Islamism and Dakwah in Modern Indonesia:
Official Discourses and Lived Experiences of Leaders and Members of the Tarbiyah
Movement
Ai Fatimah Nur Fuad, Ph.D
The University of Leeds-UK
Kolokium Doktor UHAMKA 2016
Background
Dakwah
They developed an Islamisation strategy Individual piety and public piety
Emergence of Islamism
Islamists responded to this absence They struggle to re-Islamise public sphere through various political means
The globalized modernity
Changed the relationships between Islam & the state The absence of Islam from public sphere (replaced Islamic law by modern law, adopted modern legal system, changed
Islamic court, marginalized ulama etc)
Background
How about Islamism in Indonesia?
Islamism in Indonesia = Islamism in other countries, emerged mainly in big cities as a response to social change and emerging political opportunities
It was initially focused on improving the private piety of individuals but then attempted to develop more public agendas to Islamise society and the state
My thesis examines when, how and why re-Islamisation of
public sphere have been developed through the dakwah of
the Islamists in Indonesia/the Tarbiyah movement
Research questions
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 a less formal network or informal community fit into the more formal 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?
3) how do female Liqo members experience, and to what extent do
they subsequently practice, the dakwah received through weekly
sessions?
Research aims
to provide a holistic picture of the Tarbiyah movement’s approach to 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
to study the discrepancies between official discourses
and lived experiences in the movement
Research contribution
My research contributes to the existing literatures of Islamism and dakwah of the Tarbiyah movement in Indonesia
It specifically contributes to the analysis of
official discourses and lived religion of dakwah
in contemporary Islamist movements.
Literature Review
There are a number of books, doctoral and masters theses, and academic articles published on the Tarbiyah movement and the PKS
Hidayat (2012): PKS is a party of moderation (have commitment to democratic principles)
Hilmy (2010): the PKS accepts modern values but stands firmly on Islamic identity (meliorist)
Permata (2008): focus on democracy & pragmatic attitudes of the PKS
Mahmudi (2006): the PKS is flexible and rational in implementing their Islamic ideas (of Islamising Indonesia)
Liddle and Mujani (2004): Islamists in Indonesia have negative views about democracy and disagree with notions of democracy, human/minority rights, etc
This literature has mainly been inspired by the rising political profile of the PK (PKS) in the last fifteen years. These studies have shown that scholars’ interests are primarily based on official, formal and party leaders’ discourses.
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 Tarbiyah movement/PKS
In particular, no research has as yet been 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.
Theoretical Framework
Official Discourses
Social Movement Theory (SMT) Wictorowicz
My research draws upon SMT to better illuminate how the Tarbiyah movement maintains different scales of
formality, less formality and informality. It can be regarded as a less formal movement in some ways because it is constituted by dynamic networks that began
by existing beyond the parameters of very formal organizations. It did not originally have the structure and boards of formal organizations. The movement consisted mainly, and to some extent still consists, of small groups
called Liqo
Lived Experiences
the concept of lived religion
Ammerman and McGuire
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 women involved in pious movements such as the women in the Liqo
Methodology
Official discourses
1. Interview (with leaders and mentors)
2. Review official documents
The aim of the use of multiple methods is to produce more in-depth, well-
developed, and more comprehensive results or findings given that this method facilitates validation of data
The use of multiple methods for this research project was a response to the possible limitations that could emerge from using only one approach, for
example Review official texts (the 1980s and the 1990s cannot be accessed, only the 2000s onward)
Lived experiences
1. Interview (with male and female trainees)
2. Observation (15 Liqo/Daurah sessions) 3. Focus group
discussions/FGD (with female trainees/mutarobbiyah)
FGD held twice; to generate
1) insider and 2) outsider
perspectives
Research Findings and Discussions
Chapter 4. I explored the history, ideology and development of the Tarbiyah movement, the reasons for its establishment of a political party, and the party’s impact on their dakwah concept & movement
I argue 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 and when it established a political
party
Chapter 5
I explained the significance of the
Liqoas a weekly religious training session attended by all the
Tarbiyahcadres
The chapter investigates the structure, position, and function of the weekly
Liqofor both the
Tarbiyahmovement and the party (PKS). The
Liqoconsists of many groups – from beginners and intermediate right the way up to the highest levels of the movement
I found that the
Liqois used as a means for recruiting new members to the
Tarbiyahmovement, to strengthen its members' ideology, and to connect the
Tarbiyahmovement with PKS' goals. I argue that the structure,
recruitment, management, and hierarchy of religious authority in the
Liqobecame more political with the emergence of the PKS
Chapter 6
I examined the extent to which female Liqo members experience, receive, and practice the dakwah designed 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 fieldwork.
My observations focused on these women’s thoughts and experiences, 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 leaders.
I found that although an official type of religiosity and piety is promoted by the movement and its leaders, the experiences of these women revealed a heterogeneity and complexity in the range of meanings that being a Liqo member has for them, as well as in the practice of religiosity that the cadres find the most meaningful and useful.
Conclusion
My study has demonstrated: 1) the continuing importance that conducting public dakwah has for these Islamists, whose focus is on a more active (sometimes aggressive) and powerful form of dakwah
2) although the official discourses of the Tarbiyah movement have often been dominated by a public dakwah agenda associated with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) since its formation in 1998, the lived religious experiences of members of the Liqo generally continue to emphasise the private dakwah agenda
3) that the lived experiences of female Liqo members are heterogeneous and complex, and are not always in accordance with what the official discourse of the Tarbiyah leaders assumes them to be
- For example, in contrast to the leaders’ expectations, these women’s
motivations for joining the Liqo are frequently not merely to improve their religiosity, but also include expanding their social networks (finding new friends), strengthening existing friendships, and obeying their husbands.
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