Relation of religion and practical politics: Contextual adoption of constitutional Islamic jurisprudence for Muslim clerics in Indonesia

Abstract

Some clerics (ulama) in the Islamic world are of the view that practical politics is closely related to Islam, which regulates how an order of state is run. This view historically departs from Islamic constitutional jurisprudence texts that justify political Islam. Likewise, some Islamic boarding schools’ (pesantren) clerics, better known as kyai in Indonesia, are of the view that practical politics is not only a world affair but also an activity based on the application of Islamic legal principles in achieving public welfare. This study aims to determine the academic basis of pesantren ulama in making decisions to be active in practical politics in Indonesia. Using a qualitative approach through interviews, the results of this study indicate that the political decisions of pesantren ulama are strictly based on the perspective of political Islam and fiqh principles that justify the involvement of ulama in politics. Furthermore, the conclusion leads to three perspectives in political motivations for pesantren’s ulama: to gain power, to preach Islamic values, and to demonstrate the existence of ulama in modern state administration.Contribution: The contribution of the study is to describe the permissibility of politics as an alternative to preaching and to show the existence and ability of ulama in state administration.

Deradicalization of Pesantren Education in Indonesia

“…There prevails a dialectical mechanism in the pesantren's internal to prevent radicalism in the pesantren, both discursive and practical. The dialectic of radicalism and anti-radicalism in pesantren shows that with the perspective of the Hegelian dialectic theory, the existence of radicalism in pesantren automatically indicates the presence of anti-radicalism (Kusmanto, Fauzi and Jamil, 2015;Yahya and Sahidin, 2022).…”

“…Several studies have shown increased religious revivalism and radicalism in Southeast Asia (Manurnoor, 2009), including Indonesia. This tendency is manifested in the form of political Islam displayed by revivalist and radical social and religious organizations, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), Hizbut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) (Shadi, 2017), Laskar Jihad (Asghar, 2015;Santosa and Sjuhro, 2019;Yahya and Sahidin, 2022), and Jama'ah Tabligh (Ma'mun, 2019). Radicalism is a worrying phenomenon in Indonesia (Misbah, 2019a).…”

Dynamics of Religious Thought in Pesantrens in Indonesia: Between Radicalism, Moderation, and Liberalism

“…Indonesia's open and tolerant culture, forming their identity and tradition rooted in local wisdom, where values of simplicity, openness, and communal living are esteemed (Assa'idi, 2021). This tradition has been substantiated through the extensive historical journey of pesantren within the social, national, and state life (Roqib, 2021;Yahya & Sahidin, 2022).…”