Jakarta Style Islam

 

Jakarta Style Islam

On one of the mailing lists, I got a name: Muhammad Mualim. The last name of Muhammad's brother, Mualim, reminds me of an essay entitled “Mualim Shafi'i”. The author KH. Abdurahman Wahid alias Gus Dur, published in the weekly magazine  Tempo,  in the 80s.

What is meant by Mualim Syafi'i, both in Gus Dur's writings and in this note, is the late KH Abdullah Syafi'i, the pioneer of the taklim majlis, Asyafi'iyah colleges and Islamic boarding schools in Tebet, South Jakarta. Gus Dur wrote Mualim Syafi'i to commemorate his attitude and views. Gus Dur's writings were published not long after Mualim Syafi'i died.

In that article, Gus Dur conveyed at least two important points. First, the Muslim community in Jakarta is closer to Arab culture than the Islamic community in other parts of the archipelago. The thick Arab culture in Jakarta is not solely because there are many habib or sayid – a term for people who are believed to have a lineage with the Prophet Muhammad – who in Indonesian Islamic circles generally must be respected, or there is a village of Pekojan which is filled with Golkar, the Arab Descendants. More than that.

Arobiyah or the familiarity of the people in Jakarta, said Gus Dur, because many Betawi people study in the Middle East, (Mecca and Cairo). Thus, automatically Arab culture followed suit. Like other cultures, of course there is a process of acculturation, not just Arab culture as a society.

Gus Dur gave an example of how the pronouns "ane" for the first person and "ente" for the second person "become betawi," go hand in hand with "me" and "elu". In fact, native people in Tegalparang, Mampang Prapatan, find it easier to say "nyahi" than "drink tea". "Nyahi" comes from the Arabic "Shahi " , which means tea.

 

Therefore, it is not surprising that Jakartans call "Mualim" for people who are good at religious knowledge and are istiqomah to teach it to the general public. Gus Dur joked that the title Mualim was not because he was able to steer a ship. Mualim title is higher than Ustadz. In Central Java and East Java, "Mualim" is equivalent to "Kiai,". Meanwhile, "Ustadz" is on the same level as "Guru", who teaches "only" juz  Amma . But the title "Teacher" in Betawi is also above the ustadz,  you know . Arabic terms can often be "bent" according to one's own imagination, it doesn't matter, for example, ustadz in Arabic means professor.

Mualim Syafi'i was given the title "Kiai" not long ago. "Kiai" is used and popular after "Jawanization". The most pronounced Javanization took the form of the migration of Javanese clerics to Jakarta. Perhaps what Gus Dur meant was that the number of kiai from Central Java and East Java, such as Kiai Wahid Hasyim, Kiai Wahab Hasbullah, etc., went back and forth a lot, from Jakarta to Jombang. Even then he settled in Jakarta because he held a position that required living in Jakarta, such as Kiai Saifuddin Zuhri. If true, it means that massive migration occurred around the early 20th century, when people outside came to Jakarta in order to thicken the independence movement from colonial rule.

The second point conveyed by Gus Dur was Mualim Syafi'i's persistence and consistency in blunting the negative impacts of modernization/liberalization. The spirituality offered by Mualim Syafi'i is able to overcome the dryness of the human soul which is squeezed by a life that is oriented to all things.

 

The solidarity built by Mualim Syafi'i is an antidote to the feeling of alienation, due to the breaking down of old social ties in life, whether married, neighbors or in society. Mualim Syafi'i's persistence, for example, was manifested in his opposition to the policy of seeking funds through gambling during the late governor Ali Sadikin's reign. Likewise, the policy of eviction of graves from Karet to Tanah Kusir. All of Mualim Syafi'i's rebuttals were based on religious teachings, so it felt gripping.

But Mualim Syafi'i still got along warmly with Ali Sadikin, even though the governor still allowed and legalized gambling. Gus Dur then asked the question, was Mualim Syafi'i no longer carrying out religious orders, commanding ma'ruf and nahi munkar? Mualim Shafi'i is not consistent? Has he been lulled by his friendship with Ali Sadikin? Apparently not, said Gus Dur.

 

The reason is simple, Mualim Syafi'i knows very well the limits of the role he has to play as a preacher or preacher, which is limited to teaching the establishment of religious teachings, nothing more, not opposing the government, nor building strength (machtsvorming) to impose a position.

 

If it is deemed sufficient to convey the religious establishment, then the religious obligation, the obligation of a preacher, has fallen. In fact, even the level of an apostle, is only limited to "delivering," not "making". Do not let the obligation to preach destroy other obligations that must also be maintained, namely maintaining  ukhuwah Islamiyah .

From this, it can be understood that preaching does not need to damage the association and characteristics of society, namely diversity, both concerning religious beliefs and beliefs or opinions. Conveying religious teachings does not need to strain the neck, let alone violence,  all kinds of convoys, even batons and takbir, like against the Dutch in the past.

 

Thus, it is clear that the warmth between Ali Sadikin and Mualim Syafi'i was not opportunism, said Gus Dur, not a step to achieve personal ambitions. On the other hand, what Mualim Syafi'i did was consistency in implementing ukhuwah Islamiyah. Ukhuwah Islamiyah  means building brotherhood based on Islamic values, not brotherhood among the Muslim community, not Al-Ikhwanul Muslimun.

So, what I want to say on this occasion is, “What are the traces of Mualim Syafi'i's teachings and attitudes in life in the Muslim community in Jakarta today?

Why is this question important to ask? The answer, first, is that Mualim Syafi'i is one of the founders of the style or model of Islam in Jakarta, Islam Jakarta. Many famous ulama in Jakarta are his students. Mualim Syafi'i is one of the founders of Jakarta's Islam, with Islamic characters and Arab culture accompanied by an attitude of tolerance for the plurality of Jakarta.

 

He knows very well that Jakarta is inhabited by, not only remote parts of the country, but also from all over the world, because of its position as the nation's capital city. Everyone living in Jakarta, without exception, should feel at home.

Second, I see indications that the teachings laid down by Mualim Syafi'i have experienced erosion and disconnection between the predecessor and successor generations. Often I listen to religious lectures or Friday sermons containing blasphemies against groups that are not in line. It does not stop there, searches and destruction of places that are considered immoral or contrary to religion are often performed by several Muslim communities in Jakarta.

I can understand the anger of a few Muslims in Jakarta at the negative excesses, or perhaps defeats, of modernization. But, I really don't understand, “Why did the violent path be taken, even though the culture of violence and intolerance is not the character of Jakarta's Islam that has been laid down for decades by Mualim Syafi'i?