Arsip:

Thesis Review

Scientific Interpretation Concerning Creation of Man in the Bible and the Qur'an

Thesis Review Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Title: Scientific Interpretation Concerning Creation of Man in the Bible and the Qur’án

Author: Suparjo (CRCS, 2004)

Keywords: God, creation, evolution, interpretation, and theology

Abstract:

 

The Bible and the Qur’án use various terms and descriptions concerning creation of man. On the one hand, both scriptures describe direct and instant creation of man by God; but on the other hand, both describe gradual creation of man that reveals continuing creation. This makes people of those scriptures become different in understanding it.

Religious Harmony in Kotesan, Prambanan Subdistrict, Klaten

Thesis Review Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Title : Religious Harmony in Kotesan, Prambanan Subdistrict, Klaten: A Study of Interreligious Dialogue in Buddhist Perspective
Author : Heriyah (CRCS, 2005)
Keywords : Religious plurality, Common Ground, dan sincretism
Abstract
Religious plurality is an indisputable depiction of Indonesian people. To maintain a kind of interreligious dialogue Indonesian people need a comon ground or common sense functioned as a precondition to bring together any differences as well as to create interreligious dialouge. We also used to find inclusive, exclusive, and even pluralistic characters highlighted by those people who get involve in it. All religions has their own concept of Transcendent (the Ultimate Reality), the different ways they see the reality of life, but share the similar end: expecting the happiness. Interreligious dialogue takes place in daily theological, philosophical, and practical lives. In this context, daily life dialogue is far more important in order to create the harmony among religious people. All religions supposedly have particular teachings of compassion, tolerance, help and respect of each other by which they can create a kind of mutual dialogue and harmony among religious people within a multicultural and multireligious community.
Kotesan village is one of multireligious and multicultural communities in Indonesia. There we can find four great religions: Buddha, Hindu, Christianity, and Islam, and one school of belief called the Saptha Dharma. After all, Kotesan people are mostly affected by the tradition of Hinduism and Buddhism as well. A dialectic process between religion and local culture becomes so far a means for dialogue as well as creating the harmony among Kotesan religious people, including the Buddhists. Buddhism teaches not only the doctrines of compassion (metta) and liberation from craving (vimutti), but also meditation practice to eliminate the selfish ego (anatta). All of these teachings have long become Kotesan Buddhists’ worldview and the way they behave in daily life. In addition, the way Kotesan Buddhists deal with daily life conflict, including religious conflict, is based on the law of karma, which in turn leads to Kotesan nonviolent daily life. Nevertheless, the practices of Buddhist’s syncretism, acceptance, adaptation, and response to local culture contribute significantly to Kotesan pluralistic and harmonious life. Religious and local sacred rites (namely slametan) have opened social rooms for interreligious dialogue as a means of creating the harmony of religious people.
The data collecting process in this field research is carried out in two steps: first, direct observation; and second, interpreting the information obtained from key sources through in-depth interview. In addition to this kind of data, much secondary information from any literatures, documents, articles, media news, which pertaining to the Buddhist practice are also employed in order to get the thorough depiction as well as the appropriate understanding of the subject being studied. By this method, the study finds that Buddhists’ openness to others and local culture, in my point of view, could be a representation of religious harmony in Indonesia which is characterized by the strength of ancient culture as a model of interreligious dialogue in Indonesia.

Imlek New Year Celebration in Mosque

Thesis Review Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Title : Imlek New Year Celebration in Mosque: Assimilation through Converting Religion and Politics of Identity
Author : Ubed Abdilah S (CRCS, 2005)
Abstract
This research focused on a minority of a minority group in Indonesia—the Moslem group of Indonesian Chinese—which have risen from silence. After the New Era of Indonesian Reformation of 1998, protests escalated and democracy widened through the country, suddenly Chinese group as part of Indonesian society found themselves at the center of discussion. Riots of May 1998 are considered as worst violence towards Chinese in Indonesia but it has also made Indonesian society, in some ways, more tolerant of Chinese existence. The post Soeharto’s government made new policies towards ethnic Chinese criticizing New Order Policies. The Post New Order governments tried to accept this minority group as well as other groups of ethnicity. The first policy made the ethnic Chinese to have a free Chinese New Years celebration (Imlek), followed by reducing other rules which discriminated the ethnic Chinese like media representations, cultural performances and language expression. One exception is religious expression which still has not been acknowledged as national religions. Moslem Chinese in Indonesia have strongly struggled for their identity. It has been conducted and supported by the New Order regime as a way of assimilation program. It is assumed by converting to Islam, assimilation would be successful because Islam is the religion held by the majority of Indonesians (Junus Jahja, Hamka). Becoming a Moslem in Indonesia, Chinese are more acceptable as an aspect of Indonesian (pribumi) than Buddhist Chinese or Christian Chinese. There are images and perceptions, in some ways, that Christianity is a colonial religion, coming from the West and held by people who colonized Indonesia for more than 300 years. So, being Christian is supposed to be not being Indonesia, and issues which are related to Christianity always become crucial and political.
In the sense of freedom after Soeharto’s regime was defeated, Moslem groups of Indonesian Chinese wanted to express their identity as Chinese as like others. This group wanted to be considered as Chinese as well as Moslems. A Moslem group of Chinese in Yogyakarta expressed their Chinese identity by celebrating the Chinese New Year (Imlek) 2555 (early 2004) in a Mosque named Masjid Syuhada, Kotabaru, Yogyakarta. They assumed that Imlek is merely a cultural tradition not a religious festival of certain religion or belief. So, it could be celebrated by all Chinese, whatever religion. For the beginning this celebration launched, there was a Moslem group (Majelis Mujahidin) disagree with this celebration assuming that Imlek was a bid’ah or Syirik (not allowed by the Sunnah) and coming from Kong Hu Cu. But finally, the celebration was successful.
Through Cultural Studies approach, Postmodern Theory and Deconstruction Theory, this research tries to examine how politics of identity operates when a Moslem Chinese group in Yogyakarta expressed their Chinese identity and their Islamic identity as well within Imlek New Years celebration. Politics of identity appeared also when a Moslem group rejected this celebration because of their different understanding about Imlek New Years. Moreover, politics of identity apparently rises up Chinese identity on public sphere of Indonesian, but on political areas such as political parties, institutions and pressure groups. These contesting identities later forced democracy being urged to be practiced, as well as political transparency, and good government and freedom of expression.

Plurality of Religious Community Life in Bali

Thesis Review Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Title: Plurality of Religious Community Life in Bali: A Case Study of Interaction Patterns between Islamic Community and Hindu’s in the Village of Pemogan, Denpasar

Author: I Gede Suwindia (CRCS, 2005)

Keywords: harmony; multiculturalism; dialogue; and local wisdom.

Abstract:

 

The word Harmony is the key terms used in all discussions and analyses of this thesis. The spirit of establishing harmony is absolutely wished by most people and this is always found in an each religious holy scripture. This is the believers’ responsibility to investigate and analyze what is contained in the scripture and implement it in the real conducts to strengthen the harmonious condition. There are a lot of slogans or terms used to invite, support and pursue people to build the interfaith harmony. In fact, this is the main pillar that ties Indonesian nation having multi ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In this research ethnicity and multiculturalism settings are considered as one of the empowerment factors; thus the ethnicities and the multiculturalisms are not the handicaps in the establishment of interfaith interaction. In these terms appreciation of one ethnic group to the others is very needed to create the significant harmony.

Peace and Dialogue: Sociological Review of Dialogue and Peace Initiative in Ambon 1999-2004

Thesis Review Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Title : Peace and Dialogue: Sociological Review of Dialogue and Peace Initiative in Ambon 1999 – 2004
Author : Yance Zadrak Rumahuru (CRCS, 2005)
Keywords : conflict, dialogue, social community
Abstract :
This thesis explores the great theme of peace and dialogue within the context of social community (religious people) in Ambon that is reviewed through sociology approach. The study aims to, first, describe how parties involved in communal conflict in Ambon developed dialogue and peace efforts; second, give a map of dialogue process and peace effort done by government and community groups during the conflict in Ambon. It is a disadvantage that discourses about Maluku during conflict tend to be done in form of dichotomy and confrontation between religious communities that blasphemed and killed each other, and just looking for their own trueness or discover violence aspect of the conflict rather than discover some facts on efforts of community groups and government in building dialogue and peace.
This research was done in Ambon, by focusing in two locations: Negeri Batumerah in Sirimau subdistrict and Negeri Passo in Teluk Ambon Baguala subdistrict of Ambon town. The choice of these regions is based on consideration that Batumerah and Passo are places that were centers of conflict in Ambon in 1999 to 2002. Second, each negeri has a high level of diversity especially in ethnic background. Third, Batumerah and Passo are customary areas, which culturally have common cultures and traditions with other areas in Ambon and Maluku Tengah entirely. Subjects of the research are kings, local figures, community figures, and youths in two regions. To get data required, the author gave questionnaire consisting of questions with close answers and open answers the respondents should fill. Then, the author made focus group discussion (FGD) with community groups in Batumerah and Passo. Third, in-depth interview was done with 14 informants in the two regions. Research in Passo and Batumerah indicates that government and community groups use structural and cultural approach in order to cease and settle conflict as prerequisite to build reconciliation and rehabilitation in Maluku. However, there is assessment by the local community that government (state) tended to use a structural approach. On the other side, communal groups made dialogue and peace initiative through a bottom- up approach and used local wisdom or pride that in this thesis is called cultural approach.

Fiqh and Inter-Religious Dialogue

Thesis Review Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Title : Fiqh and Inter-Religious Dialogue: Case Studies of the Establishment of Dialogist Fiqh in Ma’had Ali Salafiyah Syafi’iyah Sukorejo Situbondo
Author : Imam Malik (CRCS, 2005)
Keywords : Fiqh, dialogue, Religion
Abstract
Dialogue is a primary necessity in a multi-cultural society like Indonesia. As important for multi cultural society as the dialogue itself is exploring an appropriate method toward dialogue. The thesis is motivated by the aforementioned interest. It illustrates that the Indonesian Moslem perspective emphasizes fiqh which makes it necessary that a dialogical approach is conducted in the same perspective, namely fiqh. The case study of the Ma’had Salafiyah Syafi’iyah Sukorejo Situbondo examines and evaluates the establishment of a fiqh dialogis (dialogical fiqh). The major emphasis of this thesis is on the of the Ma’had Aly as a center for the establishment of fiqh dialogis and fiqh dialogis itself as a new phenomenon in the discourse of inter-religious dialogue.
In the discourse about inter-religious dialogue in Indonesia, both Islamic scholars and Islamic institutions have established several methods of inter-religious dialogue. None of these approaches, however, were established on the basis of fiqh; rather, they were methodologically grounded in theological or mystical perspectives. Even though these approaches make positive contributions, their lack of the perspective of fiqh renders them less appropriate for Indonesian Moslem society which is religiously oriented towards fiqh. The Ma’had Aly Salafiyah Syafi’iyah Sukorejo Situbondo as the center of fiqh studies has been training its students to develop a new idea of dialogue by applying fiqh as the main theoretical underpinning of inter-religious dialogue. Using qualitative research methods and combining these for the analytical process with the theoretical approaches to inter-religious dialogue as proposed by Leonard Swiddler as well as with Sahal Mahfudz’ theory of fiqh kontextual (contextual fiqh), this thesis answers questions surrounding fiqh as an alternative method in the development of inter-religious dialogue and Ma’had ‘Aly as its agent.
This research shows that Ma’had Aly is successfully creating a new product of fiqh, the so-called fiqh dialogis (dialogical fiqh) employing three strategies: revitalization of ushul al-fiqh, presenting alternative and competing texts, as well as broadening the area of takwil. Through this process Ma’had Aly has produced a new fiqh that not only creates the possibility for a dialogue between text and context but also gives space to the “others.” These efforts have resulted in a new, comprehensive and responsible fiqh both in social and methodological perspectives.