautious of studying religions in the West. They argued that it would influence my
never happened to me. They also asked me about my reasons for undertaking
research on their dakwah movement. They related this query to the issue of “selling
data on Islam or Islamic movements to the West so that the West [is] able to
understand the weakness of Muslims”.97 This query was an example of an old and
ingrained stigma that I often heard. They related this query closely to the concept of
ghazwul fikri (war of ideas) or the idea of a Western conspiracy against Islam. As
McLoughlin (1998:5) has pointed out, there is often a need to re-negotiate our role
in the research process by talking about our own experiences, and this query drove
was not appropriate to reply to such opinions in all interview situations. While some
the broad topics of dakwah and Islam in Indonesia, which had become the major
concern of their movement. However, I concur with McLoughlin (1998:6) that such
connections are only partial, because “the relationship between the researchers and
97
The issue of ‘selling research data to the West’ was raised by respondents from all levels, including
one leader, three Liqo mentors and two Liqo students. These issues were indeed closely related to the
idea of ghazwul fikri (war of ideas) that is spread among the Tarbiyah movement/PKS community
(see Chapters 4 and 6).
138
class”.
Indeed, the multiple identities I discussed above generated outsider images of me,
producing limitations to the research that I could conduct. For example, restricted
impacted on the data I could acquire about the dakwah movement before 1998.
identify the correct official documents to analyse, the right persons to interview, and
the right dakwah events to observe. I also tried to establish a friendly relationship
with respondents by discussing dakwah, as this not only represented a topic that we
had a mutual interest in, but was a practice that we shared as well. I talked to them
willing to talk to me and to provide me with the relevant documents, while few of
to my research, my critical distance also generated benefits for it. Knott (2010)
claims that the aim of a religious studies scholar should be to build upon the benefits
of critical distance to explain a religious phenomenon from the outside. Having all
the different identities listed above for researching the dakwah of the Tarbiyah
139
movement of the PKS enabled me to adopt a critical distance within this research
process.
After returning to Leeds from my fieldwork at the end of January 2013, I started to
focus on the process of analysing and interpreting the data. In order to analyse the
data gathered from interviews, observations and FGDs, it was first necessary to
separate the data gathered using each method. As discussed in relation to the
analysis of textual sources (see section 3.3.1), the data recorded through interviews,
all transcribed and analysed (in Indonesian).98 Only later when I selected the most
relevant examples of data to illustrate a particular point or topic did I translate from
Indonesian into English. Therefore, to be clear, I did not translate all data gathered
from my fieldwork into English but left some parts in Bahasa Indonesia without
process, it enabled me to become more familiar with the data, and to gradually start
identifying key themes. As noted above (section 3.3.1) relevant literature on the
question of translating data (for example, Temple and Young 2004; van Nes et al
2010) suggests that ‘qualitative research is considered valid when the distance
between the meaning as expressed by the participants and the meaning as interpreted
98
The reflective notes that were written manually in my fieldwork diary (written sometimes in
English and sometimes in Indonesian) were also organised and typed out in a document on my laptop
to secure against the possibility of my diary being misplaced or lost.
99
Translating the ‘Indonesian’ data into English, the key challenge for me was to find the most
suitable word to describe the participants’ comments or statements. The translation process involved
interpretation as well. The better I was at interpreting the participants’ comments or participants, the
better the English translation can be understood by readers. My approach was check this ‘feeling’ or
meaning with my proofreader until I felt confident with the chosen meaning in my analysis and
140
“the coding of open-ended replies in order to permit comparison” and, with this in
mind, I started the systematic coding by re-reading through these transcripts and my
own reflexive notes. After this I coded the data into categories and themes based on
together provided the main tools for guiding the extraction (‘cutting and pasting’) of
these themes. As I wanted to locate the distinctions between the official discourses
and the lived experiences of dakwah, as well as between the private and public
aspects of the dakwah of the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement, it was key to capture the
responses of the different levels of respondents – the elites, the activists (the mentors
and trainees of the Liqo), and the scholars – during this process. In the next step of
the analysis, these themes were simultaneously organised, compared and contrasted
to interpret the information. Then key parts of the data were highlighted, and this
determined the focus of the chapters as well as the sections of each fieldwork-based
chapter.
The process of analysis used the whole set of data produced through my
most detailed data, allowing me to critique the official discourses of the elites
through the first-hand information about the Liqo-Tarbiyah sessions from the early
generation of mentors and their trainees. Preparing the interview guide before
entering the field proved to be very useful, both for conducting the interviews and
for analysing the data they produced. It ensured that the key interview questions
interpretation of the data. I also checked my work against that of other researchers on the same
subject, so that I could further clarify the ‘feeling’ and meaning of a certain word or term.
141
were always asked, allowed other themes to also be addressed during each
interview, and helped me to categorise or cluster the themes during the analysis. The
reflexive notes from participant observation and two group discussions were also
very useful, although the data these produced lacked the depth of that generated by
the interviews. The data from observations mainly exposed me to the living dakwah
The data gathered from this case study helped me to contextualise my research
themes. As Blaxter et al. (2001:72) stress, “the detailed study of one or a small
number of cases does not mean that the context of those cases can be ignored”.
Despite the earlier discussion of the fact that the findings of a single case study
cannot be generalised (see Section 3.2), the findings of single case studies do have
significant value in producing evidence in a research context. Given that the process
project in the wider context of my field of study. I reflected upon the key themes in
my research, such as: private dakwah; public dakwah; lived experience and lived
reference to the wider discourses of dakwah; and Islam and politics in the sociology
To address the concern that case studies can be structured by the interests and
perspectives of their researchers, thus producing findings that lack validity (Hakim,
Geertz (2000) emphasises, an interpretative researcher should give their own version
of how they understand the subject they are studying. As an ‘interpreter’ of this
142
on strong evidence drawn from the opinions and events that I observed during my
clarification and validation. For instance, the process of writing-up the research
The final step of the writing-up process involved re-assessing the themes and
to generate the main analytical ideas, to connect the chapters together and to line
them up with the research questions. Finally, the overall work of transcription,
translation, analysis, interpretation and writing-up was carried out at the Leeds
Humanity Research Institute (LHRI) office (or the Cavendish Road office) using the
University’s M drive, and a daily backup of the research was made on my external
hard disk.
3.7 Conclusion
The main purpose of this chapter has been to present and justify, as well as reflect
upon, the research methods used for this project. This ethnographic research utilises
a single case study of weekly Liqo sessions in Jakarta, and analyses the history,
private and public dimensions of dakwah and the official discourses and lived
experiences of the Tarbiyah community. The study integrates both primary and
secondary data to investigate the key research question that has been asked about the
religious experiences of its members. This chapter has explained the rationale for
using both deductive and inductive methods in carrying out this case study, as well
as the reasons for selecting the case study, and the three main data collection
discussion. The ethical procedures for data collection that are outlined by the
an outsider were also identified, together with the strategies that I adopted to address
Jakarta was a hugely rewarding experience for me. It was enjoyable to meet new
people who were willing to talk and share information about their ideologies and
religious experiences, and to build new friendships ‘between the researcher and the
researched’ afterwards.
144
Chapter 4
4.1 Introduction
In this chapter I am going to explore the historical development of the dakwah of the
Tarbiyah movement that emerged in Indonesia in 1983, the reasons for its
establishment of a political party in 1998, and how this has impacted on its dakwah
concept and strategies. The official discourses among the Tarbiyah movement elites
will be examined through the interviews that I conducted with them, and through
reviews of the texts published by the movement and its cadres. This chapter
during the changing religious and political climate in Indonesia? Recalling aspects
is that the gradual transition of the Tarbiyah movement from a politically repressed
party by the late 1990s was the outcome of new ‘political opportunity’ structures
A review of the existing literature in Chapter 2 has already revealed that the more
democratic climate that has recently emerged in Indonesian politics was crucial in
this regard. Indeed, my research shows that the elites thought that the Tarbiyah
movement could be extended and developed through this party and its dakwah
movement. As a result, its dakwah focus has expanded to be concerned with not
only building individual piety through individual religious training, but also building
145
public piety within civil society. The private aspect of dakwah has also continued to
be important, from the movement’s establishment to the present day. Therefore, the
maintain that private and public concepts of dakwah are emphasised differently by
members that are positioned at different points in the movement’s hierarchy. I argue
that although establishing individual piety remains the main commitment of the
dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement it now coexists with public piety and political
interests, particularly since the movement began performing more overt preaching,
This chapter starts by profiling the Tarbiyah movement in Indonesia, its emergence
in 1983, and its dakwah ideology. This is followed by a section that describes the
dakwah movement in this formative period. Although their dakwah during this
the idea to reform society was also part of their long-term dakwah agenda from the
start. The focus on this private aspect of dakwah was based on the movement’s
belief that reforming individual piety is the foundation from which to establish a
better Islamic society. However, as noted above, I argue that the political conditions
and constraints that repressed Islamist movements in Indonesia during the 1970s and
early 1980s also led the Tarbiyah movement to spread their dakwah messages
covertly, preventing them from having the opportunity to spread their dakwah more
publicly.
In the section that follows, I then explain the development of the movement’s
dakwah with reference to the changing political climate in Indonesia, in which the
the 1980s. I argue that the shift in the government’s attitude led Tarbiyah activists to
perform their dakwah more overtly, although their dakwah orientation still focused
on the reformation of individual piety. I also show why the Tarbiyah movement
decided to establish an Islamic political party in 1998, and what the implications of
My research revealed that the main reason for establishing this party was the belief
in the integration of Islam and politics combined with the expectation that the party
could significantly support their dakwah. In the next section, I discuss the more
complex elements of the Tarbiyah movement’s concept of dakwah. I argue that the
movement not only focuses on strengthening the individual piety of its members, but
also urges them (through the party) to be involved in public matters and state
institutions in order to control public morality. In the final section, I explore the
challenges for, and debates on, the Liqo in the different periods of the evolution of
the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS. In particular, I investigate leadership and
the PKS. I argue that although its leadership and authority exist on multiple levels,
in which the Consultative Assembly (Dewan Shura) of the PKS is the highest
authority, the mentors (murabbi) are regarded as the main reference point for the
4.2 Dakwah and the Islamist ideology of the Tarbiyah movement: the
concept of Ghazwul Fikri (ideological conquest)
(Permata, 2013). Although 1983 is cited as the official date of its establishment in
my interviews with its leaders, its history can actually be traced back to 1968, when
DDII), which was led by Natsir, focused their efforts on dakwah programs in
Mosque Building) and organised the dakwah training called Latihan Mujahid
Dakwah (Training for Dakwah Fighters, LMD). Two key figures and founders of
the Tarbiyah movement – Abu Ridho and Mashadi – were among the participants in
this ‘LMD’ training (Luthfi, 2002). During my observation and interviews I often
heard the names of two influential figures mentioned, who the members always
The LMD programme focused on training new cadres among university students
100
Some scholars of the PKS/the Tarbiyah movement use Jemaah Tarbiyah or Jamaah Tarbiyah to
refer to it – see Machmudi (2006) and Permata (2008; 2013) – whilst others refer to it as the Tarbiyah
movement. I will refer to it as the Tarbiyah movement or the Jamaah Tarbiyah throughout the thesis.
101
Hilmy Aminuddin is the current Head of the Majlis Shura of the PKS, and is a graduate from the
University of Islam, Medina (source: Bayan DSP-PKS, 21 Syawwal 1429/21 October 2008, accessed
from official website www.pk-sejahtera.org in 10 August 2012).
102
Salim Segaf Al-Jufri is a grandson of the founder of a well-known educational institution – “al-
Khairat” – in Makassar, Sulawesi (source: Bayan DSP-PKS, 21 Syawwal 1429/21 October 2008,
accessed from official website www.pk-sejahtera.org in 10 August 2012)
148
influential figure in the LMD program was a senior leader of DDII, Imaduddin
known as Bang Imad- was a key figure who first introduced the concept of an
Islamic religious gathering or pengajian among Muslim student activists and this
attracted many students to join this programme was the Bandung Institute of
Technology (ITB) where Bang Imad became a leading figure at the ITB’s Salman
Mosque. The Tarbiyah movement started their pengajian, usrah, or halaqah in this
The relationship between the DDII and the rise of the Tarbiyah movement can be
measured not only through the training of the LMD but also through various other
means such as sending students to study in Saudi Arabian and Egyptian universities,
facilitating its graduates to be the mentors or teachers involved in teaching Islam and
publishing and circulating books written by Islamist ideologues such as Qutb, al-
Banna and Mawdudi (See Kahin, 2012). These programmes were funded by the
the two conservative creeds having been “cross bred” when MB activists from Egypt
were exiled in the kingdom (see Chapter 2 and also Hasan, 2005). As the result of
those programmes, the DDII has a great impact on changing Islamic discourse in
103
In establishing and running this LMD, Bang Imad, together with Endang Saefuddin Anshari
(1938-1996), was personally supported by DDII’s figurehead, Natsir. He also had been appointed
general secretary of the Kuwait-based International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations
(IIFSO) and later become a founder of ICMI (Latif, 2008; Hefner, 2000).
149
The four key Tarbiyah movement founders listed at the beginning of this section
were worried about Indonesian Muslims living outside Islamic values, and created a
creating and developing their dakwah movement, they were inspired and influenced
by the dakwah of the Egyptian MB. Scholars such as Permata (2013:241) have
called the movement ‘the Indonesian branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers’.104
Concrete evidence that the Tarbiyah movement was influenced by the MB is the
popular usage of the terms ikhwan (sing. akhi, brothers) and akhawat (sing. ukhti,
sisters) to refer to fellow cadres; the former for male cadres and the latter for female
Wiktorowicz (2001) notes, the ‘cadre’ is one of the most powerful aspects of
movements. The terms mutarabbi and murabbi are also roots of the term Tarbiyah
(education). The use of the terms mutarabbi and murabbi among the Liqo
community are the result of the influence of the MB in Egypt too. The founder of
the MB, Hasan al-Banna, and the MB’s community, use these terms as they come
from the Sufi shaykh-murid tradition (Lia, 1998). Mutarabbi is the Arabic term for a
male trainee, and mutarabbiyah the term for a female trainee of the Liqo, whilst a
104
However, my interviews with both leaders and members suggested that they never clearly
declared the Tarbiyah movement to be a branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
105
This relational model of the Liqo community was confirmed by a senior Liqo activist, who notes
that (ideally) the relationship between trainees and their mentors in the Liqo goes beyond the formal
150
professional, well-educated individuals. They are mostly migrants who come to the
they generally live far from their families, joining the Tarbiyah movement gives
them the benefits of a type of family support, as well as new friendships and
networks. Although these new recruits come from a variety of backgrounds in terms
of their religious and social affiliations – such as the Salafi group, NU,
Muhammadiyah, DDII, and HMI – they are bound by the same benefits mentioned
above (See Machmudi, 2006). During the Tarbiyah movement’s early stages, its
leaders created small groups for regular religious training sessions, called Liqo or
Halaqah. These cell-like groupings consist of one mentor or trainer who recruits,
trains and supervises 6-10 trainees (Permata, 2013). Although a Liqo group is small,
its members meet ‘socially’ every week. The movement gradually expanded the
Liqo numbers through inviting members of the wider society to join the Liqo of the
Tarbiyah movement. As a result, by the 1990s the Tarbiyah movement “had stable
networks in many universities in major cities across the country, and it started taking
2013:252).
In 1998 the Tarbiyah movement established a political party called the Justice Party
(Partai Keadilan, PK), which was then renamed the Prosperous and Justice Party
relation between teachers and students in other classes, as they are (ideally) very close both inside
and outside the Liqo sessions (see section 5.4).
151
movement and their ‘active’ dakwah cannot be separated from their critiques of the
modern phenomena that have influenced Muslim’s lives. They believe in the need to
be active in conducting dakwah so that Muslims can avoid being influenced by non-
A concept that has been particularly important in articulating the critical stance
Indonesia is that of ghazwul fikri.106 The importance of this concept can be seen
through the way it has shaped their dakwah and its criticisms of modern social
changes in both the Indonesian context and the global Muslim world. This concept,
Tarbiyah movement to refer to the conquest of Muslim countries by the West, and
indeed to any social, cultural, economic or political changes that are believed to
The clear explanation about their perception of ghazwul fikri is described in their
manual of dakwah:
Physical wars that have been carried out by the enemies of Islam are always
failure[s]. They change their strategy by using a very soft attack through
economics, politics, and culture. They expect[ed] that Muslims would follow
them. This threat was conducted professionally until Muslims did not notice
about them (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005:173).
106
The concept of ghazwul fikri was already used by the Muhammadiyah scholar Haji Abdul Malik
Karim Amrullah (HAMKA) in 1969 in his article “Beberapa tantangan terhadap Islam di masa kini”,
Pandji Masyarakat 4:50 (1970). Unfortunately, due to lack of access to the Tarbiyah movements’
literature of the 1980s and 1990s, I cannot trace its initial use by the Tarbiyah leaders.
152
Even though this book is a contemporary document written after they established a
party, the idea of ghazwul fikri has been taught since the beginning of the movement
in the early 1980s (Noura, 50s, leader, female, Jakarta). There was a perception
among the Tarbiyah movement that although the occupation and colonisation of
Muslim countries by the West ended in the middle of the Twentieth Century, the
domination of the West in the post-colonial world has continued through the
invasion of their ideas and cultures in the globalised Muslim world. The issue of
Western cultural domination, therefore, has influenced the dakwah concerns of the
Western styles was considered by them to be one way of fighting against the
domination of Western culture. The idea of ghazwul fikri also shaped the movement
For the Tarbiyah movement, the increasing hegemony of Western cultures has led to
the loss of Islamic culture from Muslims’ everyday lives. They argue that Western
cultural hegemony has attacked both Islam and Muslim lives through the mass
media, films, and secular education systems. Both the leaders of the Tarbiyah
movement and the mentors of the Liqo (murabbi) often ground dakwah in the need
to counter the ‘dangers’ that have emerged for Muslims as a result of ghazwul fikri.
They believe that this Western project has caused the spread of distorted or false
among Muslims in other parts of the world also. Their dakwah, then, is central to
This concept grounds the criticism of modern society and is spread widely among
the Tarbiyah community, from the top to the lower levels of its hierarchy. A variety
153
of lessons delivered in the weekly Liqo (religious circle) sessions are often linked to
this concept (see Section 5.3 and Chapter 6). For example, the lessons of Akhlaq
young Muslims. The movement sees their moral degradation in the clothes worn by
Muslim youth to the behaviours shown in their everyday lives. They believe that this
represents the impact of globalised Western cultures among Muslim youth. A senior
Let’s see the reality. There is much evidence supporting this suspicion. As an
example, let us take a look at teenagers’ phenomena here [in Jakarta and
Bekasi]. Most of them no longer have a respect for the Prophet Muhammad.
They also do not know their life’s aim [based on Islamic teachings] (Ridho,
40s, senior mentor, male, Bekasi, Staff to a PKS legislator).107
Another example is the lesson of akidah (faith), which is linked to political issues.
For the Tarbiyah movement choosing a pious Muslim leader is one important step
for directing the government towards applying shari’ah to the public sphere, whilst
apply shari’ah. They also believe that government policies will be easily dictated
official leaders of the Liqo and the PKS consider the true akidah to be the most
important aspect in choosing local and national leaders. A leader of the PKS who
very important for making political decisions related to the election of Jakarta’s
107
Interviewed on 17/10/2012.
154
[the] other candidate named Foke?108 We are very concerned about the
aspect of akidah, because the success or failure of leadership in a democratic
system is very biased. For instance, when Jokowi is considered as one among
the best city mayors [in a survey], it is a biased assessment. There is also an
indication that he is involved in corruption, and the evidence was hidden by
the Committee for Corruption Eradication (KPK). In addition to that, from
the study of a statistics body, it is mentioned that the percentage of poverty
increased about 11% in the city that he governed before. We, then,
concluded that the standard of his achievement is biased. There is always a
position who agree and disagree with this achievement’s standard. This also
happens to other candidates for governor. We, therefore, made an objective
and valid standard, which is the aspect of akidah (Muhammad, 30s, young
leader, male, Bekasi, local preacher and school teacher).109
connect religious piety with political affairs. Whether a candidate for the role of the
governor has a good track record in leadership is not considered as being relevant by
the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement. As long as his akidah is in line with the 'true' akidah,
they will vote for the candidate. In my opinion, this suggests that the dakwah
ideology of the Tarbiyah movement requires all its cadres to link akidah (belief) to
politics, and this is in line with their general aim to expand their focus from
background in akidah will, in turn, facilitate public morality because the leader will
represent a key symbol and model for the people. This shows that the typical
dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement seeks to discipline other people, and requires
them to follow their set of beliefs. My informal conversations with the majority of
the Liqo trainees and mentors revealed that those who cannot be elected as leaders
108
Jokowi (original name; Joko Widodo) and Ahok (original name; Basuki Cahaya Purnama) were
supported by two secular-nationalist parties – The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI-P) and
Gerindra, while the incumbent governor, Foke (original name: Fauzi Bowo), and his vice candidate,
Nachrowi, were supported by the rest of the big parties, including nationalist and Islamist parties such
as GOLKAR, The Democrat party, The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), The National Awakening
Party (PKB) and The United Development Party (PPP), amongst others. From my observations
during their campaign period, the incumbent candidate was convinced that he would win the election
due to the massive political support he had from these parties. However, Jokowi and Ahok ultimately
received a very significant majority of votes to become Jakarta’s governor and vice governor for the
period 2012–2017 (www.thejakartapost.com/channel/national, accessed in 20 September 2012).
109
Interviewed on 08/09/2012.
155
However, the attitude that the PKS has to this issue seems to have changed prior to
the 2004 election. They have tried to be ‘open’ to non-Muslims joining the party and
being party candidates for certain political positions. Scholars including Shihab and
Nugroho (2008) and Permata (2008; 2013) see this as a political strategy to gain
more votes. I think this suddenly more ‘open’ attitude can not only be seen as a
political strategy, but also as part of their dakwah strategy to gain wider popularity
The lesson of akidah is also strongly linked to the concept of ghazwul fikri in terms
of ‘unjust’ Western dealings with Muslims beyond Indonesia, in Syria, Egypt and,
referring to the West per se. For the Liqo-Jamaah Tarbiyah, Zionism refers to the
Tarbiyah, 2005:175). This definition can be found in their book, Manhaj Tarbiyah
(2005):
One of the groups that keep fighting against Islam is Zionism which spread
its organizational branches throughout the world. The main project of
Zionism is to establish the Israel state in the land of Palestine. Moreover,
there are still many crimes planned by Zionism to harm Islam and Muslims
(Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005:175-176).
110
In the election for Jakarta’s governor, Jokowi was perceived as not being a pious Muslim since he
came from an abangan background (syncretic), while Ahok was a Chinese Christian. Jokowi was
also a member of the PDI-P (The Indonesian Democratic Party), which declared a secularist-
nationalist ideology, and was supported mostly by those from abangan backgrounds.
156
Here, it is implicitly suggested that Zionism infiltrates many countries. Under the
concept of ghazwul fikri, the Tarbiyah movement widely believes that the unjust
attitudes taken towards Muslims in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, amongst other
countries, represent the core of a Jewish and Christian conspiracy against Muslim
power (see Chapter 6). That is why the Tarbiyah community is the most active
movement in Indonesia in terms of its protests against American support for Israel,
and in its campaign to promote and encourage the distrust of Western countries
(Bubalo and Fealy, 2005). The Palestine-Israel conflict is indeed one of the core
issues among Islamist movements throughout the Middle East and the wider Muslim
The movement’s claims implicitly suggest that Christians as well as Jews are
connected with Western colonialism and Zionism (Esposito, 2010), being regarded
Bruinessen's (2003) research on the PKS supports this position. He argues that the
PKS strongly believes in anti-Islamic conspiracies, and that they are comprised of
from the al-Baqarah (the Cow) – a chapter of the Qur’an – which are used to justify
The battle between the right (Haq) and wrong (bathil) is continuous all the
time as the Qur’an mentioned in Al-Baqarah: 120 ‘Neither the Jews, nor the
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Christians, will accept you unless you follow their religion’ (Manhaj
Tarbiyah, 2005:175).111
The dakwah manual explains that the lesson of ghazwul fikri in the weekly Liqo
sessions aims to make members aware that there are numerous movements seeking
The leaders of the movement, therefore, aim to teach and spread this concept to their
members in as close a way to that which is written in this dakwah manual book as
possible. As a result, this concept has spread widely among the Tarbiyah community
in Indonesia.
This idea of ghazwul fikri evokes the classic Islamist rhetoric about the battle or
clash between Islam and the West, which is a defining theme of modernity for many
the response or opposition to the influence of other ‘isms’ from the West, such as
colonialism and secularism (see Chapter 1). The dakwah ideology of the Tarbiyah
movement and the strategies it adopts in its Islamisation project are borrowed from
the ideology of MB in Egypt and include: (i) the Islamisation of individuals, (ii) the
Islamisation of families, (iii) the Islamisation of society, and (iv) the Islamisation of
the political system or state (Mitchell, 1993). These strategies are thus shaped by the
111
The translation of this verse of the Qur’an is also referenced in their manual: ‘Neither the Jews,
nor the Christians, will accept you unless you follow their religion’. This verse was originally written
in Indonesian, but I use one of the English translations provided by Yusuf Ali (2006).
112
I summarised and translated this statement into English from the Manhaj Tarbiyah (2005:175).
158
secularism, liberalism and Zionism. My research and observations revealed that their
dakwah ideology emerged and was shaped by the concept of ghazwul fikri in order
The 1970s–1980s was an era in which the Indonesian government issued strict
policies for controlling political Islam (see Chapter 2). It was a difficult and
challenging era for the Islamists in Indonesia to conduct overt dakwah activities.
The government prohibited Muslim leaders from being involved in political affairs,
such as forming Islamic parties or discussing political issues in the public sphere
(Effendy, 2003). Prominent leaders of the Masyumi – the biggest Islamic political
party in the period of the Old Order (1945–1965) – were one well-known example
of those forbidden to engage in politics during this period. Similarly, the Masyumi
party was not permitted to be active (Effendy, 2003). This had not been expected by
the Masyumi’s leaders who, at the beginning of the New Order (the end of the 1960s
to the beginning of the 1970s) had hoped that the party would be able to participate
in political contests again after being disbanded by the Old Order government in the
previous period of leadership. In addition, other Muslim leaders who spoke about
political issues in public spaces, such as in mosques, schools, and campuses, were
also strictly monitored by the government (see Chapter 2). According to Yudi Latif
In such a socio-political context, many Islamist leaders, and particularly those who
were involved in Masyumi, attempted to establish new religious movements that did
not have political orientations (Latif, 2008). DDII was a new vehicle for their
religious movement (See Chapter 2). They used campus mosques as places for
training and educating young people, constructing and strengthening their Islamic
identity and collective solidarity (see Section 4.2). Thus the programs of Bina
Masjid Kampus and Latihan Mujahid Dakwah (LMD) provided an alternative for
the would-be Muslim campus activists (Hilmy, 2010; Platzdasch, 2009). The
selection of these mosques indicates that the movement was targeting well-educated
universities. This phenomenon spread from one major city to another, and created
The early Tarbiyah movement emerged from this broader range of Islamic
movement activity. In the early dakwah movement, this community was unnamed,
(Darmanto, 30s, senior mentor, male, Jakarta, staff to at PKS legislator).113 Later,
the movement gradually came to be known among the internal members as the
was not familiar yet to the wider society and Noura, an early female Tarbiyah
113
Interviewed on 04/09/2012.
114
The concept of usrah was taken from the term used by the MB in Egypt. The MB officially uses
this term to refer to its system for recruiting and developing its trainees (Mitchell, 1993). They use
the family system (nizam al-usrah) in their Tarbiyah activities, which were composed of groups with
6-10 members each, in which one person is chosen to be the leader of the group, representing a
‘family’. This system gathers many people bound by the same religious interests in order to educate
(Tarbiyah) them and prepare their dakwah to Islamise society and the state.
160
emphasised that:
The wider society still did not have any idea what to call this Jamaah
Tarbiyah in the early 1980s. At that time, it was widely regarded as an
underground organisation called OTB (Organisasi Tanpa Bentuk/Organisation
without Form) or OBT (Organisasi Bawah Tanah/ Underground Organisation)
(Noura, 50s, leader, female, Jakarta).115
Through my interviews with the leaders, I saw that, as an impact of the repressive
attitude of the government, Tarbiyah activists in the early 1980s limited the scope of
their dakwah activities to a narrow audience. A key female leader of the Tarbiyah
During the mihwar tanzimi (the formation period), the programmes of the
Liqo were conducted in very ‘narrow’ [or marginal] places, such as kitchens,
corners of mushalla [small mosques], and other places that enabled them to
sit or melingkar [to sit within a circle].116 (Noura, 50s, leader, female,
Jakarta).117
Likewise, they hid the structure of the organisation and the trainers, mentors and
coordinators of the Tarbiyah movement and its weekly training programme. During
this repressive regime, they held that ‘the structural organisation [of dakwah] is
secret and the dakwah is open’ (Sirriyah al-Tanzim wa ‘Alamiyah al-Dakwah, DPP-
PKS, 2003:27). The impact of this idea is still seen in the attitudes of some current
115
Interviewed on 18/10/2012.
116
Melingkar (making a circle) is one of the characteristics of their religious meetings or study
circles. Sitting in a circle formation made it easier for the teacher to deliver and discuss the religious
materials, and to deepen and intensify the interactions among members of the Halaqah group.
117
Interviewed on 18/10/2012.
161
wrote about how my interview and observation requests were rejected by six
dakwah activists on the basis that they were unable to share their opinions (mainly
about the hierarchy or the contents of the Liqo) with outsiders. They said that they
were worried about making statements that were factually mistaken or that
misrepresented the movement, and suggested that I meet their Liqo seniors instead.
Nevertheless, Siddik – a key figure of the Tarbiyah movement – once said that this
secrecy only applied at the beginning of the Tarbiyah movement, under the Soeharto
hierarchy was no longer applied by the current Tarbiyah activists, because today’s
situation is different to that in the past, and there is no longer any need to hide their
When I interviewed him, Machmudi explained that this secret nature of the
organisation led to a secret process for recruiting new Tarbiyah cadres in the past.
He said that the recruitment of new members for the weekly training sessions was at
the time only undertaken among people close to existing members, and not openly
among the wider society. Later, the weekly training session was gradually known as
the Liqo (small religious circle).119 According to the majority of my respondents, this
Liqo programme had a very limited number of trainees (mutarabbi) and mentors
(murabbi) at the very beginning of the 1980s, but by the middle of the 1980s, they
had been successful in recruiting a large number of students from the young
118
Interviewed on 03/08/2012.
119
This weekly training was also called Halaqah (Arabic for religious circle). The term Liqo
(meeting) and Halaqah (religious circle) refer to the same weekly religious mentoring developed for
the purpose of teaching the religious doctrine and ideology of the Tarbiyah movement. Although the
term Halaqah is mainly used in the Tarbiyah movement’s official books, I prefer to use the term Liqo
because my observations and interviews revealed that it is more widely used by the Liqo community
than the term Halaqah.
162
generations, including many educated people who were attracted towards studying
used in the Liqo or dakwah training during this early phase, or in the Tarbiyah
movement as a whole. This is understandable given the fact that it was then an
Tarbiyah movement mean that the teaching materials at this point were taken from
Neither were there any standard or enforced methods for delivering their religious
messages, which were largely left to the expertise of each individual mentor. These
initial cadres obtained their dakwah skills from their interactions with people and
books that have links with the dakwah ideologies of the Egyptian MB. The Liqo
training and the dakwah activities as a whole were later gradually developed by key
leaders of the Tarbiyah movement by developing both the knowledge and skills of
the mentors, considering the interests of the members, and providing religious
The early 1980s was the period in which the reforming of individual religiosity was
emphasised as the Tarbiyah movement's dakwah message. This era was known
religiosity was the main goal of the Tarbiyah movement in this period.
After joining the Liqo or other dakwah activities, trainees are expected [by
the Tarbiyah movement] able to develop their individual religiosity, which
includes: 1) having understanding of the basics of Islam; 2) having good
163
Moreover, the leaders and senior activists of the Tarbiyah that I interviewed
emphasised that their goal was to create individuals with certain Tarbiyah-designed
training (see Chapter 5). The training is intentionally directed by the Tarbiyah
which covers beliefs (akidah), rituals (ibadah), and the behavioural ethics and
lifestyles (akhlaq) of Muslims (see Chapter 6). In order to strengthen the formation
of individual religiosity, the weekly training during the early phases of the Liqo
primarily discussed the issue of Islamic personality. Subjects of Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh
and Sirah were taught to Tarbiyah activists with the aim of making them better
movement was driven by their strong belief that to turn inwards towards the self is
the best solution for Muslims’ problems. This idea of individual religiosity
and the skills to apply this understanding to their daily lives (PKS, 2003: 1-3). The
idea of Islamising the self was the concern of young students not only in Indonesia,
but globally in the 1970s and 80s. In this period, Muslims around the world were
also concerned with the idea of an Islamic state, which was a global trend that
movement leaders is to encourage all of their members, particularly the male ones,
to be individuals who are closely ‘connected with mosques’ in their daily lives.
Ahmad, one of the top leaders of the Tarbiyah movement, and head of the Shari’ah
Council (Dewan Syariah Pusat/DSP) of the PKS, who is responsible for giving
of public mosques for prayer, reciting the Qur’an, and other religious activities is
part of the requirement relating to personal character building that must be fulfilled
by all Tarbiyah cadres. Ahmad believed that this represents the basis for building
[If they follow this guidance to come to the mosques frequently], they should
be ready and active to offer any help in mosques, for instance for becoming a
leader of prayer (Imam); delivering religious sermons (khutbah or dakwah);
or assisting other religious and social services at the mosques, such as giving
alms (sadaqah). The Tarbiyah movement’s doctrine that we really
emphasised to the activists is that they work – just work with feelings of
ikhlas (sincerity) and itqan (being well-structured and professional), as has
been taught by Islam (Ahmad, 60s, leader, male, Jakarta).120
Another means of building individual piety that is widely known, and has been
leader, he informed me that during its early phase, it was easy to recognise Tarbiyah
activists simply by looking at their dress (see Chapter 6). He emphasised that the
Islamic identity of the Tarbiyah community at that time was very strong, explaining
that:
120
Interviewed twice on 27/08/2012 and 17/10/2012. He also said that because of the ‘moderate’
nature of the Islamic messages delivered by the Tarbiyah movement’s preachers and leaders of
prayer, many audiences listen to them. This, in some cases, has led to the emergence of jealousy
among people from different mass organisations. A study conducted by Zuhrie (2013) reveals that
this very strong connection and commitment to the mosque led the Tarbiyah activists in Klaten
(Central Java) to occupy a Muhammadiyah mosque, Al-Muttaqun, which then led to conflict between
Tarbiyah movement and Muhammadiyah activists (see Chapter 5).
165
They have specific dress for both men and women [that are] considered to be
more representative of Islam. For instance, the koko [a Tarbiyah style of
religious clothes] for men and the baju terusan panjang, jubah or abaya [a
long dress] and long headscarf for women were mostly practiced in their
daily life. Apart from that, both men and women were also forbidden to wear
jeans (Salim, 50s, leader, male, Jakarta).121
Wearing jeans was forbidden for both men and women because it was perceived to
be a form of Western clothing style. This provides further evidence that the
Tarbiyah movement has an anti-Western ideology (see Section 4.2). Moreover, for
The dakwah orientation of the Tarbiyah movement was influenced by the ideology
of ghazwul fikri. The community perceived the West as being the enemy of
Muslims, who could not defeat Muslims through a physical war, and so changed
their strategy to a 'soft war' using cultural imperialism (see Section 4.2). The overall
dakwah ideology of the Tarbiyah movement attracted more students to enter the
weekly religious Liqo. Machmudi, a leader of the Tarbiyah, explained this further in
an interview:
121
Interviewed on 09/10/2012. For a description of the typical dress of the women’s Liqo community,
see Chapter 6.
122
Interviewed on 03/08/2012.
166
Machmudi (2006) argued in his PhD thesis that the process of Islamisation at secular
campuses was successful in this period and continued to grow during the 1990s:
The students’ interest in attending the Liqo and learning the dakwah ideologies of
the Tarbiyah was driven by the same motives as the movement itself. They worried
about the attitudes of the Indonesian government towards political Islam and the
global political tendency that has led to the absence of Islam from the public sphere
(see Chapter 1). They feel the need to pay attention to this phenomenon and to
Islamise the self and then society through their involvement in the Liqo (see
Unlike in the previous decade, from the end of the 1980s, the New Order
mosques (Effendy, 2003). Around one hundred new mosques were established by
the government, which also allowed civil servants to express their religious (Islamic)
Islamic subjects, and wearing Islamic dress – a factor that was important for Muslim
women in particular (Latif, 2008). Such religious allowances were not made during
the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. Furthermore, in 1992, the government
167
attitude was also a political strategy for domesticating and gaining political support
and legitimacy from Muslims through providing more freedom and privilege for
Islamic organisations.
I argue that the shift in the government's political attitude, which was welcomed by
opportunities to expand the scope of their dakwah and its audience. Whilst the
Tarbiyah movement had previously focused on campuses and disseminated its ideas
covertly, the movement now began to target wider social groups from various
backgrounds, as well as institutions, and spread its ideas overtly. Noura gave me a
its dakwah activities in small and marginal places to a more open movement
promoting its ideas in public areas. She said: “then, after [the] political conditions
[became] more conducive, the scope of our dakwah broadened into wider society”.
Noura thus states that the shift in political opportunities (Wiktorowicz 2004; Fox
2012) was the factor that led the movement to preach their messages overtly, and to
123
There was a debate among Muslim leaders about whether this organisation (ICMI) was initiated to
give Muslim leaders a 'space' for aggregating and articulating Muslim political interests due to their
position as a majority of the population, or whether it was only used by the government to
domesticate Islamic organisations and gain more legitimacy from them (Latif, 2008). For me,
however, both purposes could have been pursued at the same time. The shift in the Government’s
attitude to Islamic movements might have been based on taking and giving or on mutual benefit. The
organisation itself was chaired by Habibie, one of the influential ministers in the cabinet, and well
known for having close relationships with Islamic figures.
168
explained further:
The Tarbiyah activists entered the mosques and religious institutions, and
most of the activists were known as ustadz [religious teacher] or muballigh
[preachers]. Ustadz or muballigh, trained not only the younger activists in
[the] groups, but also gave lectures at various public places overtly, such as
campuses, offices, and mosques (Noura, 50s, leader, female, Jakarta).125
From interviews I held with the early activists of the Tarbiyah movement, I
concluded that the senior cadres of the Tarbiyah movement played a significant role
in spreading their dakwah ideologies from private to public places, such as offices,
large mosques, schools or other educational institutions, and other public places.
These senior cadres also established social and educational services, such as Islamic
schools and religious institutions. These educational and social activities supported
mosques.
The senior members of the Tarbiyah movement referred to this period as mihwar
sha’bi (the popular phase). From the interviews I held with the leaders of Tarbiyah
movement and by examining their official texts, I found that this term meant that the
Tarbiyah members who were trained in the previous period were now required to
interact with the wider society and to take part in educating it (al-irsyad al-
mujtama’) (MPP PKS, 2008a: 57). A statement from a key leader of the Tarbiyah
124
During the early development of the Liqo in the 1980s and the early and middle part of the 1990s,
this movement had numerous Liqo figures, with different sorts of expertise in Islamic studies. They
were well known among the Liqo community, and widely referred to using the title ‘ustadz’, which
means teachers of religious or Islamic subjects. The title ‘ustadz’ was not a formal or official
appointment, but established through an informal process of recognition. This recognition developed
over years of interactions between the Liqo and the Tarbiyah community through various
opportunities provided by both formal and informal activities.
125
Interviewed on 08/10/2012.
169
After having a mihwar tanzimi, we then have a mihwar sha’bi. Sha’bi means
society. We have indeed many instruments and activities in reaching our
society [in this phase] (Fatih, 50s, leader, male, Jakarta).126
characteristics (tamayuz) were expected by the leaders to spread and conduct non-
verbal dakwah among Indonesian society. Verbal dakwah here involves a call to
In my observations of their behaviour and attitudes, however, this guidance not only
created the ‘uniqueness’ of its members, but also their distinctive characters – in the
backgrounds, for instance, strongly opined that “the Liqo members’ ways of
thinking and behaviours are ‘strange’ or ‘odd’ as compared to the wider Indonesian
Muslims” (Fachruddin, Muiz and Masdar, age group 40s-50s, Jakarta, university
126
Interviewed on 21/11/2012.
127
Interviewed on 27/08/2012 and 17/10/2012.
128
Interviewed on 08/11/2012, 12/11/2012 and 12/11/2012.
170
Rather, they are bad influences in terms of the adoption of Western ideas or
cultures among Muslim youth (40s, male, Jakarta, university lecturer).129
The Liqo members were required by the leaders of the Tarbiyah movement to
public events aimed to disseminate the movement's ideology and also to draw in
new members. Like other Islamist movements, any social interaction is seen by the
through training and education centres, charity centres, cultural activities, free
medical services, and so on. Fatih, a key leader of the Tarbiyah movement,
These institutions were established by the Tarbiyah cadres to promote their dakwah
messages to wider audiences and to help people understand these messages. These
centres are the main medium of interaction between the Tarbiyah community and
the Tarbiyah movement leaders, I found that through these centres, the Tarbiyah
129
Interviewed on 08/11/2012.
130
This can be seen in other studies of Islamist movements, such as Salafis and the Muslim
Brotherhood in Jordan (Wiktorowicz, 2001), the Muslim Brotherhood and the female mosque
movement in Egypt (Gilsenan, 1973; Mahmood, 2005), and Al-Muhajirun in the UK (Wiktorowicz,
2005).
131
Interviewed on 21/11/2012.
171
movement not only provides basic goods and free services to the wider community,
but also promotes their ideological values. In many cases, through providing
services and programmes, the Tarbiyah movement aimed to spread their public
dakwah messages and foster a more religious Indonesian society.132 This range of
Islamic groups at the end of the New Order government (from the end of 1980s until
1998), the rise of the new regime in 1998 evoked new and greater expectations
amongst the Tarbiyah movement’s senior members, and enabled them to further
strengthen involvement in the public arena. From 1998, it was open for any group,
1998 was thus considered by the Tarbiyah movement as marking the beginning of
the new dakwah phase – which is often called mihwar mu’assasi (the political
Tarbiyah movement and the head of cadre development’s division of the PKS, for
instance, explained in one of the official documents that this period refers to:
132
This is similar to the MB in Egypt, which built various centres to support their dakwah movement
(Mitchell, 1993; Mandaville 2007/2014).
133
For further discussion of this phase, see MPP-PKS (2008a; 2008b); Abdurrahim (2005).
172
These years are years for struggle to strengthen the existence of our political
movement for the sake of dakwah, al wujud al-siyasi li al-dakwah (translate)
In this era, all cadres should become voters and constituents in the wider
society. The cadres should perform their dakwah and politics in order to gain
love and sympathy [of the society] so that they are able join the Tarbiyah
movement [and support the party] (Abdurrahim, 2005: 56).
Although a female leader highlighted that the Tarbiyah community had not initially
planned to transform their dakwah activities into a political movement – “[from the
beginning] there was no planning to establish a political party” (Noura, 50s, female,
Jakarta, the Tarbiyah movement leader) – the gradualist Islamisation ideology of the
movement strongly suggested that their dakwah would enter the political sphere at
some point.
By the end of 1998, a discourse among the leaders and members of the Tarbiyah
movement had emerged about the need for a political party. Noura shared her
In 1998, Anis Matta, a key leader of the Tarbiyah movement [and the current
President of the PKS], asked me and other Tarbiyah activists whether or not
they wanted to enter the political arena. There was a voting process to see the
interests of activists in politics. The vote showed that about 76% wanted to
struggle through politics, while the rest wanted to remain with their dakwah
movement. The majority agreed to enter politics because they wanted to
contribute [to developing] a better society – ishlah al-ummah. We held an
internal meeting among the Tarbiyah cadres in order to review this result and
to decide the next plan. Alhamdulillah (praise to Allah) through takbirullah
(Allah’s guidance) and takdirullah (Allah’s predestination), we entered the
political arena. This moment, for us, was a stage of our maturity to
understand the manhaj (the overall ideology) of our dakwah (Noura, 50s,
leader, female, Jakarta).134
Noura’s explanation shows that there was internal debate between senior Tarbiyah
members about the decision to establish the party. Whilst some wanted to keep the
134
However, some of the literature notes that the voting process was carried out via questionnaires
that were distributed to approximately 6,000 Tarbiyah activists, and that 68% of those who returned
the questionnaires agreed to create a political party (Hilmy, 2010; Collins, 2003).
173
Tarbiyah movement away from the political domain, after the party was established
all of them accepted the decision that had been made. Nevertheless, these
differences of opinions and further dynamics and developments in the party caused
internal conflicts and tensions to emerge among the senior members of the Tarbiyah
The unification of religion and politics was one of the goals that drove the Tarbiyah
movement to establish the political party. The majority of the leaders that I
interviewed held strongly to the view that there is no separation between dakwah
and politics. This idea involves the implementation of the concept of ‘total Islam’
(Islam kaafah) that was talked about widely among this community, and stated in
their official documents, and involves applying Islam to both the secular and
religious aspects of life (see Chapter 1).135 The establishment of the dakwah party by
activities more broadly. Based on my reading of it, their official book, called ‘The
holds that the purpose of their dakwah in this phase should be understood as follows:
The founders, key leaders and senior activists of the party thus sought to show that
Noura, who is responsible for the official archives and history of the DPP-PKS,
135
The PKS’s engagement with wider society through political means was part of the idea of ‘total
Islam’, which was inspired by the founders and ideologues of the MB in Egypt – Hasan al-Banna and
Sayyid Qutb.
174
shows that “the PKS leaders and founders of the Tarbiyah movement frequently
used the term dakwah, and that they refer to it numerous times in their speeches”
(Noura, 50s, female, leader, Jakarta). This suggests that the leaders want to
emphasise that dakwah is still their main concern, and that they are strongly attached
to it, even though they have established the political party. Noura explained that, “in
order to transfer and spread the ideas of the leaders on their dakwah ideologies to the
wider society, their speech collections were published officially by the PKS under
my division [of archives]”. Furthermore, she argued that these publications are
significant for disseminating the idea of the integration of dakwah and politics to all
dakwah activists, from senior members to those at the grass roots level. Backing this
The dakwah that is held by PKS is a comprehensive dakwah that covers all
aspects of life, including the private and public. Basically, one aspect of life
cannot be left alone by dakwah. What we [the PKS] do right now is not a
moving process [from dakwah to politics], because politics is only one aspect
of this comprehensive dakwah. Therefore, we did not leave anything by
establishing a political party, but we did all things together under the idea of
comprehensive dakwah (Fatih, 50s, leader and a founding member of the
PK/PKS, male, Jakarta).
movement, which, in widening its dakwah into this political movement, appointed
In order to strengthen the argument for integrating dakwah and politics, the founders
of the movement placed dakwah as the party’s central identity and purpose in the
articles of the party. No. 2, Article 5 – on ‘the objective of the party’ - asserts: “the
PKS is a dakwah party which aims to establish a just and prosperous society blessed
175
(MPP-PKS 2008).
During this phase, the image of the PKS as a dakwah party was also strengthened
through growing publications of books concerning the PKS and dakwah written by
both leaders and cadres. They used the term dakwah as the title of the books, and as
the keyword for its contents.136 ‘Dakwah’, therefore, became closely associated with
the party’s image, both by the community of the party itself (the party’s leaders and
cadres), and also by those external to it, such as the media and wider society. The
Islamic parties and organisations. Five PKS leaders that I interviewed emphasised
the idea that attaching and associating the term ‘dakwah’ with the party was not only
done for the purpose of reassuring Tarbiyah activists of the continuity of the party
and their dakwah movement, but also for differentiating the party from other Islamic
The PKS is a dakwah party (partai dakwah) which means that for the PKS victory in
of how to win elections and how to ‘win’ dakwah projects among its leaders and
members (Hidayat, 2012). Party leaders such as former PKS president Anis Matta
(2011), as quoted by Hidayat (2012:234), says that “the project of the PKS is to grab
a chance to lead the country with capability and quality to the benefit of all society,
and politics is part of the implementation of that. Offering the best cadres for the
136
The word ‘dakwah’ has been used as the keyword of the majority of books written by both
dakwah activists and leaders of the PKS, both those published institutionally by the PKS and by
publishers affiliated to it. There are more than thirty books using the keyword ‘dakwah’, and this
keyword is also frequently used in the party’s pamphlets, bulletins, articles and banners.
176
country to give their best is the way to lead the path to this vision”. This official
vision is rejected by some members who argue that political projects would have a
negative impact on both the party and the cadres because of its pragmatic political
attitude.
interviews with grass-roots activists and party leaders – that the Tarbiyah movement
and the party (PKS) are sharing a common ideology. They are perceived as having a
close relationship because they have the same ideological and organisational roots.
In addition, the same activists manage these two institutions, as the Tarbiyah
movement and the PKS are composed of the same people (Permata, 2013), with
most of the party's leaders being senior members and leaders of the Tarbiyah
There has been much discussion of whether these political and dakwah institutions
should work together as equals in different arenas, or whether one of them should be
subordinate to the other, and different perceptions about the hierarchical relationship
between these two institutions can be found in the opinions of different Tarbiyah
leaders. One of the key figures of the Tarbiyah movement emphasised that “the
Tarbiyah movement and the party are complementary [to] each other” (Salim, 50s,
leader, male, Jakarta). This means that these two institutions were ‘ranked’ equally,
with the hope that they would support each other. However, Ahmad (60s, leader,
male, Jakarta) thought otherwise, emphasising that “the party was founded as a
means of [supporting] our dakwah movements”. The other two senior figures of the
137
Permata explains that ‘basically members of the Tarbiyah movement are PKS members’
(2013:249). However, the increasingly pragmatic behavior of the PKS separates PKS members from
the Tarbiyah members who do not get involved in party activities.
177
Tarbiyah movement articulated the idea that “politics, for us, is only one of the ways
of widening the dakwah territory (mihwar dakwah)” (Noura and Fatih, 50s, leaders,
Jakarta). This indicates that the party is supposed to be part of the Tarbiyah
movement, and support the Tarbiyah movement’s goals, and hence that it should be
Given that the party was established by the Tarbiyah community, it is logical to
assume that the Tarbiyah movement should control the party and have executive
authority. Furthermore, the Tarbiyah movement is much older, and thus seeing the
party as the means for supporting the dakwah of the movement should be the logical
Tarbiyah activists. The leaders of the party tried to convey a clear message to all
cadres about the unity of religion and politics, and the necessity of using politics for
However, my findings suggest that this is not how the relationship has developed in
reality. Although the party was established by the Tarbiyah movement, there are two
178
examples that demonstrate how the party in fact attempts to control or to subordinate
First, the weekly Liqo sessions, which have been the main activity of Tarbiyah since
the movement’s inception, are conceptualised and managed by the Cadre Division of
the party (see Chapter 5). This means that the Liqo is no longer independent of the
influence of other institutions within the movement as it was in the past. Likewise,
the Liqo programmes are the party’s central way of recruiting, mobilising, and
shaping the ideology of cadres (see Chapter 5). Apart from the Liqo, the party also
(tours to any tourism centres),138 Mabit (staying overnight for ritual activities such
(religious camps). Even though all these activities are conducted by the Tarbiyah
community, the content and design of the programmes are determined and managed
Second, the topics or lessons (mawad) that they have to deliver in the weekly Liqo
sessions should refer to the Manhaj Tarbiyah book, which was prepared and written
by the party (see Chapter 5). The murabbi (mentors) of the Liqo are mainly managed
by the party. It is possible that the murabbi of the Liqo at the beginner level are not
formally members of the party, but at the higher levels, most of them are members
of the party. Given that the murabbi at the lower levels are mutarabbi (trainees) of
the Liqo at higher levels as well, all murabbi are cadres of the party (see Chapter 5).
138
Tours are designed for spiritual purposes, through which individuals can reflect on their
spirituality outside of the dakwah classes.
179
My research, however, revealed that the Tarbiyah movement has been utilised as a
'medium' for enlarging and strengthening support for the party. By declaring it to be
a dakwah party, the leaders of the party – who are also senior members and leaders
the party and all the Tarbiyah’s cadres. The founders expected that all the
Tarbiyah’s cadres would have the same sense of belonging and views about their
responsibilities to the party, and to encourage this the PKS promoted a tenet among
the Tarbiyah community that runs: “the (Tarbiyah) community is the party and the
party itself is the (Tarbiyah) community” (al-jama’ah hiya al-hizb, wa al-hizb huwa
al-jama’ah) (DPP-PKS, 2003: 33). This principle was used to encourage the
activities.
Even though the Tarbiyah movement still placed the focus of dakwah on improving
individual piety, it attempted to synchronise this objective with the PKS party's goal
to place their cadres within state institutions. There have been many cases in which
the party for positions as parliamentarians, governors, and as President, in both local
and national elections. Leaders of the Tarbiyah movement and murabbi of the Liqo
The party has participated in the Indonesian general elections since 1999, and its
popularity has increased significantly, from receiving 1.36% of the vote in the 1999
general election to 7.88% in 2009, although this decreased by about 1% in the last
election in 2014. The party has been successful in convincing Indonesian people to
not only commit to private dakwah, hence reforming individual and social religiosity
(Damanik, 2002; Rahmat, 2008), but also to accept public dakwah, leading to a
focus on eradicating poverty and corruption, providing better education and helping
victims of disasters (Shihab and Nugroho, 2008; Muhtadi, 2012). In the 1999
election, the PKS were very strict in focusing their campaign on Islamic shari’ah. It
seems that they became aware of the fact that establishing shari’ah was not
‘enough’ of an agenda for Indonesian Muslims to back, and transformed the issues
that they addressed from Islamic shari’ah oriented issues to issues oriented towards
humanity and national concerns in order to attract public attention. Many observers
have suggested that this transformation was at the root of its significant
During my fieldwork in Jakarta at the end of 2012, I observed how the Tarbiyah
community was involved in campaigning for a PKS candidate for governor in the
Pilkada (the local election). The most recent political events that I observed (from
Leeds) were the parliamentary and Presidential elections conducted in April and
July 2014. The leaders of the community frequently reminded members of the Liqo
to choose candidates based on their ‘true’ akidah, and those who will support Islam
(see also Section 6.5). This rhetoric elegantly prevented them from directly
mentioning the PKS candidates, whilst the implication of their encouragement was
clear. Religious arguments were consistently invoked to ‘remind’ the members who
181
for voting has been practised since the establishment of the PKS.
The Tarbiyah movement leaders who are also PKS leaders regard this dakwah phase
‘vertical mobility’, aiming to gradually penetrate state institutions and other public
organisations (DPP-PKS, 2003:47). The idea behind this phase is to spread their best
cadres into state institutions, so that they can ‘reform’ or Islamise them from within.
A key leader of the Tarbiyah movement and the party explained this dakwah phase
as follows:
organisations as well as within other public institutions was regarded as a vital step
in creating a more Islamic society and state. Those cadres are expected to play a
teachings and to spread Islamic values to society at large. Islamising the public
sphere through spreading their dakwah ideologies is, therefore, the most significant
One of the roles that the Tarbiyah’s cadres have in 'reforming' (Islamising) the state
can be seen through the position that the PKS’s parliamentary members adopted in a
about the relationship between religions and the state. The PKS proposed the
Madinah Charter (piagam Madinah), instead of the Jakarta Charter, as the main
inspiration for the amendment to the state constitution (Hilmy, 2010).139 The
“obligatory [for the state] to implement religious teachings for its respective
involved in maintaining the religiosity of its believers. In the final debates on this
clause the PKS was one of the two Islamic political parties that insisted that article
29 be amended, while most parties revoked their objections (Hilmy, 2010). Most
Islamist parties favour the insertion of the “seven words” of the Jakarta Charter (see
Chapter 2; Hilmy, 2010). The reasons behind the PKS’s choice are: ‘first, to uphold
the religious values espoused by the preamble of the UUD 1945, and second, ‘to
Although the PKS’ subscription to the Madinah Charter was criticized by many
Islamists groups and they were accused of having betrayed its commitment to
implement shari’ah (Hilmy, 2010), in my opinion, however, this still indicates that a
character of the state through its cadres in the parliament.141 As mentioned in a book
139
The Madinah charter (Piagam Madinah) ‘is a constitution that essentially established the Madinah
city-state under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad. The charter was the first written
constitution in Islam and arguably the first constitutional law in society’ (See Hasan, 2012:24-25; a
further account of the Madinah charter can be found in Watt, 1956)
140
Islamic parties such as the PKS, the United Development Party (PPP), and the Star and Crescent
Party (PBB), as well as Muslim supporter-based parties like the PAN (supported by members of the
Muhammadiyah) and the PKB (supported by the NU) held that this article should be revised through
adding a sentence stating that it is “obligatory to implement shari’ah for Muslims” (offered by PPP
and PBB) or that it is “obligatory to implement religious teachings for its respective followers”
(offered by PAN, PKB, and PKS).
141
I argue that their rejection of the Jakarta Charter cannot be separated from its context as the ‘new
face’ of the political party in 2002 when they were facing new challenges and battling to influence
183
written by three Tarbiyah leaders, who are also foremost leaders of the PKS – Balda,
Rida, and Wahono (2000) – the key task of Tarbiyah activists in parliament is to
control, monitor and issue legislation that is in line with the central Islamic teachings
of the Qur’an and the Sunna. In an official statement (Bayanat) of the party, it was
Given that the Tarbiyah movement and the party are intertwined in their visions, this
suggests that the dakwah movement is, at this stage, more challenging for members
of the Tarbiyah movement than it has been at previous stages. The Tarbiyah
movement needs to tolerate as well as to justify the pragmatic attitudes of the party.
However, it is worth noting that, as a political party in a democratic state, the PKS
has to attract as many voters from different social groups as possible,142 and the
1999 General Election proved that their stance on the shari’ah issue did not create a
good impression on the wider society, with the party receiving less than 2% of the
national vote.
constituencies with nationalist parties. I agree also with Hasan’s (2012) opinion that this strategy was
‘an elegant manoeuvre’ by the PKS because they were aware of the previous failure of the first
generation of Islamists who attempted to give shari’ah a constitutional status in the seven words of
the Jakarta charter.
142
Shihab and Nugroho (2008) said that these changes in the political and dakwah strategy were
intentionally designed to gain more national voters. Studies by Muhtadi (2012) and Permata (2008)
stated that this changing strategy showed the dilemmas they were facing and the pragmatic
compromise they had ultimately chosen to make between retaining their dakwah ideology and
responding to political realities.
184
Thus, in the 2004 General Election,143 the party moved away from campaigning for
shari’ah, preferring to fight for more 'secular' issues, such as education for poor
people and an anti-corruption agenda (Muhtadi, 2012; Permata, 2008; Shihab and
Nugroho, 2008). In 2007, the party even publicly declared its support for a policy of
member of the PKS (Hafidz, 60s, male, Jakarta) revealed that the party built a close
relationship with a liberal Muslim scholar, Nurcholish Madjid, who had previously
been condemned as a figure who was corroding Islam from within.144 According to
Hilmy, it is not surprising that the PKS eclectically adopt many intellectual
viewpoints from different sources including ‘liberal’ ones if ‘they help enhance the
soft power of the party’ (2010:204). Even though the issue of religious pluralism
was very controversial for the Tarbiyah community, most of them complied with
and supported the pragmatic political choices that the party made.
However, there were also significant criticisms of the party's pragmatic choices from
key leaders within the Tarbiyah community and a founding member of the PKS,
such as Daud Rasyid, a lecturer in an Islamic State University, and Yusuf Supendi, a
well-known preacher (da’i) within the Tarbiyah community. The party’s openness
to religious pluralism and liberal Muslim figures disappointed these leaders and
other activists of the Tarbiyah movement, who supported the establishment of the
PKS, but were keen to maintain the original dakwah ideology of the Tarbiyah
143
In the 2004 General Election, the party tripled its votes to 7.34% and received almost seven-fold
the number of seats in the parliament, as well as three ministerial positions (www.kpu.go.id accessed
8 September 2012).
144
Interviewed on 15/08/2012.
185
Tarbiyah movement and obey the party, even though they disagreed with its
pragmatic approach.145
4.7 The Liqo in the periods of the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS:
leadership and authority
Liqo-Tarbiyah activists and PKS cadres are bound by the same authority, as they are
part of the same dakwah community and ideology. In practice, there are differences
structure of leadership inspired by the MB in Egypt, whilst the PKS follows the
formal structure of the political party system in Indonesia’ (Permata, 2013:271; see
also my discussion in Chapter 5). In the literature on the MB, however, the MB
reflects the Western political party system too (Mitchell, 1993). From the Tarbiyah
movement’s emergence in 1983 until the late 1990s, both Liqo sessions and other
Tarbiyah activities were organised by a supreme leader (muraqib ‘am), holding both
different tasks and duties.146 This leadership, however, changed after the
establishment of the PKS political party in 1998.147 As a political party, the PKS
follows the party’s president under the guidance of the Shura Council (Majlis
145
In my interviews with three ex-activists of the Tarbiyah movement – two from Jakarta and one
from Tangerang – they expressed their disagreement with the pragmatic approach adopted by the
party. However, a leader of the Tarbiyah movement opined that it is better for them to stay inside the
Tarbiyah community and the party and critique it. He said that their critiques will be better listened to
by the PKS elites if they are delivered from within (Abdullah, 40s, leader, male, Jakarta).
146
It is adopted from the MB structure too (Mitchell, 1993).
147
From 1998 onwards, there was a shift in leadership. In their early political period, the highest
authority of the PKS was the National Assembly, which was responsible for many tasks, including
the selection of the Party’s central leadership. But later on, the leadership of The National Assembly
was moved to the Shura Council (Majlis Shura) (Permata, 2013).
186
Shura).148 This shift in leadership, as Permata (2013:244) notes, has led to changing
internal dynamics and tensions between the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS.
From 1998 onwards, the Liqo has become more centralised under the structure of the
PKS. This centralisation reflects the fact that the Liqo sessions and other religious
activities of the Tarbiyah movement are managed by the Cadre Division of the PKS
(see Table 2: Diagram of the Liqo within wider structure of the PKS). Thus, the
Cadre Division of the Party Central Office determines the direction of the Liqo
movement, including preparing, monitoring, and reviewing the manual of the Liqo,
together with Tarbiyah activities in general (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005). This division
is responsible for the overall concepts, practices, and strategies of the Liqo’s dakwah
and the Tarbiyah movement.149 The Cadre Division exists at every level of the
structure of the PKS – from the highest to the lowest levels – and plays a significant
role within the Liqo community.150 Although the strategic role that the Cadre
Division plays is plain to see, especially in the Party Central Office (DPP), they are
still required to follow the general directions and organisational decisions of the
higher level leadership of the PKS, namely the Advisory Council (Majlis
and the Shari’ah Council (Dewan Syariah Pusat/DSP), which is second only to the
Shura Assembly (Majlis Shura) as the highest structure within the PKS (MPP PKS,
148
Majlis Shura has 99 members, 65 of whom are elected from 33 provinces, based on the
approximate numbers of the Tarbiyah members in each province; 2 special members (the current and
former chairmen of this council); and 32 additional members selected by the council based on their
professional expertise (Permata, 2013:266). This is similar to the MB structure.
149
Based on Interview with Fatih, 50s, leader, male, Jakarta on 21/11/2012.
150
Based on Interview with Ahmad, 60s, leader, male, Jakarta on 17/1/2012.
187
Table 2 The Liqo-Tarbiyah movement within the wider structure of the PKS
Shura
Assembly
Party President
Abdullah, one of the PKS leaders, refers to this structure as a ‘mechanism system’,
formulated to manage both the religious and political activities of the PKS.
Abdullah, who is also a former head of the Cadre Division, explained that this
division, or the ‘Council of cadre training programmes’, is not only concerned with
internal cadre development in the Liqo, but also in the wider society.151Abdullah’s
structure, who says that the Liqo has been better organised and developed since
However, the cadres that I interviewed from the Liqo – Thifa, Fadila, Nabil, and
Nuriah – held that in terms of direction the Liqo was better before the PKS was
established. They saw the PKS’s control of the Liqo as negatively impacting upon
their dakwah and the Tarbiyah movement. There is now a greater focus on the
political aspect of the party than on the religious aspect of the Tarbiyah movement,
and these cadres were generally unhappy about the fact that the political activities of
the PKS have moved them further away from their original dakwah activities. Thifa,
Fadila, Nabil, and Nuriah all expressed the same sentiment that “the Liqo has been
151
According to Abdullah, this structure of the party is responsible for both the internal development
of cadres through education and training and for attracting external sympathisers or members of the
wider society. For discharging its internal responsibilities, the PKS has the Council of Cadres
Training (Badan Pembinaan Kader-BPK), while to carry out its external remit, it has a structure
called the Council of Umat Training (Badan Pembinaan Umat-BPU). Each council has its own leader
or head of council.
152
Interviewed on 27/08/2012.
189
In his Doctoral dissertation, Permata (2008) also points to the changing attitudes of
the party’s leaders. In the 1999 legislative election, its leaders asked Liqo activists to
focus more on their dakwah activities while, in the 2004 elections, the leaders issued
a fatwa calling on activists to mobilise the people around them to vote for the PKS.
In my opinion, criticism of the PKS in this regard comes only from those who are
dissatisfied with the shift of the movement’s dakwah focus from aiming to improve
individual cadres’ religiosities to a more political concern with Islamising the public
sphere. However, the majority of trainees and members accepted this shift and
regarded it as part of the leaders’ policy and as part of the evolving dakwah stages.
They also emphasized that the Liqo is still largely focused on reproducing purist
Given that there are multiple levels within the Liqo’s hierarchy, there are also
multiple levels of religious authority within the Liqo community, and a chain of
ideological authority for Liqo trainees. Apart from the cadre’s division of the DPP,
the Shari’ah Council (DSP) plays a significant role in giving religious advice to both
Liqo and PKS cadres. The DSP provides useful considerations for the political
policies of the party through interpreting how to apply Islam to various issues. The
DSP’s role is not just to provide a religious reference point for the Liqo community
and the wider society, however, but also to maintain the religiosity of all Liqo and
PKS cadres, from the elite to the grassroots members. One of the PKS leaders
The major role of DSP-PKS is to put shari’ah as the foundation of the party.
The DSP has a responsibility to control and to maintain the obedience and
compliance to shari’ah for both the party and its individuals. The individuals
include elites and cadres from the highest to the lowest level of the party’s
membership. All leaders and activists [of the Liqo] are required to have
190
commitment to use shari’ah as the way of guiding their lives. For the party,
the DSP needs to give guidance so that all policies or strategies do not
deviate from the principles of shari’ah (Ahmad, 60s, leader, male,
Jakarta).153
The fact that the DSP requires the full obedience of all the different structures of the
party, including the Liqo cadres, suggests that the PKS/Tarbiyah movement is an
authoritarian religious movement. The DSP is the central body of the dakwah party
that is responsible for its shari’ah compliance and, as explained by Ahmad (60s) it
frequently gives shari’ah rulings under various names, such as fatwa (legal opinion),
advice) and ittijah fiqh (fiqh guidance). These shari’ah / religious recommendations
or rulings are issued to respond to the discourses or phenomena that occur within the
letters about decisions, and is disseminated through the PKS official website.
In order to make appropriate legal opinions and decisions, “the key figures of DSP
any Islamic institution following postgraduate studies” (Noura, 50s, leader, female,
Jakarta). For example, Ahmad (60s, leader, male, Jakarta), studied Shari’ah during
his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. His masters and doctoral degrees were
obtained from the faculty of Islamic law (shari’ah) of the University of Al-Azhar in
Cairo, Egypt. Other members of the DSP are also experts on Shari’ah, with the
majority of them having graduated from Middle Eastern universities (Noura, 50s,
leader, female, Jakarta). However, as a female national leader admitted, the PKS has
153
Interviewed on 27/08/2012. According to Barbara Metcalf, controlling the cadres’ religiosity and
public behaviour is one of the characteristics of Islamic activism (see Metcalf, 2001).
191
This is in line with the typical background of the Liqo community, who are mostly
‘lay’ people rather than Islamically educated members or leaders. A senior shar’i
activist of the PKS who graduated from Al-Azhar University confirmed this:
The most dominant activists of the Liqo are non-shar’i background. There
are of course some [members with a] shar’i background from Medina,
LIPIA-Jakarta, and Al-Azhar University. However, it is very rare to find
activists from the universities in Medina or Egypt. The most dominant and
very active in mentoring new trainees are those who graduated from LIPIA.
When Medina or Egypt graduates return to Indonesia, it is very difficult for
them to be ‘re-educated’ through [the] Halaqah system and to join this
dakwah community, as they may feel their superiority over others in terms of
religious knowledge (Arif, 40s, leader, male, Jakarta).154
The shari’ah rulings issued by the DSP thus provide guidance on how to live for all
the Liqo and PKS cadres. The DSP also fully supports and strengthens the Majlis
shura (the Consultative Assembly) – the highest organisational structure in the PKS
hierarchy. Although the Majlis Shura is above the DSP in the chain of command,
and has the responsibility of reporting their religious activities and decisions to the
Majlis Shura, the DSP is regarded as the key ‘think tank’ of the Majlis Shura (see
Figure of the structure of the PKS).155 The purpose of the DSP’s involvement in the
Majlis Shura is to maintain and fit together all the political and dakwah policies and
ideologies with the shari’ah system (Ahmad, 60s, leader, male, Jakarta).
The Majlis Shura is the highest religious authority within the Liqo community as it
is the highest religious and political entity in the PKS hierarchy. It has the power to
control both the leadership and the ideology of the PKS, and is responsible for
154
Interviewed on 18/10/2012.
155
Statute of the PKS (Anggaran Dasar/ Anggaran Rumah Tangga -AD/ART), MPP- PKS, 2008b.
192
rulings or advice related to the position of the party on the national stage, in terms of
The religious authority that is most frequently referred to by Liqo trainees is that of
their Liqo mentor. These murabbi also have their religious references in their Liqo
groups (the mentors of these mentors), and the same pattern of authority works its
way up to the highest level of authority in the hierarchy. One of the national leaders
of the PKS that I interviewed informed me that “all top leaders of PKS also have
Liqo groups, and they still manage to conduct or to attend their own Liqo meetings
during their busy time as public political leaders” (Abdullah, leader, Jakarta). This
shows the importance of both cadre discipline within the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement
and maintaining regular contact with members at the grassroots level, as well as in
Given that a mentor (murabbi) at one level is subordinate to mentors at the next
level up, they should ask their murabbi if they do not understand issues concerning
make higher level murabbi’s interpretations of Islam available, and thus enable this
ideological coherence, the ideas of senior murabbi or key figures in the Liqo-
Tarbiyah are disseminated and published on their official website, and in their books
and pamphlets.156 The overall leadership of the Liqo movement is, therefore,
156
Books on the ideas of the top figures of the Liqo/PKS community were published in 2007 by the
DPP PKS. The top figures include Anis Matta, Hilmy Aminuddin, and Tiffatul Sembiring (see
Bibliography).
193
achieve Liqo goals can also be identified within the Liqo community at any level of
the hierarchy.
4.8 Conclusion
This chapter has explained the dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement, its ideology and
how it has developed its dakwah messages and strategies in relation to different
political opportunities (Wiktorowicz 2004; Fox 2012). I argue that although the
official discourse of the movement’s leaders suggests that their main dakwah
message initially emphasised individual piety, they also had a public Islamisation
project, and were simply awaiting the right political climate to implement it. They
have thus used different dakwah strategies to deliver their messages in different
political climates in Indonesia. The change in their dakwah strategies can be seen in
the case of the Liqo, as the focus of their main dakwah activity. They first developed
the Liqo based on the situation and challenges faced in the early period of the
changed during the period of the PKS. The overall dakwah message attempts to
reform individual religiosity and to produce better Islamic lifestyles, with the aim of
In the repressive conditions of the authoritarian regime of the early 1980s, the
being shut down by the regime, which was hostile to political Islam. Given such a
difficult climate, their weekly training programme, called the Liqo or Halaqah, was
located in urban areas. A more overt dakwah approach started to be practised from
the end of the 1980s, when the regime began to become more accommodating of
political Islam in order to gain support from Muslims. The Tarbiyah movement
started to reach wider audiences and to convey its dakwah messages through
conducting a variety of more formal activities in bigger public spaces, for example,
through giving lectures, sermons, running a variety of religious classes, and building
they attempted to attract new potential audiences in order to improve their religious
With the fall of the authoritarian government in 1998 and the subsequent rise of the
establish an Islamic political party named the Justice Party (PK). The party was re-
named the Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) in 2003. The Tarbiyah leaders argued
that the party would be utilised as their means for spreading their dakwah messages.
The purpose of dakwah, in this period, was to push out their ideologies via greater
access to political power and influence and to build up a strong foundation for
Due to the overlapping roles and leadership of the two organisations that emerged
(the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS) (Permata, 2008; 2013), tensions increased
among the leaders regarding dakwah and politics, and a greater complexity in the set
of structures, goals and issues that the movement had to deal with. The informal
formal party, which was itself rapidly growing and pragmatic in pursuing its goals.
This is not how the Tarbiyah movement leaders originally envisaged the Tarbiyah
195
movement being managed and directed. Before the establishment of the party, the
leaders were only really concerned with dakwah, but now dakwah is used as the
I argue that the interests and goals of the Tarbiyah movement and the party (PKS)
strengthening the individual piety of its members, but it has started to become
involved in mobilising the members of the movement to support the party's goal.
Therefore, the dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement in this period (including the Liqo),
has a mixed focus on both developing individual piety and mobilising the cadres for
more formal political purposes, such as gaining political positions in the parliament
and government.
Due to its present position as a political party within a democratic state, the PKS has
publicly adopted pragmatic policies on religious pluralism, human rights and so on.
governance – something that the Tarbiyah community has sought since its outset.
The Tarbiyah community has been impacted by the changing structure of the Liqo,
changing strategies and its orientation of dakwah in each period of the Tarbiyah
Movement and the PKS. As a result, the Tarbiyah community members actively
involved in the weekly Liqo sessions have found themselves in a dilemma. On the
Islamising individuals, whilst on the other they have become subordinate to the
Chapter 5
Dakwah
5.1 Introduction
movement and the emergence of the PKS. It showed that different stages or
developed in relation to the changing social and political opportunities that have
existed for Islamist movements in Indonesia (see Chapter 4). The role of the first
order to reform their religiosity and Islamic piety. This was developed within the
Mandaville 2007/2014; Fox 2012). The latter stages or dimensions (public dakwah)
broadened the focus of dakwah to include public awareness (which is built gradually
from self-awareness), its role being to Islamise the wider society and eventually the
state. These latter stages or dimensions of dakwah were developed in a more open
Chapter 4 concluded that although the dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement initially
focused on the private dimension of dakwah, the idea of public dakwah was
certainly in their minds from the start, and represented the dakwah agenda of its
founders and leaders. They developed private dakwah because they saw it as the
appropriate way to begin building social change but also because there was no
Indonesia changed at the end of 1980s, and the Tarbiyah movement saw the
197
opportunity, they started to push their dakwah messages out to wider public
audiences (see Chapters 2 and 4). This also meant that that purist ideology and
This chapter explicates the official Tarbiyah movement discourse surrounding the
Liqo – a weekly religious form of training for members. I examine the second of my
three key research questions: 2) how has the Liqo – the main dakwah activity of the
Tarbiyah movement – been designed by the movement’s leaders to fit with the
structure and ideology of the movement? Again, with reference to aspects of SMT
discussed in the Introduction, I will argue that the Liqo illuminates both the
outward-looking and pragmatic PKS leaders and the more informal and more
in terms of its position and function within the Tarbiyah movement and the party
(PKS), as well as its key role in the movement’s recruitment and ‘indoctrination’
157
The term ‘indoctrination’ is used in my thesis to refer to ideological indoctrination that occurs
mainly in the weekly Liqo sessions of the Tarbiyah movement. I use this term because during the
Liqo, Islamic subjects such as Akidah, Ibadah, Dakwah, and other subjects are taught from the
exclusive point of view of the. The ideas and values of the Tarbiyah Movement are disseminated and
taught by the Liqo mentors to their trainees, who are expected to understand and to practice these
ideas during their Liqo sessions and to implement them in their daily lives. The Liqo mentors are
instructed to use the official teaching modules and syllabus provided by the leaders of the Tarbiyah
Movement/PKS. This module and syllabus are influenced by the ideology of the MB as can be seen
from the literature on each subject. It is mostly written by ideologues such as Hasan al-Banna, Said
Hawwa, Fathi Yakan, etc. There is very little exposure to other scholars or ideologues of non-MB
background. The other reason that I used the term indoctrination is because the Liqo I observed
focuses extensively on the enforcement of discipline, loyalty and commitment of each trainee to their
group/movement. This term was also used in his classic study by Richard Mitchell (1993) to describe
the MB’s religious training.
198
Wiktorowicz 2001; Mandaville 2007/2014; Fox 2012). However, there are also
number of permanent trainees, comprising 6-10 people (see Chapter 4.2). There are
many Liqo groups, and three levels of groups – Pemula and Muda (‘beginner’),
Madya (‘intermediate’), and Dewasa (‘advanced’). The levels relate to the progress
of trainees after joining the Liqo. The Liqo is used by the Tarbiyah movement/the
PKS as a means for recruiting new members, to strengthen its current members’
dakwah ideologies, and to connect the private dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement
with the public goals of the PKS. The Liqo is carried out within a network of groups
inside the Tarbiyah movement, which are led and connected to one another by
This chapter begins by outlining the official structure of the Liqo, as framed and
section focuses on the presentation of the Liqo lessons in the Manhaj Tarbiyah
manual and why and how these lessons are designed as they are by the Tarbiyah
movement. In the next section, I examine how the movement recruits people into the
Liqo, arguing that personal and social networks are a key resource for movement
relationship, and how it has become the most important tie for the Liqo-Tarbiyah
community. I argue that mentors who are also trainees in lower levels of the Liqo are
199
the ‘cogs’ in the machinery of the movement, connecting one group to another and
to the party.
the PKS. Interviews with twenty-five leaders and senior mentors from within the
Tarbiyah movement and observations of the Liqo sessions revealed that the Liqo is
the Tarbiyah movement’s most powerful religious activity for disseminating and
strengthening the dakwah ideology of its community. The Head of the Shura
Council (majlis shura), Hilmy Aminuddin, in one of the official texts published by
the PKS, writes that ‘the Liqo’s status as a tandzim nukhbawi (cadre organisation) is
the key feature of the Tarbiyah movement’ (DPP PKS, 2007a:7). He argues that this
‘cadre’ aspect clearly distinguishes the Tarbiyah movement from other mass
organisations.158
Each Liqo is a small training cluster consisting of 6 to 10 trainees held under the
supervision of a mentor or trainer. As the Liqo lessons (mawad [pl.], madah [sing.])
revolve around Tarbiyah ideology, the trainee of the Liqo is called a mutarabbi (a
designed for single gender classes, with male and female Liqo groups being
158
This term is adopted from Western political ideologies and parties by Islamist movements. This is
ironic in light of their concept of ghazwul fikri (ideological conquest) (see Chapters 4).
200
modern Islamists.159
mentors are advised to recruit trainees from their neighbourhood areas (Arifin, 40s,
trainees, male, Jakarta).160 Arifin who is a state employee in the Ministry of Finance
added that all trainees in his Liqo group live in Pondok Aren or Ciputat – two
districts that are very close to each other.161 This guideline aims to make it easier for
The Liqo sessions are conducted every week, with the day and time of the sessions
being discussed and chosen by the trainees (mutarabbi) in conjunction with the
mentor (murabbi) of each Liqo group based on their availability. However, sessions
are commonly arranged for weekends, as the majority of both trainees and trainers
are young working men and women. The Liqo is scheduled to last two hours, and
can be run in the morning, afternoon, or evening, again depending on each group’s
preferences.
Although the official texts stipulate that the Liqo sessions must remain small to
assessment of the trainees by their mentors (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005), in reality this
159
These include Al-Muhajirun in the UK (Wictorowicz, 2005), Salafis and the M B in Jordan
(Wictorowicz, 2001), the mosque or piety movement in Egypt (Mahmood, 2005), and the Hizb al-
Tahrir (Taji-Farouki, 1996).
160
Interviewed on 14/10/2012.
161
Pondok Aren and Ciputat are two districts in the city of South Tangerang in Indonesia. Both
districts are located very close to (‘inside’) the greater Jakarta metropolitan area, on the border area
between Jakarta and Tangerang.
201
depends on each situation and each mentor. The official Manhaj Tarbiyah book says
that each Liqo group should hold six-ten trainees, but the trainees and mentors that I
interviewed told me that the number of trainees in a group is not always in this
range. For instance, four Liqo mentors said that the number of trainees in their
groups varies between eight-twelve. According to one male mentor, who leads a
Another female mentor (Ranti: 40s, mentor, female, Tangerang) said that she is
flexible about the number of trainees that she accepts in a Liqo group when it is
formed because three to five trainees usually drop out after the Liqo meetings have
run for a few weeks as their commitment is not strong enough.163 My interviews
suggested that this often happens, as individuals do not know exactly what the
Nevertheless, the small number of trainees per group produced by the restrictions on
Liqo group size are broadly adhered to, and enable mentors and trainees to pass on
and receive Liqo messages effectively.164 A young female mentor who is a member
162
Interviewed on 17/10/2012.
163
Interviewed on 14/10/2012.
164
Restrictions on the number of trainees (mutarabbi) in religious circles are also used in the Egyptian
MB (Mitchell, 1993).
202
During the weekly Liqo sessions, the mentors (murabbi/murabbiyah) are required to
follow the guidance from the Manhaj Tarbiyah. This book, first published in 2005,
contains 566 pages, and is one of the PKS’s key texts on movement ideology.
Produced by Media Insani Press, it is managed by the PKS’ Division of Cadres. The
PKS leadership expects that it will be the key volume used for the instruction and
guidance of members in all lessons taught among the Tarbiyah cadres. The back
cover of the book confirms that the Manhaj Tarbiyah is ‘developed to be a dakwah
curricula for cadres’ training’ (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005: back cover). One of the
I am very happy to have this book because [it] contains very detailed
curricula, and has learning steps for every stage of the Liqo (Muhammad,
30s, young leader, male, Bekasi).167
The Manhaj Tarbiyah explains the madah (subject or lesson), sarana (methods of
teaching) and maraji’ (literature or texts used as key sources for each subject). This
curriculum is the main reference point, particularly for the Liqo/Halaqah, and also
other dakwah and religious training (tarbiyah) related activities such as Dawrah or
Taujih (religious lectures), Mabit (reciting the Qur’an overnight), praying and
165
Pengajian (Indonesian) is a religious learning group whose members specifically learn about the
Qur’an, Sunna and other key Islamic subjects. Pengajian is usually attended by more than twenty
people. It currently has several names, including Majlis Taklim (learning session).
166
Interviewed on 04/09/2012.
167
Interviewed on 08/09/2012. The translation of this interview is my own.
203
thinking of Allah (dhikr) and Mukhayam (religious camps). The book is designed for
training and teaching all different levels of trainees within the Liqo of the Tarbiyah
movement; the beginner level (Kader Pemula), youth level (Kader Muda),
intermediate level (Kader Madya), mature level (Kader Dewasa).168 Although the
main topics/lessons of each level are the same, the detail in terms of sub-topics does
vary. Even so, in the general style of ‘pamphlet Islamism’, the Manhaj Tarbiyah
does not provide very detailed elaboration on the subjects at any point. The book is
not for experts. Two other dakwah manuals published by the DPP-PKS (2003 and
2008)169 are used as more detailed reference works by Tarbiyah movement mentors.
Subjects such as Aqidah (faith), Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and Akhlak (moral) in
the Manhaj Tarbiyah are similar to those in the curricula of most Islamic
and references given for the subjects frame the text differently. Under the subject of
This emphasizes that Islam is a complete doctrine and way of life including social,
draws sharp boundaries between Muslims and others, warning Tarbiyah members
168
Thus the contents of the book contain 4 Parts (Seri I-IV) and each part contains its own chapters;
Kader Pemula includes 4 chapters, Kader Muda includes 3 Chapters, Kader Madya includes 4
chapters, and Kader Dewasa includes 4 chapters.
169
Both editions are published by the same publisher (DPP-PKS) and have the same author (Cadres
Division of the PKS).
170
These key subjects are taught to the Liqo trainees from the lowest level (Kader Pemula) to the
highest level (Kader Dewasa).
171
The translation of this text is my own.
204
not to adopt other ways of life. Such emphases are more marked as compared to
This is also the case in the subject of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Firstly, it focuses
on purification issues typical of Salafists (cf. Meijer 2009); this is mentioned in its
purpose “to avoid any bid’ah (innovation) in each Ibadah that is not taught by the
Prophet” (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005: 82-83),172 Topics in this subject area also discuss
how to dress and behave in an Islamic fashion, aiming to reject the Western dress
and Western lifestyle that hugely influences Indonesian Muslims, especially the
urban youth. For women, wearing a headscarf and avoiding mixing with males in a
In the subject of Akhlak (morality) is also found a similar tone. In general, this
promises, and other related topics (see Chapter 6). For instance, there is a topic
emphasizing that Tarbiyah members should not make friends with those who have a
‘bad personality’. This means ‘those whose way of life is not in accordance with
Islam, enemies of Islam, and kafir (an infidel)’ (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005:111). Based
Furthermore, the texts (maraji’) used for teaching these subjects are mainly the
works of ulama and ideologues whose backgrounds and orientations link closely to
the Islamist ideas of the MB in Egypt and related movements. Some of those cited
172
The translation of this text is my own.
205
most routinely are: Sa’id Hawa (1935-1989) (Al-Islam), Abdul Karim Zaidan (1917-
Shalah al-Ashmawi (Islamic Principles for Life), and Abu Bakar al-Jazairi, (The
Guidance of Muslims’ Lives). Thus, repeated reference to the works of these Islamist
leadership, mentors and members of the Tarbiyah movement to the global Islamist
subject covers Fiqh ad-Dakwah, Sirah and Islamic history, the contemporary
(1) to understand factors that led to the weakness of Muslims and make
every effort to solve the problem; 2) to understand the role of Tarbiyah
(education) and harakah (movement) in solving this problem; and 3) to
believe that the only way to solve this problem is through joining the
Hizbullah (warrior of Allah), that is through joining the Tarbiyah movement
(Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005: 161-173).174
The key content of this subject area is the concept of Ghazwul fikri (ideological
expressed in the text of the Manhaj Tarbiyah. One of the issues explained in terms
of ghazwul fikri is the issue of ‘the Enemies of Islam’. The purposes of this subject
173
Dakwah is part of a traditional education in Indonesia taught in both traditional and modern
schools. Dakwah in these schools is taught in a general sense for nurturing Islamic virtue among its
students. However, in the hands of modern Islamist dakwah activists such as the Tarbiyah movement,
this subject has a new significance and a more powerful meaning as an active dakwah particularly
focused on rejecting Western culture and strengthening weakened Islamic identities.
174
This is the core revivalist discourse that is frequently related to the concept of ideological conquest
or so called Ghazwul fikri (see Chapters 4 and 6). The translation of this text is my own.
206
Key literature (maraji’) used for this subject are Ghazwul fikri (Hasan al-Banna),
Munir Ghadban). Although most of these references in the Manhaj Tarbiyah are
originals in Indonesian for teaching and learning. This indicates that only a small
number of the Liqo community knows Arabic. Moreover, Arabic is not taught much
trainee, must own a copy of it’ (Manhaj Tarbiyah, 2005: back cover). However, I
typically have their own copies of the manual. Mentors and trainees that I
interviewed did not generally have access to it, and most had not even read it.
I got this [Manhaj Tarbiyah] book from a top leader of the PKS
[Tarbiyah]. He gave it to me in a very special moment. I know that not
everyone actively involved [in] and [a member of] the PKS [Tarbiyah] has
this book (Muhammad, 30s, young leader, male, Bekasi).175
This lack of circulation of the book is one indication that the Tarbiyah
movement/the PKS may not be well linked up from the top to the bottom of the
movement/the party. There is a gap between the formal instructions and expectations
of the party leaders and everyday circulation of the book among Tarbiyah cadres.
175
Interviewed on 08/09/2012. The translation of this interview is my own.
207
ideologies online, this book cannot be accessed on their public website or from
cadres’ more private access.176 This manual is, therefore, not widely available and
cannot be purchased in any public or Islamic bookshops. The lessons received by the
trainees of the Liqo are thus largely dependent on what is delivered by the mentors
Figure 3 The book cover of the training manual Manhaj Tarbiyah (2005)
176
www.pks.or.id and www.pkspiyungan.org.
208
movement recruitment”, and this is also true for the Liqo movement. Their social
networks are mainly built through kinship and personal relationships. Although Liqo
affiliations, they see that a prior personal relationship makes it easier to invite
individuals to join the movement. Family members, friends, and people living in the
same location, like neighbours, are those that are considered as personal
relationships.
The Liqo trainees that I interviewed typically cited the ‘intervention’ of family
members or friends who had already joined the Liqo as the reason for their
conversion. Tania (32), from Depok, initially joined the weekly Liqo sessions
through being encouraged to attend by her classmate in the Nurul Fikri education
177
The Nurul Fikri learning centre is widely associated with the Tarbiyah movement, and was
founded by Tarbiyah activists in 1985. Although officially still in the private dakwah period, this
centre was starting to reach public audiences. The literature and the official website of the centre
mentions that their motivation and purpose is to help students to develop their skills in order to enter
top state universities after graduating from senior high school (see Damanik, 2002). However, I
observed that this institution as part of the dakwah strategy of the Tarbiyah movement. Evidence for
this can be seen in the topics discussed among students of Nurul Fikri, the ‘typical’ books on Islam
used by the Tarbiyah movement that are widely circulated among them (such as books written by the
key figures of the M B) and, of course, in the rules for behaviour and their physical performances of
them, which all strongly relate to the Tarbiyah movement. This learning centre has grown, and now
has more than eighty-seven branches spread across Jakarta and other cities in Indonesia
(http://www.bimbelnurulfikri.com/, accessed on 10 December 2013).
209
Rina from Lombok (West Sumatra) – who moved to Jakarta to pursue her Master’s
Degree at the University of Indonesia (UI), and then worked to earn money to
support herself – reported that her older brother was involved in her decision to join
the Liqo:
Rina, as well as aiming to test her interest and engagement. Although Rina's
explanation shows that her decision to join the Liqo came gradually, it was clearly
influenced by the one-week ‘indoctrination’ training that she attended. This training
and experience made her aware of the importance of participating in such an Islamic
group, and the advantages she would accrue from doing so. As Snow, Zurcher, and
Ekland-Olson contend, “people seldom initially join movements per se; rather, they
(1980:795).180
178
Interviewed on 05/09/2012.
179
Interviewed on 28/10/2012.
180
See also Clark’s discussion in Wiktorowicz (2004:171).
210
Moreover, Rina's brother played a very important role, not only in introducing her to
the movement, but also in persuading her to participate and to join a group. In this
regard, the role of families and friends, or so-called social networks, is to introduce,
candidates’ decisions about whether they should join or decline are not only
influenced by their own considerations, but also by the support, encouragement and
‘pressure’ of their relatives or friends. This trend will be discussed in further detail
Based on official documents published by the PKS and my interviews with leaders, I
relationships, was most used by the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement during its emergence
in the 1980s and through until the 1990s. However, this approach has recently been
used in tandem with other ‘public’ approaches that will be explored below. The
leaders of the movement, however, still consider the ‘private’ recruitment pattern as
being more successful than ‘public’ recruitment in pulling individuals to the Liqo.
The use of social networks for recruitment both increased and came to coexist
alongside other approaches when the Indonesian political climate became more
accommodating towards the Islamist movement during the 1990s, and after the
emergence of the more democratic state in the post New Order (1998 – present day)
in particular (see Sections 4.3 and 4.4). The movement started to approach strangers,
which comprises a more public form of recruitment, and began to actively build up
211
new social ties. A statement by a national female leader, Noura, who is also a Liqo
new members:
The recruitment process [has] become much easier and bigger now because
we are recruiting through [a] range of institutions and activities. In the past,
we recruited members only through personal relationships (Noura, 50s,
leader, female, Jakarta).181
The success of recruitment through social networks is driven mainly by the belief
among members of the Liqo that recruiting new members into their community is
part of their dakwah. For them, dakwah is seen as obligatory for every Muslim.
Through my interviews and observations, I saw that the Tarbiyah community invite
new members more actively in the periods of public dakwah through a variety of
educational and social centres. They believe that their work places are part of their
dakwah for promoting Islamic values. This belief is very widespread amongst loyal
activists (ikhwan and akhawat). Through their belief in uniting the religious and
secular aspects of their lives, they combine serving God, religion, and society.
asked them how providing social services or teaching children secular subjects, such
subjects. Nabil (40s) and Rahima (30s) declared: “we all did these teaching activities
with the intention of serving God and Islam, thus everything we did is religious or
181
Interviewed on 18/10/2012.
182
Interviewed Nabil on 23/09/2012 and Rahima on 04/09/2012.
212
relatives, friends and ‘strangers’ to join their community and break with their un-
When the Tarbiyah movement started to realise that they could begin promoting
‘public dakwah’ at the beginning of the 1990s, they started to see the importance of
mosques in campuses and big cities. As previous scholars have shown, they began to
Bandung (Permata, 2008; Machmudi, 2006; Rahmat, 2005; Damanik, 2002). This
suggests that the Liqo-Tarbiyah movement tried to build new social networks by
the movement.
are located, is still conducted by the Tarbiyah movement. As a result, the Liqo-
Tarbiyah network tends to grow in these places. A young male leader voiced his
My dakwah struggle at that time [of being appointed as a mentor] was very
hard because there was no cadre in this small town [in Bekasi]. It was very
213
difficult and challenging for me to find new cadres. [The] first step I took
was to recruit them through the University students’ network, especially the
students who are living in Bekasi, but studying at the Universities in Jakarta.
Alhamdulillah (praise to Allah), I got two cadres from the Jakarta State
University (Ridho, 40s, senior mentor, male, Bekasi).183
The mosques on the big campuses mentioned above are also dominated by Liqo
activists, who actively participate in them more than members from other religious
in Jakarta told me that he has seen how Liqo activists have become increasingly
involved in mosque activities, covertly recruiting new Liqo trainees, and then
gradually coming to dominate the board of the mosque (Masdar, 40s, non-
mosques, but is also seen in some city mosques. Two respondents (non-Tarbiyah
50s) explained that they had experienced being marginalised from mosques
Central Java was taken over by PKS/Tarbiyah activists in 2006. Such experiences
underline the active dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement and its aggressive
Muhammadiyah and NU. The attitudes and actions of Tarbiyah activists in this
183
Interviewed on 17/10/2012.
184
Interviewed on 12/11/2012.
185
Muhammadiyah former chairman, Din Syamsuddin, issued a letter circulated among its members
about the necessity to control and monitor their organizations’ assets and to close the Tarbiyah
214
The expansion of the numbers of Liqo activists in mosques, and their subsequent
domination of some of them has enabled them to approach more strangers, as Ridho
explains:
building new friendships and trust through various methods, including inviting them
to their social events, helping them, or listening to their concerns. This approach of
being nice, friendly, and helpful, but covering up their primary intentions in doing
bombing’ (see Clarke, 2006; Barker, 1984). ‘Love bombing’ appears to be a part of
the Liqo community’s dakwah strategy for attracting wider public attention. As
Wiktorowicz notes, “the formation of new social ties is common for Islamist
movements” (2005:23).
social ties being established and growing through institutional networks that offered
a range of activities, including study circles; charities and cultural activities; and
facilitated points of interaction between the targeted audiences and the Liqo-
Movement/PKS’s access to mosques and schools (The letter is titled: Surat Keputusan PP
Muhammadiyah No 149 Kep/1.0/b/2006 tentang Kebijakan PP Muhammadiyah tentang Konsolidasi
Organisasi dan Amal Usaha). According to Hasan (2012) the NU leaders also warned his members
to protect their educational institutions and mosques from being infiltrated by the Tarbiyah
Movement/PKS and warned them of the Tarbiyah Movement/PKS’s ideological influence and threat
against NU’s Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah. The Tarbiyah Movement/PKS has been criticized for
introducing neo-Wahhabism among NU people.
215
Tarbiyah movement. The leaders and senior mentors such as Ahmad 60s), Fatih
(50s), Abdullah (40s), Salim (50s), Rania (30s) told me in interviews that this
My observations revealed that Liqo activists usually avoid talking on religious issues
during this initial stage, including about their interpretations of Islam. This seems to
as the activists try to influence the people they are approaching but hide their real
intentions and beliefs.186 They do not reveal their religious views or their dakwah
until they feel confident that the individuals they are approaching are interested in
Although the Tarbiyah movement/PKS leaders stated through the interviews with
me that the Liqo does not prioritise any particular group of strangers to approach, I
observed that Liqo activists tend to target young Muslims who study in secular
universities and that have a ‘religious’ and ‘pious’ tendency (see Chapter 4).187
According to them, people from this group are easier to attract and to persuade to
join the Liqo. Like other activists who are drawn into Islamist movements, these
186
‘Dakwah by deception’ occurs when cadres of the Tarbiyah Movement do not provide new
recruits/targets with a complete account of what their dakwah is about. They want to limit the
recruits/targets’ understanding of their dakwah so that they respond more naturally to their ‘invitation
to join’ to their dakwah movement. It is a strategy of gradual dakwah that is chosen by the
cadres/movement/party. They do not want to reveal to recruits/targets the key ideology of their
dakwah at the outset, but only later, after they join their weekly Liqo and get sufficient understanding
about their dakwah movement.
187
As has been observed and noted by Hasan (2012), targeting young people for the Tarbiyah
Movement /PKS is like planting seeds.
216
young students are in the process of searching for ‘Islamic authenticity’ or the ‘roots
of Islam’, as they feel that Muslims are living far away from an ‘authentic’ form of
it (see Chapter 1).188 Targeting this demographic is in line with the approaches seen
Esposito (2010) and Wiktorowicz (2001; 2005). These young Muslims typically
socialise in friendship circles in which Islam plays a central role, and the groups of
individuals that are formed thus have a predisposition to search for a particular,
‘non-mainstream’ form of Islam, but are still in the process of ‘searching for
Although these ‘pious’ individuals might come from different professions, social
levels, and family backgrounds, and include professionals, students, workers, and
traders, the most predominant groups are those of young students and professionals.
My observations and interviews show that these targeted groups can be identified
through information shared among senior and ordinary Liqo members. The initial
ways used for identifying potential Liqo trainees was explained by a senior mentor
of the Liqo, Ridho, who described the process during an interview in his office in
Jakarta:
188
Mitchell (1993) also explained that young activists from the MB in Egypt had been searching for
‘meaning’ and ‘authenticity’. Similar accounts can also be found in Wiktorowicz (2004; 2005) and
other scholars who study New Religious Movements and trends in the ‘conversion’ of young people
to these movements. (See, for instance, The Encyclopaedia of New Religious Movements, edited by
Peter Clarke, 2006.)
189
Interviewed on 22/10/2012.
217
As part of their dakwah obligations, the Liqo cadres will invite these individuals to
attend the weekly Liqo sessions. The acceptance of these invitations is not always
of time than in others, and requires multiple interactions. Such individuals are
usually involved in debate and discussion with Liqo members before they become
convinced that the Liqo-PKS perspective of Islam is 'the straight path' and join the
Almost all the participants in the Liqo group and dawrah programmes in which I
Those who are interested to join the Liqo are mostly from ‘lay people’. Their
enthusiasm to study Islam is indicated by their eagerness in asking many
questions to the Murabbi (Muhammad, 30s, young leader, male, Bekasi).191
Based on the information I received from activists and leaders of the Liqo, most
nearby cities such as Bekasi and Tangerang. There are several reasons why these
‘lay people’ are so keen to join the Liqo. First, they want to improve their
knowledge of Islam; second, they want to ‘refresh their faith’; and third they want to
share and learn from each other about how to live their lives in an Islamic way.
190
Interviewed on 17/10/2012.
191
Interviewed on 08/09/2012.
218
These three reasons can be seen in the explanation that a female Liqo participant
(mutarabbiyah) who lives in Tangerang and works in Jakarta gave for joining:
Sometimes, when I did not attend the Liqo meeting, I felt that I missed
‘something’ valuable. Therefore, the most important reason to join the Liqo
[was] to refresh my soul. Through the Liqo I can study Islamic principles.
We also can learn [from] other trainees in the same Liqo group. For example,
I can learn from my Liqo friends, who are better in terms of self-discipline. I
am really aware about this. Through joining the Liqo, we can improve our
loyalty and commitment to our religion. How to dress properly, as taught by
Islam, is the best example to mention [as part of our loyalty and commitment
to the religion] (Tika, 40s, trainees, female, Jakarta).192
Thus, ‘refreshing the soul’ is a key motivation of trainees for improving their private
piety through the Liqo. Furthermore, trainees also need a good environment to
support them in becoming better Muslims. Another female Liqo participant voiced
The fact that most Liqo trainees do not have a background in Islamic education does
not mean that urban, Islamically educated graduates are not interested in joining the
and current leaders of the movement are also graduates from prominent Middle
192
Interviewed on 07/10/2012.
193
Interviewed on 15/10/2012.
219
Arabia. However, they experience a different kind of engagement with the Liqo than
those who do not have Islamic backgrounds. Their learning experiences, together
with their developed knowledge on Islamic subjects, mean that they are less keen
than ‘lay people’ to receive Liqo messages. This was clearly articulated by a
In the beginning, when the mentor taught me about Tawhid in the early
meetings of the Liqo, I think there was nothing new. It [was] just like what I
had studied in pesantren (Islamic boarding school in junior and senior high
school levels). How female Muslims should dress in Islamic ways is the part
that I think the mentor gave different knowledge to me. It was mentioned
that we have to wear a long jilbab (headscarf) and socks anywhere outside
[the] home. Initially, it was not too hard for me to perform what the mentors
said. However, it is often boring to listen to mentors' presentations, because I
need new information [about Islam]. I am sure that you [referring to
interviewer] knew … our feeling. [It] is [as] if we are taught basic lessons of
Islam [after learning for years in Pesantren]. We have already studied these
subjects intensively during our junior or senior high schools and university.
These subjects are the most often delivered in the Liqo meetings. Probably
for those who do not have Islamic educational backgrounds, these subjects
are interesting, but it is not for us (Nabila, 30s, female, trainee, mother,
Tangerang).194
the movement, as revealed by one of the murabbi: “While the lay people become
students, those who [have] graduated from Islamic universities like Al-Azhar can be
they are ordinary trainees as well, as indicated by their membership in Liqo groups,
they are grouped with counterparts who also have previous experience of studying
Islam. As revealed by Arif – a Liqo mentor and a young leader of the PKS – those
who have advanced knowledge in Islamic subjects tend to be grouped with those at a
similar level:
194
Interviewed on 11/09/2012.
220
When I finished my study from Al-Azhar University, I joined the Liqo [in
Jakarta]. I was grouped with other trainees (mutarabbi) who had the same
background [as] me in terms of their Islamic educations. I can say that those
who have deep knowledge in Islam – called ustadz – prefer to be grouped
with [those at] the same level (Arif, 40s, male, Jakarta).195
This ‘streaming’ of people in the Liqo represents a natural division as they have
fewer people with Islamic educational backgrounds than those without, they are
usually appointed mentors or as elites of the movement or party soon after they join.
As a result, some leadership positions in the Tarbiyah movement (and also within
the PKS party) are held by individuals that have graduated from Islamic educational
institutions, both abroad and in Indonesia, and these appointments are based on their
expertise in Islam. This can be seen from the current structure of the PKS, with the
Head of the Syuro Council, the Head of the Shari’ah Council, the President of the
PKS, and the Head of the Archive Division all having Islamic backgrounds. Within
the Tarbiyah movement/the PKS, there are two kinds of cadres or activists: those
with an education background in shari’ah or Islamic law, who are called shar’i
cadres or activists, and those who have a secular education background, who are
Liqo community since it connects Liqo groups to one another and perpetuates not
only the Tarbiyah movement, but also the PKS. Based on my interviews and
observations, I found that the restrictions in the number of members of Liqo groups
is not only to make study more effective (see Chapter 5.3), but also for establishing
195
Interviewed on 18/10/2012.
221
relationship’ that crosses beyond the kinship boundary. A female mentor explained:
“this condition creates a very close relationship between the mentors and their
trainees, and among the trainees” (Rahima, 30s, mentor, female, Jakarta). This is
why, in the past, the Liqo was called usrah (an Arabic term meaning family) (see
Section 4.3). Machmudi (2006) is thus right to claim that a small family is
established through the Liqo groups, within which a sense of belonging, solidarity,
and togetherness is built. My interviews with trainees revealed that the weekly
mentoring group is regarded by them as their ‘second family’. This is one of the
reasons why trainees stay in one Liqo group for many years, and are often not keen
to move to the next Liqo group level, which provides more advanced Islamic
I have been mentoring one group of the Liqo. Most of them [the Liqo
trainees] do not want to move to other groups, although I asked them to do
so. They already feel comfortable with this group, so … they rejected …
[being] joined to other groups. I advised them to move to other Liqo levels,
considering that different murabbi will have different expertise, so that
moving into other groups will be good for enriching their insight on Islam
(Athya, 40s, mentor, female, Tangerang).
The mentors play the role of ‘heads of families’, being perceived as the teachers,
educators, parents and role models for the trainees of each group. As Machmudi
(2006) argues in his thesis, and my female interviewees attested to, when Liqo
members get married, their mentors even play a significant role in the marriage
process (Rania, Rifa, Rahima, and Tania). During an interview, a young female
mentor told me about her murabbi when she was an ordinary trainee:
from my murabbi rather than from other Liqo trainees or my family (Rifa,
30s, mentor, female, Jakarta).196
Her statement also supports the idea that religious authority is mainly invested at the
local level amongst the trainees – that is, with the mentor rather than the
The Liqo group I participated in clearly acted as one ‘family’, sharing their own life
experiences and problems. Furthermore, they also asked and told each other about
difficulties and problems concerning their families and daily activities. During my
participation in the Liqo, one of the trainees (Mona, 30s, mother, female, Tangerang)
told the group about her child’s sicknesses and overactive behaviour, and the other
trainees then shared their personal experiences of dealing with such problems. In
another case, one of the Liqo trainees (Saida, 30s, female, Jakarta) became severely
ill and required hospitalisation. In the following Liqo meeting, the trainees and the
mentor all discussed how to help her. We then agreed to visit her in her house after
she was back from the hospital and to give her a small donation that we gathered
between us. Such relationships facilitate the development of close and firm bonds
among trainees, between the trainees and the mentor, and also between the trainees,
the mentor and the movement. For these trainees, who are mostly migrants and live
away from their close families, the Liqo provides many benefits, especially in terms
Through their roles as teachers, parents, and role models, every mentor (Murabbi)
196
Interviewed on 05/09/2012.
223
both during and outside the Liqo sessions. They motivate the trainees to conduct
prayers – not only the obligatory salat (five daily prayers: Fajr, Duhr, Asr, Maghrib,
and Isha), but also the recommended optional prayers (Salat Nawafil). The mentors
also give the trainees tasks, such as reciting more than ten verses of the Qur’an
(‘Ashru ayah) every day (see Section 6.4). Moreover, as heads of the ‘families’, the
murabbi arrange other activities outside of Liqo time. One murabbiyah commented:
We (murabbi) have to think how to make the trainees of our group not to feel
bored. We offer to arrange activities [for them] that can make them fresh.
Therefore, the programme of gathering, eating together, and travelling were
sometimes conducted. These are some of the cultural as well as personal
approaches that are important to be done (Athya, 40s, mentor, female,
Tangerang).197
Given that the majority of the Liqo trainees belong to two Liqo groups at the same
time – as a mentor of one group and a trainee in another – the Liqo network will
continuously grow, because Liqo trainees become mentors who share the same
building a network from its highest levels to its lowest. The highest levels are
composed of those who have the longest experience in attending the Liqo, and the
lowest ones consist of those who have just joined. The murabbi play an important
role in connecting one level to another through their double position as both mentors
of a lower Liqo group and trainees in a higher group. In turn, the lowest level
produces more Liqo groups, because each trainee is encouraged to invite new
197
Interviewed on 22/10/2012.
224
When selecting a trainee to become a mentor (murabbi), the mentor of a group will
consider the capacity of the trainees in his or her group, and their familiarity with the
Liqo belief system. The murabbi thus emerge from the bottom of the Liqo group –
they are ordinary but experienced trainees, appointed by their own mentors. A
were explicitly mentioned by a few respondents, and most murabbi have been
assumption among the Liqo community that the longer they participate in the Liqo,
the more they will come to know about Islam. Consequently, those who have been
in the Liqo for a long period will be likely to be appointed as new murabbi. Ten of
the murabbi that I met for interviews told me that they have been involved in the
225
Liqo for more than five years, including the female mentor (murabbiyah) in the Liqo
Indonesian society (see Chapter 5.3), and thus most mentors are university
graduates. However, only a few of these mentors have been educated in Islamic
being appointed as a mentor. Nevertheless, those who have more Islamic knowledge
and have a strong sense of and connection to the ideology of the movement will be
more likely to be seen as potential mentors. This indicates that knowing the
Because the Liqo is multi-layered, when members are appointed as mentors this
does not mean that they cannot continue their learning within the Liqo. Rather, they
move to a Liqo group with other mentors who are at the same level in terms of their
participation and experience within the Liqo, and are then taught by a more senior
mentor. The same pattern also runs among senior mentors at the next level, and this
198
Interviewed on 04/09/2012.
226
pattern continues until the highest Liqo level is reached. Each Liqo member learns
about the Liqo belief system through a more informed and experienced mentor, and
For these mentors, to be a murabi gives them the opportunity to deepen and
strengthen their knowledge of Islam. The higher the level in the Liqo, the more
advanced the subjects will be, and every time a topic is delivered in the weekly
activity, the mentor has to prepare it. As a result, they might learn additional
information that was not imparted to them previously by their own mentors.
subject:
This ‘cell’ model, and the mutarabbi-murabbi relationship it involves are effective
in spreading the dakwah ideology among the Liqo community because it connects
the groups to each other. A common ideological orientation and its practice thus
connect all Liqo individuals, and has led to a high level of unity in the Liqo
community.
However, it has also produced segmentation among the internal community. The
differences in personal views and religious interpretations, together with the Liqo’s
199
Interviewed on 23/09/2012.
227
community and the PKS, which are caused by the different nature of the two
SMT (cf. Wiktorowicz 2004), he contends that the Tarbiyah movement is a secretive
however, is a political party, managed under a party president who follows the
Indeed, I found that mentors and trainees preferred to talk about their feelings and
lived experiences during the Liqo rather than share their knowledge on the concepts
or ideologies of their dakwah. The majority had very little abstract knowledge of the
concept or ideology of their dakwah. Instead I saw that practising dakwah values
such as daily rituals, wearing particular clothing styles, and inviting others to join
the weekly Liqo sessions was more significant embodied ‘knowledge’. This, of
course, was different for the elites, who are the individuals most responsible for the
ideology and official discourse and concepts within and behind the movement. As
we shall see in more detail in the next chapter my fieldwork revealed that the Liqo
dakwah. Rather building the discipline and commitment necessary for implementing
the religious knowledge delivered in the Liqo within their daily lives is key.
5.7 Conclusion
This chapter discusses the development of the Liqo during periods of the Tarbiyah
movement and then the PKS, in particular its related debates and challenges. The
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weekly Liqo sessions have been designed and developed by the Tarbiyah movement
of the PKS. From the early 1980s, the Liqo focused on improving private piety
informally through dakwah, but was transformed in 1998 to focus on creating public
piety via the more formal framework of a political party (cf. Wiktorowicz 2004;
Mandaville 2007/2014; Fox 2012). This new formality in the context of changing
associated with the Liqo of the Tarbiyah movement thus became more political with
The drive to promote their dakwah messages to the Indonesian society as a whole
from the end of 1990s built ‘a mutual relationship’ between the Liqo-Tarbiyah
community and the PKS, but also moved the Liqo away somewhat from its original
dakwah activities and orientations. From the point of view of the leaders of the party
(or the movement), the informal structures associated with the Liqo significantly
contributes to the growth and mobilisation of the PKS’s cadres and develops the
quality of the dakwah party, as the PKS has appointed senior Liqo activists as the
party elites. They also consider it to be the case that the PKS enables the Liqo to
expand and mobilise its dakwah network through its various activities. For the
cadres at the middle and lower levels of the movement, however, especially at the
grassroots level, the formalisation and pragmatism of the party has mixed and thus
diluted their ‘pure’ dakwah ideologies and orientations through its focus on political
The Liqo community’s growth occurs via personal networks, social networks and
relationships still represent the strongest and most common way of attracting people
to join the Liqo community. Liqo groups grow over time as every mentor and
trainee, as part of their dakwah, tries to ‘convert’ friends, family and neighbours to
establishes a high degree of group solidarity and loyalty within the Liqo-Tarbiyah
community. Thus, informal social networks remain an absolutely key resource for
the movement.
The Liqo community mainly spreads and grows on secular campuses, in mosques
and at other educational institutions in big cities, and has created a Liqo population
and are thus well-educated individuals. They are mostly migrants to the city, who
thus generally live far away from their families and, as a result, although each Liqo
is composed of a very small group of people, the trainees treat each other like family
members, providing informal support, friendship and new networks that can be
mobilised both for each other and for the general purposes of the movement (cf.
Wiktorowicz 2004; Fox 2012). The Liqo thus proves to be an invaluable resource for
many of its members, and strong bonds develop between trainees and the Liqo, as
Chapter 6
6.1 Introduction
In the previous chapter I showed how the Liqo – the main vehicle for dakwah in the
structure and ideology of the movement. Although each Liqo is attended by six to
ten permanent trainees, I found that it seeks to use Tarbiyah movement leaders in a
number of ways: as a means for recruiting new members to the Tarbiyah movement
and to the party; for seeking to strengthen its current members’ dakwah ideologies;
and for seeking to connect the Tarbiyah movement with the political goals of the
PKS. In this chapter I seek to answer my third and final research question: 3) how
practice, the dakwah and discipline received through weekly sessions? My argument
will be that the Liqo is a space where Tarbiyah movement / PKS norms, lifestyles
and dispositions are more or less successfully taught, learned and reproduced
I examine the extent to which women Liqo members experience, receive, and
practice the dakwah designed and campaigned for by Tarbiyah movement leaders. I
focus on trainees and cadres’ stories about the lived religious experiences they have
had through joining the Liqo, with special reference to the female Liqo group that I
experiences, particularly concerning why they joined the Liqo, how they moved
from being outside the Liqo to being a part of it, how their journey into the Liqo
continues, and how they receive and enact ideas and lessons developed and designed
231
by Tarbiyah movement leaders. I found that although the experiences and practices
institutional setting that the official religion promoted by the movement and its
leaders (see Chapter 5), is most successfully reproduced (cf. Mahmood 2005)
practices are complex and dynamic.200 I agree with McGuire that “at the level of the
individual, religion is not fixed, unitary, or even coherent” (2008:12), and this means
upon the official viewpoint of the organisations of which they are members even
chapter examines how Liqo lessons and ideologies are understood, practiced,
experienced, and expressed by middle and low-level trainees and cadres in the
context of their everyday lives, rather than simply through the official ideology of
worship (ibadah), attention to Islamic dress and other ways of practicing Muslim
In this chapter, I will explore how these ‘norms of proper religiosity’ and Islamic
piety are practised and experienced by the Liqo cadres, examining how this personal
200
McGuire uses the term ‘lived religion’ for “distinguishing the actual experiences of religious
persons from [the] prescribed religion of institutionally defined beliefs and practices” (2008:12). She
highlights the idea that an “individual’s lived religion is experienced and expressed in everyday
practices – concrete ways of engaging their bodies and emotions in being religious” (2008:208).
232
their everyday lives. Firstly, I will describe the workings of the women’s Liqo group
that I joined for observation, including who the mentor and the trainees are, and why
they were drawn to the Liqo circle in the first place. This is followed by an
exposition and discussion of the teaching/reception of the four main lessons of the
Liqo: ghazwul fikri, akidah (beliefs), ibadah (worship), adab (Islamic ethics) and
aspects of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) which are related to women’s dress codes and
their public roles. During my attendance at the Liqo group, I observed how the
lessons were delivered by the mentor, and how they were received and the extent to
which they were put into practice by the trainees. In order to discover how the
trainees combined the learning from these lessons with their previous knowledge
and experience, as well as with existing practices in the wider society, I spent time
The first section provides details about the profile of the members of the Liqo group
that I participated in as a trainee. The next section then goes on to investigate the
motivations of the trainees – mostly those from the group I participated in – for
joining the Liqo. I found that the trainees had a range of reasons and motives for
joining the Liqo, including obeying their husbands who are movement/party
members but also expanding their own social networks and finding new friends. I
ghazwul fikri (ideological conquest). Ghazwul fikri is perceived by the mentors and
trainees as a ‘soft’ cultural war that is carried out by Western countries (European
and American) with the purpose of defeating Muslims. The Liqo community
opposes Western culture due to its potential imperialistic threat to the Muslim faith.
233
In the next part of the chapter, I explore mentor and trainee reception of the topic of
akidah. The trainees were genuinely shocked to discover that many of the customs
practised by their families and members of their village communities are apparently
‘un-Islamic’. However, the reasons that they accept this critique are not always in
accordance with those provided in the official discourse. The chapter then goes on to
investigate the understanding of the trainees and the mentor regarding the issue of
ibadah (worship). The female trainees felt that the Liqo’s attempts to improve their
very strictly pursued, but while this caused some to drop out the majority accepted
The last section of this chapter explores the female Liqo members’ reception of
women’s dress codes and their public roles. The mentor and trainees believe that
wearing a long headscarf, modest clothes, and socks is required by God. In addition,
although women are allowed to be active in the public domain, they again accept
that their main role is a domestic one, and that they need to get permission from
Aren, near Jakarta. In its first session, my Liqo group was composed of nine women
234
within an age range of approximately 30–40 years.201 However, two of the group left
after the first two Liqo sessions.202 The initial group was made up of seven married
women, who all had children, and two unmarried women. Five of the trainees were
working women, three were housewives, and one was a college student. All of us
met at the Liqo meeting place which was a trainee’s house. The majority of the
trainees travelled to the weekly Liqo session on their own motorcycles, whilst some
travelled by car and were either dropped off by their husbands or drove themselves.
Two trainees travelled to the Liqo sessions on public transportation. Our mentor
sometimes drove to the Liqo venue in her private car, and sometimes came on her
motorcycle.
All the trainees came dressed in soft-coloured long dresses, with thick kerudung or
jilbab (both types of headscarves) covering their neck and extending over their
chest. This is the most commonly adhered to Islamic dress code among the Liqo
find Liqo trainees dressing in jeans or cotton trousers and tops, with face make-up or
activists wearing such clothes or make-up is one of the characteristics of those that
201
A similar number of Liqo members were also found in other Liqo groups that my interviewees
(who are Liqo trainees (mutarabbi) in Jakarta and other cities such as Tangerang and Bekasi) were
members of.
202
I explain in the next section why these two women left the Liqo, and only seven trainees thus
remained in the group.
203
My reflection is that this dress code and its performance represent a ‘marker of difference’ that
makes it easy to identify Liqo women in Jakarta public areas, such as malls or shopping centres,
hospitals, street and offices, where their style of dress does not represent the mainstream clothing
style for Muslim women. A similar type of women’s dress code is seen in the offices of Islamic
organisations, such as those of the NU and Muhammadiyah.
204
See Chapter 6.5 on the Liqo community’s perspective on women’s dress codes, including the veil
and headscarves, and the doctrinal reasoning that lies behind their choices and commitments.
235
Although the Liqo sessions are scheduled to last for two hours, my observations and
interviews with my trainees revealed that they usually last much longer than this.
The Liqo that I joined during my fieldwork was conducted every Saturday morning
for about three hours, from 09.00 am until 12.00 pm. The Liqo was held in the living
room of a different trainee’s house each week so that the trainees got to know each
other and became closer. All of us were relatively new members, and before joining
this group none of us had any experiences related to Liqo lessons or Jamaah
Tarbiyah. We met each other at the first Liqo mentoring session, and each of us
joined this group through recommendations from senior mentors that lived in the
same district. New mentors (murabbiyah) are chosen to establish new Liqo groups
by their former mentors, who also manage these new mentors (see section 5.4).205
Given that all trainees are new recruits to the Liqo network, we were advised to learn
basic Islamic topics, such as Shahadat and other Akidah or Tawhid-related topics.
We were given basic topics on Islam because we were classified as beginners in this
community, with none of the learning experiences that we had outside the Liqo
being taken into account, and the lessons were delivered in Bahasa (the Indonesian
with members of other Liqos revealed that it is common to commence the Liqo
sessions with one of the trainees reading two or more selected Qur’anic verses out
while the mentor and the other trainees listen. After this, the trainees remain seated
on the thinly carpeted floor and listen attentively in silence as the mentor explains
the topic for the day. The mentor then relates the topic to everyday life with practical
205
This system of shifting in role from a trainee (mutarabbi) to a mentor (Murabbi) is employed
whenever a new small Liqo group is established, with trainees always chosen to be new mentors by
their Liqo mentors (see section 5.4).
236
examples, and invites questions from the trainees. A serious atmosphere was
However, in the Liqo group that I joined, this silent and serious atmosphere only
occurred when none of the trainees brought their children. Most of the Liqo
meetings that I attended were noisy, with children crying and screaming.
Consequently, the lessons were often stopped for a number of short periods whilst
the mothers calmed their children down and got them back playing with their toys or
else took them away from the circle. The Liqo allows mothers to bring their children
women members, just like men, are obliged to attend the weekly Liqo, and because
caring for children is perceived to be the woman’s responsibility (see also chapter
6.7.2), it is thus accepted that women must be allowed to bring their children when
they attend the Liqo. My interviews with male Liqo members and mentors indicated
that it is less common for men to bring their children to Liqo sessions, which
indicates that women get little help from their family in looking after their children.
It is common for new recruits to leave their groups when they cannot find what they
are looking for. My observations during the four months that I attended the Liqo
group confirmed this phenomenon. Two of the nine Liqo trainees did not come again
after the first two sessions, but the majority (seven trainees) continued with the
weekly meetings. I could see that those who came were very enthusiastic and
committed to improving their skill in reciting the Qur’an and to learning other basic
Islamic knowledge.
237
Such small ‘family’ groups are expected to make it easier for mentors to build the
ethos of the groups and to discipline each Liqo trainee (see section 5.2). During my
observations, however, I rarely found a situation in which the mentor built a good
learning environment that encouraged the trainees to raise questions. In many cases,
the trainees were passive, and tended to be afraid to express their opinions. Such
experiences were supported by the women’s statements during the interviews that I
conducted with them. Thus, the way the mentors delivered the lessons did not
on their lessons, but was mostly instructive, consisting of guidance to create an ethos
of discipline.
As I argue in section 5.3, my observation of the women’s Liqo group that I joined
during my fieldwork also supported the hypothesis that social networks play a
significant role in women’s decisions to join the Liqo. The female Liqo trainees from
my group described the influence exerted by Liqo members who were husbands,
sisters from the same family, and during an informal conversation with one of the
female trainees who had graduated from the school of design at a state university in
I come from Central Java for working in Jakarta. My two older sisters have
been working here [a] few years before me. Following my arrival in Jakarta,
I saw them every week [and] came to a religious meeting [the Liqo]. I think
that it would be good for me if I joined them as well. Besides learning
religious subjects, I can also find new friends from this meeting. So, three of
us gathered in one Liqo group. However, not too long after I joined this Liqo,
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one of my sisters moved to another Liqo group in [a] different part of Jakarta
following her husband (Mona, 30s, trainees, female, Tangerang).206
A female trainee named Fathya said that she attended a Liqo group in the Pondok
Aren-Tangerang district through an invitation from her friend and neighbour. Such
experiences were not unique to Rina (40s), Tania (30s), and Fathya (40s), but were
shared by my other interviewees, who were friends or neighbours with one another,
or who had Liqo members in their families before they joined their groups. The
members in the Liqo encourages others not only to join, but to ‘convert’ to the Liqo
perspective or ideology.207 They ‘convert’ in the sense that they change their
perspective on particular issues in Islam, and shift their daily attitudes or practices to
ones that they consider to be superior to those that they held before becoming
My interviews also revealed that marriages to Liqo activists have supported the
process of conversion to the Liqo ideology and perspective. For instance, Retno
(30s), a Liqo trainee, told me that she was encouraged to attend the Liqo by her
206
Interviewed on 16/12/2012.
207
The discourse of ‘conversion’ is common in Western sociology of religion. It does not always
involve literal conversion to a different religion, but can often be about changes of ideology, mind,
and practice. In Britain, people become ‘born again Christians’, which refers to a change in their
religious beliefs and attitudes and/or practices. In the United States in the 1970s, a growing number
of young well-educated people began converting to the ‘New Religious Movements (NRMs)’ and
they were very visible in public places – on the streets – where they sold flowers and candles and
invited young people to their centres. The growing trends of conversion amongst young people led to
the idea that the trainees of various NRMs were being ‘brainwashed’ through various techniques. For
further discussion of ‘conversion’ in the Western context see, for instance, Barker (1984). Conversion
in the West also includes conversion to Islam, of course. Nehemia Levtzion in “Conversion to Islam
(1979)”, however, differentiates between conversion and adhesion. Conversion usually involves
individuals in a ‘reorientation of the soul’ and in a commitment to a new way of life and adhesion,
typically a communal process entailing ‘the acceptance of new worship as useful supplements and
not as substitutes” to what went before. Thus, according to Levtzion: ‘Islamisation of a social group
is not a single act of conversion but a long process toward greater conformity and orthodoxy’ (1979:
21). In my opinion, the discourse of conversion is similar to the spirit of dakwah in Islam, which aims
to make the beliefs and practices of Muslims better, and includes the dakwah of the Tarbiyah
movement / the PKS in Indonesia. See, for instance, Poston (1992) and Janson (2003).
239
husband, who had been a Liqo activist long before they were married, as did
Nuriyah (30s), whose husband is a young local leader in the PKS and a senior
mentor of the Liqo. Two other female interviewees (Tania and Nisya; 30s) also told
me that their husbands had been involved in their conversion to the Liqo perspective.
These stories suggested to me that these women’s ‘conversions’ to Liqo beliefs and
practices were not merely driven by their own free choices, but also by the
can be difficult for Indonesian wives to refuse, particularly those who come from
rural backgrounds, where husbands have stronger voices and wives are expected to
informal conversations with these female Liqo activists revealed that there is a
growing trend of family ‘conversion’, in which husbands that have already adopted
Liqo activists expose their families and friends to the religious lessons taught in the
Liqo through their everyday interactions with them. The interviewees said that the
process that their friends and family used to approach them was straightforward,
involving informal discussions about Islam. In many cases, various religious issues
were discussed, and the Liqo activists took the opportunity to explain their Liqo
during social visits. The conversations about religious issues were reported as being
more intense by trainees that were converted by family living in the same house.
This is partly because a sister or a brother who has either younger or older siblings
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has many chances to discuss Islam with them – whilst cooking and eating dinner,
My interviews with the majority of the leaders revealed that the idea of ghazwul fikri
(ideological conquest) is seen as having an important role for members of the Liqo,
from the beginner levels (anggota pemula) through to the more advanced levels.
During my observation at the women’s Liqo group, the issue of ghazwul fikri was
often raised by the mentor, and used to analyse any topic she was teaching. In
interviews with mentors from different and more advanced Liqo groups, I found that
this is something that is done with senior members as well as beginners. This was
connections to ghazwul fikri, even though I did not ask them about its connection
with the topics they were talking about. This suggests that the concept of ghazwul
fikri has been very successfully reproduced and is a significant influence on the
enemies find it easier to contaminate the Muslim faith through importing Western
culture (Siti, 30s, mentor, female, Jakarta), adding that “when Muslims adopt
Western culture, it indicates that Muslims have been implicitly defeated by the
behaviours and attitudes in public places that she regarded as ‘un-Islamic or less-
Islamic’, for example, the relationships of young male and female Muslims and their
241
impolite attitudes to older people. Such perceptions are commonly found amongst
revivalists and/or Islamists, who believe that Muslims should avoid imitating non-
Muslim culture and worry that the cultural domination of the West will make them
lose their ‘authenticity’ and identity as ‘true’ Muslims (see Chapter 1). From my
mentor and all six trainees from my Liqo group, I found that on the ground the West
several Liqo sessions that I attended, the mentor used ghazwul fikri to construct and
define Western culture and politics as a threat. The murabbiyah perceived ghazwul
Muslims adopted because they could not defeat them in a physical war.
For this reason, even though the content of ghazwul fikri is related to
Westernisation, the mentor often connected the issue with Zionism instead (see
Chapter 4). However, my mentor, like other senior Liqo members, failed to clearly
explain how or why Zionism has had such a significant influence in constructing
Western civilisation and ideology, and it seemed to me that they could not clearly
understand why and how Zionism is put into a single package with the West.
The mentor of my group believed that Zionism was the agent behind ghazwul fikri,
and that its purpose is not only to take Palestine from Muslims, but also to defeat
ideology, and culture. The murabbiyah put it as follows when I interviewed her:
Zionism is the source of ghazwul fikri. Zionism influences [the] global world
(European and American states), not only [seeking] to control Palestine, but
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Thus, for the mentor, dakwah is seen as necessary for counteracting Western
propaganda:
Young Muslims have been exposed to the globalised cultures that are
completely far from the teachings of Islam. The changing directions of
Muslims can be seen, for instance, in terms of dress, behaviour, and other
lifestyles (Siti, 30s, mentor, female, Jakarta).208
This view is typical of the ideas held by Islamists. Similarly, the murabbiyah also
highlighted the conflict between Palestine and Israel, the American invasion of Iraq,
Muslim power (see Chapter 4). Through my interviews with mentors and trainees
from different Liqo groups I concluded that this perception is strong among the Liqo
community.
The mentor’s claims above implicitly suggest that Christians as well as Jews are
interviewed argued that she does not consider all Jews and Christians to be the
enemies of Muslims:
208
Interviewed on 28/10/2012.
243
The trainees of the Liqo (mutarabbi), later, will also be taught other Qur’anic
verses clarifying this issue in the next levels of their Liqo sessions in order to
make them not … generalise that all of Jews and Christians are the enemy of
Islam.
I did not hear this claim being made in the Liqo of the beginner level that I
interactions with trainees studying at the more advanced levels, I found that they did
flexibility, however, can be seen as part of the more ‘progressive’ dakwah strategy
promoted for public consumption at the political and the state level (Chapter 4).
Pragmatic rhetoric presented a moderate face of the movement to the outside, while
a stricter version of the ideology of ghazwul fikri was maintained within the
movement.
One likely impact of ghazwul fikri is that it encourages the Liqo trainees to believe
that they have enemies that are attempting to separate them from Islamic teachings.
This hypothesis was confirmed by the experience of one of the trainees from Jakarta,
know their life’s aim [based on Islamic teachings] (Tika, 40s, trainee,
female, Jakarta).209
This testimony fits with the dakwah manual’s explanation that the purpose of
teaching ghazwul fikri is to make members aware that there are numerous
movements seeking to defeat and harm Muslims (see Chapter 4). This lesson of
ghazwul fikri is frequently linked by the mentor to the wider context of wars in
Muslim lands, Western double-standards and global inequalities --as also written in
Thus, the concept of ghazwul fikri was perceived by the mentor and the trainees in
this Liqo group as cleaving people into two groups: ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’. The
and ideologically. This bifurcation of people and cultures into friends and enemies
appears to be driven by the worry that living in a globalised modern society in which
Western culture and its values dominate could reduce the commitment that Muslims
Akidah is one of the topics taught in the Liqo. The akidah is related to the basis of
faith in which Muslims conceptualise their perception of God. For instance, akidah
explains the tenet of the oneness of God as Tawhid (the unity of God). Tawhid is the
belief that distinguishes Muslims from non-Muslims, such as Christians, Jews, and
209
Interviewed on 17/10/2012.
245
The materials at the beginning of the Liqo mostly talk about the very basic
and important topics such as Tawhid (the concept of the unity of God),
Shahadatain (the two phrases of the testimony of faith),210 and Qada and
Qadar211 (God’s decree) (Thifa, 30s, mentor, female, Tangerang).212
The three subjects mentioned by Thifa here are all parts of akidah. The Liqo
community believes that the ‘true’ akidah should refer to the interpretations made by
the early generations of Muslims, comprising the first generation – the sahabah (the
Prophet’s companions); the second generation – the tabi’un (those who lived one
generation after the Prophet's companions); and the third generation – the tabi’ at-
tabi’in (the generation after the tabi’in). The Liqo community perceives the
interpretations of the Quran that were made during these periods as being the most
authoritative, and regards these three generations of Muslims as being the most
one of the leaders of the PKS – revealed, a “Muslim’s faith should be based on the
true akidah. We call it salafiyatul akidah – the belief of the Salaf people, the early
pious companions”.213 For me, this is the factor that appears to lead many people in
Indonesia to label the Liqo community as Salafi.214 Although the Liqo community
210
Shahadatain or shahada is the testimony of faith that is required to become a Muslim, and consists
of the two phrases: “I testify that there is no god but God (la ilahailla-llah)” and “Muhammad is the
messenger of God” (Muhammadun Rasul Allah). These phrases are recited in order to have one’s
faith to Islam witnessed, or in order to convert to Islam.
211
Qada and Qadar describe God's capability in terms of controlling and managing human life in the
world (Rippin, 2005).
212
Interviewed on 05/09/2012.
213
Salaf is taken from the Arabic root which means ‘to precede’. In the Islamic lexicon, this word
refers to al-Salaf al-Salih – the virtuous companions of the Prophet Muhammad – i.e. the three
generations of Muslims that followed the death of the Prophet Muhammad: the companions
(sahabah), their followers (tabi’un), and their follower’s followers (tabi’ at-tabi’un) (Al-Rasheed,
2007).
214
In an interview that I conducted with a senior mentor (murabbi) and local leader, he noted that
people around him frequently label him and his Liqo group as the Salafi (Muhammad, 38, Bekasi).
He said that he responded to this label by saying: “In fact, all Islamic activists are involved in the
246
rejects this label, they share one common key characteristic with the Salafi network
– the idea that akidah and rituals are based on these three generations of Muslims.
The concept of akidah is also embraced by many Islamic revivalist movements, who
belief. Thus, by adopting akidah, the Liqo clearly shows its revivalist character.
The subject of akidah is used to unite the Liqo community during the Liqo sessions
through the promotion of the concept of ‘a true akidah’. A senior mentor who is
experienced in leading Liqo activities said that the distinctive feature that unifies all
Liqo members – from the beginning of its establishment to its current incarnation –
is their concept of akidah: “the unchangeable aspect (tsawabit) among us [all Liqo
generations from its inception to the present day] is the true akidah” (Abdullah, 40s,
male, Jakarta).215
This concept of the ‘true’ akidah was also mentioned by the mentor and the trainees
in my Liqo group. They held that the Muslim faith has to be saved from any
from a small village in Central Java to Jakarta explained her experience of klenik’s
The cultural practices in my village … [in] central Java are very much
coloured by klenik. For instance, before the harvest, people must bring
sesajen (foods provided for God) to the rice field. When … a neighbour
passes away, we should commemorate him or her with the recitation of …
‘Laailaahailla-llah’ (there is no god but God) called tahlilan, particularly in
the 3rd, 7th, and 40th days [after] their death. Also, when there is someone
marrying or delivering a new baby in the family, we need to conduct
particular traditions.217 All these occasions should be accompanied by
providing certain foods (sesajen). Another practice is sort of giving alms,
well known as sedekah punden, that is arranged once a year. In my village,
there is an ancestral grave (makam leluhur) called Punden. People of this
village arrange to visit and gather at this grave and bring many main foods
and side dishes (lauk pauk), pray together (led by a charismatic village
leader), and then eat together in this place (Miya, 30s, trainees, female,
Tangerang).218
For the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS, visiting graves and praying for saintly
intercessions are both regarded as being close to idolatry. As the leaders of the
movement in the Manhaj Tarbiyah (2005) stated, these two ‘beliefs’ are the main
addition, the book asserted that these actions “could annul the witness to the faith
conception of faith (akidah) developed by the Liqo is very critical of the traditional
these critiques of klenik practices are not only made by the Liqo community in
(and particularly between the 1930s and the 1970s) the Muhammadiyah has fought
against klenik practices, and is well known for actively campaigning against any
217
Tahlilan is the recitation of the creed ‘laailaahailla-llah’ (‘There is no god but God’) at
ceremonies to commemorate the dead.
218
Interviewed on 15/10/2012.
219
Both are Qur’anic (Q. 31:13 and Q. 4:60; 116) words that imply the same meaning: “a grievous
crime”.
248
to these three practices is ‘TBC’.220 The Liqo community shares common concerns
with other revivalist organisations such as the Muhammadiyah about akidah being
free from klenik, and this fits with the core revivalist belief that “the rejuvenation of
Islam was to be achieved through a return to the universal core teachings [of Islam],
Some of the official reasons the Liqo mentors give for the positions they adopt do
not always accord with the perceptions of ordinary members at the grass-roots level
of the community; Miya's views on klenik rituals being one such example. In
contrast to the official discourse, Miya states that she disagrees with the klenik
What I am disappointed [with] was the fact that the food used for rituals is
really mubadzir (superfluous or waste of foods), because it is too much and
not provided for eating (Miya, 30s, trainees, female, Tangerang).221
Miya's expression of her views shows that ordinary members have their own
outlooks about why particular traditional rituals are bad for Muslims.
The concept of ‘true akidah’, as it was taught in my Liqo group, encouraged the
akidah. Given that the majority of Liqo trainees, particularly those that I interviewed
in my Liqo group, had only encountered this concept of akidah for the first time at
220
TBC = Takhayul, Bid’ah and Churafat. In my opinion, however, there is a different tone between
the ‘traditional ulama’ and the ‘modern ulama’ who have graduated from higher education within the
Muhammadiyah in relation to the way they fight against klenik practices. The former placed a strong
emphasis on this issue, while the latter express a softer tone on it.
221
Interviewed on 15/10/2012.
249
the Liqo sessions, they were shocked that the religious traditions in their society
Miya, a mother in her early thirties, had no knowledge of the concept of akidah or
the issues surrounding it when she lived in her small town in Central Java. After
moving to Jakarta, attending the Liqo sessions and finding a new community, she
was surprised to discover that many of the customs practised by her relatives and
villagers are apparently ‘un-Islamic’ (though she was not unsympathetic to their
The Liqo mentors had a strong influence on the trainees’ acceptance of the concept
commitment to their Islamic teaching. The trainees thus saw their murabbi as good
practitioners of Islam. This commitment to their values is very important for the
trust that trainees have in their mentors – perhaps more than other qualities or
222
Her grandmother’s belief here is basically seen as a ‘superstition’ – an ‘irrational’ belief in
supernatural powers relating to receiving good and bad luck.
250
The mentors of the Liqo are very simple. They learn something very basic
about Islam, so that they know only little religious knowledge. However,
they practised this knowledge in their daily life, for example on learning and
practising the five times daily prayers and reading the Qur’an. This is
sometimes very different with those who have deep knowledge on religious
matters … [who do] not prioritise implementing their knowledge due to their
busyness with other activities (Fadila, 30s, trainees, female, Jakarta).223
Islamic modern boarding school that had joined a number of different Liqos both in
Indonesia and while she was overseas. She was attracted to the Liqo lessons because
Actually, I did not find new Islamic knowledge from the Liqo lessons. What
I got more was the advantages of the spirit or ethos in implementing the
rituals in our daily life (Nabila, 30s, trainees, female, Jakarta, university
lecturer).224
the beginning of the courses, as their traditional faiths or cultures clashed with ‘the
true akidah’ offered by the Liqo. This was more common in trainees who came from
rural family backgrounds that were strongly influenced by local traditions. Thus,
murabbiyah and mutarabbiyah about their parents’ rejections of akidah. The parents
regarded the akidah as too strict and rigid. However, some parents would gradually
understand and come to accept the Liqo’s concept of ‘true’ akidah. Thus, these
223
Interviewed on 17/09/2012.
224
Interviewed on 11/09/2012.
251
well.
Liqo trainees, when they come to accept that ‘un-Islamic’ traditions have to be
eliminated, not only reform themselves, but are also eager to change their families’
practice that is strongly encouraged by the mentors. Based on the observations and
encourage students to go back to their families and advise them to do what the Liqo
teaches. Moreover, this is also used as a strategy for encouraging new members to
join the Liqo sessions, and a part of the more general dakwah strategy designed by
the Tarbiyah to create preachers (da’i) who are able to conduct dakwah for everyone
and everywhere.
practice, the main purpose of the Liqo and other Tarbiyah activities is to train
individuals to provide dakwah – i.e. to tell other people about the Liqo’s
of a Liqo group in the Kemanggisan area of Jakarta but moved to my Liqo group in
I have been trying to remind them about this wrong tradition, because many
of the village people are still my big family. Usually, after that, I leave them
to think. I do not really care about their response. The most important thing
for me is to do what I have to do, which is to give them true Islamic
understandings [on such practices] (Retno, 30s, trainees, female, Jakarta).225
225
Interviewed on 13/10/2012.
252
Following akidah, the topic of ibadah (worship) was one of the next issues to be
placed on embodied ritual activities within the Liqo community, with almost all the
respondents (both female and male) that I worked with during my fieldwork citing
as follows:
The subject of ibadah in the Liqo is very crucial in order to remind Muslims
about their obligations towards God, especially in [the] modern era.
Sometimes we find a situation where we are very busy or [too] lazy to perform
our daily ibadah, such as five-time obligatory prayers, reading the Qur’an, and
the Tahajud prayer (Athya, 40s, mentor, female, Tangerang).227
The variety of pious ritual activities or acts of worship in a Liqo group depends on
the agreements made between the mentor and the trainees of each Liqo group. One
Liqo group could pursue different types of ibadah acts or have different targets
trainee who works at Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance and has been a member of the
In the beginning of each Liqo meeting, usually both mentors and trainees will
discuss and decide together on how many and what kind of rituals … should
be monitored through the evaluation sheet (sofhah mutaba'ah). For my current
mentor and group, we have three key rituals to put in our sofhah mutaba'ah.
The first is to pray voluntary, Dhuha; the second is to perform obligatory
prayers (shalat wajib) in the mosque collectively (secara berjamaah); and the
last is to read the Qur’an on an everyday basis so that one juz of the Qur’an
can be finished in one month.228 Since all rituals are our own decision with the
226
Ibadah means ‘ritual’, and refers to the codified procedures that express human beings’
relationship with God. In Islam, Ibadah involves the profession of faith, prayer (shalat), fasting
(shaum), the giving of alms (zakah), and pilgrimage (hajj) (Rippin, 2005).
227
Interviewed on 22/10/2012.
228
Juz (Arabic, plural: ajza) literally means ‘part’. The Qur’an is divided into thirty parts.
253
Although the trainees have a chance to ‘negotiate’ concerning the rituals they
perform, the Liqo does set certain requirements. For example, a young female
mentor of a Liqo who taught a mixed group of junior and senior high school students
explained:
fully planned and monitored through a regular review and evaluation sheet called
sofhah mutaba’ah. This evaluation sheet is a way for mentors to keep track of their
trainees’ performance, and the same evaluation sheet is provided for both male and
female Liqo groups. It is designed to ensure that the objectives of the Liqo are
achieved. For many of the trainees that I interacted with, both during and outside the
Liqo sessions, the Liqo was seen as the place for training in a variety of ibadah. The
greatest advantage they received was to improve the quality and routine of their
ibadah. A neighbour of mine who had been a member of the Liqo for more than
fifteen years acknowledged that she found herself “sometimes lazy for doing the
daily rituals such as Tahajud prayer and reading al-Qur’an” (Athya, 40s, mentor,
229
Interviewed on 15/10/2012.
230
Shaum (Ar), puasa (Ind) is fasting or the abstention from all food, drink and sexual intercourse
during daylight hours. There is an obligatory form of shaum, which includes fasting during Ramadan,
and a non-obligatory form of shaum, which involves choices such as fasting on Mondays and
Thursdays.
231
Interviewed on 05/09/2012. Shalat (Arabic and Indonesian) means ‘prayer’. The ritual required in
Islam is that of five specific periods of prayer a day.
254
female, Tangerang).232 She thus saw it as a benefit to have her rituals checked by the
The sofhah mutaba'ah review system shows the extent to which the Liqo pays
attention to the lesson of ibadah and its practice. This was evident in the advice that
and the sofhah mutaba'ah system, a trainee who does not perform one of these
rituals will likely feel shame in the presence of other more disciplined trainees.
met a former female trainee of the Liqo who was disappointed with this strict rule of
ibadah, and quit the Liqo sessions, saying: “the ibadah that I must perform in a day
is too many for me, because I need also to consider other work that I should fulfil to
raise money for the family” (Fathya, 40s, Ex-trainees, female, Jakarta).233
in-depth consciousness for practising ritual activities consistently and regularly. The
movement wants to train all Liqo members to perform these rituals habitually and, in
the most influential leaders among the Tarbiyah community, the ‘notification’
232
Tahajud prayer is a voluntary nightly prayer that Muslims perform in addition to their five
obligatory prayers.
233
Interviewed twice on 28/10/2012 and 16/12/2012.
255
(taklimat) is given to all levels of the Liqo community – from its leaders, to its
mentors, to its trainees – in order to make the rituals or acts of worship a habit. He
[A] few days prior to the month of Dzulhijjah, the taklimat will be spread
among the Liqo community asking them to struggle in ten days to finish
reading all parts of the Al-Qur’an, to conduct the five daily prayers at the
Mosques, and to perform the sacrifice (Qurban) [of] at least one buffalo
(kerbau) for one family.234 This taklimat aims to [make] routines [of] these
rituals among the community. For other Muslims, it is only mubah which is
flexible – to be done or to be left.235 However, we want to practice these
rituals because this is a good opportunity for us. Apart from Dzulhijjah’s
rituals, we also recommend all of the members to fast in Yaum al-Arafah (the
final day of hajj in Mecca) and to spread this habit to their surroundings
(Ahmad, 60s, leader, male, Jakarta).236
My interviews and observations revealed that Ibadah activities on a daily basis are
Ibadah activities are the genuine expression of their piety and obedience to God’s
manifestation of the character of Islam for them, which needs to be adhered to and
implemented by its followers. In other words, these rituals or acts of worship are
Thus, this analysis reveals that as well as matters of belief the Liqo aims to
performance of religious rituals. Living in urban and modern society can cause
Muslims to become less concerned with their daily ibadah, but tackling this is
234
Dzulhijjah is the last month in the Islamic calendar. The name of the month refers to the annual
worship of Muslims ‘Hajj’ (pilgrimage).
235
Mubah is an Arabic term that refers to an action that is neither recommended nor forbidden. It is,
therefore, religiously neutral.
236
Interviewed twice on 27/08/2012 and 17/10/2012. Al-Yaom al-Arafah (the day of Arafah) is the
day of 9th Dzulhijjah, on which it is recommended that Muslims fast.
256
central for the Liqo, regardless of its trainees’ other commitments. This focus thus
shows that the Liqo’s attempts to Islamise its trainees are largely successful.
Issues regarding women’s dress and their role in public life are symbolically very
important for Islamist movements (Mahmood, 2005; Rinaldo, 2013; Roald, 2001),
with their primary concern being to ‘maintain’ the Islamic identity of women and
their roles in the family and in society. This section examines these issues as they
traditional Islamic women’s dress code. Wearing the veil or headscarf together with
proper clothes is seen as central for an Islamic dress code, and the topic is frequently
talked about in the Liqo sessions. A mentor from a different Liqo group shared her
first experience of wearing the veil and joining her Liqo group where she was
My first experience … [of wearing] the veil and Muslimah [Muslim woman]
clothes was when I entered the Nurul Fikri learning consultation centre. It
was at my final year at the senior high school (Sekolah Menengah Atas-
SMA). All female students at the Nurul Fikri at that time were required to
wear the veil. I never wore the veil before, so … I attended the Nurul Fikri’s
session without the veil. When looking at me, my teacher said: “wearing the
veil is not difficult and why you do not want to wear it?” Then, my classmate
[at the Nurul Fikri] asked me to join the regular Liqo sessions. My first
madah [lesson] I received from my first Liqo session was on Islamic
obligations for Muslim women [kewajiban Muslimah], one of them is
wearing the ‘long’ veil that extends over the breast and proper Muslimah
257
Rinaldo (2013) found that the majority of female activists who were influenced by
Islamist ideas began wearing the jilbab or kerudung (headscarf) in high school or
college when they joined Muslim student organisations. Female Liqo activists
‘complete’ dress that obscures the shape of their bodies from top to the bottom, and
a veil to cover the hair and the breast. A female mentor who has been involved in the
Liqo for more than thirteen years expressed her understanding of the full
Apart from the proper Muslimah clothes, we also wear socks. The socks are
important for us because we tend to use the school of thought (madzhab)
which says that we need to cover all required parts of the body (‘aurat)
except the face and the edge of hand (telapak tangan).238 So we believe in
this idea and hold firmly the concept of ‘aurat, which says that the foot is
part of the [women’s] ‘aurat. We therefore wear socks to cover our feet. For
us, the usage of socks is as important as the veil, so … we need to wear it in
both formal and informal events. We also commonly wear ladies’ blouses
(rok) but not trousers. Trousers are rarely worn by female Liqo activists. We
believe that the trousers can shape some parts of our body. However, I see
that these trousers can be worn as long as they are made from thick
materials, [are] not transparent, and [do] not show off the shape of the foot
(Rahima, 30s, mentor, female, Jakarta).239
Her statement reflected the reality of my observations of the female Liqo group I
attended, where all the Liqo trainees were instructed to cover their hair with the long
veil and all their bodies with long clothes and heavy socks during the first Liqo
session.
237
Interviewed on 05/09/2012.
238
‘Aurat (Ind; Awra-Arabic) implies that all parts of the woman’s body should be covered, with the
exception of the face and the edge of the hand (telapak tangan). The madzhab that Rahima (30,
trainee, Jakarta) refers to is Madzhab Hanbali.
239
Interviewed on 04/09/2012.
258
In addition to covering the body and hair, the community also recommends that all
trainee told me the following story during an interview again underlining how the
One day, when I attended the first few Liqo sessions, I wore what I
considered as Muslimah clothes – wearing the veil, a long modest top, and
long jean trousers. When the Liqo mentor looked at me, she said harshly that
women should never wear clothes that are similar to men’s [trousers] (Tania,
30s, trainees, female, Depok).240
Hence, it is unusual to see female Liqo activists wearing trousers, and one of the
female interviewees commented, “we are mostly wearing Gamis (long clothes) in
The Liqo women’s adoption of this model of Islamic dress and veiling is promoted
in both direct and indirect guidance from their mentors, as well as by senior Liqo
members. The evidence for this direct guidance has been mentioned above, and I
will now provide the evidence for the indirect guidance and precedents set by senior
Liqo members. A former Liqo trainee recounted her experience about her mentor
guiding her to a particular dress code as follows, something she was entirely open
to:
Based on my own experience, the clothing and the veil styles were naturally
and gradually formed when I joined the Liqo. There was no direct instruction
from my mentor to follow particular requirements. I think that the need to
adapt [to] the new environment is the key thing that led me and my other
Liqo friends at that time [to] following the clothing style of the previous
activists and the mentor. We felt inconvenient to dress differently, so it was
for me part of my adaptation (Rina, 40s, ex-trainee, female, Jakarta).242
240
Interviewed on 05/09/2012.
241
Interviewed on 17/09/2012.
242
Interviewed on 28/10/2012.
259
Rina’s experience was similar to experiences I had during the Liqo sessions I
participated in. At the beginning of the Liqo, I tried to dress like other female Liqo
activists that I knew. But the dress of the other members of my group was not
exactly the same as what I chose. The veil that I wore was one that I am used to
wearing (which was not as long as their veils), and my clothes were also a bit more
colourful and modern in style compared to theirs. Although my mentor and my Liqo
whole, I began to get the feeling that it was inappropriate for me to dress 'differently'
than other members after the first few sessions (see Chapter 3). This feeling led me
to adopt the same clothing styles as the other members of the group. This was my
own decision, and represented part of my adaptation so that I could enjoy the Liqo
other Liqo groups that their mentors had given them particular guidance and
Moreover, the dakwah manual discussed in Chapter 5 (the Manhaj Tarbiyah) also
contained information about Liqo lessons, including the appropriate dress code for
These clothing styles are the most obvious visible characteristic of female Liqo
activists in the Indonesian public sphere, and through my long interactions with
243
This lesson in the book explains the ‘aurat, clothing styles and colours based on shari’ah, and the
impact that ignoring Islam’s teaching about covering their ‘aurat will have for women (Manhaj
Tarbiyah, 2005:98).
260
noticed that this clothing style is used as one sign for identifying them as Liqo
activists.244
By dressing differently from Muslim women in general, female Liqo members often
received negative responses from both close family such as parents, sisters, and
brothers, as well as from their wider community, such as friends and neighbours.
One senior female mentor (Athya, 40s) related her experience when her parents first
My parents said to me that there is no need to wear such dress and a very
long veil because we do not live in an Arab country. [They said] “Just wear
the veil that is commonly worn by the mainstream Muslim women [in this
country], it had already covered the hair”.
Moreover, she reported receiving such a response from her neighbour as well. Both
her parents and her neighbour reacted with an explicit dislike to her choice of dress.
Athya (40s) commented on this reaction: “I thought that it was because I had
changed my attitudes and clothes drastically”. A female trainee, Tika – who was in
the same Liqo group as me and works in Jakarta – told me that she had been asked
about her clothing several times by people she met in public places. They asked her:
“What religious group did you join that required you to change your clothing
style?”. She said that she was fully aware that such questions emerged because of
her different dress code. Even though I have recently seen many Tarbiyah activists
wearing such clothing, this style of dress is different from what other Muslim
244
This particular style of female Liqo activist is recognisable and obvious in the Indonesian public
sphere. Overseas researchers that study Islamist movement are also familiar with this Liqo Islamic
clothing. For example, Rachel Rinaldo (2008b) wrote an article about Muslim women activists in
Indonesia, and described the female PKS (Liqo) activists as the women wearing a “uniform [of] long
white jilbabs” and noted that these women are the most visible protesters [against the pornography
bill in Indonesia] (Rinaldo, 2008a:8).
261
Muhammadiyah. The stories from Athya and Tika are two of many instances of
along with their understanding and interpretation of Islam through the Liqo of the
Jamaah Tarbiyah.
Despite people responding suspiciously towards their dress choices, many activists
maintain these dress codes, believing that they are obliged by Islam to do so.
However, a number of female activists have recently stopped adhering to these strict
dress styles. There has been a slight shift in terms of the colour and style of clothes,
as a female Liqo activist who works at the state Islamic University notes: “nowadays
we can easily find Tarbiyah activists wearing bright colourful dress and various
dakwah strategies (Fiqh ad-dakwah)” (Arif, 40s, mentor, male, Jakarta), that is,
apart’.245
The Liqo community has linked the issue of the dress choices of Muslim women to
the idea of how Islam respects women. A Liqo mentor voiced her experience of this
as follows:
[After attending the Liqo], I [was] amazed how Islam teaches and honours its
female followers by asking them to wear the proper and modest Islamic
dress. I understand that many women are being harassed due to their careless
and laziness to wear such Islamic clothes. This obligation is given to Muslim
women in order to be respected (Athya, 40s, mentor, female, Tangerang).246
245
Interviewed on 18/10/2012.
246
Interviewed on 22/10/2012.
262
This point of view, which has spread among female Liqo activists, has led them to
criticise the women’s liberation movement – both in Indonesia and in other parts of
the Muslim world – for being part of the project of ghazwul fikri. That is, they see it
In addition to the discourse on women’s dress that is outlined above, the Liqo
community is also very concerned with the issue of women’s private and public
roles. I observed that there is a greater emphasis on women’s roles in domestic areas
rather than in the public sphere. The community believes that Islam emphasises the
importance of women performing a domestic role, and the Liqo sessions thus trains
these women to have a good Islamic personality, practice and knowledge with which
During my informal conversations with the female Liqo activists, I frequently heard
them use the sayings ‘al-ummu huwa al-madrasat al-ula’ (the mother is the first
school [for their children]) and ‘al-marah hiya al-madrasah al-ula’ (the woman is
the first school [for their children]). Both statements were frequently used when they
were talking about their families and their children, and the challenges they faced in
raising them. They explained that every Muslim woman has a responsibility to raise
their children and family in accordance with Islamic teachings, arguing that the
female trainee from a different Liqo group, her mentor always reminds all the
247
See Haddad (1991), who explains that this liberation issue is one of the identifiable elements of
the discourse on women among revivalist or Islamist movements throughout the world.
263
trainees in the group that this domestic task involves the struggle for Allah’s
blessing and rewards, which are greater than the rewards they will receive from
The Tarbiyah movement is, however, aware of the necessity for Muslim women to
have public roles because of their dakwah strategies in the public sphere (see
Chapter 1). Various dakwah activities of the Tarbiyah movement have led female
activists to participate in Islamising the Indonesian society and the state. Their view
is in line with the theological bases for the participation of Muslim women in public
roles through dakwah (Mahmood, 2005), and they believe that the religious task for
‘commanding right (amar ma’ruf) and forbidding wrong (nahi munkar)’ is given to
both men and women. My observations, however, suggest that their dakwah roles
are mostly conducted with other women within their own groups and other women’s
The Liqo movement urges its female activists to take part in other public roles, as I
found in my interviews with the female Liqo activists and my observations of the
Liqo sessions. One of the trainees, a young mother from Depok, reported:
are active in the political arena, and have been appointed as legislative members,
policy makers, and to other public roles. Their participation in the public arena is in
248
Interviewed on 05/09/2012.
264
line with Rinaldo’s (2008) view of Islamic revivalism as a phenomenon that can
However, the public role for women promoted by the Liqo community is
husbands. As one of my female interviewees noted, there are several limits and
requirements that need to be kept in mind when a woman wants to enter the public
sphere:
If we go out from home, for either dakwah or other activities, we must get our
husband’s permission. This is related to [the] husband’s responsibility if …
something happens to us. The mentor always reminds us that [the] husband is
a family leader who has the right to say what he allows or forbids to his wife
(Saida, 30s, trainee, female, Jakarta).249
This indicates that the Liqo community's view concerning women is relatively
conservative in that they still adopt a traditional Islamic interpretation under which
men are leaders of women, and women’s power is subordinate to men's. Permata
misogynistic gender conception in which men are superior to women’ (2013: 262).
Azyumardi Azra,250 one of the scholars I interviewed in his office (the Postgraduate
School of the Jakarta State Islamic University), highlighted the fact that although the
in relation to taking part in public roles, it also teaches its members to practice a
249
Interviewed on 03/10/2012.
250
Azyumardi Azra is a professor in History and was the rector of IAIN (the Jakarta State Islamic
Institute), with Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta-Indonesia (1998-2006), taking over again as director of
the Postgraduate School in 2006. He is one of the most productive writers on Indonesian Islam, and is
an active intellectual in both national and international forums. The interview was held on 19
November 2012 in his office in Jakarta.
265
very rigid religious life, particularly in terms of the relationships between men and
women:
Azra’s point of view is in line with what I saw in the day-to-day life of the
to me what she heard from her mentor regarding the requirement for women’s
Thus, although the Tarbiyah movement / PKS has numerous female activists with
high levels of education, the concept of women's ‘aurat and their roles tend to
prevent them from being (fully) involved in public roles. This confirms Permata’s
(2013) findings – although the Tarbiyah / PKS movement provides opportunities for
women to participate in the party and public positions, the movement or the party in
251
Interviewed on 19/11/2012.
252
See chapter 5.2 on ghaddul bashar.
253
Interviewed on 22/10/2012.
266
fact limits female members’ roles in the public sphere, especially within political
arenas.254
6.8 Conclusion
This chapter has examined the extent to which female members at the lower level of
the Liqo experience and receive dakwah subjects designed and disseminated by
Tarbiyah leaders. Particular attention has been given to the Liqo group that I
participated in for four months. I focused on mentors and trainees’ stories about their
lived religious experiences of joining the Liqo and receiving its lessons.
I found that while the lived experiences of female Liqo members are of course
heterogeneous and complex, and not always entirely in accordance with the official
discourse of the Tarbiyah leaders’, overall, through their pious lived religion and
everyday cultivation of right belief and practice, they reproduced the movement’s
ideology to a greater or lesser extent (cf. Mahmood 2005). Their motivations for
joining the Liqo are principally to improve their religiosity as the leaders hope and
expect. But this is a process they have to actively negotiate in the course of their
developing engagement with the movement. Also, other significant reasons for
members joining these groups include expanding their social networks (finding new
friends), strengthening existing friendships, though they may also be obeying their
husbands. In Islamist and other social movements, informal networks are a resource
for extending discipline into private and personal lives. The organization’s
explanations about the ‘deviation’ of klenik rituals like sesajen (foods provided for
254
Permata (2013) reveals that although women in the PKS hold positions within the organisational
structure, and there is a separate division for women to deal specifically with issues regarding
women’s rights, status and empowerment, they only received three seats in parliament out of the
fifty-seven held by the party during 2009–2014.
267
God) from the true akidah are generally accepted. However, there is also some
The members of the group that I participated in were generally young, professional,
educated Muslim women living in modern urban society. They still had family in
rural areas, were upwardly mobile, and wanted to do the right thing in religious
others like them were not primarily drawn to the Liqo by concerns for public
Receiving support from the helpful and reliable people in their networks was rather
more important. The range of motivations and interpretations that the Liqo women
have in joining and experiencing the Liqo reflects their ‘lived religion’. Their ‘lived’
religion is centrally defined in terms of their own agency and choices to have more
organized and ordered Islamic beliefs and practice within the setting of the Liqo of
the Tarbiyah movement. In this context, the lived religion of women in the Liqo is
very different from the ‘pick and mix’ lived religion of women studied by McGuire
(2008). Lived Islam and official Islam are quite intimately interconnected in the
same way that Mahmood (2005) talks about tradition being reproduced
performatively.
Even though the lived religion and experiences of these members indicate the
complexity of their engagement with the Liqo, the lessons given in the weekly
discourse of its leaders. These lessons not only improve their knowledge of Islam,
but do also forge a common Islamic cultural and political identity among the
ghazwul fikri (ideological conquest), akidah (faith), ibadah (acts of worship), and
issues regarding women’s rights, roles, statuses etc are designed to create piety,
obedience, and commitment in the Liqo members. Their repeated bodily practices in
terms of dress, prayer and so on ultimately create the disposition to receive the pious
Mahmood (2005), it is the pious everyday and embodied performance of the lessons
learned in the Liqo that is crucial to the reproduction of the movement. At the same
and differentiating it from other religious communities within the Indonesian public
sphere, the women of the Liqo also take an active role in making, re-making and
Through the weekly training lessons, the Liqo aims to introduce a common set of
shared Islamic norms, which include all aspects of life (such as beliefs, worship,
family lifestyles, women’s dress codes, and social interactions). In theory, these
Islamists. Indeed, the Liqo provides its trainees with a regular and monitored form of
training that creates the framework for them but they themselves actively negotiate
Conclusion
Indonesia to focus on the Liqo of the Tarbiyah movement. It has investigated the
private and public dakwah of the movement within the changing religious, social,
economic, and political context of Indonesia since its emergence in 1983. Particular
attention has been given to analysing the movement’s official discourse and the
lived experiences of its members. These two related elements are analysed with the
help of aspects of social movement theory (SMT) (Wiktorowicz 2004; Fox 2012)
and the concept of lived religion (McGuire 2008; cf. Mahmood 2005). SMT is
concerned with how movements like the Tarbiyah movement/PKS identify social
problems, articulate their response in terms of goals for societal change, and
which has enabled me to give more attention than SMT typically allows to the
The use of ideas associated with SMT and lived religion in framing the Indonesian
Tarbiyah movement is novel because these theories have not been used together
before in previous studies. In the key chapters of this thesis, I focus on three main
arguments: i) that the gradual transition of the Tarbiyah movement from a politically
political party (the Prosperous Justice Party/Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, PKS) was
democratisation 1990-97 (Chapter 4); ii) that the movement’s weekly Liqo
illuminates both the synergies and tensions between official, top-down framing by
270
increasingly formal, outward-looking and pragmatic PKS leaders and the more
informal and more conservative networks, the latter remaining a key resource for
mobilisation (Chapter 5); and, finally, that the lived experiences of female trainees
in the Liqo suggest that this is a space where Tarbiyah movement/PKS norms
norms, lifestyles and dispositions are more or less successfully taught, learned and
My study has demonstrated, in the first instance, the continuing importance that
conducting public dakwah has for the PKS, whose focus is on a more active
(sometimes aggressive) and powerful form of dakwah. They are inspired by dakwah
in the early period of Islamic history, but they developed it in responding to new
although Islamists in the modern age use the history of dakwah of the Prophet and
the early generations of Muslims as a key reference point, they have developed a
new significance for the concept (cf. Hirschkind 2006). They began to pay more
Western modernity, which restructured Muslim societies and led to the absence of
Islam from the public sphere (Salvatore, 1997). In a clearly delineated programme of
stages, they have tried to Islamise society and the state beginning with the individual
and building up cadres through ‘family’ cells, flexibly exploiting conducive political
The relation of Islam or shari’ah and the state as one of the key issues of modernity
Chapter 2, the relationship between Islam and the state has continued to be one of
the most important issues for ‘Islamists’ in Indonesia. From the time of the Old
Order (Orde Lama, 1950-1965) to the New Order (Orde Baru, 1966-1998)
government they remain committed to applying shari’ah in the public sphere. Thus,
Indonesia, has indeed become the main dakwah message of the ‘Islamists’.
beginning of the 20th century to establish organisations such as the first ‘Islamist’
beginning of the 1980s. Islamists in this period limited their focus to private dakwah
due to the repressive nature of the New Order government. They were forbidden
threat to the Indonesian nation-state. However, by the end of the 1980s, Islamist
organisations started to have more access to ‘public’ spaces because the government
sought their political support and legitimation to ‘protect’ itself from ideological and
military threats. Since 1998 and the period of democratic transition, a variety of
researching the Tarbiyah movement in Jakarta during 2012–13. This chapter set out
the methodological tools that would be used for collecting the data for my
272
ethnographic accounts in Chapters 4–6 and reflected upon the challenges I faced and
analysis and interpretation. I explained that Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia
and was chosen as my fieldwork site as the birth-place of both the Tarbiyah
movement and the PKS. The members of the Tarbiyah movement, the majority of
Jakarta. I interviewed 45 respondents from the top, middle and lower levels of the
for the Tarbiyah movement in Indonesia. Due to the ‘New Order’ government’s
activists limited the scope of their activities away from wider audiences for most of
the 1980s, focusing on campaigning informally for individual piety in terms of their
dakwah. However, the shift of the (‘New Order’) government’s political attitude in
the 1990s, which was welcomed by Islamic movements, encouraged the Tarbiyah
movement to expand their dakwah scope and audience, although it was still mainly
orientated towards individual piety. The shift of the regime from the ‘New Order’ to
political system, which was seen by the Tarbiyah movement as a good opportunity
to establish a formal political party named the Justice Party (PK) or Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS). They argued publicly that there should be no separation
between dakwah and politics but sought to expand their dakwah, Islamisation and
the party’s influence by placing their cadres in public and state institutions. Today,
273
the private and public dakwah agendas of the movement and party co-exist in a
complex relationship, with tensions having existed between leaders and members
with the Liqo became more formalised and political with the emergence of the PKS.
The Tarbiyah movement was transformed to focus in a new way on the creation of
whole built ‘a mutual relationship’ between the Liqo-Tarbiyah community and the
PKS. From the point of view of the leaders of the party (or the movement), the
informal networks of the Liqo significantly contribute to the growth in PKS cadres
and is a major resource for mobilisation of the dakwah party. The senior members
also believe that the more formal political networks of the PKS enables the Liqo to
expand its more informal dakwah network through various activities. For the cadres
at the middle and lower levels of the movement, however – especially those at the
grassroots level – the party has compromised their ‘pure’ dakwah ideologies and
distinction (and tensions) between (Salafi) ‘politicos’ and ‘purists’. For instance, in
the Liqo, I saw how the trainees expressed their ‘disappointment’ at being required
to participate in the ‘grassroots’ election campaigning process. This turned them into
‘human resources’ who devoted their time to simple practical tasks for the party
(such as handing out pamphlets), rather than the lessons of the Liqo. At the other end
of the spectrum, I saw how genuinely excited the leaders were in contesting
elections.
274
Although (like the literature) the official discourses of the Tarbiyah movement have
often been dominated by the public dakwah agenda of the PKS, the lived religious
emphasise personal piety and religiosity. While this may in part reflect a patriarchal
division of labour in the movement, I argue that the Liqo is a space where movement
norms, lifestyles and dispositions are successfully taught learned and reproduced
through women’s agency, most especially in terms of the disciplined, embodied and
argument is that official and lived religion are structurally and analytically
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List of abbreviations
Assembly
DPP (PKS): Dewan Pengurus Pusat or Central Board or the National Headquarters
Association
295
Technology
Indonesia
Indonesian Muslims
296
Movement
Struggle
SDIT (PKS): Sekolah Dasar Islam Terpadu or the Integrated Islamic Primary
School
Notes on Transliterations
For the transliteration of terms, words and phrases in Arabic, I have adapted the
style used in a variety of international journals on Islamic Studies or Religious
Studies and the book A Popular Dictionary of Islam (1992), written by Ian Richard
Netton. I have used them as simply as possible to prevent any confusion. The only
attempt to Arabicise the transliteration in the text itself, however, is the presence of
the left facing apostrophe (’) referring to the letter ‘ayn ( ع- e.g. bid’ah, mu’assasi
and shari’ah). Other letters such as – ثth (hadith), – ذdh (dhikr); and – شsh
(shaykh) have been used as counterparts in English in this way.
For Indonesian versions of religious terms originally coming from Arabic, such as
dakwah, liqo, halaqah, tawhid, akidah and ibadah, etc., I prefer to use them as they
are used in Indonesia in everyday speech, unless when they are used in direct
quotations from the literature. Regarding the pluralising of these terms, I use Arabic
plural forms such as ulama and fatawa.
299
Glossary
Below is a glossary of the words in Arabic (Ar) and Indonesian (Ind) that appear in
my thesis.
Adab (Ar): A word with a wide variety of meanings, such as ‘culture’ and ‘good-
manners’. The Basic Arabic root indicates the possession or refinement of
good habits bequeathed down the ages.
Akidah (Ind, from Ar. ‘Aqida. Pl. ‘aqaid): Doctrine, dogma, faith, belief, creed.
Al-Qur’an (Ar): Often spelled in English as Koran. Literally this word means:
‘Recitation’. The Qur’an is Islam’s holiest book, being the uncreated word of
God revealed through Jibril (Angel Gabriel) to the Prophet Muhammad.
Amar Ma’ruf Nahi Munkar (Ind, from Ar. Amr bi al-Ma’ruf wa Nahy ‘an al-
Munkar): Enjoining good and preventing evil.
300
Al-Sabiqun al-Awwalun (Ar): Used by the Tarbiyah leaders to refer to the first
generation of the Liqo activists.
Aurat (Ind, from Ar. Awra): Implies all parts of the women’s body that should be
covered with the exception of the face and the edge of hand (telapak
tangan).
Bid’ah (Ind. From Ar Bid’a): Literally, ‘innovation’. Its proper opposite is sunna.
However, in popular speech, bid’a has come to indicate ‘heresy’.
Da’i (Ar. plural du’at): ‘Caller’ (i.e. to Islam), propagandist, one who preaches a
(sometimes esoteric) missionary movement’s summons or calls.
Da’iya (Ind, from Ar. plural da’iyat): Used to refer to a female preacher or religious
teacher.
Dakwah (Ind. from Ar, da’wa plural da’awat): Call, invitation, preaching, mission,
dialogue.
Dawrah (Ar): Name for a religious circle conducted by the Tarbiyah movement.
Dhu’l-Hijja (Ar): The month of Hajj (pilgrimage), which is the last month of the
Islamic calendar.
Fatwa (Ar. Pl. al-Fatawa): A technical term used in Islamic law to indicate a formal
legal judgement or view.
Fiqh (Ind and Ar): In its technical sense, the word means ‘Islamic Jurisprudence’.
Originally the word meant ‘understanding’ or ‘knowledge’.
Fiqh al-dakwah (Ar): Used by the Tarbiyah movement to refer to the strategy of the
dakwah.
Gamis (Ind, from Ar. Qamis): Long clothes origanating from Arab usually worn by
female Muslims and also known as tunic.
Hadith (Ar, plural ahadith): This Arabic word has a large number of meanings,
including ‘speech’, ‘report’ and ‘narrative’. It also has the very important
specialist sense of tradition, i.e. a record of the sayings and doings of the
prophet Muhammad and his companions, and as such is regarded by
Muslims as a source of Islamic law, dogma and ritual, second only in
importance to the Qur’an itself.
Haditsul Khamis (Ar): ‘Thursday talk’, a learning activity among the Tarbiyah/PKS
activists held every Thursday afternoon.
Hajj (Ar): Pilgrimage. This is the one of the five Arkan or pillars of Islam. All
Muslims, provided that a number of conditions, including good health and
financial ability are present, have a duty to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at
least once in their lifetimes.
302
Haq (Ind, from Ar. al-Haqq): The truth/Divine Truth. This is a word of immense
significance in the intellectual and linguistic development of Islam. Haqq can
be both a noun and an adjective, meaning ‘truth’ and ‘rightness’ and also
‘true’, ‘right’ and ‘correct’.
Hijab (Ar, pl. hujub): Veil. Worn by many Muslim women out of modesty, the veil
is also a striking symbol of pride in being a Muslim, which many younger
Muslims, as well as the older generation, are pleased to wear (contrary to
popular belief).
Hijrah (Ar, al-hijra): The Migration – specifically in Islamic religious history, the
migration or emigration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina
in AD 622, which became Year 1 of the Muslim lunar calendar.
Ibadah (Ind, from Ar. ibada, pl. ‘ibadat): Worship, devotional action or observance
required by the Islamic faith, e.g. salat.
Jahiliyya (Ar): State of ignorance. The Arabic word is used to designate the pre-
Islamic period.
Jizya (Ar): Poll tax imposed in mediaeval times on non-Muslims who were Ahl al-
Kitab in areas ruled by Muslims.
Juz (Ar, pl. ajza): Literally meaning ‘part’. The Qur’an is divided into thirty parts
(30 Juz).
Khutbah (Ind, from Ar. khutba, pl. khutab): Sermons, address; in particular the
sermon delivered during the Friday prayer in the mosque.
Lauk pauk (Ind): Side dishes that should be provided with main foods for sesajen.
304
Liqo (Ind, from Ar. Liqo): Small religious training session conducted on a weekly
basis by the Tarbiyah movement.
Mabit (Ind, from Ar): Staying overnight for religious purposes, a training of the
Tarbiyah movement.
Madah (Ar): Lessons [refers to lessons delivered in the weekly Liqo of the
Tarbiyah].
Madrasah (Ind. From Ar, madrasa pl. madaris): School, college or place of
education, often linked to, or associated with, a mosque. The madrasa was a
primary focus for the study of the Islamic sciences.
Manhaj Tarbiyah (Ar): The Tarbiyah’s manual book of their dakwah activities.
Markaz Dakwah (Ind. from Ar. al-Markaz al-Dakwah): Centre of dakwah, refers to
the building of the Headquarters of the PKS in Jakarta.
Maslahat Dakwah (Ar. Maslahah al-Dakwah): Benefit of the common good for
dakwah.
Mazhab (Ar. al-Madhhab, pl. madhahib): This Arabic word has a range of
meanings, including ‘ideology’, ‘doctrine’, ‘creed’, and ‘movement’. In Fiqh
it indicates one of the four major schools of law.
Mubah (Ar): Refers to an action neither recommended nor forbidden (by Islam). It
is religiously neutral.
Murabbi (Ar. al-Murabb): Male trainer or mentor of the Liqo of the Tarbiyah
movement.
Mutarabbi (Ar. al-Mutarabb): Male trainee of the Liqo of the Tarbiyah movement.
Nashr al-dakwah (Ar): Refers to a department for the spreading of Islam in the
structure of MB in Qutb’s period.
Piagam Madinah (Ind): The Medina Charter – an agreement between Muslims and
non-Muslims in Medina under the rule of the Prophet Muhammad.
Qada (Ar): Divine decree, divine judgment, divine will, or the function of God as
judge.
Rabthul ‘am (Ar, al- Rabth al ‘am): Public ties – part of dakwah strategy conducted
by the Tarbiyah/PKS.
Sahaba (Ar, sing. sahib): Companions, i.e. the Prophet Muhammad. The word is
used variously to denote both the Prophet’s close friends and associates, and,
more loosely, anyone who saw the Prophet while the latter was alive.
Salafi (Ar. al-Salaf): Old, ancient. A movement that claims to follow the teachings
of salafus salih.
Salafiyatul akidah (Ar): The belief of the Salaf people, the early pious companions.
Salafus Salih (Ar. al-Salaf al-Salih): The virtuous companions of the Prophet
Muhammad. It refers to three generations of Muslim after the death of the
Prophet Muhammad, companions (Sahabah), their followers (Tabi’un), and
the follower’s followers (Tabi’ at-Tabi’un)
Sesajen (Ind): Foods provided for God. A local tradition in which people should
bring foods to accompany their ‘rituals’ or traditions.
Shalat (Ind, from Ar. al-Salah): Ritual prayers. Five specific periods of prayer a day
is the ritual required in Islam.
Shaum (Ar): Fasting or the abstention from all food and drink as well as sexual
intercourse during daylight hours.
Shaykh (Ar, pl. shuyukh): Old man, chief – title of respect for Islamic religious
leader, tribal head, master of sufi order.
Shi'a (Ar): Party, i.e. of ‘Ali b. Abi Thalib – those who follow and accept the claims
of ‘Ali b. Abi Thalib.
Sirah (Ind, Ar. Sira): Biography, particularly that of the Prophet Muhammad.
Sofhah mutaba'ah (Ar): The evaluation sheet used to ‘monitor’ or to check list
ritual performances of the Liqo trainees of the Tarbiyah movement.
Tabi’un (Ar, sing. tabi’): Followers – the next generation after the sahaba or
companions (who actually knew the Prophet Muhammad).
Tahajud (Ar): A voluntary night prayer done by Muslims apart from their five
obligatory prayers.
Tahlilan (Ind): Recitation of the creed, La ilaha Illa Allah (There is no god but
God), at ceremonies to commemorate the dead.
Tariqa (Ar, Plural Turuq): The word is very frequently used to designate a sufi
order.
Ulama (Ar) (sing. ‘alim): Religious scholars, jurists (loosely), learned men, imams,
judges and similar people.
Wirid (Ind, from Ar. al-Aurad): Set of prayer formula recited regularly. It is also
called wadzifah.
Yaum al-Arafah (Ar, means the day of Arafa): The final day of hajj in Mecca or the
day of 9th Dzulhijjah, where Muslims were recommended to fast.
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Zakat (Ar): Often transliterated Zakah (plural. Zakawat) – obligatory alms tax which
constitutes one of the five pillars of Islam.
1. Invitation
You are being invited to take part in a research project about the dakwah
(Islamic preaching) movement of the Prosperous Justice Party (Partai
Keadilan Sejahtera/ PKS). My name is Ai Fatimah Nur Fuad, currently a
Ph.D student in Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds. My
Ph.D is funded by the ministry of education of Indonesia (DIKTI
scholarship). I am a lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah of
HAMKA (UHAMKA) in Jakarta. I have also graduated from Al-Azhar
University in Cairo-Egypt (Lc.), University of Indonesia (M.Si) in Jakarta
and University of Leeds (MA) in England. My academic background and my
research interests are Islamic studies specifically concerned with Islamic
movements.
N.B. You can withdraw from the research at any time and you do not have to
give a reason.
Initial the box if you agree with the statement to the left
5 I agree to take part in the above research project and will inform
the principal investigator should my contact details change.
Copies:
Once this has been signed by all parties the participant should receive a copy of the
signed and dated participant consent form, the letter/pre-written script/information
sheet and any other written information provided to the participants. A copy of the
signed and dated consent form should be kept with the project’s main documents
which must be kept in a secure location.
316
D. Ex-trainees
Note: Two public figures are not anonymised because they are public scholars and
Lampiran:
di
Tempat
Semoga surat ini menjumpai bapak dan ibu seluruh pengurus PKS dalam keadaan
sehat wal’afiyat dan selalu dalam lindungan-Nya.