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Post-authoritarian diversity in Indonesia's state-owned mosques: A manakiban case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2014

Abstract

Indonesia's state-owned mosques are important sites for observing changes in religious life that have taken place since the demise of the Suharto regime. During the New Order period, ideological and political factors restricted access to mosques owned and managed by provincial and regency governments. In contemporary West Java, access to such mosques has been broadened, and they now display a diversity of religious programs and practices. Drawing on recent fieldwork, this article makes a case study of the intercession ritual known as manakiban which has recently emerged in government-owned mosques of West Java. It identifies two dominant factors behind the new inclusiveness: a desire for visibility and public legitimacy on the part of some members of the Sufi order that promotes the ritual, and secondly, a broadening of access to state-owned mosques as a result of more inclusive participation in the electoral process. The article contributes to knowledge of the politicisation of religion in contemporary Indonesia, and suggests new possibilities for understanding the meanings of public Islamic infrastructure.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 2014 

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45 In West Java the acronym DKM is variously interpreted as Dewan Keluarga Masjid (Board of the Mosque Family) or Dewan Kemakmuran Masjid (Board for the Prosperity of the Mosque). In other locations in Java, the DKM is frequently called takmir.

46 The KUA deals with routine matters requiring religious administration and verification.

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48 Some Muslim figures were critical of this delegation. They saw it as a strategic move reflecting a politically motivated agreement between MUI, which represents a clique of well-positioned religious leaders, and the kota government. For critiques of the political brokerage performed by religious elites in Tasikmalaya, see Pluralisme, sekularisme dan liberalisme di Indonesia: Persepsi kaum santri di Jawa Barat, ed. Hasyim, Syafiq (Pondok Indah: ICIP, 2007)Google Scholar; Mudzakkir, Politik Muslim; A.Z. Noor, ‘Keingingan dan niat buruk’, in Nuhammadiyah bicara nasionalisme, ed. Binhad Nurrohmat and Moh. Shofan (Jogjakarta: Ar-Ruzz Media, 2011): 49–62.

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64 Kahmad, Tarekat dalam Islam, pp. 182–8. After completing their group performance of ritual worship (salat), TQN members perform loud repetitions of the phrase ‘la illaha illa Allah’ (There is no God other than Allah). The verbalisation is often accompanied by distinctive body movements performed in a sitting position. The phrase and its repetition are familiar to all Muslims in Indonesia, but it was the loud volume that, in Kahmad's account, attracts neighbours' suspicions.

65 Ibid., p. 124.

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