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MODERNISM AND THE CONTEXTUALIZATION OF ISLAMIC DOCTRINES: The Reform of Indonesian Islam Proposed by Nurcholish Madjid #

Siti Fathimah 9351586

Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University Montreal, Canada.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts

Q Siti Fathimah, 1999

National Library

BiblioWque nationale du Canada

uisitions and 7 Bib iognphii Sewices

Acquisitions et setvices bibliognphiques

The author has granted a nonexclusive licence allowing the National Library of Canada to reproduce, loan, di~bnibuteor sell copies of this thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats.

L'auteur a accorde me licence non exclusive pennettant a la Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reptoduke, prster, distribuer ou vendre des copies de cette these sow la fome de microfiche/fih, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique.

The author retains ownership of the copyright in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission.

L'auteur consewe la propri&e du droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent &re imprimes ou autrernent reproduits sans son autorisation.

ABSTRACT Author

.

Siti Fathimah

Title

.

Modernism and the Contextualization of Islamic Doctrines: The Reform of Indonesian Islam Proposed by Nurcholish Madjid

Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal

Department Degree

.

Master of Arts

-This thesis investigates the Islamic response to modernization and its common

dilemma as seen through the eyes of Nurcholish Madjid, one of the most influential and

prominent Muslim W e r s in Indonesia today. He and his followers npresent the most radical development in Indonesian Islamic religio-political discourse in recent decades. This

study will survey the growth of his thought from his first involvement with the Islamic

renewal movement in the early 1970s, or more precisely after the inception of the New Order era, until the mid-1990s.The movement that he has founded seeks to reformulate the positive

nature of modernity and its essential affinity with the purpose and spirit of Mam. The general thrust of Madjid's contribution in the discourseon Islamic modernismin Indonesia is to call Indonesian Muslims to change their attitudeand way of thinking in orderto play a proper and realistic role in national development and in reinterpretinguniversal Islamic values to fit the specific socio-economic, political, and cultural values of the nation. In so doing, Madjid

proposes his concept of reactualization of Islamic teachings through i/t&FLd and reinterpretationofthe Qur' husing what iscalIed acontextualor substantialapproachin that

ii

he is associatedwith the legacy of the neo-modernist approachproposed by Fazlur Rahrnan, Madjid's chief mentor. According to him, this concept is essential to the swival of the universalism of Islam. Therefore, the basic principle of neo-modernism consists in

reinterpreting Islam according to its historical context while making its universal and substantial principles as well as its basic goal and spirit the primary consideration.

iii

.

Auteur

Siti Fathimah

Modernisme et la contextualisation des doctrines islamiques: La

Titre

reiforme & 1'Islam indon6sien proposk par Nurcholish Madjid.

Wpartment DiplSme

:

Institut des Btudes Islamiques, Univerit6 McGiU, Mondal

MaltrisebArts

Ce &moire encpete sur la dponse islamique a la modetpisation et ses prob1e.mes a

travers le regard de Nurcholish Madjid, un des plus importants pensem musulmans & l'hdon6sie contemporaine.Madjid, ainsi que sesdisciples, reprtbntentIe developpementle plus radical de la pe&e rcligio-politiqueislamiqueindonbierme des demi&esd&ennies. CetteChide portera sur l'evolution de la p e e de Madjid, depuis sa pnmi6re implication avec le

mouvemcnt du renouveau islamique du &but des a n n h 1970, ou, plus pr&s6mnt, lors de l'avenement de I'Ordre Nouveau, jusqu'au milieu des a n n k 1990. Le rnouvement fond6 par Madjid tente de reformulerla nature positive de la modemiJ ainsi que son affhitt! essentielle avec le but et I'esprit de I'Mam. Le ton g 6 n l de la contribution de Madjid dam le discours islamique modemiste en Indonesie en est un qui appelle les mrrPulmans indonuem a changer

leur attitude et Ieur fqon de pensu a f h de jouer un r6Ie ad&pt et

d m Ie

developpementnational, ainsi que dans Iar6hteq&ation des vdem istamiques universelleset

iv

ce, afinde s'ajuster aux valeurs soci&conomiques, politiques et cultureUes sptkifiques de la nation. De cette h e r e , Madjid propose son concept de n5actualisation des enseignements

islamiques @ice a l'ijtiha et de la r&nterp&tationdu Qur'fin en utilisantce que l'on p o d t d6finir comme &ant une approche contextueile ou substantielle que Madjid a assacie avec

l'hdritage de l'approche do-modemiste proposee par Fazlur Rahman* son mentor principal. Selon Madjid, ce concept est essentiel a la sunrie de l'universalisme de 1'Isla.m. A i d , le

principe de base du nio-modernisme consiste en une n4iuterpn5tation de 1'Islam selon son

contextehistorique tout en faisant de ses p ~ c i p euniversels s et substantiels, & &me que & son but et de son esprit, la cause primordiale.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS So many people have contributed to the completion of this thesis that it would be impossible to thank them all in this limited space. I do want to acknowledgemy special debt

to Prof. Isssa J. Boullata, my advisor and thesis supervisor, who has been so generous with his time and advice, showing me endless patience and understanding, and giving me

compassionateencouragementat critical points during my period of study at the Instituteof Islamic Studies, and in particular during the process of finishing this thesis. I would also Iike to express my special appreciation to Professors Charles Adams, Donald P. Little, Hermam Landolt, Wael B. Hallaq, Eric Orsmby and Syafi'i Mabarif,all of whom,through their

lectures and seminars, have had a great deal of influence on me, more than they could possibly imagine, especially in shaping my academic and intellectual perspectives and attitudes.

I would also like to express my appreciation to the State Institute of Islamic Studies "S yarif Hidayatullah", Jakarta and Indonesia' s Ministry of Religious Affairs who has kindly

provided me an opportunityto study abroad. My special gratitudegoes also to Prof. A. h e r

Turgay, Director of the Institute, and Ms. Ann YaxIey, his administrativeassistant, for their motivation, kindness and support throughout the duration of my study at the Institute. My

thanks also go to the successiveDirectors oftheMcG.-IndonesiaHigher EducationProject:

Prof. Issa J. BouIlata, Prof. HowardM. Federspiel, and Ms.Wendy Men; to the 1P.A. and

vi

O.T.O. Bappenas; and to Susan Szarnocki, Manager of the Faculty of Arts Computer Lab (FACL), McGiU University, whose financial assistance during my years of study at M c m has been of invaluable help. I also owe profound gratitude to Mr. Steve Millier who very

kindly helped in the editing and proofreading of my English, Mr. Wayne St. Thomas, who has also contributed greatly to my success in completing this work. Ms. Salwa Ferahian and

other staff at the Islamic Studies Library, for their help and encouragement. I would also like

to thank my friends and family in Indonesia, and to the staff at Cornell University Library, who helped in making available to me some of the primary sources and other materials necessary for my research. My gratitude also goes out to those whose spiritual encouragement, suggestions and criticisms, through conversation and reading of earlier

drafts, have helped me in developing the ideas embodied in this thesis.

My deep gratitude goes especially to my parents, H. M. Satar Hap and H. Siti Syamsiyah, without whose generous support it would have been impossible for me to come

to this stage of my career. Although they may not agree with what I have written in this thesis, it is to them that I proudly dedicate this work. To my sisters and brothers, thank you all for your help in making things easier for me during the accomplishment of my study.

Last but not least, I would Iike to express my deepest, biggest gratitude to my daughter Nurd Habibah and my husband Yusuf Rahman for unfailing love and endless

sacrifice in their own special ways, not only with regard to this special task but also with regard to the whole process of my study. To both of them, I owe my apoIogy for the loss of

important moments of intimate togetherness due to my preoccupation with finishing this time-consrrming study.

NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION The system of transliterationof Arabic words and names applied in this thesis is that used by the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, with a slight modification.

Consonants:

Vowels and diphtonl: Short:

7

= a;

-

Long: I= ' a; Diphtongs:

/

$ I = ay

r

'

1

=aw

In the case of ti'mm6ri@a ( i ) his omitted, rmless it occurs within an iQZa where it is written at.

Indonesian proper names of persons and places have been written as spelled in Bahasa Indonesia.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................,..........................*..................................................*.......

........................................................................................................... ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................ . ........................ .....

I&sm

v

NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION ........C............+.......t.*.t.........t...+...........vii ....+

TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................*.

viii 1

CHAPTER ONE: NURCHOLISH MADJID'S LEE AND INTELLECTUALFORMATION .... A. Early Life and Education.............................. .....................................

B. Madjid's Involvement in the Islamic Renewal Movement ............... C. Madjid's Works ........................ . . ................................................ CHAPTER Two: NURCHOLJSH MADJTD ON MODERNIZATION FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ............... ..................................................

....

The Meaning of Modernization ............................................*............... 1. Modernization and Westemhation ...........................,.................... 2. Modernization and Rationalization .................................t...C........o. 3. Modernization and Secularization .................. ..,.. .................... CHAPTER THREE: C O N T E x r u A T I O N AND SUBSTANTIAI,T7,ATTON: NURCHOLISH MADSID'S APPROACH TO ISLAM .................................... A. Madjid and Neo-Modemism ............................................................. B. Madjid's Method of @..Edand His Reinterpretation of the Qur'h . C. Madjid's Concept of Ihc1usivisrn and Religious Pluralism ...............

CONCLUSION ..........*........................................*..*....................... ....................

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................,.......

............................*...............

INTRODUCTION

Islamic modernism in Indonesia took definite shape with the establishment early in this century of Muslim organizations like the Muhammadiyah, Penis, S.I., and Masyumi.

Men like K. H. h a d Dahlan, Hamka, K. H. Hasbi ash-Shiddieqy, M. Natsir, H. Agus Salim, Abdul Moeis, and H.O.S.Tjokroaminoto rose to prominence through their activities

on behalf of these institutions and played significant roles as Muslim reformists. However, the emergence of the so-called "Islamic renewal movement" is a more

recent phenomenon. It began in the early 19709, or more precisely after the coming of the New Order era, and was the product of a much younger Muslim generation. In this period, the issue of renewal or modernization began to be discussed among Muslims with much

greater intensity than ever before; hence the movement marks the most radical development in Islamic religio-political thought in Indonesia since then. The renewal or modernization movementseeks to reformulate in general terms the fundamentalIslamic doctrines regarding

God, man, and the universe, and their relationships to each other in the light of the new political realities of the Indonesian state.

The first attempt at acompnhensiveexamination of different facets of modernization was made by Nurcholish Madjid, who is popularly known in hdonesia by his traditional nickname "Cak Nut? .Madjid, who was born in Jombang, East Java on the 17th of March 1939, gave the first formal expression to ideas of Islamic renewal in his writings entitled

bModemisasi ialah Rasionalisasi, bukan Westernisas?'* and 'Keharusan Pembaharuan t

In Mimbar Demokrast' pandung.

1968); republished in his book Islam, Kernodeman &n

Keindonesiaan (Bandung. Mizan. 1987), pp. 171-203.

"Fathimah,Introduction, " 2

Pelnikiran Islam dan Masalah Integrasi Urnmat.'" These writings date from 1968 and 1970 respectively, when he was president of the H M L (the Muslim Student Association), the largest and the most influential student organization in Indonesia. Through these works and o

h that followed, Madjid has tried to eliminate the prevailing misconceptions and

confusion among both Muslims and non-Muslims regarding the subject of modemization. He has expressed deep concern over the accusation leveled by the New Order government to the effect that Muslims constitute a barrier to modernization, an attitude which explains

in part the limitations placed to this day on their role in parliament and other political spheres. However, he has been more concerned about the attitudes of Muslims themselves, particularly Muslim leaders, who were of the opinion that accepting the modernization agenda would mean putting Islamic teachings and values at risk and that they must therefore

be challenged. Madjid believes that modernization is not only indispensable for Muslims, it is also a historical necessity and an inherent element in Islam itself. However,although development and modemization were necessary at one time as a means to overcome the

crisis in the nation's politics and economy inherited by the Soekarno regime,the inevitable implications of the process caused severe controversies. Consequently. modernization has

ofken been used as a pejorative term that has created much misunderstanding^ Yet, modernization, according to Madjid, is actually only a differentexpression and articulation

of formulated theology and traditionalfiqh. Madjid's work can also be viewed as an effoa to provide an Islamic response to the challenges of modem times in the context of Indonesian culture,a subject which has in turn 'In NurcholishMadjid, et al.. Pembakluan Pemikitm Islam (Jalrana: ldamic ResearchCenter, 1970);republished in ~ a d j i dIslam, , Kernoderenun &n KeindonesiMn, pp. 204-2 14.

"Fathimah, Introduction, " 3

been of significantinterest to many scholars, bothIndonesianand non-Indonesian. However,

an epistemological probIem often arises when Islam addresses itself to the concept of modernization: Which kind of methodology is the most appropriate to interptet the Qur'h

or Islamic teachings as a whole? While the Muslim political parties were still focused on ideological issues rather than on practical programs, Madjid and his associates in the HALL

devoted considerable discussion to the need for these parties to adopt a more rational and

practical policy. He came to adopt the so-called contextual or substantial approach in which empiricist and positivist interpretation played a major role, a decision which prompted much criticism? For Madjid, this new approach of understanding Islam constitutes the key to

designing a more pertinent role for the faith in its encounter with globalization and modernization. Since his fist writings appeared, Madjid's intellectualreputation has steadily grown. William fiddle sees Madjid as a Muslim thinker who has inspired the development of modem Islam in Indonesia His ideas have raised considerable hope for the revitalization of the Muslim community in Indonesia and for better solutions to the prolonged conflict

between Islam and the state, and more specifically,to the problem of tolerance among a l l the believers.'

For the most part, the fundamental challenge to the efforts of Madjid and his IMadjid. lslum, Kernodeman don Keindonesimn, p. 201. See also Wiiam Liddle, 'Modernizing Indonesian Politics," in Liddle, ed., Political Partici'on in Modem In&nesia, Monograph Series no. 19 (Yale University of Southeast Asia Studies. 1973). p. 182. William Liddle, "MediaDakwah Scripturalism: One Form of Islamic Political Thought and Action in New Order Indonesia," in Mark Woodwacd,ed., Toword a Ncw Paradigm: Recent Developments in lhdonesionlslamicThoughte :a U v e , 1996).pp. 323-356. Its Indonesian version is published in "SkripturalismMedia Dakwah: Satu Ben& PemiLiran dan Aksi PoIitiL Islam Masa Orde B a W in UIwnul Qur'm, vol. 4, no. 3 (1993). pp. 53-65..

"Fathimah, Introduction," 4

associates to reinterpret IsIam in the context of socio-religious and political change in Indonesia has tended to come fiom the so-called neo-revivalist or neo-fundamentalist

groups!

The neo-revivalist groups, who express their views in such organs as Media

Dakwah, have launched sharp attacks on Madjid. Accordingly, Madjid has, in his writings,

also warned against the danger of fundamentalist attitudes to religious life6 The intellectual references of modernist Muslims like Madjid and his supporters are more often the figures of Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad 'Abduh, M@ammad IqbSil, and Fazlur Rahman rather than to Mulpmmad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhib, Abii 'I-Atli'Mawdiidi, and Sayyid Qqb. This is primarily due to the reformist character of the former group whose obsession was to regain what they believe to be the truly Islamic way of life in a world increasingly dominated by Western culture.

For these reasons, this thesis will focus on Nurcholish Madjid's attempt to renew modernist thought, who has achieved remarkable prominence as a voice for Muslims on the issue of the modernization of Islam and its application in modem Indonesia. It will examine

the influence and role of Madjid in stirring Muslims to undertake reform and adapt Islam to Indonesian needs. This focus on Madjid is justified by the following considerations. Nurcholish Madjid is, at present, the most vocal and articulateM u s h scholarin Indonesia.

His thorough mastery of the traditional klamic sciences (sl-'uliin &&'jya) as well as his expertise in the "secular" or modem sciences (al-'ulzkn & ' . a ) make him a more

authoritative spokesmanon modern Islam in Indonesia than most other hdonesian scholars. 'Budhy Munawar-Rachman, "Berbagai Respon atas Gagasan Pembaman." in U f dQur'm, vol. 4, no. 1(1993), p. 57. See Liddle, " W a Dakwah ScripturaLism,'*

"Fathimah,Introduction," 5

although Madjid's ideas, which have always been controversial in Indonesia, were fust expressed almost thirty years ago, they are still relevant to the current social, political, and cultural changes in Indonesia. Madjid ha also attracted increasingattention in both Indonesia and the West. There are several works by Indonesian and non-Indonesian writers which touch upon his thought.

to a gnater or lesser degree. These include English's studies, such as Muhammad Kamal Hassan's Muslim Intellectual Responses to "Nav0rder"Moderniultionin Indonesia,' Greg

Barton's "Indonesia's Nurcholish Madjid and Abdurrahman Wahid as Intellectual Ulama: The Meeting of Islamic Traditionalism and Modernism in Neo-Modernist Tho~ght,"~ and "Neo-Modernism: A Vital Synthesis of Traditionalist and Modernist Islamic Thought in I~donesia,"~Kanl Stembrink's "Nurcholish Madjid and Inclusive Islamic Faith in Indone~ia,"'~And William Liddle's "MediaDakwah Scripturalism: One Form of Islamic Political Thought and Action in New Order Indonesia,"" as well as his "Improvising Political Cultural Change: Three Indonesian case^."^ Among the Bahasa Indonesia works

that have appearedon this topic are Fachty Ali and BahtiarEffendy's Mermnbah Jalm Baru

IslamSuEndang Saihddin Anshary's Kritik atas F a h dan Gerakan "Pembaharuart"Drs. 'Kuaia Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kementrian Pelajacan Malaysia, 1982. '1n Sludiu Islamika, vol. 2, no. 3 (1995), pp. 1-75.

In Islcun and Christian-MuslimRelations, vol. 8, no. 3 (October 1997), pp. 323-350. '% G€ Speelman, ed.. Mmlims and Christians in Europe, Breaking New Grounds: Essays in Honour of Jm Slonp (Kampen: Kok, 1993), pp. 2843.

"h Mark Woodward, ed., Toward a N w Paradigm: Recent Dcvclopnrents in Indonesian Islmnic Thought (Jkmpe: Arizona State University,1996). pp. 323-356. "In tndbnesicm Political C u l .Asking tk Right Questions, 4..J a m s Schiller(Athens: Ohio University Center for Southeast Asia Studies, 1994).

"Fathinuih,Introduction," 6 Nurcholish ~ a d j i d :~ardoyo's ~ Sekularisasi dalam Polemik," H.M . Rasjidi's Koreksi terhadap Drs. Nurcholish M a d tentang ~ekularisasi'~ and Suatu Koreksi Lagi Bagi Drs. Nurcholish Madjd,17 Daud Rasyid's Pembaruan Islam dan Orientalisme dalam Sorotan,'" Abdul Qadir Dj aelani's Menelusun' Kekelirum Pembahaman Pemikiran Islam Nurcholish Madjid,lgNovianto's 'Neo-Modernisme Islam Indonesia: Studi Tentang Gagasan-Gagasan

Pembaharuan Pemikiran Islam Nurcholish Madjid,''20 Saifd Muzani's "Di BaIik Polemik "Anti-Pembaruan"Islam: Memahami Gejala "Fundamentalisme" Islam di Indonesia,"*land articles on Madjid published in special editions of the journal Ulumul Qur'un and other

publications

Although these works have certainlycontributedto a Wer understanding of Madjid' s

mainstream ideas, most of them, in particular the English studies, have focused their attention on Madjid's ideas from sociological, political and historical perspectives. Few of

them have addressed Madjid's thought &om a theological point of view, focusing on his elaborationof Islamic doctrineper se. While Indonesian language studies, on the otherhand,

''Ed. Anzis Kleden (Jakarta: Pustaka Utarna Grafti, 1993). %karta: Yayasan bangkit, 1972. l7

Jakarta: DDII, 1973.

An under-graduatethesis at LAJN. Syarif Hidayatallah, Jakarta, 1993.

h Isfamika,no. 1 (1993)' pp. 126-142. PUI~mutQur'an, vol. 4, no. 1 (1993) and vol. 6, no. 3 (199% .These issues of the jomd consist of responses to and criticismsof Nurcholish Madjid's renewal movementas well as general review of it, See also a special colIection of actic1es from magazines and newspaperson himentitled Cak Nur in Focus (Jakarta: Pustaka Paramadina, 1993). 'I

"Fathintah,Introduction,

,"

7

touched on theological issues, most of them presented these in a way that cannot be counted

as objective or scholarly since they contain partisan criticisms and accusations. This thesis will be divided into three chapters. The first chapter will discuss NurcholishMadjid's life experience and intellectualformation, and his involvement with the

various intellectual movements, and his activities up to the mid-1990s.The second chapter

will present Madjid's ideas related to the concept of modernization from an Islamic perspective, since the major part, though certainly not all, of Madjid's analysis is directed at the clarification of problems connected with the concept of modernization. In this chapter,

his concept of modernization will be fully described and analyzed in relation to his ideas about Westernization, rationalization and secularization, which are among the most controversial aspects of his thought. In describing and analyzing these concepts, some consideration will also be given to the relationship of Madjid's ideas with those of various eminentscholars, Muslim and non-Muslim, and their possible influence and affinity to them.

In the final chapter of this study, the discussion will center on the problems of reinterpreting

Islam in the modem Indonesian context. Here, Madjid's neo-modernistic thought, his contextual and substantial method of &tiid and of interpreting the Qur'bas , well as his theory of inclusive theology or religious tolerance and pluralism, in light of his commitment

to the idea of the universalism of Tslam, will be discussed. These topics constitute the most importantaspects ofMadjid's Islamicreformist thought and in dealingwith these topics, the thought of other contemporary Indonesian and non-Indonesian, Muslim and non-MusIim scholars, will be touch upon considerably.

CHAI?TF,R I

NURCHOLISH MADJID'S LIFE AND INTELLECTUAL FORMATION

A. Early Life and Education. Nurcholish Madjid was born on 17 March 1939/25 Mdprram 1358 in a very small village in South Jombang, East Java, by the name of Mojoanyar. Little is known about

Mojoanyar except for the fact that, according to a statement made by Madjid during an

interview,' it was one of the several villages in Java region to have the initial name "mojo"

meaning "satria" or "hero" or "gentle." In his youth, it was a rather exceptional town, distinguishedby its dynamic religious life and the importance accorded to education by its inhabitants. Madjid compares the religious and educational importance of his village,

although on a smaller scale, to the "kotagadang" or '"big city" in West Sumatra? a region

which has traditionally been strong in religion and education. The residents of the village were most commonly employed as government workers or were involved in the education sector? Also, the region of Jombang, where Madjid's birthplace is located, has produced in

addition to secularschools a significantnumberof Islamic traditionalboardingschools called lNurcholishMadjid. ''Tmscriptof an I n t e ~ e w "done on June 30,1994 by Budhi Munawar Rachmaa. Elza Peldi Thahir, and Wahyuni M.Nafi~s,all of whom an staff members of Yayasan Paran?ad'ia. Henceforth entitled, "An Interview." For more information about the nature of Mam in this region, see Burhanuddin Daya, Gerahn Pernbuhanuzn Pemikiran Islam: K m Surnatra Thawalib (Yogyakarta: Tiara Wacana. 1990). especially pp. 15-17.

'Madjid, "An lirtetview? p. 8.

"Fathimah, Chapter l, " 9 pesantrens, the existence of which has made Iombang and East Java as a whole a center of the biggest pesantrens in Indonesia. The area is likewise reputed to be a center of Islamic traditionalism and a stronghold of the N.U.(NaMatul Ulama) organization.' It has in fact

produced a considerable number of famous %lama' and other intellectuals who have influenced the development of the Muslim community in Indonesia and who have become prominent supporters of Islamic reform in the country. Madjid represents an excellent

example of this tradition?

The young Madjid was raised in a very religious environment within the SmnJ tradition, with the ShSfiCi legal school and the Ashcaritheological discipline." Both of his parents came from families of devoted Muslims,i.e. "sanm' " families? His father's name 'See Robert W. Heher, "IslamizingJava: Religion and Politics in Rural East J a v ~ "in Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 46, no. 3 (August 1987), p. 536. 'Some other examples that should be mentioned here are: HasyimAshcari(187 1-1947). Wahab ChasbuIlah (1888-1971), Wahid Hasyim (LgL3-1953), Mukti Ali, A b d u r r m Wahid (b. 1940), Emha Ainun Najib, etc. See Dawam Rahardjo, 'Dunia Pesantren cialam Peta Pembaharuan," in Rahardjo (ed.), Pesantmn &n Pembaharuan (Jakarta: LP3ES, 1985), p. 27 and "Perkernbangan Masyankat dalam Perspektif Pesantren," in Rahardjo (ed.), Perguiutan Dunia Pesantren: Membangun don' Bmwh (Jaluuta. P3M. 1989, p. xii

In general, the Smnftradtion of al-Ash= and al-MEturidi and of the four legal schools (madh&hib),which is often grouped in the Ah1 u i - S m wa al-JamFais followed by the majority of Muslims in Indonesia. About this term and adiscussion on it, see Fachry AIi and BahtiarEffendi, MerOmbQhJalanBaruIshm (Bandung: Mizan, 1986), pp. 186-191andZamakhsariDhofier, Trodisi Pesantren: Studi TentangPandimgunHidup Kiyai (Jakarta: WES, 1989,pp. 148-170. Cf. Howard Federspiel, A Dictionary of Indonesian Islam (Atheos, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1995). p. 10.

'

Madjid himself uses the term "pesantrenfamilies," meaningfamilies whose members grow up in aprsannen and absorb its tradition. The term "santri" essentially mans a student studying religion at the pesantren, but it was tnmsformd into a technical term by Clifford Geerk who used it in reference to a sofio-religious group of Javanese Muslims who embrace Islam seriously and practice the Islamic teachings without mixing them with local customs. See W o r d Geertz, Tha Religion of I'u (London: h e Ress of GIenca, 1964), p. 5 and his Islam Observed: Religious Devetopment in Morocco and Indonesia (Chicago: The Universityof Chicago Ress, 1971). pp. 6569; See also Jams Peacock, Indonesia: An Anthropologicat Perspective (Pacific Palisades: Goodhear Publishing Co., 1973), pp. 24-31and Zaini Muchtarom, Sunzri don Abungcm di lmvo

"Fathimah,Chapter l, " 10

was originally Abu Thahir, but upon returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca, he changed it to Abdul Madjid from which Nurcholish takes his family name. Abu Thahir was an important 'am in N.U. circles and a kjai (religious teacher) who was very close to H.

Hasyim Ashcari,' the founder and prominent leader of the N.U. (1926-1947) and the chainnan of the reformist organization. the Masyumi (1945-1947), When Abu T h a h ~ was

young, he attended Tebu Ireng, a famous pesantren in East Java where Kiyai AshCari was the head and chief teacher? There, he received a thorough Islamic education. Before going

to Tebu Ireng, Abu Thahu, unlike most boys in his village, had already completed his

studies at the Sekolah Rakyat (S.R.),'O which was a primary secular school from the colonial

era which, in Mojoanyar, was sponsored by his own father ,i.e. Madjid's grandfather. Since Abu Thahir had graduated from the S.R. and, therefore had learned more about the secular

sciences (al-culhaLclinma),he was asked at Tebu Inng to be a mentor and to teach both arithmetic and roman script ( h ~ m f l a t i n )It. ~is~important to note here that mostpesantrens

and modrasus at that time still prohibited teaching their students the roman script and other branches of the secular sciences since they still considered them to be the sciences of the (Jakarta: INIS,1988), p. 15-16, atranslation ofthe author's MA. thesis entitled "Santri and Abmgan in Java," McGiIl University (1975). Henceforth re-

to as "Kiyai Ashcari".

During his leadership, Kiyai Ashcvi played a significant role in the educational reform at

Tebu keng pesantren. See Slamt Effendy Yusuf,M o h d Icbwan Syam, and Masdar F. Mastudi, Dirronika K a m S a r i (JC.V.Rajawali. 1983). p. 5. an extraordinaryexperience for ordinary people or "orang kampung" to be able to graduate from the S.R.. whose enrolment was restricted primsdly to the children of the rich and upper class Indonesians. For more information on this specific educational system and regulation daring the colonial period, see Paul W. van der Veur, Educmion und Social Change in Colonial Indonesia 0 (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1969). " Madjid, "An Interview:' p. 8. lo At that time, it was

"Fathimah, Chapter I, " I I non-believer (k@r) .u This mistaken idea is now rare among the 'ulamC' andthe kjmais, with the exception of a very few of the most orthodox.

During the course of his studies at this pesantren, Abu Thahir was fortunateU to receive special attention and treatment fiom Kiyai Ashcari. It is a common phenomenon, particularly in the pesantrens, that a santn*who shows great potential may have bestowed

upon him certain distinctions and honours by the kiyai. The latter may,for example, ask him to marry a member of his family and appoint him to the staff of the pesantren, and fmaIly, prepare him to lead his ownpesantren or madrasa."Thus, because of Abu Thahir's academic achievement at Tebu Ireng. Kiyai AshCariasked him to accept a position on the

teaching staff at this institution." What is more, the fact that Abu Thahir's father was a dear friend of Kiyai Ashcari and had a close personal relationship with him made the position of la Cf.Madjid, "Menyambung Matarantai Pernikiran yang Hilang," in Madjid and Mobamad Roem, Ti& A& Negam Islam: Surat-Swat Politik Nurcholish M a d j i d - M o h d Roem," Agus Edi Santoso,ed. (Jakarta: Djambatan, 1997), p. 2 1.

l3 Fortunate because, according to the pesantren tradition, a kiyai is not only an Wirn who possesses religious knowledge but is also regarded as a sort of waU who teaches farm and is able to understand the glory of God and the secrets of the World in a mystical sense that gives him spiritual charisma. Therefore. a blessing (bar&) fiom him is very important and has a significant meaning for those who acquire it. There is also a belief that those who receive a blessing from a k j a i will lead a good life in the future. For more information about the role of the kiwi, see Dhofier, Tradisi Pesuntren, pp. 55-60; Deliar Noer, Gerakan Moderen Islam di Indonesia 1900-1942 (Singapura: The Oxford University Press, I973), p. 11-12, and BJ. Boland, The Struggle of Islam in Modem Indonesicr (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1982). pp. 114-1 15.

l4 Madjid, "An Interview," pp. 1-2. Cf. M a n ' s remarks on this in his book, "Islamic Modemism in IndonesianPolitics: theMuha~unadiyahMovementDuring the Dutch CoIoaiaI Period (19I2-I942)," Ph. D. dissertation, Ugivedty of Wisconsin, 1969, p. 129. A revised version of this thesis is published under the title Muhammud&ah: The Political Behavior of a Muslim Modernist Orgunization Under Dutch Colonialism (Yogyakarta:Oajah Mada University Ress, 1989). Also Cf. Hiroko Horikoshi, "A Traditional Leader in a Time of Change: the Kijqji and nduma in West Java," Ph. D.dissertation, University of IlIiaois (1976). Dhofier especially emphasizes that Kiyai Ashcarialso respected this tradition; see his Tmdii Pcrontren, pp. 59-60.

Thisis an importantpoint to make since, asMadjid himself admits, this appointmentallowed for expandedpossibilities in Abu Thahk's Life who later became an 'aim and kjai in his homeland.

"Fathimah, Chapter l." I2

Abu Thahir even more special. It was not surprising, then, that Kiyai Ashcari asked him to

marry his own niece, Halimah.16 Abu Thahir accepted the Kiyai's offer and married Halimah; however, not long after their marriage, Abu Thahir, for some reason, felt that she

was not the right woman for him and he asked Kiyai Ashc& to permit him to divorce her."

Kiyai AshCariwas kind enough to look for another woman more suited toAbu Thahir and he found Fathonah, a daughter of his other close friend,Abdullah Sadjad. It was Fathonah who later became Madjid's mother."

As was the case with Madjid's father, Fathonah had also grown up in a pesantren

environment and came from a pious Muslim family. Madjid's account implies that she

played a significant role in helping Abu Thahir manage their own pesantren and even participated in election campaigns as a Masyumi supporter? Her father was a businessman

fromGringging, in the western part of Kediri, East Java, who had grown rich in the sugar

According to Madjid's account, Halimah was a distinguished wornan at that time in the sense that she was very intelligent and, particularly, adept at memorizing the Qur'iin. Madjid, "An Interview," p. 3. l6

" Madjid, "An Interview," p. 3. It is described that Halimah was afterward married by Kiyai Adlm, a senior Eularnci'fiom the N.U. Since then, Halimah has played a role as a woman of Qai or in Javanese, "Njlai"and appeared to be a respected and honoured woman who was regarded as a "wa&yycr,"or woman saint. In this context, Madjid tells thejoke which Abdurrahman Wahid made in response to the story of Madjid who was given a handkierchief by Nyai Halimab, his exstepmother, which he was supposed to give to his fatherbut for som reasons he kept it for himseIf. Wahid's joke implied that it was because of the blessing or "baraka"fiom Halimah's hmdkierchief that Madjid has now become a sllccessfal man. Madjid. "An Interview," pp. 6-7.

la Madjid, "An Interview," pp. 2-4. It seems that Kiyai Ashc& really c a d for Abu Thahir so much that he was willing to choose a wife for him twice. l9 h n ~ ~No ~.170, k , (I 1-24 January 1993); republished inMadjid, "Rindu Kehidupan Zaman M a @ : ' inDialog Keterbuhm: ArtrrtrkuIasiNiIai&IatnWacanuSosiaf Politik Kontemporer,Edy A. Effendi, ad. (Jakruta: Paramadim, 1998), p. 212. See also Madjid, "Saya Talc Rela Peran Pak Nawir Dikikan," in Madjid and Roem, TidokAloNegara Islom, pp. 67-68.

"Fathimah, Chapter I," 13

cane industry. He was also involved in the Syarikat Dagang Islam (S.D.IJ2* as a commissioner. Abu Thahir had four children by Fathonah, of whom Madjid is the oldest. When

Madjid was born, Abu Thahir was already 31 years old and had been married to Fathonah for a year. As the first son, and because he was born when his father was already older than

was customary forfatherhood, Madjid became the center of love and happiness forboth Abu Thahir and Fathonah. This fact to a great extent influenced the way in which they raised

Madjid." Another interesting factor related to Madjid's religious and cultural background is the fact that he grew up in a somewhat different Javanese cultun. Unlike most regions of

Java, where Islam is well known for its relatively syncretic and heterodox nature and where

abangm Muslims for the most part pred~minate,~ Jombang, where Madjid grew up, is in

The SyarikatDagang Islam (S9.1.) is an Islamic trade association established in 1905by K. H. Samaahudi, laterchangingits name to Syarikat Islam(S.I.) in 1912under the leadershipof H.0 .S . Tjoicroarninoto. On this organization, see Muhammad Abd. Gani, CitaDasar don Pola Perjuangan Syarikrrt Islam (Jakarta: Bulm Bintang, 1984); George McTuman Kahin, Nationnlism and Revolution in Indonesia (Ithaca: Come11 University Press, 1952), pp. 61-70; Robert van Niel, ''The Course of Indonesian History," in Ruth T. McVey (ed.), Indonesia (New Haven: HRAF Press, 1963),pp. 293-295; and Noer, GerruCM Moderen Islam, pp. 114-170.

*'Madjid. "An Interview." p. 4. ar Although generally speaking Islam in Java has been strongly coloured by Javanese culture and Hiadu-Buddhist tradition, there an some places where this generalization cannot be applied, particulatly some locations in Northern Java. This phenomenon can be explained in term of, first of all, the gene& characterof its people. who are traditionally more straightforward and open than those who livein the interiorregims. Secondly, these were regions where theauthority of Hindu and Buddhist d e n was relatively weak and, therefore. was much less influenced by their cultural traditions. Conseqpently,IsIam was stronger in these exceptiond regions and was able to penetrate into the social life of the suntri c o d t y . Jombaag is among these regions. See Julia D. Howell, '%Indonesia: Searchingfor Consensus," in Carlo Cddarola (ed.), Religiorw rmd Societies: Asia and the Midma Eost (Bedin, New York. Amsterdam= Mouton Publishers, 1982). p. 518. Cf. M.C. Rickiefs. 'Tslamization in Java: An Overview and Some PhilosophicalConsiderations," in Raphael

Israeli and Anthony H. Johns. (eds.). Islam in Asia, vol. II (Jerusalem: The Magnes Ress, The

"Fathimah, Chapter I," I4

an area of East Java where orthodox Islam is particdarly strong and where the majority of the people are suntri Muslims. There is not enough evidence, however, to accurately evaluate the position of Madjid's family within the social structure of the village at the time of Madjid's birth. All that can be said is that Madjid was born into a family that had a clear identity and a

considerable amount of religious prestige and occupational distinction. The family had definite economic and educational privileges. His parents had their own madrasa (Islamic school) where Madjid later received his elementary education. Madjid's recollections of his childhood center on a single theme: a determining process through which his education was shaped. He records the process as a series of episodes marking decisive turning points in his early education.What is most interestingand valuable about his description is the fact that, not only does he tell us what happened, but he often attempts to recreate the process by which he arrived at certain decisions, exploring his motives and underlying reasons. Madjid received his primary education at aI-Madrasahal-Ibtidii' iyyah al-Wapniyyah

in Mojoanyar, which was operated by his own parents and where every afternoon he studied religious sciences (aLculriinal-dkinu).At this madtasa, Madjid acquired at a very early age a basic knowledge of Islamic subjects such as al-Qur'ik, al-HadFth, fiqlr, 'aq*

and

several other branches of the Islamic sciences, in addition to the Arabic language. However, besides attending this mdrusa, every morningMadjid attended a secular elementary school called the S.R., where he learned the secular sciences. This course of study Iasted for six Hebrew University, 1984). p. 12.

"Fathimah. Chapter l, " IS years, ending in 1953. Afterwards, he attended the pesantren Darul Wum at Rejoso for

During his stay at this pesantren, Madjid received more in-depth instruction in

two

the Islamic sciences, such as Qur'iin recitation and exegesis, al-Hadah (tradition of the

Prophet), 'ilm al-kalam (theology),'ilm al-mantiq (logic), W m al-akhkiQ (ethics), tasawwuf (mysticism), will at-fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and, above all, the Arabic language. According to Madjid's own report, the reason why his father sent him to Rejoso and not to Tebu Ireng, his father's a h a mater and once the most famous and modern pesun~enin the

region, was that the latter had lost its prestige after the death of its eminent leaders Kiyai

Hasyim Ashcari in 1947 and Kiyai Wahid Hasyim, the son of Kiyai Asheariand the father of Abdwahman Wihid, in 1953. It seemsthat the reputation of Tebu Ireng had beentransferred to Rejoso particularly because the latter had, at that time, begun to introduce a more

progressive system wherein the school is divided into separate classes, a system originally

introduced by the colonial authorities. Furthermore, it had also begun to teach more seriously the secular sciences, such as mathematics and physics, in addition to the religious sciencesou

It was in 1955, when the political atmosphere in Indonesia was becoming more and

more heated with the campaign for the first general election, that politics began to colour every aspect of the peopIesYLives, including those in the pesantrens. By this time,

the NoU* had become a separate political party after declaring its withdrawal from the

Novianto, ‘Nee-ModemismeIdamIndonesia:StudiTentangGagasan-GagasanPembahanuln Pemikiran IsIamNmholishMadjid,"under-graduate thesis at LA.I.N. Syarif HidayatuIIahJakaaa. 1993, p. 16. "M

Madjid, "An Inte~ew))) p. 9. Cf.Dhofier, Tmdii Pesuntren, pp. 41-42.

"Fathimah, Chapter l," 16

Masyumi party in 1952.U This political situation created difficulties for the N.U.'ularnif', including Abu Thahir, Madjid's father. He had to choose which party they should vote for since both of them were supporters of the Muslim parties. While most of the N.U.culamd'

fiom all provinces made a dear decision to follow what had been decided at the 19th N.U.

Muktamar on 1 May 1952, i.e. to support the N.U.in the elections, Abu Thahir chose to

remain a Masyumi supporter. This was a radical position for Abu Thahir to adopt, inasmuch as he was a kiyai and also an important figure among the N.U. leaders. This decision, however, shows his distinctive personality in the sense that he had his own integrity and perspective, and was brave enough to express an opinion different from the majority of the

N.U. culaml' and was willing to face all the consequences. Then seems to have been no other reason for his decision to remain a member of the Masyumi than the fact that he held

the same political aspirations as did the Masyumi. Although Abu Thahir was not directly involved in practical politics. he felt obliged to vote for the political party that best reflected his views. Given the circumstances, he believed that it was in Muslims' best interest to vote

for the Masyumi at that time. Besides, Kiyai AshCarihad issued a '~afwi"that the Masyumi

The Masyumi party was a more modemistoriented Muslim political party, established in November 1945 with the main purpose of uniting all Muslim organizationsand to speak in the name of the Muslim community, until it was dissolved in 1960by the Old Order regime. As many authors point out, the withdrawal of the N.U.was disputabie; the N.U. side said that the reason for this withdrawal was that they could no longer realize and develop their activities and ideas since all the decisions and program were based not on the religious principles, which they were used to, but rather on the political considerations. While on the Masyumi side, of which were some N.U.'uiamd themselves, argued that it was not true that their policy was not based on religious considerations; and that in fact the withdrawal was politically motivated. For this, see Muhammad Aeari, 'The Rise of the Masjumi Party in Indonesia and the Role of the czihmfin Its Early Development (19451952),"MA. thesis, McGill University, 1976,pp. 130-132and HerbertFeith, The Wihpo Cabinet. 1952-1953rATming Point in Post-Revolutio~u~ry Irrcionesia, Modem IndonesiaProject, Southeast Asia Program (Ithaca: N.Y.: Cornell University, 1958). p. 39.

'%athimah, Chapter l," 17 was the only valid Muslim political party and, therefore, all Muslims should vote for it.*

Nevertheless, the fact that an N.U.

chose to demonstrate his support for the

Masyumi at that time was highly unusual, and, therefore, constitutes an interesting point in the history of Abu Thahir's Me.His decision can be seen as an indication of polarization in

his outlook between two different schools of thought, the N.U.which has long been regarded as traditionalist, on the one hand, and the Masyumi which was representative of the modernist position on the other.

This political dilemma also had an impact on Madjid, at that time still a student at the pesantren, and it clearly made things

for him. The pesantrens were (and s t . are)

the loci of N.U.influence and aspirations. Rejoso was no exception; the vast majority of the staff and students there were N.U. supporters. Since most of the kjlais wen friends of

Madjid's father and knew about the latter's affiliation with the Masyumi, Madjid's presence at this pesantren was made quite uncomfortable, so much so that Madjid decided to discontinue his studies there? In his own account. he describes his treatment in class at the

hands of the kjais: how they always made fun of him and laughed at him, calling him the

"stray Masyumi child" or "anukMasyumi kesasar." Therefore, when Madjid came home for vacation after finishing his second year, he told his father that he did not want to return

"It is also importantto remember that Kiyai Ashcaridied beforr the split in theMasyumi party

occurred resulting in the N.U.'s separation from the Masyumi. Madjid "An Interview," p. 8. This can also mean that if Kiyai AshC& was still alive when the Masyumi and the N.U.w e n separated, he might not have given such af-6 or he might have abrogated thefmwi

Madjid, "An I n t e ~ e w , "p. 9; see also Ali andEffendy, Merambah Jalon Baru IsI' p. 176. However. Madjid notes that in its laterdevelopment orat the beginning the 1970s. Rejoso no longer became the absolute political supporter of the N.U.with the consequence of loosing its pattonage fbrn the N.U. See his Bilik-Bitik Pesan~en:Sebuah Potret Pe@dimm (Jakarta= Paramadina, 1993, pp. 79-84.

"Fathimah, Chapter I," . I8

to Rejoso or continue his studies there unless his father chose to give his complete loyalty to the N.U. and sever his affiliation with the Masyumi,which at that time clearly had a different paradigm with respect to the current situation of political Islam. Given the circumstances, Abu Thahir feIt obliged to tell Madjid his reasons, as stated above, for supporting the Masyumi party. He also reminded Madjid that although politically he followed the Masyurni path, in religious ritual and ceremony he was still committed to the N.U. tradition. Madjid remembers Abu Thahirexpressing this as: "Your father, nonetheless

is still the student of the ~ r a t u s hshaykh; only in political matters do I follow the

Masyumi'?

However, Abu Thahir accepted Madjid's decision not to return to Rejoso

since, in the aftermath of the N.U.withdrawal from the Masyumi party, there was increasing

enmity between Madjid's father and the N.U. leadership. Moreover, he was becoming increasingly closer to the Masyumi leaders?

Again, an effort was made to try to find a pesantren that suited the young Madjid. Finally, his fatherdecided to send him to the Kulliyyat al-Mucalliminal-IsIWiyyah (ICM.1.) at the Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java since at the time this

p e s m e n had the reputation of being strongly oriented towards the Masyumi.Madjid's long

memoir on his experience at this pesantrm indicates that it was an important tuming point in his early education. It was at Gontor that Madjid became acquainted with modem Islamic

The honorific &~&atrrsh siraykh was a titIe given to Kiyai Ashcari. See Madjid, "An Inte~ew,"pp. 10-11and 'MenyambungMatarantai Pemildran yangHilang," in Madjid and Roem, Ti& A& Negara tslarn. p. 37. See also Dhofier, Tradisi Pesuntren, p. 63. 29

M.SyafiT Anwar, "Pemikiran Politik Nurcholish MadjiQ" an unpublished paper, p. I.

"Fathimah,Chapter I, " 19 thought. Gontor, since its e~tablishment,~~ has always been regarded as a "real modern"

pesantren in the sense that it applies a professional and modern system, not only in the curriculum, but also in its administration and management. Its strong modem characteristics

have made it distinct from otherpesantrcns; a fact that has led to reaction and criticism from the traditional 'ulama" who accused it of being a "pesantrm bidCuh"?l Based on his

experiences, Madjid discloses that unlike most pesantrens, at Gontor, students from the same ethnic group were not allowed to stay together in the same room in order to avoid potential conflicts between the sanm*s.While otherpesantrens still insist that certain aspects

of a modem life-style, like playing music, are h a r h , Gontor has shown itself to be far more flexible in the sense that it not only permits the students to play sports and music, but also

provides them with sports facilities and musical instruments, such as guitars, pianos, drums, and other kinds of modem equipment. The pesantren also offers modem health care at its polyclinic. What is more, Gontor also allows its sanrn's to wear trousers, while others still

forbade it, obliging them to wear the "sarong" or male skirt? What is most distinctive and renowned about Gontor, however, is its strong Madjid's account mentions that the founder of this pesantren, Kiyai H.Ahmad Sahd, was a suntri Muslim from a priyuyi family,and therefore had the chance to attend H.I.S. (HollandschInlandscheSchool),aDutch primary school which taughtusing modern educationalcurriculum. This Western educational background of Kiyai Sabal didundoubtedyinspire him toward the elaboration and operation of his own pesantren. Madjid also reveaIs that the word "modem" attached to the n a m of this pesantren was initially given by a priest ftom Madiun, East Java, who was very impressed with the revolutionary changes promoted by this pesantren. However, Madjid himself has doubts whether Gontor still deserves to be called a modem pesantren. Madjid, "An Interview," pp. 13-14. 31 Cf.M a n . "TsIamic Modernism," p. 126128. Boland, The Struggle of Islam, p. 122. Madjid, "An h t e ~ e w , "p. 1 2 Cf. Greg Barton, 4'Neo-Modemism: A Vital Synthesis of TraditionaIistandModemist hIamicThoughtin hdonesi&"in CRwnul Qur'an, VoI. 2, No. 3 (1995),

"

note. 17, p. 67.

"Fathintah,Chapter l, " 20

disciplineU in the learningprocess and other daily activities, but most especiallyin language training. Because of this, no one can deny the fact that Gontor has been the most succesful

pesantren in producing students with a good command not only of Arabic, but also of ~ n g l i s h To . ~ this point, the regular pesanhms had only taught Arabic, while the secular schools had only taught English. Madjid, for example, before be graduated from Gontor,

acquired the ability to read classical Arabic literature and modem Arabic newspapers.

Similarly, his command of English was good enough to allow him to correspond in English 33 Madjid remarks that this discipline was sometimes too strong, and made Gontor a modem, but authoritarian school with Army style training. The kiyai was like Stalin whose words could not be argued with and the sunrris were forced to follow their daily schedule and were punished if they broke it without good reason. Although Madjid admits that because of this, Gontor has been very effective in meeting its goals and its alumni have been potential candidates for positions of Culuml' and kiyais, this strong discipline could be viewed as a weakness in terms of creating democratic environment, since it sometimes could kill creativity and criticism in the students. See Madjid, "An Intemew," p. 15. This phenomena, however, is not solely of Gontor, but of the general pesuntren's tradition. See his Bilik-Bilik Pestwren, pp. 6-7 and 95.

It is important to note here that the original plan drawn up by Kiyai Ahrnad Sahd was that the Pondok Modem Gontor Darussdam was simply designed to produce sonnis with the capability of speaking and understanding both Arabic and English. This design was drawn based on the fact that Indonesian Muslim intellectuals and CulamB' suffered from their ignorance of these two languages. According to Ali Saifullah HA.,Gontor's establishment can be traced back to 1926 when the Muktumczr Aiam Islomi of Indonesia, a federal organization of M u s h movements, held a meeting to choose an Indonesian delegation for an international congress of Mdumar A h Islami in Mecca. The meeting encountered difficulty in finding a suitablecandidate who could meet the requirement of knowing both Arabic and English. The committee then decided to send two delegates, H.O.S.Cokroamhoto, who knew only English, and KH.Mas Mansur, who knew only Arabic. So, Kiyai Sahal who attended the congress decided to found the Goutor pesmtren to meet this need. But, at that time, Riyai Sabal bad not yet conceived of modem schoolinguntil he sent his younger brother Kiyai Zarkasyi to study at Sekolah Normal Islam in Padan& West Sumatra, where Kiyai H.Mahmud Yunus, the first hdonesian to graduatefrom Diir alallJ1amin Cairo, was the head of the school. The Sekolah Normal Islam constituted the centerof Islamiceducationm Indonesiaand its students came h m all over the country. When Kiyai Zarkasyi retamed from Padang, he was asked to apply its teaching systemto Gontor. See Madjid "Anh t e ~ e w , "pp. 14-15 and 17and Ali SaifbIlah HA.. "Daarussalaam, Pondok Modem Gontor," in Rahardjo (a)Pesantren , dan Pembahrtmn. p. 135. Cf. Endaag Basri Ananda (ed.), 70 Tuhm Prof. Dr. H.M. Rasjidi ( J a k a r ~ ~ Harian Pelita, 1985). p. 19.See aIso Kate1 Stcenbrink, Pesmtren, Mudrasa, Sckoloh.Pendidikon Ishmdolrun K u m Modem(Jakarta:LP3ES. 1987) andLanceCastIes, "Notes on the Islamic School at Gontor," in Indonesia, no. 1 (April. 1966). pp. 30-45.

"Fathimah.Chapter l," ZI

with the foreign embassies in Indonesia?' All of these skills were made possible because during his stay at Gontor, Madjid was allowed to speak either Arabic or English, never Indonesian and especially not Javanese, his own mother tongue. Thus, when he graduated fiom this pesuntren in 1960,it was not surprising that Madjid was not only well acquainted

with traditional and classical Islamic literature, but had also acquired the leadership and language training necessary to fit him for the twentieth century. Madjid also encountered certain peculiarities in the daily prayer ceremonies at Gontor. In order to give the santris an opportunity to practice to become an i m h (prayer leader). the kiyais did not take on the role of the i m h at daily prayers like at most pesantrens, but usually restricted themselves to preaching at the Friday ceremony or during Ram$& prayers (tar&@). Instead, this duty went to the older or more senior santds. This

practice was very different for the santris, particularly for Madjid himself, who had gotten used to praying behind the great kiyais and listening to their short speeches (hikma words) given after prayer. For Madjid, who at that time was sixteen, the older tradition brought with it certain spiritual insights that allowed him to feel the sacred dimension of the religious

rites.%Gontor did not have this tradition, but, as Madjid states, Gontor's emphasis was on developing the intellectual aspect of religion,in contrast with most otherpesmtrens which

usualIy placed emphasis merely on the spiritual aspects of religion?" Nonetheless, this experience was of great benefit to Madjid who later grew up to become a prominent M u s h

''Madjid, "An Inte~ew,"p. 18. This peculiarity is evident in the fact that the pesmtren has traditionally been a center fkom which sJI beliefs have spread. See Madjid, 'Tasauf dan Pesantren," in Rahardjo (ed.), P e s ~ t r e n dmr Pembahurucuc, p. 104.

"See Madjid "An Inte~ew,''pp. 16-17.

"Fathimah, Chapter I, " 22 intellectual. According to one account of his life,Madjid, while still at the pesantrens, showed significantleadership skills and intellectual talent, which many felt he had inherited from his father. This is evident from the fact that he was always among the top students in class and outside of it as well. When he was at the Madrasah al-Wataniyyah, his father, who was the director of the school as well as his kiyai (teacher), always felt uncomfortablewhen the time

came to give awards to the outstanding students, for he had to give the same awards each year to his own son. Another account which is giwn by H. Abdul Wahid Zaini, Madjid's

cousin and classmate from elementary school until his graduation from Gontor, provides witness to his educational development in stating that Madjid was a talented and smart child

who always got high marks in class.%

Finally,it is important to point out here what Fachry Ali and Bahtiar Effendy tell us in their book about the significance o f Madjid's early life and education with regard to the

development of his personality and way of Me. They believe that, aside fiom the influence of Fazlur Rahman on his later development, it was the blend of the two different educational

patterns, the traditional Rejoso and the modem Gontor, that created the foundations for Madjid's rise as a neo-modernist W e r ? '

B. Madjid's Involvement in the Islamic Renewal Movement. Having graduated fiom Gontor in 1960, Madjid attended another school for Islamic

studies in Ciputat, Jakarta, namely the State Institute of Is1am.i~Studies (LA.LN.) Syarif

"Dr.N~f~holishMacijid." in Media Indonesia, March 28.1993. p3, cited by Novianto, "NeoModernisme Iclanf p. 19. See also Anwar, "PemikiranPolitik NurcholishMadjid," p. 1. 39

Ali and Effendy, Memmbah J u h Barn 1slam, p. 176.

"Fathimah, Chapter 4 " 23 Hidayatullah, where he punued studies at the undergraduate level, receiving his degree in 1968. At this institution, he broadened his knowledge of Islam and studied Islamic history

and Arabic literature in more depth at the faculty of

a&.He finished by writing an

undergraduate or doctorandus thesis entitled "The Qur' k :Arab in Its Wording, Universal

in Its Meaning?" During his period of study at the I.A.I.N., Madjid was actively involved

in many student activities. This was the beginning of his involvement in the debate over the socio-political and religious problems facing the country. It was in 1963, two years after

beginning his studies at the I.A.I.N., that Madjid joined the H.M.I.(Muslim Students Association), the largest and the most influential student organization in Indonesia." Apparently, Madjid's attendance at the LA.1.N. and his involvement in the H.M.I!2 marked

"

Karel Steenbrink, "Nurcholish Madjid and Inclusive Islamic Faith in Indonesia," in GC SpeeIman, ed., MusIimsand Christiansin Europe. Breaking Ncw Groundc Essays in Honour of Jan Slomp (Kampen: Kok, 1993), p. 31. Madjid, "Tbe Issue of Modernization among Muslims in Indonesia: from a Participant's of Point View," in Abmad Ibrahim, Shamn Siddique, Yasrnin Hussain, (eds.), Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1989, p. 379. This article was previously published in Gloria Davis, Who&is Modem Indonesian Culmre? (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies Southeast Asia Program.1979), pp. 143-155. It has also been published in an Indonesian version under the title Isyu Modernismi di Kalungm Muslim Indonesia: P a h n g a n Seorang Partiripan (Jakarta: LAPMI H.M..?. Cabang Ciputat and Formaci, 1988).In this article, Madjid describes that part of his career which show his personal involvement with the H M I md the issueof modernization among Muslims in Indonesia, falling for the most part within the first decade of the New Order period.

The HMI,since its establishment in 1947, has declared itself to be a reformist organization of young Muslim inteUectuals having an independent and Liberal character and committed to the reformation of Islamic thought and the promotion of democracy, fkedom of speech, and critical thought. Many of its ex-members have risen to prominence as Muslim leaders both at the national and international levels. For more information on the history of the H.ML and its role in the national developmentand inteIlectual discourse of the Muslim commnity in Indonesia, see Victor Immanutl Tanja, tlMI: Sejarah don Kedudukannya di Tengrrh Gerakan-Gerh Pembclhcrm di Indonesia (Jakarta: Pustaka S k Harapan, 199I), transIated by Hemi from the author's Ph.D. dissertation 'TIMI, MusIimStudents Association: h History and ItsPIace amongMuslimReformist Movemnts in Indonesia," Hartford Seminary Foundation, 1979. See also Agussalim Sitompd, Pemikiran HMJ. dm Rclevunsiirya dengun Sejorah Pejuangm Bangsa Indonesia (Jakarta: htepritaDinamilraRess, 1986) a d his Historiograf H i m p m n Mahasiswu Isiam Tdtut 1947-1993

"Fathimah, Chapter 1. " 24 the beginning of his intellectual formation and a long career of stirring Muslims to undertake reform and adapt Islam to Indonesian needs. His career as a student activist reached a climax

when he was appointed president of the H.M.1. in 1967. This appointment was an historic one for the H.M.I.in that Madjid was the first president to have had a formal Islamic educational background.& Also. when he was elected again for a second term, from 1969 to 1971, he was the first president to have been thus honoured. This honour was made possible due to the fact that he had won much support not only &om the members of the H.M.I. but also from the leaders of various Muslim organizations. The Masyurni leaders in

particular, with whom the HM.1 had had a bad relationship in the past, considered the appointmentof Madjid as a sign of a new hope for reconciliation between the H.M.I. and the

Masyumi leaders. Madjid writes that the conflict between the two organizations, which had its embryo

in the very establishment of the H.M.I.,u was a conflict between the older and the younger generations and created aseriousgap between them. The primary sources of the conflict were two:

the idea of the so-called Islamic stateU or Islamic ideology, and the "unbending

(Jakarta: Intermasa, 1995). This is important to emphasize because of the fact that although H.M.I.is a Muslim students organization and although many of its members have been graduates of the Islamic institutions or uaiversities, none of its presidents were ever eleeted from their ranks. AD the presidents before Madjid had been Muslim students educated in secular or non-Islamic universities. 43

"

As Madjid himself explains, due to issues of unity, the Masyami leaders initially did not agree with the idea of building a new Muslim youth organization, including the HMI since they wanted to have only one organization for the Muslim youth, the G S U . (Indonesian Muslim Youth Movement). See Madjid, "The h e of Modernization," p. 381.

"For a comprehension accounton Masyumi's theory pertaining to the Islamic state, see H a m Nasution. "The Islamic State in Indonesia: the Rise of the Ideology, the Movement for its Creation and the Theory of the Masyumi," MA.thesis, McGill University, Montnal(1965).

"Fathimoh,Chapterl, " 25

attitude of the Masyumi towards practical political problems.'46 In 1953, for example, the

H.M.L, whose president at that time was Dahlan Ranuwihardja, held a meeting to address the question of whether Indonesia should become an Islamic state or a nation state. The result

of the meeting was that the H.M.I.officially declared its support for the concept of a nation state."

This resolution,of course, surprised the Masyumi leaders who had counted on the

support of the HMJ. as one of the member organizations of the Masyurni party? This conflict, interestingly, continued even after the banning of the Masyumi party by Soekarno in 1960. Madjid records that in 1963, there was another great debate between the leaders of the Masyumi and the H.ML regarding the latter's strategy of accommodating the

government's policies of bbrevoiutionism"and 'mmanifesto" simply for the sake of the organization's sunrival. The Masyumi accused the H.M.I. of being hypocritical since,in their eyes, such an attitude amounted to sacrificing Islamic principles for the sake of political advantage. They believed that as Muslims they had to fight against policies which were

contrary to Islamic doctrine, even if they had to die for it. Thus, when Madjid, possessingthe credentials of a traditional Islamic education and a family loyal to the Masyumi, took over the presidency of the HMJ., the Masyumi leaders saw this event as promising a change in the political orientation of the student body. They

also expectedthat they couldcooperate with Madjid in the realization of their vision? which -.-

a Madjid, 'The Issue of Modernization," p. 385. "Madjid. "The Issue ofModernization," p. 38 1.See also, SudirmanTebba,"Ormas Islam dan Dilemma Pembahman," in Muntaha Azhari and Abdd Mud im SaIch {cds.), Islam Inrionesia M e ~ t a Masu p Depatt ( J a k a r k nM,1989). p. 233. See note 25,supm. 49 Madjid, 'The bsue of Modernization," p. 382. See also Sitompd, Historiioguj'i, p.110

"Fathimah,Chapter l, " 26

seemed virtually utopian after the outlawing of their party in 1960. A change of direction

was also strongly desired by elements within the H.M.I., a factor which must have contributed to Madjid's succesN bid for leadership?' In other words, it is not an exaggerationto say that many people were grateful for the designation of Madjid as the head

of the H.M.I. As far as relations with Masyumi were concerned, Madjid, in his capacity as

president, appeared to have tried very hard at least to reduce the existing tensions between the conflicting organizations and to put Masyumi ideas onto the HM.1. agendas. However, leading a young inteUectuals'organization during a ,%nod of political uncertainty for the

country was not an easy task. It was a period of transition from the Old to the New Order. The Islamic political groups and the Muslim community in general, both the traditionalists and the modernists, but primarily the younger activists within organizations such as the

H.MI, basically supported the leadership of the New Order. Having fought against the Communist party together with Army and brought about the fall of the Soekarno regime, they believed that with the emergence of the New Order, Islam would have new hope and an

opportunity to play a major role in the government. The Masyumi leaders, who had been very consistent and determined opponents of the Communists for many years and had sacred considerably from denunciations and insults in the government-controlled press, had high expectations that their party, which had been dissolved by Soekamo, would be

"E.SaifuddinAnshari, KritikAtos Faham&n Gerakan~embuhruunDm.~urcholishM a d

(Bandung: Blllan Sabit, I973),pp. 3 1-34 and Sitompni, Histon'ogrrqf pp. l27-130.

"Fathimah, Chapter 1, " 27

rehabilitated?' At first, in an effort to accommodate the Masyumi and trying to support their ideas.

Madjid joined other Muslim leaders in attempting to realise the party's goal? However, Madjid and his colleagues at the H.M.1 soon became aware of the political situation in the

country and how it would be impossible to insist on Masyumi's rehabilitation with the go~emment.~ The alternative suggested by Masyumi supporters was to recreate the

Masyumi party under a new name. Madjid stresses, in his account, that it was during the process of finding an appropriate solution to this problem that he began to encounter certain difficulties in dealing with the Masyumi leaders. Part of the difficulty, as Madjid points out,

was that they suffered from 'inflexibility', 'dogmatism', and 'impractical considerations'. That the Masyumi leaders could not accept the idea of creating a new party, although it would essentially have had the same characteristics as the old Masyumi,but instead kept insisting on rebuilding the old organization, was but one example of their inflexible,

"

A detailed account ofthe =habilitation ofthe Masyumi party can be found in Ken Ward. The Foundation of the Pami Muslimin Indonesia (Ithaca: Modem IndonesiaProject, 1970) and in Wan A. Samson,'?slam in Indonesian Politics,"Asian Survey, no. 12(December, 1968), pp. 1001-1017; see also, idem, "Indonesian Islam Since the New Order:' in Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia, pp. 165-170.

Madjid. 'The issue of Modemization." p. 382. One record mentions that in early December 1965,a federation called Badan Koordinasi AmaI Muslimin consisting of sixteen organizations that had beenassociatedwith the MasyuIIli set up acomdttee to explore ways ofrehabiiitatingthe party. See Anthony & Jobs. "~donesia:Islam and Cultural Pluralism," in fslm in Asia: Religion, Polin'cs, and Socie@(Oxford: Oxford University Ress. 1987). p. 215. a Madjid, 'The Issue of Modernization,'' p. 382 and Sitompd, Kinoriograji, p. 130. One reason why the New Order government, in which the Army has been very dominant, refused to rehabilitate the Mas@ party, is because they were traumatized by the fact that the party, aIthough not officially in supportofthe rebellions, was involved in the revolts of the D.I.T.I.I. @&d-Isb Indonesian Islamic Armed Forces) and the PXXL (Revolutionary Govemnent of the Republic of Indonesia) against the central government See Samson, "Islam in Indonesian Politics." p. 1005; Boland, Thc Struggle of lsfiam,p. 51.

"Fathimah,Chapter I, " 28

unrealistic and impractical attitude. When they finally accepted the idea and formed the

Partai Muslimin Indonesia (Parmusi) in 1968, they had already lost too much time and momentum. Besides, the Army was unable to resist controlling the party, even to the extent

of determiningits leadership by declaring ineligible the former heads of Masyumi whom they considered to be 'fundamentalists'." This bitter experience was later to influence Madjid's

attitude towards Islamic political parties. It is important to note here that Madjid appears to have been sincere in wanting to participate in the efforts at finding a way to rehabilitate Masyumi. In fact, he believed that ever since the N.U.'s withdrawal in 1952, the Masyumi was the only Muslim party capable of providing a political vehicle for the reformist organizations, even though it had shown its reactioaary side in supporting the idea of an Islamic state, particularly during the

Constitutional period (1956-1959)P However, by the beginning of the New Order period, there were only three Islamic political parties still surviving: the N.U.. the P.S.S.I., and the

Perti (PersatuanTarbiyah Islamiyah);the Masyumi had been banned in 1960.Madjid and the other leaders of modemist groups saw the need for a political party Like the Masyumi

through which they could chaaoei their aspirations? Madjid's good faith was also shown Madjid, "The Issue of Modernization," p. 383. See also his article, "Idam in Indonesia: ChaUenges and Opportunities," in Cyriac K. PullapilIy (ed.), Islam in the Contemporary World (Notre Dame.Indiana: Cross Roads Books, 1980), p. 345 and Yusril Ihza Mahendra, 'Combining Activism and IntelIectualism: the Biography of Mohammad Natsir (19084993):' Studia Islamika, vol. 2, no. 1 (1995), pp. 103404.

ss For more information on this period, see Adoan Buyung Nasution, The Aspiration fur Com*tutioruitGovemment in Indonesia: A Sociu-legalSnrdy of theindonesian Kon~h*tucutte 1956-

1959 (Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan, 1992). s6See M.Sbjuddin Syamsnddh. "Religionand Politics in Islam: The Caseof Muhammndiyah in Indonesia's New Order,"Ph. D.disseftation, University of ClalifomiaLosAngels (1991), p. 69; and Samson, 'Islam in Indonesian Politics," p. 1006. It is dso said that with the banning of the Masymni, the intellectual spirit that it brought cons#loentIy declined

"Fathimah, Chapter l, " 29

in his respect for the older Masyumi leaders, the most prominent of whom was Mohammad

Natsir (1908-1993)? He regarded them as "the people who have successfully combined the best elements of the two world-views: Islam and Westernization; or more safely,

modernization," through which they "still serve as our [the HM.L's] inspiration."" Besides,

compared to other Muslim political parties. particularly the N.U.,the H.M.L had perhaps the most in common with Masyumi in terms of its approach to Islam and contemporary

problem^.^ Perhaps, it was for this very reason that people at that time often described the members of the HM.1. as the 'natural heirs' to the Masyumi* However, this perception had

little significance until Madjid's arrival on the scene at the HML, where his strong personality and his broad knowledge ofIslam earned him the title 'NatsirMuda' or 'Young Mohammad Natsir was ao Indonesian politician, author, C&?im,and spiritual leader of the Indonesian Muslim modemists who was the head of Yayasan Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah hdoaesia (DDQ. He was a prominent leader of the Masyumi p w and was associated with the stmggling efforts of the Islamic factions in the Constituent Assembly to apply Islam as the basic ideology of the state and with thenvolt against the Sakarno regime in 1958.For more information about Natsir, see Xlmudin Ma-mu, "Abd ACla Mawdiidi's and Mohammad Natsir's Views on Statehood: A Comparative Study," MA.thesis,McGill University, 1995;and Yusril Ihza, "CombiningActivism and Intellectualism," pp. 111-147.

*

Madjid. 'The Issue of Modernization." p. 385. Madjid, "Suatu Tatitpan Islam terhadap Masa Depan Politik Indonesia," in Prism. No. Ekstca, Tahun XlII, (1984). p. 16. See also Madjid, 'Tern HMT dalam Tantangan Perjuaogan yang Proaktif," in Madjid, Tradisi Islam: Perm dm Fungsinya &lam Pentbangwan di indonesia, Kasnanto, ed. (Jakarta: Patamadina, 1997). pp. 89406.

"

In hi5 later statements on this issue, Madjid clarifies that in so far as the attitude of the Masyumi before 1955or before it was obsessed with the idea of creating an Islamic state, such a description haccepted. In this case, Madjid himself claims to have been a Mrrsyumi Mu& (Young Masyumi) who tries to reston the situation of Masyumi before that time,which according to him, 60

was very democratic and inclusive, by calling for intellectual reasoning emphasizing p l u m

inclusivism, t01erance. and political relativism, See Madjid. "Rindu Kehidupaa Zaman Masyumi," in Madjid, Dialog Keterbukaan: Anikuhi Nilui &lam WacanaSosiaf Politik Kontemporer. Edy A Effendi, ed. (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1998)' pp. 203-212 and "Saya Tak Rela Peran Pak Natsir Dikccillcan," in Madjid and Roem, Ti& Ada Negum Islam, p. 69. This article was previously pubIishedunderthe title 'Tulisan YangDitunggu-Tunggu," Islami',n o L (July-September, 1993). pp. 74-86.

'%athimah, Chapter I, " 30

Natsir?' This identification of Madjid as the 'Young Natsir' was in part based on the fact that he, as a representative of the younger generation, had attempted a reformulation of Islamic

thought and the development of IsIamic tradition, just as Natsir had also done in his youth.

Like Natsir, Madjid had also been educated at an Islamic institution, was well acquainted with the traditional Islamic sciences, was a member of an activist organization and was also

familiarwith Western sciences, such as sociology, epistemology, philosophy, etc." Besides, his fluency in several foreign languages, including Arabic, English and French, gave him access to a wide body of knowledge.

Nevertheless, for Madjid himself, his experiences as president of the HM.1 were a

good preparation for his later career. From that time onwards, he has continually been invited to give speeches on a variety of occasions and has frequently been appointed to influential positions. He has also been intensively involved in intellectual activities such as discussions, seminars, and symposiums, and has published widely in newspapers and

An exellent elaboration and comparison between Madjid and Natsir is given by Dawam Rahanljo in his article, "Kenangan Reflektif atas Mohammad Natsir (1908-1993)," in Ulumul Qur'un, vol. N, no. 1 (1993). pp. 20-24.

With this distinctive charafter, Madjid was seen as the best exemplification of the

manifestation of the H.M.I.mission to anticipatethe problem of intellectual dualism amongMuslim intellectuals, which Natsir always tried to overcome: that was the dudism between the sedarly educatedintellectualsandthe religiouslyeducated Cukund'.In fact, in this case, Madjid overshadows Natsir. See HowardFederspiel,'mmocracyas aThem in IndonesianMuslimThioldngPna working paper presented at the Institute of IsIamic Studies McGill University on March IO, 1992, p. 7; Rahardjo, "Kenangan RefIelttif? p. 21; and Sudirman Tebba, Islam Or& Barn Penrbohrm Politik dan Keugam~uut,( Y o g y m Tiara Wacana, 1993), p. 177.Deliar Noer wrote a book about this problem entitled, Mmalah 'Llkrmrr' Intelektuil atau InteIektuiI Clllrma':Suatu Thesis untuk Generasi Muda I s l m (Jakarta: Bulm Bintang, 1974), cited by Tanja, HMI, p. 111. Later on, particularly a& his retun fkom Chicago in 1984 to undertake post-graduate studies, he learned s e v e d other foreign languages.

"Fathimah,Chapter I," 31

journals, all of which has led to his becoming very popular, not only am0ngH.M.L members, but also among other organizations.

In 1967, for example, Madjid was the Indonesian

delegate to a conftrence held to form an Islamic Student Association of Southeast Asia (Pemiat) in Kuala Lumpur, of which he was subsequentlyappointed president for a period of two years.u This marked the beginning of Madjid's contact with international forums.

Also, during the period 1969-1971, he served as assistant secretary-general to the International Islamic Federation of Students Organization (LI.F.S.0.). Moreover, when he finished his term as president of the H.M.I., he took up a post as lecturer at his a h a mater, LAJN. Syarif Hidayatullah, from 1972 to 1974, and served as editor in-chief of Mimbar magazine in Jakarta from 1971 to 1974. He also participated as a researcher at the Leknas-

LlP.1. (the National Institute of Science) from 1976to 1984,where he was involved in many intellectual activities, seminars and conferences designed to contribute to the development

and formulation of Indonesian religious and political thougku Inspired by his deep concern for the social, political and economicproblems of the country and in keeping with his interest

in the discipline of Islamic studies, together with his colleagues he founded and subsequentlybecame director of the Institute of Social Science Studies (LSIIC) in Jakarta

from 1973 to1976, and of the Institute of Islamic Studies Samanhudi in Jakarta &om 1974 to 1992. respectively. Madjid's contribution to the development of Islamic thought in Indonesia has

Anwar, "PemikiranPoIitilc Nurcholish Madjid". 2; cf-SteenbMc. 'Nurcholish Madjid,', p.31. Also see a biographical sketch of Madjid given by Fedenpiel, Mudim Intellectuals ond National Devefopmentin lndonesio (New York: Nova Science Publisher Inc, 1992). pp. 41-44.

"Fathimah, Chapter 1," 32

constituted an attempt to remove the prevailing misconceptions among Muslims about modemization, which was a central theme of the New Order development program.* In doing so, he, together with his colleagues from the H.M.I. such as Djohan Effendi, Ahmad Wahib, and Dawam RahWo, has supported the government's policy of modernization, and has tried to give a theological base for modernization by explainingthe Islamic point of view

regarding the concept. In connection with this, in 1968 he wrote a long article entitled

"Modemisasi ialah Rasionalisasi, bukan Westernisas?' (Modernization is Rationalization,

not Westernization). The main point of the article is to be found in his statement that: Modernization, meaning rationalization, or to acquire efficiency in thinking and working for the happiness of human beings,constitutes an imperativeand fundamental command of God. Modernization means thinking and working according to the fipa (SunnatulLi% at-haq) maLLifested in laws of nature. Therefore, to be modern, man should k t acquire knowledge of the laws prescribed in nature (God's command)? In this context, modernization does not mean Westernization, where secularism is the most dominant factor. Furthermore, he categorically rejects atheism which he regards as the

ultimate form of ~ecularism.~ Although previously there had been works written on this topic by scholars such as Deliar Noer, Omar Hashem, Amin Rais, & M.Rasyidi, etc., it was

"With the riseof the New Order government,Islamic modemismand modernization in general, became the central point of discussions among Muslim leaders, including those in the HMJ.

"This article was fint published serially in Panji Masyarakat, nos. 28,29, and 30 (March 1968). as cited in Boland, Ihc Struggle of I s h , p. 221 and Tanja, HMI,p. 126, but it is now reprintedin his book Islmn, Kemodemc~&n Keiiubneshn (Bandug: Mizan, 1987), pp. 171-203. Cf.Muhammad Kamal Hasan, Musfim Intellectuul Responses to "New Order" M o d e m w o n in Indonesia (Kuala Lumpuc Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kemntrian Pelajaran Malaysia, 1982). p. 20.

Madjid Islam, Kemodcrnan h n Keindonesiaan, p. 173. More detailed elaboration on this issue, see Chapter II, infia.

"Fathimah,Chapter l, " 33 not until this article appeared that the issue was given a fuller and more positive treatment?

In October 1968, in his capacity as a student leader, Madjid was invited by the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs to visit several universities in the United States under the sponsorship of the Council for Leaders and Specialists (C.L.S.) in Washington D.C.On his way home from the United States, he went to Paris and visited severalMuslim countries such

as Turky, Lebanon, Syria,Iraq, ( where he first met Abdurrahman Wahid, who is now the general chairman of the N.U. organization), Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,and Egypt. From Egypt, he went back to Lebanon and proceeded to Pakistan before returning to Indonesia in

January 1969.During this four-month itinerary, Madjid had seved meetings and discussions with numerous Muslim Ieaders and CulamB' in these countries and also obtained some

important sources relating to Islamic ideology. Two months after he returned from his trip. Madjid, at the invitation of the government of Saudi Arabia, led ten H.M.I.leaders on the

pilgrimage to Mecca.

Inspired by his experiences during his trip to the United States and in particular to the

various Muslim countries, and in view of the H.M.I.'s need for a document spelling out its ideology, Madjid decided to write a small book entitled Nilai-Nilai Dasur P e r j w m g ~

(N.D.P.), that was adopted as the ideological guide for H.M.1 members after discussions at the H.M.I. Congress in May 1969 in Malang, East ~ava?'What seems to be special and significant about this book, as Fachry Ali notes, is that unlike the general ideological

" See Hasan, Muslim Inteltectuai Responsestpp. 20-2 1. Madjid, 'The hsue of Moderaization," p. 383. See also his commnt on this in Pardoyo, Sekuhrisusi &fm Polemik (Jakarta: Grafiti Ress. 1993), pp. xv-xvi. At the 17th HML congress in 1988, the title ofthebook, which constitutedMadjid's first serious piece of writing, was changed to Nilai Idennias Kbdcr (M.K.); see Sitompul, Histuriogr@, p. 135.

"Fathimnh. Chapter l, " 34 handbooks of other Muslim organizations, this book does not discuss the Islamic concepts

regarding God, man and nature in a conventional way.Rather, it explains them in relation to wider issues with a critical and analytical exposition." Nevertheless, Madjid's contniution to the development of Islamic thought in Indonesia reached its climax on January 2, 1970 when he delivered a paper entitled "Keharusan Pembaharuan PemikiranIslam dan MasaIah Integrasi Urnmat'" on the occasion of the

'Ibd fi&celeb ration in ~akartaorganized by four organizations: H.M.I.,GePI, P.11

(Pelajar Islam Indonesia), and Persami (Persatuan Sarjana Muslim Indonesia). At this time, he truly established himself in a position of influence in the Islamic community of Indonesia

and as the forerunner of a "new thought movement." In his paper, Madjid provides an enlightened Islamic perspective on what Muslims should do to reconstruct their society and shows himself to be in favor of Islamic modernization in an effort to rebuild the political,

social, and cultural systems in Indonesia when Muslims are the majority of the population.

Since, as Madjid himself has in fart come to regret,n he employedin it such pejorative terms

as secularization," desacralization,and liberalization,the paper attractedsevere censure and criticism from other Muslim intellectuals, among them some of his own coUeagues in the See Ali, 'late1ekt.d. Pengaruh Pemikiran dan Intelektualnya," a preface in Madjid, Dialog Keterbukacut, xxi-lvii

* NOWit is reprinted in Madjid, Islam, Kemodenuvr dan Keindonesim, pp. 204-214. Although Madjid actually had no intention of presenting it publicly, he later realized that he should not have used such terms. This attitude is manifested in a working paper entitled 'The Issue of Modernization among Muslims in Iodonesia: from a Participant's Pomt of View" delivered in a conference on Indonesia at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1976. "This tennis bonrowed from Harvey Cox and Robert N.BeIlah and is used in its sociological. not philosophical context. However, this fact did not prevent him being accused of a secular modernist promoting sccalarismand it subsequently led to bis no Ionger being referred to "Nutsir Mucta" by the epithet. See a mom detded elaboration on this in Chapter I& infa.

"Fathimah, Chapter 1." 35

HMJ? In conjunction with those terms, he also proposed aconcept which has always been

a delicate theme in the discourse of Islamic thought in Indonesia: "Islam, Yes, IsIslamic Party, No." This statement was proposed by Madjid based on his assessment of the situation faced by Muslim political parties, i.e, that they had failed to build a positive image or to meet the political aspirations of the Muslims. He maintains that it was impossible for Islam to gain political power through these political parties. They only functioned as a means of realizing

an Islamic society and, therefore, were not absolute?' Budhy Munawar-Rachmaa, an executive director of

L.S.A.F.(Lembaga Study Agama d m Filsafat) and a chief staff of

Paramadina, records no less than 100articles, the most hostile of which were those of H.M. Rasjidin and E. Saifuddin ~nshari," that appeared during the 1970s in newspapers and

75

They also believed that with this dcIe, Madjid made a radical shift in his opinions,

especially about secularism, born those featured in his previous writings. Among his detractors in this regard were E. Saefuddin Anshari, Muhammad Kamal Hasan, Jalaluddin Rabmat, H. M. Rasyidi, M. Natsir, Abdul Qadir Djaelani, and even Ahmad Wahib, who happened to be his own supporter. Dawam Rahardjo, Komaruddin Hidayat, Saiful Muzani, Fachry Ah,Greg Barton, and others on the other hand believe that there is consistencyin Madjid's thought before and after 1970. See Rahardjo, "Mam daa Modernisasi," p. 27; Hidayat, "Preface" of Madjid. Islam Agama Peradaban: Membangwt Makna dan Relevmi Doktrin tslamDalam Sejatuh(Jakarta:Paramadina, 1995), p. vii; M d , "Di BaIik Polemik "Anti-Pembman" Islam: Memaha. Gejaia 'Fundamentalisme" Islam di Indonesia," Islarnika, no. 1 (Juli-September 1993);Ali, 'lntelektud," pp. xxi-Ivii, and Barton, "The International Context," p. 75 and "Neo-Modernism," p. 9. 76 Madjid, Islam, Kemodemn dun Keirzdonesium, p. 205 and 207. One has qnestioned Madjid's consistency on this issue in 1977, since he himself was involved in a campaign for the P.P.P. (Partai Penaman Pembangunan), a political party which used to represent Muslim interests. Madjid argues that his involvement should bejudged on the basis of his commitment to democracy, which helped to create a political balance during the election proass. See his interview in Forum Keadilan, "Oposioi Suatu Kcnyataan," no. 18 (24 December 1992), republished in Madjid, Dialog Keterbukn, pp. 5-12; Natsir Tamara,"Sejarah Politik Islam Orde Bam," Prisms. no. 5, tahtm 17 (1988). pp. 47-48; Media Dakwuh (December 1992). p. 10 and Anwar. 'PemiLiran Politik Nurcholish Madjid," p. 24.

See this author's Koreksi terhu&p Drs. Nurcholish Modjid tentang Sekularisasi (Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1972) and SW Koreksi Lugi Bagi Drs. Nurchoish Madjid ( J a k a r ~DDII. 1973).

"See note 50, supra.

"Fathintah, Chapter l, " 36

journals in reaction to Madjid's ideas?

Since then, Madjid supported by other young

modernists such as Djohan Effendi, Dawam Rahardjo,Usep Fathuddin, Utomo Dananjaya, etc., has been regarded as the pioneer of the Islamic renewal movement in the 1970s which called for the theological reexamination of Islamic doctrine^.^

However, although Madjid was quite aware of the consequences of his ideas, in particular those relating to the unity of Indonesian Muslims, this did not stop him from formulating new and fiesh interpretations of Tslamic doctrines. Therefore, on October 21, 1992, about 20 years after delivering his controversial paper on Islamic renewal, Madjid

delivered another landmark paper in a meeting at Taman Ismail Ma&

(TLM.) Jakarta,

entitled: "Beberapa Renungan tentang Kehidupan Keagamaan di Indonesia untuk Generasi

Mendatang"? Madjid's ideas expressed in this paper were religiously and intellectually provocative challenges to the prevailing trends of Islamic modernism. In this context, he made an essential criticism of neo-fundamentalist movements, whether Muslim or non-

Muslim, aad more importantly, maintained that Islam had a more universal meaning,not only as a formal religion but aIso as 'surrender to God' through which all the people of the 79 See Munawar Rachmaa, "BerbagaiRespon Atas Gagasan Pembaharuan." in Ulumul Qur 'an, vol. 4, no. 1, (1993), p. 55. 'O Barton marks Madjid's ideas in this period as the beginning of the emergence of neomodernism in Indonesia and regards him as the most important neo-modernist thinlcer. See his T h e International Context," p. 75; Robert Cribb and Colin Brown, Modem Indonesia: A History Since 1945 (New York: Longmen Group Limited, 1995), p. 159; and Anwar, "Sosiologi Pembamao Pemikiran Islam Nmholish Madjid," in UlumuLQur'avol. , 4, no. 1(1993). pp. 4849. However, in his later article, Barton raises the fact that there was other parallel thought, i.e. that of Ahmad Wahib and his 'ZimitedGroup:' can be said as also formiagthe origins of the movement. See "NeoModernism," pp. 9-10. "Ii UIumulQur'm,vol. 4, no. 1,(1993), pp. 4-25. Now it is reprintedin Madjid, Islam, Agamu Kemanusiaan: M h g m Tr&i dim V . iBum I s h Indonesia," Mdammad Wahyaai Nafis, ad. (Jalcana: Paramadha, 1995). pp. 120-168.

''Fathimah,ChapterI, " 37

Book (ahl al-Eta)are considered Muslims. As has often been the case, this idea of Madjid has also become a source of controversy and have attracted criticism, especially fkom conservative modernist groups or neo-revivalist groups, most particularly from the Dewan

Dakwah Islnmiyah Indonesia (D.D.1.1.) and through its publication Media Dakwah (M.D.)? Numerous writings regarding these issues have emerged in a variety of publications," and long polemics, debates, dialogues and discussions have taken place in seminars and other

forums. Unfortunately, as many observers have pointed out, the core of Madjid's thought has never been fully addressed by these criticisms since the polemics, debates and dialogues have often been done in an emotional and unacademic context and sometimeshave even become courts of judgement for Madjid, in which personal attacks were given greater emphasis. One

example of this is the seminar held in Jakarta on June 25, 1995 by his opponents, wherein Madjid was accused of being an agent of orientalists and zioni~rn.~

From the above account, it would seem that during the four years (1967-1971) of

* D.D.I.I. is a private religious organization established in 1967in Jakarta. It is concernedwith Islamic missionary work and has a national reputation. M.D.is a monthly magazine published by D.D.I.1. William Liddle uses the term scripturalistsfor MS.or DDJJ. as opposed to substanrialist group, which is how he describes Madjid and his supporters. See, Liddle, "Media Dakwcrh Scripturalism:One Form of Islamic Political Thought and Action in New Order Indonesia,"in Mark R. Woodward, ed., Toward a New Paradigm Recent Developmentsin Indonesian Islamic Thought (Tempe: Arizona State University, 1996), pp. 323356. These include collections of his articlesfkom newspapers and magazinespublished underthe titles: Cak Nur in Fucw (Jakarta: Patamadina, 1993); Menggugat Gerakrrn Pembahanuur Keaganraan: Debat Besar Pembalurnuzn Islum, 2 vols. ( l a . Lcmbaga Studi InfonaaSi Pembangunan, 1995); Daud Rasyid, Pembahoncrur Islam drur Orientalisme d o l a Sorotan (Jduuta: Usamah Press,1993);also, thejournal Ulumul Qur'an has published two special editions regarding the issue; vo1. 4, no. 1(1993) and vo1.6, no. 3 (1995). The seminar, to which W j i d himself was not invited, discussed a book mitten by Abdul Qadir Djaelani in reaction to Madjid's thoughts entided Meneltlsuri Kekehmn Pembahartl~n Pemikirun Pem'kiran l s hNutcItoIishMadjid(BandungYadia, 1994). Seealso Madjid, "Menatap Masa Depan hlam,'T in UQ,no. 1,v01. V (th. 1994), repubished in Madjid, Dialog Keterbukaan, pp. 121.

"Fathimah,Chapter l. " 38 Madjid's holding the post of chairman of the H.M.I., his career flourished. But with Madjid's departtue to the United States to pursue graduate studies at the University of Chicago in 1978, his career as an advocate of modernization in the Indonesian Muslim community was

interrupted. This program was continued by his associates and other modernist thinke~s.~

In Chicago, where he was accompanied by his wife Omi Kornaxia and his two children Nadia and Ahmad Mikail, Madjid again met with Leonard Binder and Fazlur

ahm man.^ Zn his first year, Madjid found himself becoming interested in politicd science and the sociology of religion under the tutelage of Binder, subjects which, according to Madjid, were to prove instrumental to his career. After finishing his study of politics and

sociology, he went on to learn Islamic philosophy, which was more pertinent to his research and whose value was more intrinsic." Madjid wrote his doctoral dissertation entitled "Xbn Taymiyya on K a t h and Falsafa" unduthe supervision of Rahman, and in 1984earned his degree with Summa Cwn Lade. Madjid's choice of Ibn Taymiyya was on account of the

influence of this Muslim thinker, whose doctrines had inspired many contemporary Islamic movements, fromfundamentalists to liberalists. According to Madjid, Ibn Taymiyya's criticism of k a t h and falsafa shows evidence of remarkable comprehension, given his thorough knowledge of Hellenistic thought. As a matter of fact, he was the last Muslim

M~awar-Rachman, "Berbagai Respon," pp. 56-57 and Anwar, "Pernikiran Politik Nurcholish Madjid," pp. 8-9. 'The first meeting with Binder andRahmen occumd in Jakarta when they came to Indonesia on behalfofthe Ford Foundation m 19741oohgforpartners forinternationalresearch seminaron Islam and social change to be held in Chicago, America. At this time,Madjid was chosen as the Indonesianrepmentative for this project. See, Madjid, "An Interview," p. 4-7. "Madjid, "MenyambungMatarantaiPcmikiran yang Hilrtng," p. 12. Cf.Rahardjo, 'Xenangan Refleiaif,,"p. 22.

"Fathimah, Chapter I," 39

thinker in Islamic history to criticize Hellenism succ&sfUy, although his own doctrine on q j & was itself influenced by ~ristotle.' Moreover, Madjid believes that Ibn Taymiyya left

behind a valuable intellectual tradition which has not been properly understood. By studying

his thought, he maintains, one can learn how to bee Muslims from stagnation and

backwardness.This solution in many aspects has a high value of authenticity,for it can bring Muslims into the modem world and allow them to participate in it without doctrinal hindrance. Therefore, although Madjid's dissertation seems to concentrateon issues of pure thought, it does have certain political implications.This is because he has tried to make use

of this study in order to contniute to the effort in finding solutions to the problems faced by Muslims in the modem w0r1d.~ It is also worth mentioning here that when he returned from Chicago, Madjid's

mastery of traditional Islamic sciences and his expertise in the secular or Western sciences was fully acknowledged. Also, the recognition of his status as a neo-modemist thinker has

been given added weight due, in particular, to the infIuence of the thought of Rahman, who

is renowned as the creator of the neo-modernist scho01.~Madjid has also been appointed to an important position on the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies of 1.AlN Syarif

Hidayatullah and hasjoined the LP.S .K.-L.LP.1as one of the Master Staffs. In 1990,Madjid held an Eisenhower fellowship, was member of the National Committee (KOMNAS) of

Human Rights of the Indonesian Republic, and during 1992-1993 taught as a visiting ---

a Madjid, "MenyambungMatarantai Pemildran yang HiIang," p. 13. See mom on this in his "IbnTaymiyya on K a l h and Fulsofa: A Problem of Reason and Revelation in Islam," unpublished W.D. dissertation. Chicago University (June, 1984). l9Madjid, 'Menyambung Matarantai Pemikiran ymg Hilang," p. 13. 90

See Rahman, I s h mrdModemity (Chicago: Chicago University Ress, 1982).

"Fathimah,Chapter I, " 40

professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Perhaps the most important move that Madjid made since his return from Chicago was to found the Yayasan Wakaf Paramadinah 1986,in which his ideas of neo-modernism

are best expressed and institutionalized. Parmadinag' is intended as a religious institution

which strongly promotes integration of Islamic tradition and Indonesian culture in order to realize the universal values of fslamic doctrines in relation to the local traditions of Indonesian society. It was designed to be an Islamic center promoting creative and constructive activities while avoiding defensive and reactionary responses of different interpretations for the purpose of increasing the prosperity of Indonesian Muslims. As director, Madjid has played a significant role in formulating its religious i d e o l ~ g y . ~

Unlike many other leading M u s h thinkers, such as Amien Rais and Abdurrahman Wahid who are the general chairmen of the Muhammadiyah and the NU.,respectively, and who are involved in wide-scale political acti~ities?~ Madjid is not formally committed to

either organization, which -sent

the two mainstreams of Isiatnic thought in Indonesia,

This name is taken from the Sanskrit word paramu meaning "superior" or 'principal", and the Arabic word dk meaning "religion". Thus,Paraxnadina means the principal or superior religion that is Islam. But it could also be taken fromthe Latin word par meaning "harmony"and the Arabic word modha meaning "a city or civilized place". See Musthafa Helmy, "Pengajian di Tingkat 6," Tempo, (January 3,1987). However, according to Madjid's own account, it is taken from a Spanish word para meaning "for"and an Arabic word ma&a meaning "civilization". See Liddle, "Media Dukwah Scripturalism,"p. 351. n. 8.

See MunawarRachmaa, Kontekstualisasi Dokrin Ishrn &lam Sejarah (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1994), p. xiii-xiv. This institution according to Madjid is intended to fanction in a p d e 1 way with intellectual institutions like in Malaysia or the Islam a d Modem Socie~of India. See Madjid, 'Fararnadina dan Investasi Kemanusiaan," in Dialog Keterbukuum, p. 310. This article was previously publishedunder the title "Saya DahuIdcan Paramadha dari-1 in Jmva Post (9 April 1992).

* It is evident that Islamic organi7ations,even though they are ostensibIy non-political, still engagepoIiticaIpractices. See Douglas E.Ramage, Politics bz IndOnesia:Democtacy, Islm &the Ideology of Tolerance ( New Yo* Routledge, 1999, pp. 7677 and 133-136.

"Fathimah,Chapter&" 41

nor is he obsessive about practical politic^.^ His main concern, as Liddle remarks,is in theological and social issues, in the sense that he tries to reassess faith and its practices in conjunction with the social problems faced by the Muslim c~mrnunity?~ This is debatable however considering the fact that Madjid held a position in the government bureaucracy as

a member of the M.P.R.(People's Consultative Assembly) and also served as a Dewan Pakar (board expert) of 1.C.M.I (The Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals), an Islamic

organization which has been very closely linked to the government, from 1990 to 1995. Douglas E. Ramage, on the other hand, points out that although Madjid has shown himself to be more amenable than Wahid of the N.U., for instance, he should not be seen as a key

member of LCM.1 h fact, since 1994 he has distanced himself from it since he began to

find 1.CM.I. becoming too political; he has in fact expressed the wish that it should remain a cultural and intellectual movement.% With his Paramadina foundation, he has become instead an independent thinker developing intellectualism and religious discourse. In this

field, he has made a very significant contribution in his theory of so-called inclusive theology. Referring to Ibn Taymiyya, he argues that Islam constitutes a religion for all

humanity and that its ideal really conforms to the general ideal of humanity which rejects

"As DawamRahardjo points out, one difference between Madjid and Natsir lies in the fact that Madjid moved from being a sort of politician in the 1970s to being an intellectual figure in the 1980s. in particular after he retamed from Chicago. While Natsir turned from being a culnual thinker to a politician aftet the independence(1945). See Rahardjo. "Kenangan Reflektif," p. 23. 9rLiddle, 'Media Dakwah Scripnuatism," p. 327, % Ramage, Politics in Inclonesiiz, p. 76 and Adam Schwartz, A Norion in Waiting, IIndoesia in the 1990s (Sydney: Manandunwin, 1994). p. 177. Madjid's account itself indicates that since its establishment, Madjid was not deeply involved. See his "Paramadinad m hvestasi I C e m a n u p. 3 10.

"Fathimah, Chapter l, " 42 exclusivism or absolutism, and highly respects plurality."

It is evident that the course of Madjid's career between the late 1960s and the early 1990s clearly shows how directly his life has been connected with the mission to provoke the so-called renewalist movement of Islamic thought, or, to use the term given by his

opponents, the 'Gerakan Pembaharuan Keagamaan/ReligiousRenewal Movement' (G.P.K.);

a term used by the government as a joke referring to the 'Gerakan Pengacau KearnananlSecurity Disturbers Movement' and an attribute for violent opposition to them. He is now definitely a member of the "elite Muslim class," and is considered to be one of the most prominent Indonesian Muslim theologians. Although his ideas during this period attracted a lot of criticism and negative reaction, they did have a positive result in terms of the development of Islam in Indonesia. According to Fachry Ali and Bahtiar Effendi, his "new thought" helped Muslims to reformulate a new pattern of Islamic thought, such as can

be seen in the developmentof lslam in the 1980s?' Also, a major change in the religious and

political life of the Muslim community in Indonesia during the last twenty-five years can be seen in the gradual evolution of the Muslim people from being in the position of opposing the government and forming a barrier to its development process, to being the partner and

supporter of the state's development program.

C. Madjid's Works. Among the more obvious things that can be said of Madjid is the fact that he is a prolific writer. His publications are very nearly encyclopedic in variety and extent. So far,

"See Madjid, "BeberapaRenungan," p. 22. 98

ALi. Merimbah J u ~ m Baru isfaun, pp. 133-134.

'Fathimah, Chapter l. " 43

there have been eleven books published by him as sole author, all of which are in the

Xndonesian language and ail ofwhichwith the exception of KhnzunahIntelekhcal Islam (The Intellectual Treasury of slam),^ consist of articles and papers previously delivered at the K.K.A.

in seminars and conferences, or published in newspapers and journals.

These works are Islam Kemodernan don ~ e ~ n d o n e(Islam, ~ i d ~Modernity and Indonesian Identity),"' Islam,Doktrin dan Peradabun: Sebwh Telaah Kritis tentang Masalah Keimanan, Kemonusiaan &n Kemoderenan (Islam, Doctrine and Civilization: Critical

Analysis of the Problem of Faith, Humanity,and M~dernity),'~ Islam Kerakyatun dun Keindonesiaan (Islam, Democracy and Indonesian 1dentity),lo3Pintu-Pintu Menuju Tuhan

(TheDoors to God),'" Islam~guma~eradabun:em ban gun Makna dun Relevansi D o w n Islam Dalam Sejarah (Islam,The Religion of Civilization:Building Meaning and Relevance of Islamic Doctrine in History),lwl s l m ~ g a mKemanusiaan: a Mernbangun Tradisi dun Visi Baru Islam Indonesia (Islam, The Religion of Humanity: Building a New Tradition and

99 Edited and translatedfromthe writings of al-Kindi, al-FdrHbi, Ibn SfnH, a l - G h d , Ibn Rushd, Ibn Taimiyyah. etc. (Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1984).

Irn K.K.A is an abridgment of Klub Kajian Agama or Religious Studies Club. It is a monthly discussion program held by Paramadina and having approximately 300 active members most of whom are from the elite intellectuals and young activists. In each forum, then were always two speakers presenting papers, one of whom usually happened to be Madjid himself.

Ed. Agus Edi Santoso, preface by Dawam Rabardjo (Bandung: Mizan, 1987). Irn (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1992). lo'

lm

Im

1995).

Ed. Agus Edi Santoso (Bandung: Mizan, 1993). Ed.Elza Peldi Taher, preface by GoenawanMobamad (J-

Paramadina, 1994).

Ed. Muhammad Wahyuni Nafis, preface by Komaruddin Hidayat (Jakarta: Patamadina,

"Fathimah,Chapter 4" 44

Vision of Indonesian Islam),'" Masyarakat Religiw (Religious Society),lo7Kaki Langit Peradaban Islam (The Horizon of Islamic Civilizati~n),'~~ and Tradisi Islam, Peran dan Fwlgsinya datam Pembangunan di Indonesia (Islamic Tradition, Its Role and Function in Development in ~ndonesia),'~'Tidak Ada Negara Islam: Surat-Swat Politik Nurcholish

Madjd-Muhamad Roem."' Bilik-Bilik Pesmtren: Sebuah Potret Pejalmun (The Walls of

Pesantren: A Portrait of a

The most recent book of Madjid to be published,

however, is Dialog Keterbukaan: Ariikulusi Nilai lslam dalam Wacana Sosial Politik

Kotemporer (Dialogue of Openness: The Articulationof Islamic Value in the Contemporary

In addition to these published works, there is another Socio-Political Di~course.).~'~

unpubhshed scholarly work authored by Madjid, his Ph. D. dissertation "Ibn Taymiyya on

Kid* and Faisafa." In spite of the common thread running through the essays in these books, they are in another sense, i.e. as to their topics and the occasions of their writing, quite heterogenous.

In particular, there is a dividing line between the works which deal broadly with various topics relating to the Islamic doctrines and civilization from classical to modem times, and those which deals specifically with the development of Islam in Indonesia and its various problems in modemlpostmodem culture and aesthetics.

Ed.Muhamrmd Wahyuni Nafis (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1995). lm Ed. Ahmad Gaus AF (Jakata: Paramadina, 1997). '* Ed.Ahmad Gaus AF (Jalrarta: Panunadina, 1997).

'*Ed. Kasnanto (JaLaaa. Paramadina, 1997). Preface by Ahxnad SyafibiMabarif(Jakarta: Djambatan, 1997).

"' Ed. Kasnanto, preface by Ayumardi Azra ( J a b Paramadim, 1997). 'I2

Ed. Edy A. Effendi, preface by Fachry Ali (Jakarta: Panunadina, 1998).

"Fathimah,Chapter l." 45

His Khazanah Intelektual Islam actually represents the first of Madjid's works to appear in a book form. It was written while he was in Chicago pursuing his graduate studies and was inspind to write it after participating in a conference of the Association of Asian

Studies held in Los Angeles early in 1978.113 Although the book consists chiefly of translations of passages from the works of classical Muslim thinkers, such as Ibn Sink al-

Kindi, al-Fdbi,al-Ghaza-, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Taymiyya, etc., it does a long and deep analysis in the introduction, showing his appreciation of the classical tradition of Islamic thought.

The next of Madjid's books to be published was his Islam, Kernodeman dan Keindonesiaan, the first to be published after his return from Chicago in 1984. However, almost half of the

book contains articles that he wrote during the 1970s, including his most famous paper "Keharusan Pembaharuan Pernikiran Islam dan MasaIah Integrasi Ummat" which caused so

much controversy.

However, among his a l l works, islam, Doktrin dan Peradabon appears to be his magnum opus. It has enjoyed considerablepopularity and has gained much appreciation from

Although the book consists of articles, most of which were initially presented as working papers at the K.ICA., it does not lack unity of theme, nor does it suffer from any

absence of continuity or coherence in its Line of thought. In fact, each articIe in itself and

' Madjid, Khtazanah Intelekruoi Islam, p. vi. "'For example, Franz MagnisSuseno, who is a Jesuit scholarfrom Germany and a professor I'

of social ethics and philosophy at the Sekolah Tiggi Filsafat (STF') Driycukara and at the graduate faculty of University of Indonesia, both in Jakarta, is one of the scholars who is impressed and amsrcd by the good quaiity of this book According to him, it reflects how a prominent hdonesiau Muslim intellectual views his religion facing the chaflenge of the modem cultare. See his articIe, "NixcholishMadjid, Islamdan Modernitas,"in U l d Qur'an,vol. 4, no. 1(1993), p. 36. It is also evident that even though the price was relatively quite high, the first copies of the book were sold out within a year.

"Fathimah,Chapter 1," 46

within the whole context of the book, proves Madjid's comprehensive understanding of

Islamic doctrines. The real significanceof the book, however, is in its main theme which not only focuses on the normative side of Islam, but also explains how Islamic civilization can be used as historical proof for the implementation of religious norms.t1s In this context,

Madjid again explains and develops more deeply the substantive argouments for the renewal of Islamic thought that he and his associates have proclaimed since the 1970s. It is also in

this book that he provides critical analysis of classical Islamic thought in the light of his views on the problems of faith, humanity,and modernity in the context of contemporary

Indonesia

His work Islam, Kemkyatan, dan Keindonesiaan is, again, a collection of Madjid's short articles contributed to newspapers and journals during the years 1970-1972, a period

which marked the beginning of his career and the emergence of a new era for the Islamic

renewal movement in Ind~nesia."~ The significance of this work is clearly manifested in its

main theme;i.e., the struggle for socialjustice and human rights in relation to the social and political reality of the Indonesian community during the years of the New Order era. Based on ideas found in this book, some of his opponents have concluded that then is inconsistency

in Madjid's h e of thought, which they see as moving from an ideological to a pragmatic orientation. It is often described as justifying his nickname of Natsir Muda, in that it seems

to incorporate some of Natsir's ideas. 'I' Pin&-Pintu Menuju T u b , which consists of300

'I6

According to the editor. Agus Edi Santoso who is also the editorof Madjid's previous book,

lsl'' Kemoderenrm dan Keidonesiaan, it took him five years to collect and edit all the articles. Even so, the original source of some of the writings still caunot be found.

'" See also note 75. supra.

"Fathimah, Chapter 1," 47

pages, is a collection of Madjid's short writings originally published under the rubric Pelita

Hati in the daily newspaper Pelita between 1989 and 1991, and some others from Tempo

magazine. This particular work of Madjid covers a variety of topics ranging from theology, history, t&7r and ethics, to pluralism, humanism, and socio-politics, e.t.c., and feahues different modes of expression compared to is!am, Doknin dnn Peradaban. While the latter

was written in language that makes it very difficult for ordinary people to read and understand it, the former tends to use more popular and simple expressions and, therefore, is easier to understand. That is why within only two months, the first edition of the book could no longer be found on store shelves. However, although the book is written in a simple and popular idiom, this does not necessarily mean that it lacks the analytical and deep insight that is usually the feature of most of Madjid's writings.

Madjid has also written a large number of articles which are not included in these

books. The most important of them is his autobiography, especially that part written during his first involvement in the early process of Indonesian modernization, with which any

investigation of his life and thought must necessarily begin."' Also of importance is his

article entitled "Islam in Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities," published together with

FazIur Rahman's and others in a 1980 monograph.'" There is also another collection of articles written by many prominent Indonesian authors entitled Kontekshurlisasi Doktrin Islam dalm Sejarah (Contextualization of Islamic Doctrine in History),'2o in which

' See his ''The Issue of Modernization among Muslims in Indonesia," note 41, supra. "'in Cyriac K.FullapiUy, ed., Islam in the Contemporary World(Notre Dame.Indiana: Cross l8

Roads Books, 1980). pp. 3401357. lrn

Ed. Budhi Munawar Rabman ( J m Pararnadina, 1994).

"Fathimah,Chapter l. " 48

Madjid's contribution forms the larger part of the text.

The general tenor of Madjid's works proves that he possesses a 'scientific temper,' relies on methods of sound scholarship, and puts the fruits of his findings to the test of

critical examination and comment by contributing to learned journals, newspapers, and magazines. What is more, Madjid's writings have always been controversial and have

sparked lengthy debate among Indonesian scholars, academics and young people.

CHAPTER II

NURCHOLISH MADJID ON MODERNIZATION FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE It has been more than a century since scholars, Muslim and non-Muslim, began focusing their attention on conditions within Muslim societies. They have tried to gauge the religious response to the challenges of modem times by observing the role of the existing interpretations and practices ascribed to Islam and the Qur'h, and their relationship to the

backward and stagnant conditions in Muslim societies. They have also called for a reinterpretationand reformulation of Islamic traditions in order to suit them to the needs of the changing contemporary period.'

John Esposito, in this case, has shown how varied the Muslim response to the issues has been.' and how this variety has led to the emergence of various movements and schools of thought? However, at the heart of the debate concerning the response lies the question of

'

Several recent conferences in Southeast Asia can be mentioned as reflecting such specific intellectual efforts. See for example Sharifah Shifa al-Attas, ed., tsl- and the ChaNcnge of Modernity. Proceedings of the Inaugural Symposium on Isliim and the Challenge of Modernity: Historical and Contemporary Contexts, Kuala Lumpur. August, 1-5, 1994 (KuaIa Lumpur: International Institute of k l d c Thought and Civilization, 1996); and Religion and Society in the Modern World: Islum in Southem Asia, proceedings of a confuence held in Jakarta May 29-3, 1995.

'See John J. Donohue and John L. Esposito. eds.,

Islam in Transition: Mulim Perspectives

(New York: Oxford University, 1982), p. 3.

'For a complete end detailed elaboration on these movements, see FazIw Rahman, "IsIam: ChaUengesandOpportunities," in A.T. Welch and P.Cachia, eds., Islam: Past InfluenceCUtdPresent Challenge (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1979), pp. 315-325; Aziz Alunad, Islornc Modernism in India a d Pakistan (London:Oxford University, 1967);Issa J. Boullata, T r e hd Issues in Contemporary Amb TItought (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990); Ali Rahnema, ed.. Pioneers of Islamic Revivalism (London: Zed Books, 1994);and Ibrabirn Abu-Rabic. Inteilectual Originsof Islamic R w g e n c e in the Modem Arab World (Albany: State Univetsity of

"Fathimah,Chapter ll," 50

whether modernity may be equated with enlightenment, progress and the best hope for the

futureof humanity,or whether it represents something destructive of and incompatible with Islam and the ethical aspects of society, and in short whether modernization always entails

change to and usually the disintegration of a traditional religious system. This includes

questions as to whether modemization is basically the same as the processes of rationalization, secularization,and Westernization. In addition, since modernity is something inevitable and is a historical necessity, the questions also focus on how Muslims,as religious believers, should respond and react.

It is important to note that such responses and reactions are becoming increasingly

urgent and significant, since despite the fact that modernism is generally considered to be deceased and obsolete, there are many indication that it is still very much alive and up to date.'

Nurcholish Madjid, one of the most outspoken Indonesian figures of this cennuy,

also believes in the din need to address such issues. He has canfully considered the effects of modernity on Islam in general and the points with which Islam not only can, but ought to come to terms and amend its traditional concepts accordingly. As a theologian and

devout Muslim, he proposes an alternative solution to the problems that Muslims face in responding to the challenge of the modem era -a solution which consists in formulating

a theological base for the theory of modemization. He agrees with the modem thinkers that Muslims should respond in a positive and active manner to modemization as New Yo& Press, 1996).

In contempomy social science. this perspective can be found in modernist thinkers such as Jtirgen Habermas who does not regard the importance of postmodernist thought and still supports the validity of modernity and its capability to guide contemporary life, since in his eyes modernity has a clear philosophical root See JiIrgen Habemas, 17u Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, translated by Fderick G. Lawrence (CTambridge, MA: The ha Ress. 1993).

"Fathimah,Chapter Il, " 51

an inevitable consequence of the historical process, since for him Islam and modernity are conceptually compatible. It is the aim of this chapter to present his ideas relating to these subjects.

The Meaning of Modernization. In an attempt to understand better Madjid's ideas regarding the Islamic perspective on modernization, it is necessary that the chapter fmt discuss briefly the historical

parameters and the general meaning of modernization. Modernization or 'transmutation,' to use Marshall Hodgson's expression, has been referred to as a new civilization which marks the developmentof a bundle of processes such

as dramatic growth in knowledge and science as well as technological advances in

communications, transportationand the modes of industrial production, the creation of urban

forms of life and the nation-state, etc? Whatever it is that scholars are trying to name and comprehend by the term modernization and its values, it is something that has happened in the real world within the last few centuries; the attempt to identify them rests upon the

premise that they constitute a new and distinct phenomenon in world development. Thisnew phenomenon, bringing with it changes that have been so profound and fundamental, seems

to present clear evidence that society is undergoing a great transformation, comparable perhaps to that which occurred when the hunting economy changed to agriculture or when

'Marshall Hodgson and Arnold Toynbee mention that the birth date of the modem era can be

15th century (14504500); see their respective works The Venture of Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Ptess, 1974)' vol. 3, p. 176 and A Study of History (Oxford University Press. 1957), vol. 2, p. 148. See also Madjid. Islam, Dokrin dim Peraddm (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1992). p. 451- However, as an ecclesiastical and theo1ogia.I phenomenon, modernization emerged onIy in the sixteenth century when the Protestant reformation took place. See Hms J. Hillerbrand, "Refonnation." in EncycIopedia of Religion. vol. 12, pp. 244-254traced back to the

"Fathimah, Chapter 11." 52

stone implements were replaced by bronze and iron ones? Nonetheless, as a technical term which comprehends the essential features of the process of modern history, modernization is of relatively more recent origin. It was not introduced until the 1950s.' As a technical term, modernization has been defmed in almost as many ways as there are social scientists. Yet with all the varieties of detail and emphasis

on its meaning from the economic, social, cultural, political, intellectual, and religious points of view, the basic concept is quite clear. Most writers on modernization implicitly or explicitly assign the following features to the phenomenon: 1. Revolutionary process; the change from tradition to modernity consequently involves a radical and total change in the pattern of human life. 2. Complex process; involving changes in virtually all m a s of thought. 3. Systematic process; changes in one factor are related to other factors. 4. Global process; in my event, all societies were at one time traditional; now they are either modern or in the process of becoming modem. 5. Lengthy process; while modernization is revolutionary in the extent of changes it brings about, it is evolutionary in the amount of time required to bring about those changes. 6. Phased process; society will move from one level to another level of modernization. 7. Homogenizing or universal process. 8. Irreversible process; society which has reached certain levels of modemization in one decade will not decline to substantially a lower level in the next decade. 9. Progressive process; meaning that it enhances human well-being.'

While the majority of these statements elicit little argument, the last point, i.e., that

modernization inevitably entails "progress," is open to dispute. It seems that the attribution James O'Connell. 'The Concept of Modernization." in Cyril E. Black, ed., Comparative Modernizatiorz (New York: The Free Press. 1976), p. 13; and Lawrence Cahoone, ed., From Modernism to Postmodemism: An Anthoiogy (Cambridge,MA: Blackweli Publishers, 1B6), p. 11. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, p. 2. It is importantto emphasize here, however. that this periodizationdoes not seem to be the case for every range of field. L fact, in literary tradition, the 1950s were recognizedby IrvingHowe as the "end" of modemismand the new beginning of postmodemism. See Cahoone, From Modernism to Postmodemism, p. 8.

'Samuel P.Huntington, The Change to Change: Modernizatio~~, Development, and Politics,'' in Comparative Politics (April. 1971). pp. 283-322.

"Fathimah, Chapter Il, " 53

of 'progress" to modernization, particularly as far as ethical and religious aspects are concerned, may not be appropriate. Despite the fact that modernity was originalIy defued

as largely analogous with progress due to its accommodationto positive values and the belief that the present is better than the past, the meanings of "modem" and "progress"now seem to diverge. Progress remains an open and positive term closely associated to improvement,

whereas modem or modernity has developed into amore relativelyfixed yetpejorative term?

It has been equated unsympathetically with such terms as Westernization,rationalization and secularization, the influence of which has led to an assumption that with the coming of the

modem era, the roles of religious institutions and traditional forms of piety are doomed to

an irreversible decline. Such an assumption, whose significance needs to be reexamined carefully,has in turn justified the denials and negative responses by religious authorities. The emergence of religious fundamentalism and postmodernism, for instance, have been depicted

as a red manifestation of the dissatisfaction felt with m~demization,'~ although some scholars have questioned such a reIationa1position." Peter L.Berger, Facing up to Modernity (New York: Basic Book Inc., 1977), p. 70. loBruce B. Lawrence in his influential studies says that without modernity, there are no fundamentalists; see his Drfcnders of God: The Fundamentalist Revob against the Modcm Age (New York Harper and Row, 1989), p. 2 and Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence (Princeton. NJ.: Princeton University Press, 1998). Cf. Cahoone, From Modernism to PostmodemiJm p. 10.

" John Obert V o U and Martin van Bruinessen, for instance, argue that fundamentalism cannot be consideredas a distinctivelymodern phenomenon. He also stresses that the Hanbalf tradition and early Islamicradicals like the KhiEjI'sect represent premodernexpressions of a fbndamentaliststyle of Islamic affirmation. See Voll, 'FundamentaIism,~'in Esposito, ed., nte O+rd Encyclopedia of the Modem Islamic World(New York, Oxford: the Oxford University Press, 1995). vol. 2, p. 33 and Bminessen, cMusIimFundamentalism:Somethingto Be Understood or to Be Explained Away," in Islam and Christian-MuslimRelatim, Vol. 6 (1999, pp. 157-171. See also Richard C.Martin's assertion in his article entitled "ImaginingIslam and Modernity: The Appropriation of Rationalism by Muslim Modemists and Postmodemists." in Religion a d Society, p. 3; Mark R. Woodward, 'TakihgAcross Paradigm: Indonesia, Islam, and Orientalism," in Woodwani, ed., TowardA Nau

"Fathimah, Chapter IZ," 54

h the Muslim world, modernization in general is said to have begun during the nineteenth century, spumd by the intrusion of modem Western ideas and ideologies such as liberalism, rationalism, democratization, nationalism,pluralism, and secularism. In modem Islamic history, the rejection of and bitter reactions to modernization and its global impacts have been quite remarkable and appear to have been far stronger and more radical than those which have been manifested in other religious traditions." Such reactions have undoubtedly

rendered the processes of modemizationless effective and even counter-productive at times.

This may have been caused in part by the fact that modernity in the Muslim world was introduced violently by way of force, that it was by a product of Western colonialism which brought with it an intrinsic pattern of life lacking in human values.* Moreover, since the polarity between Western colonizers and colonized Muslims has been equated with that

between Christians on the one hand and Muslims on the other, the term modemization is correlated not memly with Westernization, but also with Christianization." Under such Paradigm: Recent Developments in Indonesian Islamic nought (Tempe: Arizona State University, 1996), p. 2. and cf. Martin, Woodward and Dwi S. Atmaja, eds., Defenders of Reason in Islam. MuCtuziIismfromMedieval School to Modern Symbol (Oxford: Oneworld,1997), pp. 76.

" Cf.Donald Eugene Smith, Religion, Politics, and Social Chunge in the Third World (New

York: Free Press, 197I), p. 2.

As is well known, the nineteenth century was the most critical period for the history of the Muslim world; it was the period when almost all parts of Muslim territories were captured by the Western colonizers. See Nildri R. Keddie and Harnid Algar, eds., An tsimic Response to Imperialism: Politicai and Religious W~tingsof Sayyid Jam&?&-Din rcai-Afghhii'(Berkeley: University of California press, 1983). p. 102; and Sheila McDonough, "Modernity in Islamic Perspective." in W i a m NicholIs, ed., Modernity and Religion (Waterloo: WiIfrid Laurier University Press. 1987). pp. 112-114. l3

"

SeeMadjid,Tradisilsfam: Perm &n Fwrgsinya &lam Pem6ungunan di Indonesia (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1997), pp. 7677. See also Jacques Waardenburg, 'Muslim Enlightenment and RevitaIization: Movements of Modernization and Reform in Tsarist Russia (ca. 1850-1917) and the Dutch East Indies (ca 1900-1942); in Die WeftDes Islam, vol. 28 (1988). p. 574; Deliar Noer, ThcModernifiMuslimMovernmtinIdonesia 1900-1942(KnaIaLumpur: Oxford UniversityPress, 1973), p. 29; Abdallah Laroui. Islam et modemit4 (Paris: &ions La DCcouverte, 1986). p. 163;

'Fathimah, Chapter n," 55 circumstances, it is no surprise that many Muslims should not only reject modernization as something foreign, but also challenge it and battle against it as a force inimical to the faith of blam.

In Indonesia, mainly because of colonization, Islamicmodernism did not emerge until

the beginning of the twentieth century, at which time then wen established several reform organizations, such as Jami'at K h a (1905), ~ S.D.L (1905), Muhammadiyah (1912), S. I. (19 12), Al-Irshiid (19 l3), Persis (1923), N.U. (1926), Masyumi (1945), H.M.I. (1947), and others.lSTheimage of the modem lifestyleas epitomizingWestern and Christian colonialism

rendered indigenous Muslims antagonistic to modernization generally. Muslims, for example, were forbidden by their religious leaders to attend Dutch schools,whether or not

these were open to them, or to learn their sotailed Western sciences. As well, they were forbidden to dress or act like the Dutch, wch as by wearing a tie or trousers, or to learn the Roman alphabet or speak their language, etc. Their extraordinarily Iong, unpleasant and traumatic experienceat the hands of Christian Dutch colonizers (no less than three and a half ~entwies),~%vho were regarded as the epitome of all that was "modem," prejudiced the ---

- -

-

CAO. van Nieuwenhuijze, ParadiseLost: Reflectionson the StruggleforAuthenticity in the Middle E m (Leiden: EJ. Brill, 1997), p. 89. Cf. Hodgson The Venture of lslm, vol. 3, p. 203; and

Woodward, 'Talking Across Paradigm," p. 3. However, it is crucial to note that the emergenceofthese reform movements might have been necessitated in part by the condition in which Dutch colonizersdecided to apply a new and different strategy to treat Indonesians. It was the time when they introduced the so-called "ethical politics" whose agendas consisted of promoting education, irrigation, and migration. See Madjid, Trodsi Islam, p. 117; Tau- AbduIlah, Treface," in Swdi, Haji Agus Salim don Konfllik Politik &Itam Sarekat Islam (Jakarta: Pustaka Shar Harapan, 1997), p. x. Cf. Noer, Zhe Modernist M d i m Movement, pp. 29-30. Is

16Seefor exampleaccountsof Noer, me Modhist Muslim Movement, pp. 7-8;Hamid Algadri. Dutch Policy Againsr Islam and Idonesians of Arab Descent in Indonesia (Jakarta: LP3ES,1994). p. 1;Karel Steenbrink, Dutch Co[onialismmd lndonesionlslmn.Contactsad ConfIies 2596-1950 (Amsterdam,Atlanta, GA.: Rodopi, 1993). trans. by Jan Steenbrink and Henry Jansen; Cf.Akbar

"Fathimah,Chapter Il," 56

population to such a degree that it seemed as though another three centuries would have to pass before Muslims could accept ideas and theories coming from the West. For this to change, the concept of modernization would have to be depicted as containing no harm for them, their culture or their religion. Efforts by the reformist Muhammadiyah movement, for

instance, were apparently not ample or strong enough to change the general perspective of

Muslims regarding modernization and its related principles. Even with almost half a century having elapsed since the birth of the Muhammadiyah and other Muslim reform movements,

Muslim intellectuals still have to struggle to promote the idea that the essential principles of modernization do not contradict those of Islam and that Islam in fact encourages the spirit embraced in the modem outlook, Indonesian Muslim attitudes since the beginning in 1966 of the New Order era, as Madjid points out in his writings, can be seen as reflecting this persistent misconception of

modernization. The bulk of 'ulame" and other Muslim leaders have tended to be conservative, even fanatic, in their religious attitude. They have not shown much flexibility

in accepting new educational, culnual, economic, political, and other social changes made by the New Order government whose development agenda prioritizes industrialization and modernization." What is more is the fact that the psychological, ideologicd and political factors implied in the above statements have been supplemented by theological grounds. S . Ahrned, Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society (New York: RoutIedge and Kegan Pad, 1988). pp. 117-142.

I7Madjid, The Issue of ModernizationamongMuslimsin Indonesia: fbmaPanicipmt'sPoint of View," in Ahmad Ibrahim, Sharon Siddique. Yasmin Hussain. (eds.), Readings on Islam in Southern Asia (Singapore: Institute of SoutheastAsian Studies, 1985),p. 385; and in several parts of his Islam, Kernodeman dan Keindonesiaan, Agus Edi Santoso,ed. (Bandung: Mizan, 1987). See also F.R. Von der Mehden, Religion und Modemitatron in Southeast Asia (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1986). p. 90.

"Fathimah, Chapter Il, " 57

Many Muslims seem to be having difficulties in accepting the changes brought inherentlyby the process of modernization on the grounds that mch innovation is considered as bi#a and

therefore un-Islamic." This fact has given rise to the impression held by the governments

and individuals in the West that Islam is clearly antithetical to modernity.

However, with the growing number of Muslims who have access to modem education, there has been an increase in the attempts to clarify and reexamine the prevailing ideological,political and theologicalbarriers attached to modernization.The purpose of these studies has been dedicated primarily to remedy the image of Islam as antithetical to modernity by trying fmt of a l l to expose different facets of the controversial phenomenon and to formulate a theological underpinning for it.'' It is partly as a result of such studies that

the concIusive idea that modernization and Islam do indeed reinforce one another has began to flourish. Well-known contemporaryMuslim thinkers and scholarssuch as Fazlur Rahman

(19Wl988), IsmiFil R H .al-F~qi (1921-1986), Mohammed Arkoun (b. 1928), Seyyed

Hossein Nasr (b. 1933), Hassan Hanafi @. I935), 'Abdul a l - h i m Suroush (b. 1945) and others have undoubtedly contributed significantly to the process?0

In Indonesia, this trend is represented by Nurcholish Madjid, one of the most They, for example, based their argument on hdth such as "man tushabbaha biqawmin fuhuwa minhwr" which they translated as "whoever imitates a peopldtribe, he is part ofthem." See Madjid, Islam Dobrin dan Peradaban, p. lvi.See also BambangHarymurti. "SebuahPembaharuan, Sebuah Tradisi." in M.RusIi Karim, ed.. MuhammadhahDalam Kritikdon Komentar (Jakarta: C.V. Rajawali, 1986),p. 5.For the authenticityofthe hadah, see AJ. Wensinck, Concordance et Indices & la Tradition Musulmane (Leiden: Brill, 19921, vo1.3, p. 62. Madjid, IsIam, Doktrin dan Peradaban. pp. 468 and 484.

l9

20

Such studies also come from non-Muslimscholarswho possess a comparatively sympathetic

a W e towardsthe interpretation of blamic history and tradition. like Montgomery Watt, Marshall

Hodgson,John L.Esposito. John Obert Voll, Ernest Gellner, Maxime Rodinson,W i d Cantwell Smith,Issa I. BoulIata, Howard M.Fedenpie!, Robert F.Hefher, Mark R Woodward, and others.

"Fathimah, Chapter n," 58

influential Muslim intellectuals to have emerged this century. In his attempt to overcome problems faced by Indonesian Muslims in the early period of the New Order, ranging from

Muslim rejection to participate in the government's modernization program to the tendency on the part of the secular elites and nationalists to support the government who adopted

blindly Western concepts of modernization, Madjid has proposed an alternate Islamic outlook of modernization. Following in the general footsteps of the earlier reformist thinkers, Majid's proposal not only stresses the importance of Islam and tries to prove its compatibility

with the spirit of the modern age, but it also impresses the young generation ( h u m mu&), in particular, with the need for reforms in the social and economic structure of the Muslim community?' However, he does not hesitate to criticize the secular elites and nationalists

for proposing reforms and changes that would violate the religious spirit of Islam. He attempts instead to redefine the concept of modernization and to interpret it according to the

Islamic context. In this case, his major concern is to explicate, for exarnpk, how in the

theory of modernization, terms like 'Westernization,' 'rationalization.' and 'secularization' have been perceived and how Muslims should perceive them. This concern is especiallyclear

in Madjid's early writings and speeches but it is also detectable in his later works. One can follow the development of this discussion and thereby elicit an idea of what Madjid precisely means by the concept of "~lamicmodernism.'' Madjid's significance in this case

can be said to lie in the fact that he situates the presentation in relation not only to the works of Muslim thinkers but also to those of non-Mush theorists as well.

" Madjid.

Isfam,Kerndemon h n Keindonesiaan, pp. 171-220.

"Fathimah, Chapter ?I, " 59

1. Modernization and Westemization. As was mentioned earlier, it is generally accepted that the rapid growth of knowledge

and technology, which came to be characteristic of the modem era, got its start in Western Europe during the eighteenth century. It is also widely recognized that the Western nations fist developed the political, economic and social institutions that are best adopted to a

modem way of life. The comparatively high standards in health, education, and welfare

achieved by these societies are regularly used as yardsticks by which other societies are measured. Western countries are, in this sense, seen as the most successful in making use of modem knowledge with its strong emphasis on liberalism and individual freedom for

human improvement? Therefore, it is not surprising that Western institutions, not only the political but also the social, economic and religious ones, may be regarded as appropriate models for other societies to follow if they want to become modem. In other words, in order

to be modem, a society has to be Westernized.

This interpretation of history presenting the ethnocentric view, even though in reality it does not always match the ideals, is still very dominant in Western scholarship. Daniel Lerner, for instance, explains that modernization appears to be equivalent to

~esternization?He argues that since modernity requires a systemic transformation of Madjid. Islam, Kemodernnn dan Keindonesim, p. 274. See also Black, Comparative Modentitrrtiun, pp. 2-3.

Lerner, The Passing @Traditional Socicty (Illinois: Free Press,Glencoe, 1958). p. 46. Gala1 A. Amin and aI-EarSiqT also regards that modernization occurred in the Arab and Third WorId is nothingelse than Westernization. See Gala1A. Amin, The Moderniurtion ofP4veny r A Studj in the Political Economy of Growth in Ninc Arab Countries 1945-1970 (Leiden :Brill, 1974); and alFmqi, AI-TawNd: Cis imp1ieoton.r for Thought and Lifi (Virginia: IIlT. 1992). 2nd edition., p. xiv. See also Bodata, Tre& ond issues in ContemporaryArab Thought, pp. 99-105 and Derek Hopwood, 'The Culture o f Modernity in Islam and the Middle East," in John Cooper, Ronald L. NettIer and Mohamed Mahmoud, eds, Islam and Modernity: Muslim Intetlectuali Respond (New

"Fathimah,Chapter IT," 60

Mestyies and since it is the nations of the West that wen first modemized, it is logical then that modernization requins the adoption of a Western mode of existence." However, modernization can create problems, particularly when it is related to the cultural aspects of a particular civilization, especiallywhere it is the religion that defines its traditional identity.

To impose this type of modernization on a Merent civilization, as implied in Lerner's statement, would mean the elimination of such identities in the latter. For this reason, Western-centric interpretations and application of modernization have been frequently criticized and challenged by religious thinkers? One of the most incisive appraisals is given by Madjid. Quoting Lucian W. Pye,he c o n f r r s the fact that Western-centric or Euroceotric

modernization is evident in the existing conventional concept of modernity and modernhation, to the extent that it may even be depicted as a process towards Westernizati~n.~ However, if Madjid argues that it is a substantial error to identify modernization as ~esternization,~ it is not mainly and necessarily due to the alleged affinity

between Westernization and imperialism, nor simply because of the association between Westernization d Orientalism and Christianization, as the majority of Muslims would believe.= Hanafi, for instance, is also of the opinion that the history of the world was written as if the West were the very center of the Universe, and Westernizing tendencies in York, London: I.BeTauris, 1998), pp. 1-2. Lemer, The Passing of Traditional Socieq, p. 46. An illuminating discussion on this topic with special reference to Arab culture can be seen in Issa l.Boullata, Trends and Issues in Contempomry Arab Thought. Madjid. Islam Dod m Peradoban, pp. 454 and 530. Madjid, Islim, Kemodernan don Keindonesi~n,p. 187and Bifik-BilikPesantren: Sebuah Ponet Perjalanan (Jakarta: Pammadina, 1997). pp. 88-89. " See Madjid's discussion in his Tradisi Islam, pp. 76-80.

" "

"Fathimah, Chapter ll." 61 the process of modernization have become common realities outside the European and

American territories? But, Hanafi goes further by contending that Westemization is unacceptable, not only since it results in the annihilation of national cultures and identities, but also since it serves as a cultural form of imperialism over Muslims by Western societies,

which brings in its wake the concepts of Christianity and Orientalism? For Madjid, such affinities between Westemization, imperialism and Orientalism cannot be accepted as entirely red and adequate, since according to him Orientalism was in fact developed first in Germany, a country that had virtually no colonies compared to other

Western countries such as England, the Netherlands, France,Spain, Portugal, and Belgium. Madjid asserts that the ground of Orientalism itself was not deliberatelyto destroy Idam and

its culture as was that of colonialism. Rather, Orientalism arose out of Western curiosity and the fact that traces of Islamic influence are evident in modern civilization?' Furthermore, Madjid seems to believes that imperialism, Christianization or Westernization are one thing,

and that Orientalism or modernization are quite another; they cannot be identified with one another simply because they all have the same master, the West.

Even if there were such

29 Hassan Hanafi, Islam in the Modern World: Tradition,Revolurion, and Culture (Cairo: The Anglo-Egyptian Bookshop, 1995),vol. 2, p. 356. See also al-Fmqi,Af-Taw&-d, p. xiv. 'O Hanafi, Islam in the Modern World, vol. 2, p. 353. See also Laroui, Mum et modernit&, pp. 160-163; and G.H. Bousquet and J. Scbacht, eds., Selected Work of C.Snouck Hurgronje (Leiden:

EJ. Brill, I957), p. 267. 3' Madjid, K d i Langit Peradaban Islam (Jakarta= Paramadina, 1997). p. 58. See also Bernard Lewis,"The Question of Orientalism," in Tslmand the West(New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1993), pp. 117-1 18. Cf. Mona Abaza, 'Tecceptions of Middle Eastem blam in Southeast Asia and blamic Revivalism," in Oricnr, vol. 35, no. 1 (1994), p. 107. For Muslim response against Orientalism, see Edward Said, Orierualism (New Yo* Vintage Books, 1979), p. 2; A. L Tibawi, ''English-Speakiag Orientalists: A Critiqueof their Approaches to blam and Arab Nationalism," in The Muslim World,vol. 54 (1963),p. 191;Donald P.Little. ''Three Arab Critiques of Orientalism," in TheMuslim World,vol. 69, no. 2 (1979). pp. 110-13 1; Waardenburg. "AL-Musta&r@din,"in ET, vof. vii, pp. 735-753.

"Fathimah, Chapter IL " 62 tendentious connections among them, or even if there was evidence, for instance, indicating

the use of modernization and Orientalism as tools in the colonial effort to destroy Islam and to dominate, Christianize, and Westernize Muslims," this does not mean that Muslims should reject the entire notion of modernization and Orientalism. Nor should it legitimize

deIiberate accusation leveled by Muslims that the latter are ultimately destructive in n a m

as that of imperialism? As Madjid suggests, such realities should be enough to motivate Muslims to adopt a careful and critical attitude to guard against any possible misleading judgments and tendentious conclusions, especially about Islam, as a result of such colab~rations.~ Madjid seems to regret the fact that Edward Said's and the earlier A. L. Tibawi's propositions, that Orientalism is nothing other than the West's primary agenda to

32 Madjid, for instance, does admit the fact that modernization and Orientalism had functioned as a political weapon against Muslims during the period of Western colonization, by for instance. Snouck Hurgronje who served as political advisor of the Dutch duringtheir occupation in Indonesia and had been very successful in using such weapon to weaken the power and the unity of Muslims. Also. he does not deny the fact that Westernization and Christianization also happened to be parts of the colonizers' main agendas in Indonesia. See his Islum, Kemdernan dan Keindonesiaan, pp. 193-20: and Islam Agama Perudaban: Membavgun Makna dnn Relevansi Dokrin Islam &lam Sejuruh (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1995),p. 307.See also Noer, Thc Modernist Muslim Movement, pp. 2 1-23; Algadri, Dutch Policy Against Islam, pp. 12-14; and Steenbrink. Dutch Colonialism, especially section on ''The Age of Mission (1850-1940); pp. 98423.

33 Some Muslims argue that colonialism had a conspiracy to Westernize and Christianize Indonesia Such an impression can be seen for instance in Rasyidi, "Usaha Mengkristealrao Indonesia dan Dunia," Suura Mrrhammclci&ah, vol. 1-2 (January, 1968), p, 3ff, quoted from Muhammad Kamal Hassan, Muslim intellectiiui Responses to "Nov Order" Modernization in Indonesia (KuaIa Lumpur. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustalca Kementrian Pelajaran Malaysia, 1982). p. 7.

Madjid. Kakihngit PeradzbanIslam. pp. 65-66.Besides, as Olaf Schumann says, the history of classical and modem civilization has shown how coIonialism has had subtantid factors more in politicalandeconomicconflictsratherthan in ~Ligiousorethnic. See Schumann,''Christian-Muslim Encounter in Indonesia," in Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Wadi 2.Haddad, eds., Christian-Mush Encounters (Gainesfille, Horida: University Press of Ronda, 1995). p. 285-299 and Schumann, 'Tersepsi Diri clan Pempsi Majemuk di B q " in Agum dnn Dialog Antar Peradoban (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1996).

"Fathimah, Chapter I ' " 63 colonize Muslims culturally, has legitimizedsuch a c o ~ e c t i o n . ~ ~ e s pthe i t many e criticisms

of such propositions and other similar appraisals of Orientalism, the vast majority of

Muslims still very much believe in its truth. This,in Madjid's view, contributes sigruficantly to the diffkulty that Muslims have in accepting it as an objective phenomenon and continues to make them suspicious of Orientalists and Westerners in general." Also, although to some extent these factors had some positive impact on and benefits for Muslim interests," they neverthelessbear a great responsibility for the long-lasting negative psychological effects that

Muslims have suffered, particularly in terms of their perspective on and attitude toward government and modernization. Madjid illustrates the significance of the Western colonial framework and its impact on the perception that Muslims are antimodernity and antigovernment, and on the prevailing anti-Islamic image held by government and nationalist leaders?' Referring to V.S. Naipaul's book, Among the Believers, McDonough arrives at a

similar conclusion: IS Madjid, Kaki k n g i t Peraduban Islam, p. 58. For a comparative assessment of Said's and Tibawi's approach to Orientalism. see Little, "Three Arab Critiques of Orientalism," pp. 110-131. Cf. Tibawi's counterargumentagainst Little's, "On the Orientalists Again." in The Muslim Worldt vol. 70 (1980), pp. 56-61. 36 Madjid, Kaki Lungit Perahban Islam, p. 58. It is interesting to note that not only are the Westerners considered as the Orientalists, but also the Muslims whose ideas show basic approval of the Western paradigms or who were trained in Western educational institutions are to be called Orientalists or at least agents of Western Orientalism. For example, such attribution is given to Madjid himself by his opponents. See Cak Nur in Focus, nd; and Woodward, "Talking Across Paradigms," p. 12. Little has also given similar attribution to Tibawi and Abdel Malek as "Orientalists by profasion" who have spent their careen reading and digesting Orientalism. See Little, "Three Arab Critiques of Orientalism," p. 121.

"Madjid, TrudisiIslam, p. 18. As an iIIustrationl they had created peopIe's sympathytowards the people with Islamic faith as those who saffeted from the hostility of the Western Christian coIonizers and made a major and effectivecontribution to the spread of Islamtbroughout the Muslim world. Cf.WE.Wertheim, IndonesianSociety in Transition:A S&y of Social Change (The Hague and Bandung: W. Van H a w , 1956), p. 196.

'*See Madjid Islam,

Kemudernwt don Keindonesiuan, pp. 84.85.96-97 and 200.

"Fathimah,Chapter 11," 64

[AJlthough almost 200 years have passed since the Napoleonic invasion, Muslim nations still tend to perceive Western nations as aggressive and rapacious. Modemity as a way of life mediated by Western societies therefore seems to many Muslims to produce human beings who appear to be subhuman, that is lacking in compassion, justice, and aesthetic sensibility. Many Muslims have therefore envisaged the challenge of modernity as a problem of how to strengthen themselves so as to be able successfully to resist domination by the powers they perceive to be inninsically hostile?' Madjid's views seem to be in line with those of Akbar S. Ahmed in suggesting that

Muslims need to be more objective in looking at the case of Orientalism since it has indeed had a positive contribution to Muslim culture particularly in the modernists' efforts to find

the best way to reformulate the fundamental principles of Islam!* For example, Madjid quotes Muhammad Fu'Hd cAbdal-Biiqi's story about Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh who had benefited from using a French Orientalist's methodology in his tafsii.? This c o n f i i s H.A.

R. Gibb's position that Orientalism was mainly an academic tradition promoting Western attempts both to find out the truth about Islam, which has long suffereddue to its dislocation

from a formal outward process and inner realities, and to speak on behalf of Muslims about it? Unfortunately, this fact, as Madjid notes, has been misinterpretedby someMuslims, such as Muipmiad al-Bahi, who accuses modernist Muslims of posing the same danger as the

Orientalist~.~ Perhaps Madjid's call for a keener approach to the issue of Orientalism is McDonough, "Modernity in Islamic Perspective." p. 112. " Madjid, Kaki h n g i t Paradaban Islam, pp. 63 and 66; Ahmed, Posmodernism und islam: Predicament and Promise (London, New York:Routledge, 1992), p. 180. 'I Madjid, Kaki h g i t Peradah Islam, pp. 60-6 1. See also =AMal-Biiql, 'Muqaddima li aITabead-ThEniya," in Tdsr'idNtdQur'& & ~(Cairo:~ DHr QyB', aI-Kutub al-CArabiyya, 1955). the author's translation of Jules La Beaume [I 806-18761, Le Koran Aaal'e p. 6. Gibb, Modcrn Trends in lslam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1947). p. 108; Said, 39

Orientalism, pp. 28 1-283; and Little, "Three Arab Critiques of Orientalism," p. I 10.

'

See Madjid, Kcrki Lungit Peradzban Islam, p. 61; and aI-Bahi's work A l e al-IsCM dKit&& w a S'ahhu bi al-btPm& af-Gli&f(Cairo: Maktaba Wahba, n.d), pp. 171-200.

"Fathimah, Chapter ll," 65

tenable, considering Bryan S. Turner's statement that "there were in fact many forms of Orientalism and it was inadequateto lump so many diverse traditions into asingleOrientalist tradition.'" Indeed, Said himself mentions, though in a completely different tone and with a different implication, the possibility of looking at another face of Orientalism, for as he

cornmeats on Gibb: The ground [Orientalism] had shifted considerably from Hurgronje to Gibb, as had the priorities. No longer did it go without much controversy that Europe's domination over the Orient was almost a fact of nature; nor was it assumed that the Orient was in need of Western enlightenment. For Gibb, the West has need of the Orient as something to be studied because it releases the spirit from sterile specialization, it eases the affliction of excessive parochial and nationalistic self-centeredness." Furthermore, Madjid' s observation is clearly correct considering the case of the postcolonial orientation of the Orientalists. As Madjid remarks,colonial Orientalism was colound by the perspective of the Christian concept of heresy, in that it has misrepresented lslam and denied its existence." However, quoting Phillip K. Hitti, Madjid shows that the emergence of

modem Western scholars has contributed to the change in the Orientalist tendency to ignore the significance of Islam due to political bias."

In this case, Madjid mentions names like

.~ Madjid argues that the Marshall Hodgson, Kanl Steenbrink and R. W. S ~ u t h e r nBesides, Turner, Orientalism, Posrmodenzism and Globalinn (London: Routledge. 1994), p. 5.

'' Said. Orientath, p. S 7 .

"Madjid Islam, Aguma Peradubun, pp. 308-309. "Madjid, KakXangit Perodrrban I s h , p. 65 and idom. Agma Perdaban, p. 3 12. The same tone can be found in H.M. Fedenpiel. "The Endurance of Muslim TraditionalistScholarship: An Analysis of the Writings of the Indonesian Scholar Sirajudd'i Abbas," in Woodward, ed., Toward a New Parudigm, pp. 193-220. See also Boullata's Totes of the Qparter"of the MESA meeting in 1974 in which Orientalism is said to be dead rather than turning to a new direction. The Mc(s1im WorH. vol. 65 (1975). p. 69. "Madjid, I s l u ~Agcuno , Pemdaban, pp. 300-309.

"Fathimoh,Chapter Il, " 66

concept of Orientalism as described by Said needs to be rethought since nowdays it has a tendency more to connote "regional studies" and, therefore, scholars are no longer called Orientalists but are given new attributes such as Arabists, Iranists, Indonesianists, etc? However, many people, such as Said and Hanafi,seem to ignore this fact and consider that there is no actual difference between the orientation of the old-colonial and the post-colonial perspectives of Orientalism. They believe that in any case, Orientalism always carries with it political bias against Islam. Also, one might criticize Madjid for missing the point that albeit Orientalism in some ways did emerge as an effort to clear up misconceptions about the religious message of Xslam, it was primarily intended as a way to acquire better

understanding of their own religious sources;soor using Thierry Hentsch's phrase, as a way "to look at oneself through the other."J But, for Madjid, despite the bias and prejudice that any Orientalkt perspective might have, it would be equally hostile for Muslims to promote

a counter-conceptlike "Occidentalism,"'~as what Hmafi and other 'ulamZ have been trying

''

See his article "Menatap Masa Depan Islam" in Ulumul Qur'un, no. 1, vol. V (I994), repubished in Madjid, Dialog Keterbukaan: Artikulasi NNil daiam Wucana hsial Politik Kontemporer, Edy A. Effendy, ed. (Jakarta: Pararnadina, 1998). p. 121.

"

Woodward, for instance, stresses that although from the beginning there was a tendency to focus primarily on theQur'an and the life of Muhammad, this focus was largely due to the centrality of the gospels and the importance of the sacralized biography of Jesus of Nazareth in the Christian tradition. See Woodward. 'TalkingAcross Paradigms." pp. 21-24. Cf.Little, "ThreeArab Critiques of Orientalism," pp. 110-131.

' Thierry Hentsch, L'Orient imaginain: la vision politique Occidentale de 1'Est mediterra-

nien (Faris: Les Editions de Minuit, 1988),p. 8. Cf.Abaza, "Perceptions of Middle Eastern k1m." p. 107. a Madjid, K d i Langit Peradaban Islam, pp. 65-66.In this case, Madjid seems to share ideas with Turner and Akbar S. Ahmcd See their respective works Religion Md Sociul Theory: A Materiuiiist Perspective Qondon: Heinemann Educational Books, 1983). pp. 20-21 and Po~tmodcmism,p. 177.

"Fathimah,Chapter I&" 67 to do? Madjid's absence in engaging in the discourse may indicate his overall disapproval of such an ideological approach." Madjid's belief that modernization does not connote Westernization is based more

on the theory that although the origins of the modem age are to be found in the West, the fact

is that modernity also constitutes a historical necessity, a natural continuation of human history." Thus, it does not really matter where the modem era got its start, since it would have had to take place somewhere else if it had not been in the West. What seems to be more significant, in Madjid's view, is that as a historical necessity and a logical order of the historical process, modernity constitutes further development of a variety of previous achievements of human civilizationwhich can be said to be the defining roots of the modern era However, as Turner notes, the sociological problem has been to decide which of these formerdevelopmentshas been the most profound in determining the countoursof modernity. Madjid claims that it was Islam that played the fundamental role in nurturing the roots of the modem era. As Madjid aptly remarks:

The forming ingredients of modem civilization were taken from the earlier experiences of societies around the world. Since geographically the center of the premodern civilization was located in the Middle East with its strong Islamic cuIture, it can be concluded that Islam is then the kind of civilization For Hanafi's account on Occidentalism, see his islam in the Modern World.vol. 2,especially sub-chapters on 'bFmmOrientalismto Occidentalism," pp. 353366; and Wew Social Sciences,"pp. 447-472. Also see Kazuo Shimogaki, Between Modernity and Post-Modernity;The Islamic Lrfr and Dr. Hmsm HaMfi's Thought:A Critical R e d n g (Niigata-ken: Kokusai DaigaIcu, Chiit6 K e w j o , 1988), pp. 53-54.87.132-133.

h Indonesia, there has been an ongoing debate among Muslims about the need to establish this new counter research approach called Occidentalism, expressed in the works of thinkers like Burhanuddin Daya, "OccidentaIisrne,"Muzairi, "Orientalismedm Oksidentalisme: Suatu Agenda Masalah,"and Alef TheriaWasim, 'MadjidFakbcyTentangFundamentalismed mOksidentahne,'' among others. See AI-Jami'ah, no. 53 (1993), passim.

"Madjid, Islam, Doktrin dim PcrnAnhan, p. 452 and idem, Tr0d.iIslam, pp. 66 and 79.

"Fathimah,Chapter 2 . " 68 that contributed the largest part of the classical elements to the modem age?

It is interesting to note that in this case Madjid appears to concur with Reinhard

Bendix, whose criticism of Lerner's evolutionary approach does not prevent him from admitting the fact that such "studies of social change are not possible without a 'before-anciafter' model of the social structure in q~estion."~ While Madjid seems to believe that an

Islamic antecedent of human knowledge is indeed justified by many Western scholars themselves,n the mainstream scholarship on modem Western scientific progress has still effectively denied the Islamic part?

There is another and more important sense in which the association of modemization with Westernization, in Madjid's thought, is inappropriate. Like Weber and other Weberian

--

-- - - -.

"Madjid, islam. Kemodernun dun Keindonesiaan, p. 274. The same idea is repeated by Madjid in several other places such as in his Islam Dokrrin dun Peradaban. pp. xxxvii-xxxviii, 451-452. 456,473475 and Kaki kurgit Peradabarz Islam, p. 15 and 17. See also Osman Bakar, ''Islam's Destiny: A Bridge Between East and West, in Japan, Islam and the West: PeuceficlCoexistence o r Conflict?, Second International Seminar on Civilisational Dialogue organised by University of Malaya and Japan C u l ~ aCentre, l Japan Foundation (l996), p. 6. " In accordance with the evolutionary perspective of social development, a history is interpreted with the help of a theory of stages which assumes that a higher stage emerges from a lower one and preserves, continues, and cumulates its achievements. Reinhard Bendix, the most severe critic of the evolutionary approach in favor of Max Weber, is depicted as the founder of an historical sociology that rejects evolutionism and the philosophy of history. See Wolfgang Schluchter, The Rise of Western Rationalism: Mar Weber's Developmental History, trans. by Guenther Roth (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981). pp. 1-3. In this case, Madjid refers to scholars like Max Dimont, Bellah. Dermenghem, Abraham S. Halkin. George F. Kneller. Gustave von Gmebaum, Peter Davies. See his Islam, Dokrin dm, Perudaban, pp. 154-158 and Kaki Langit Pcmdrban Islam, pp. 13-16. "O'Connell, for instance, does not include Islam in his Iong list of the forming ingredients of modern civilization. See his "The Concept of Modernization," p. 16. See also Turner, Orientalism. pp. 7 and 10; and Ozay Mehmet, Westemiring the Third World: the Eurocentricity of Economic Development Theories(London, New York: Routiedge. 1995), p. 9; and idem, Islnmic Identity md Development :S M e s of the Islamic Periphery (London. New York: Routledge, 1990), pp. 81-84.

"Fathimah,Chapter ll." 69 thinkers such as Robert N. ella ah," Madjid considers modernity to be a universal or global phenomenon, just as he sees social theories such as modernization as possessing also the

basic epistemological character of science in general, i.e., it is neutral or value-free and it is therefore interchangeable and transmissible;" Islamic modernization can be applied as one

way of giving value to the theory? This would be the nucleus of what Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Anas calls the "dewestemization of knowledgemo or what al-FTuEqi refers to as the "Islamization of kno~1edge."~ In this case, it is important for Muslims to be able to distinguish between modernization as a universal theory and modemization as a Western theory." Such a differentiation is necessary considering what Ozay Mehmet says, which is that 'Western economic development theorizing has been formulated as

Western-style

rational behaviour in mainstream market theory is universal, whereas in fact it is not.''66

" As is well known, Weber with his comparative approach to modemization theory makes

modernity as a neutral model in space and timefor processes of social development in general. See his The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit ofCapitalism, trans. by Talcott Parsons, intro. by Anthony Giddens (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1958). p. 24;Habermas. ThePhilosophical Discourse of Modcrni~,p. 2; Schluchter. The Rise of Western Ratiomlism, p. 3; and Bellah, Beyond Belie Essays on Religion in a Post-Traditional World (New York, Evanson. and London: Harper & Row, 1970), pp. 41-43. Cf. Bryan Wilson, "Secularization: TheMerited Model," in Phillip E. Hammond, ed.. The Sacred in o Secular Age: Toward Revision in the Scientific St* of Religion (Berkeley: University of California Ress, 1985). p. 10. 61 Madjid. Islam. Kernodeman &n Kehdonesiaun, pp. 268-267 and 273; idem, Islum, Doknin d m Perdaban, pp. 451-453; and idem, Bilik-Bilik Pesantren: Sebuuh Potret PerjalaMn ( J U :

Paramadina, 1997). p. 89.

"

Madjid. Islam, Kemodemn dan Keindonesiaan, p. 268. See aIso Saiful Muzani. '%lam ddam Hegemoni Teori Modernisasi: Telaah Kasus AwaI," in P r h , no. 1, year22 (January 1993). p. 74.

"

See Al-Attas, Id&, Secukarism and the Philosophy of the Future (London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1985), p. 127.

"

For F Z q f s account on this, see his article ''Islamizing the Social Sciences." in Studies in Islam, vo1.16, no. 2 (April, 1979), pp. 108-121.

"See also Madjid's elaboration on modernization as rationalization, infm. "Mehmet, Westernking the Thinl world, p. 8. The italics is his.

"Fathimah,ChapterI t " 70

Failure to do so, a mistake which many Muslims have been known to make,will lead to the misassumption that modernity or modernizationis indeed incompatiblewith hlam since they would misinterpret modernization as meaning Westernization in the sense of applying the Western theory of modernity. It is on this point that most people, in particular his Indonesian critics, fail to judge fairly or understand adequately most of Madjid's ideas. This was the situation in Indonesia at the beginning of the New Order period, when Muslims,in particular the conservative groups, did not agree with the modem Western-Oriented policy that the

government had adopted in pursuit of development and modernization. They accused the government, which had employed the so-called "program Oriented" strategy, and of its supporters,includingMadjid and his associates in the H.M.I., of placing policy above Islamic values. They did not realize that what Madjid and his associates were trying to accomplish was not in fact so different in principle fiom their own agenda; only the approach they used

varied. Madjid's approach in this case and in others as far as can be discerned was the socalled contextual or substantial approach as opposed to the scriptural? Madjid also observed that the Western concept of modemization has been of

ambivalent value in that the impact of rapid social changes and technologicai advances has inevitably caused serious socio-psychological problems, such as alienation and loneliness, consumerism, dehumanization and moral degradation? This is one of the reasons why the mTheterm "substantialist"is used by Liddle who borrows it fiom Bahtiar Effendy.See LiddIe, "MediaDakwah Scriphlralism,"h Toward a Nnv Paradigm pp. 327-328 and Effendy, 'ZsIamand the State: the Transfomtion of Islarnic Political Ideas and Practices in Indonesia," Ph. D. dissertation, Ohio Unkrsit, (1994). See also Chapter I, note 79, supm. Madjid, islam, Dohrin &n Per&ban, pp. 531and 536.Madjid indicates that these negative impacts have also been rralivd by the Westerners themselves who are now dealing with attempts to overcome the crisis. See for exampIe Nicholls, ''Immanent Transcendence: Spirituality in a Scientific and Critical Age," in Modernity and Religion. p. 167.

"

"Fathimah, Chapter ll." 71 West today is seen by many Muslim intellectuals as a failure, both culturally and socially,

to serve as a model for M u s h societiesdgAnd such phenomena also explain in part why in

Islam revival and reform more often resulted from a moral rather than a theological impulse in the sense that modernization ought to take place within an Islamic framework of values so as to avoid falling into the decadence of the West."

Indeed, as Madjid explains, another

possible motivation for the search for Islamic relevance to modernism is dissatisfaction with the prevailing Western paradigms, for both socialism and capitalism have shown themselves

unequal to the task of maintaining human prosperityn As a theologian and a Muslim believer, Madjid is, of course, very much concerned with the idea that modernization must include an ethical commitment and attitudinal concepts allowing religion and modernization be in harmony with one another. Accordingly, Madjid is in favor of Muslims retaining their national and traditional identities, as Hanafi states, while still keeping pace with global modernity? In this case,

Muslim societies should be studied for their own sake, and not simply in terms of their relationship to Western influence. This does not mean that the Western idhence is not a significant force; but rather, that it is secondary to the conversion the heritage of Muslim Martin, "hgining Islam and Modernity,'' p. 4. See also VoU, 'Tslamic Renewal and the Failure of the West,"in Richard T. Antoun and Mary Elaine Hegland, eds., Religious Resurgence: Contemporary C m s in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1987), p. 127. @

Madjid, Islam, Doktrin &n Perdaban, p. 537. See also Fazlur Rahman, "Roots of Is1amic Neo-Fundamentalism," in Philip H. Stoddard, et al., C h g e and the Muslim World (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1981), p. 24; and Sheila McDonough,Muslim Ethics and Modernity A ComparativeSt* of the Ethical 7bught of SayyidAMKhan and MmIallcl Mawdudi (Ontario: Wiifrid Laurier University press, 1984).

" Madjid. Islam, Duktrin dan Pemdabun, pp. 468 and 484. Madjid, Islam, Doknin dnn Peradzban, pp. xv-xvi.

Cf.Turner, Orientahn, pp. 8-9.

"Fathimah, Chapter 11." 72

societies must undergo." Besides, there are alternative conceptions of modernity or Malaysia presents one of these, for there the rationality in non-westem c~untries?~

government has adopted a so-called''look East" policy in which Japan and South Korea are presented as models of how modernization can be implemented while still retaining moral, religious and traditional value^?^ Nonetheless. it is important to note that in Madjid's view, such respect for traditional and indigenous values means rejecting not only Western, but also other foreign cultural influences, including Arab ones. In other words, if modernizationneed not be regarded as Westernization despite the fact that modernity got its stzut in the West, neither should Islamization be seen as a foreign cultural impact. Even though lslam had its origin in the Arab world, Islamization certainly does not mean habization." It is primarily

on this point, perhaps, that Madjid's neo-modernism, in which he takes a contextual approach to Islam and the Muslim tradition, fmds its relevance."

"

For funhcr analysis on this, scc Subratn Kumnr bG.iiaa,cd., Ttre Post-Coloiiid StDialectics of Politics and Culture (New York Harvester, 1990).

inAsia:

"For an interesting discussion on this. see Mehmet, Islamic Identity ond Development. 75 For a detailed account on 'Look-East' policy, see Jomo K.S.,"Japan and Malaysia: A New East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere?:' in Japan, Islan and the West,pp. 1-13. S o m observers like NichoLls, however, doubt the traditional remnants of modem Japan since they believe that there is no such thiog as traditional religion in modernized societies. See his "Immanent Transcendence,'' p. 168.

"

Madjid, Islam, D o b i n dm Pemdaban, p. 358. See also his interview in Matra, no. 77, (December 1992), n.d., republishedin Madjid, Dialog Kctcrbukaan: Artikulasi Nilai Isfatn dalam WacanaSocial Potitik Kontemponr, Edy A. Effendy,ed. (Jakatta-. Paramadine, 1998), pp. 127-152. Cf. Mona Ab"Perceptions of Middle Eastern Islam," p. 107.

More elaboration on this subject is to be found in chapter III on the section entitled "NeoModernist Approach,'' infiu.

"Fathimah,Chapter 11," 73

2. Modernization and Rationalization. According to Madjid, the assumption that modernization, as a phenomenon of globalization in Muslim society, is simply equivalent to Westernization, can only be

rectified in terms of the essential d e f ~ t i o nof modernization ia Western civilization. What should concern Muslims is the question of what are the essential features of the modem West

which are transmissible and can be emulated. As a substantialist, Madjid has claimed that Muslims should not merely be satisfied with the superficial features of modernity, but must

discover its essence and its basic spirit and be able to make it as their own.He states that the essence and spirit of modern culture is to be found in man's attitude towards the rational mode of thinking:science and technology. Since there is no doubt that it is the West that has made great contributions to the development of the modern sciences and technology,

Muslims need to learn these aspects from the West in order to save time and energy, so that they need not start again from the beginning. And this ability to access modem science and

technology is a must for contemporary Muslim societies to be able to contribute to the

making of a global world?g In this case, Madjid disagrees with the attitude of Muslim fundamentalists and other conservative groups who tend to be reactionary, rejecting blindly

mything coming from the West, including these intellectual technicalities." ~ ~ 0anile t h ~ Dermenghem, Madjid reminds his readers of the fact that this situation is not foreign to M u s h history. He points out how Muslims in the classical and the medieval periods were Madjid. Islam, Doktrin dm Perahban, p. 453 and idem, Bilik-Bilk Pesantren*pp. 89-90. Madjid, "KosmopolitanismeIslam dm TerbentuknyaMasyarakat Papyaban:' in M.Nasir Tamara and Elza PeIdi Taher, eds., Agarno hDialog, p. 45 79

Madjid, Islarn, Kemudemru, &n Keindonesiaan, p. 86 and idem, Tradisi r~lt~tt,p. 83.

"Fathimah, Chapter 11,

,"

74

truly open-minded and eagerly learned and transformed foreign knowledge through their

contacts with the Jews, Greeks and Persians.Because of this they experienced success and power along the lines of what the modem West has accomplished in the present day? Therefore, if Muslims are seriously in need of acquiring or regaining the success they had in the past, they needto develop a positive and creative attitude toward the very basis of modem scientific achievement, which is rational thinking as exemplified in the form of science and technology. After all, Islam itself contains doctrines which either implicitly or explicitly encourage the use of reason and rational modes of thought. Indeed, it was the spirit of the Qur'Tm and the Sunna that inspired the earlier Muslims to transform and reformulate the

intellectual heritage of pn-Islamic civilization.= As we saw Madjid imply previously,

Muslims only need to place more emphasis on how to use these inteliectual tools for better and more ethical gods than has been the case in the West. As has been stated above, the essence of modernity is rationality. According to

Habermas. rationality as a clear concept of modemity was first developed by Hegel (17701831); thus he suggested that one should return to Hegel if one wants to understand more

deeply the internal relationship between modernity and westernrationalitym However, such -

-

-

" Madjid. Islam, D o b i n dan Perahban, pp. xliv and 133; and idem, "KosmopoIitanisme Islam," p. 43.Seee also Denaenghem,-M ond the Islamic Tradition,trans. by Jean M.Watt (New York: Harper and Brothers, ad), p. 87; and Esposito, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 2nd edition, p. 34. There an many places in the Qur'h and m h indicating this spirit, such as Q 822; 58: 11; 3:191: 12: 111; 3: 137. Madjid also mentions in many places the prophetic traditions (bdnhs): "@kmcrh (wisdom) is the lost treasurr of the believers, so whoever among them h d it, they should takeit," and "Pursue the knowledgeeven though it is in China,"and "Pay attention to what someone says, not to who says that," etc. See Madjid,Islam, Kcmodernon don Keindimesilran,pp. 275 and 299; idem, Is& Doktrin dnn Pcra&ban, pp. ciii. 131and 474; and idem. TradisiIslom, pp. 35-36. "Hitbermas, The PhilosophicatDiccocuse of Modernity, pp. 4-5. In HegeIian perspective, the concept of modernity is used in its historical context.

"Fathimah,Chapter ll," 75

an historical relationship between modernity and Western rationality is not determinant. Weber's notion of modernity, for instance, as Habermas points out, detachesthe relationship between modernity and the historical context of Occidental rationalism," so that the process of modernization can no longer be conceived of as rationalization in the traditional Western sense. As Habennas writes:

The theory of modernization performs two abstractions on Weber's concept of "modernity." It dissociates 'hodernity" from its modem European origins and stylizes it into a spatio-temporallyneutral model for processes of social development in general. Furthermore, it breaks the internal connections between modernity and the historical context of Western rationalism, so that processes of modernization can no longer be conceived of as rationalization, as the historicd objectification of rational st r ~ c t u r e s . ~ Apparently, Madjid reduces the meaning of rationalityby making use of Weber's and Bellah's concept rather than Hegel's and Habermas's. He points out that rationality in the Weberian sense has no necessary connection with rationalism in Western philosophical tradition. Rationalism in the modern Western tradition carries with it a belief in the absolute power of human reason that can lead to the attainment of Absolute Truth without external influence from God or religious convictions?" From Weber's point of view, however. rationality is the Zweckrrationatitat, meaning the rationality of means and ends. The end

which Weber seems to discern as dominant in the modem world is man's ability to control

For analytical and illuminating studies on Weber's view of Western rationalism, see Schluchter, Thc Rise of WesternRationa1ism;and Ralp Schroeder,Max Weher and the Socidogyof Culture (London: Sage Publications, 1992). 8sSeeHabermas, ThePhilosophicalDiscourse of Modernity, p. 2; Weber, Thc ProtestantEthic, p. 24; and Schluchter, The Rise of Westen Rationalism, p. 3. as Madjid, Islam, Kernodeman d m Kelndonesiaun, p. 181. See also Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968). p. 99.

"Fathimah,Chapterll," 76

nature and society." However, unlike the traditional theory of Western rationality, this theory implies a nomtional dimension in the sense that human reason cannot be said to have total

and absolute power that would enable it to understand the prevalent nonrational

elements in nature and society." This approach is also employed by fimile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, of whom Bellah says in great appreciation that: m h e fact that these three great non-believers [Weber, Durkheim, and Parsons], the most seminal minds in modem social science, each in his own way ran up againstnonrational, noncognitive factors of central importance to the understanding of human action, but which did not yield readily to any available conceptual resources, is in itself a fact of great significance for religion in the twentieth century."

Following these thinkers, Madjid explains that modernization involves the systematic, sustained and purposeful application of human energies to the 'rational' control of man's physical and social environment for various human purposes. He uses the adjectives

purposeful, systematic, and sustainedbecause, to his mind,it is quite obvious that the process of rationalization as such began Long before the 'modem age' and is almost coextensivewith recorded humm history." Therefore. for Madjid. the meaning of modernization can be said to be analogous with the meaning of rationalization, which is "a process of transformationfrom irrational old

modes of thinking and activity to rational ('aqlaa) and new modes so as to obtain their

"

Weber, The Protestant Ethic, p. 5 1. See also Schmeder. Max Weber and the Sociology of Culture* pp.113-1 14.

Bellah, Beyond Belid pp. 4-8 and 239-240. Ibid.. p. 240.See also Parsons, The Sociat System mew York: The Free Press, 1951) and Durkheim, The Elementary F m of the Religious we,trans. by Karen E.Fields (New York: The Free Press, 1995).

"

"Madjid. hlam Kemodemndnn Keindonesiaan,pp. 473475;idem,Tmdisiilsslurn,pp. 84-85.

"Fathimah, Chapter 17," 77

effectiveness and efficiency at a maximum level for the purpose of achieving man's happiness."" This transformation was applied long ago when Islam was brought by the Prophet Muhammad who urged it on his Companions (afhlib),but then it was cormpted in later developments. It is in this context that Muslims must try to revive the basic religious

liberating principle that rationalization represents.Impressed by the philosophical depth and dynamism of Ibn Taymiyyaand his great appreciation of the salaf as ones who were logically as well as historically the most knowledgeable of all people in the field of Islamic doctrines, Madjid writes: To open oneself to religious truths as they are expressed in the sacred texts is natural for man, since it is the dictation of his ownfipa. It is also rational, because reason (Caql) is human instinct (gharBa) which arises frornfipa. Since religion is said in the Holy Book to be a kind of fipa, religious principles are always rational, and what is rational should by its nature conform to nligion."

Madjid also repeats many times Bellah's discussion of this pre-modern application of the intended meaning of rati~nalization?~ Dawam Rahardjo, in an attempt to set Madjid's ideas

in context, has emphasized this point. He adds that Madjid's perception of modernization and rationalizationseems to be in Line with that of Wilbert Moore who sees modernization

Madjid explains broadly the discourse on the history of philosophy and religion, the struggle betwanreligionand science (reason). See his Istam, Kernodemandan Keindonesiaan, pp. 264-266; and idem. Islam, Doknt, don Peradaban, pp. xxviii-xlviii. Madjid, 'Ibn Taymiyya on K a l h and Falsafia: A Problem of Reason and Revelation in Islaw Ph. D.dissertation, University of Chicago (June I984),p. 221 and 88. 92

Madjid, Islam, Doktn'n dnn Peraditban, pp. xxv and 455; idem, Ishurt, Kernodeman dm Keindorzesiaan, p. 63; idem, "Suatu Tatapan Islam terhadap Masa Depan Politik hdonesh," in Prism, no. ekstra, year I3 (I984),pp. 19-20; idem, Kaki kutgit Peradaban Islam, pp. 138 and 143. See also Bellah, Beyond Belie$ p. 151.

"Fathimah,ChapterI&"

78

as the rationalization of social structures." Madjid further hints that the process of modernization can be accomplished through the use of scientific method. Again, followingWeber and contrary to the traditional Western

paradigm, he insists that science with its rational character is not in opposition to religion.

In his theory, science constitutes a product of human understanding of the objective law that controls nature, which is itself the law of God (Sunnat All& orfipah). In fact, as Weber argues, science can lead humans to the true nature of being and is 'a way to God', just as

modernization consequently can be said to be a process of thinking and doing according to the law of God and a means toward approaching God." Therefore, Madjid stresses that becoming modern is indeed the fulfilment of God's commands and precepts, as shown in such Qur'bic verses as 10: 101;45:13; 2: 170;43:22-25, etc. Modernization is consequently

an obligaton for a Muslim.Furthermore, to become modem, Muslims are absolutely obliged to h o w better and understand properly the Qur'iin and the Sunnn of the Prophet in which the commands of God an formulated.%Moreover, Madjid argues that since a human being's

understanding of the objective principles of the universe cannot be acquired conclusively, comprehensively, and simultaneously, but only temporarily, comparatively, and gradually

from time to time, the process of becoming modern, consequently, is also a progressive and dynamic process. Accordingly, this would imply a certain presumption that the word

'modem' or 'traditional' has a relative meaning and possesses an ontological rather than RBhardjo, ''ISIaxn dan Modernisasi: Catatan atas Paham Sekularisasi Nunholish Madjid," a preface of Madjid, Islam Kernodeman don Keindonesiaan, p. 28.

"

Madjid. Islam, Kernodeman dan Keindonesiaun, pp. 143, 175-176. See also Weber, The Protestant Ethic, p. 180. %

Madjid, Islam, K e m o d e m don Keindonesiaan. pp. 172-173.

"Fathimah. Chapter ll." 79 chronological sense. Thus, what precedes should not necessarily be regarded as more traditional than what comes later and vice versa. Also, it is limited by time and space in the sense that somethingthat caa be called modem at acertain time, can be traditional at another time, just as modernization and traditionalization in a society may actually occur simultaneously and even compIement each other? It is important to note that in terms of the core meaning of modernization in the above sense, Muslims should learn that modernization is in no way contradictoryto the basic tenets

of Islam. Following the Weberian sense of rationalization. Madjid insists that the ody existence with a permanent attribute of modernity is Allah as the Absolute Truth, and that modernity canies within itself the capacityto adopt different forms of relative truths in order to acquire the Absolute and Ultimate Truth.Based on this argument,Madjid criticizes any

claim, such as that of the fundamentalists, to the effect that human truth is the absolute

Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that rationalization in Madjid's framework,

as explained above, does not have the same sense as it does in the traditional Western conception, where its philosophical implication leads it into such extnme forms as atheism or communism.Rationalization in his definition will in fact increasereligious ~ommitment.~

Madjid, Islam, Kernodeman h a Keindonesim, p. 174.

Madjid, Islam. Kernodeman dan Keirtdonesim, p. 174. Madjid, Islam Kemodem h Keindonesiclcm, pp. 149450; idem, Tmdisi lsiam, p. 86.

"Fathimah, ChapterI&" 80

3. Modernization and Secularization. While many Muslims might share Madjid's conclusion that modemization is a universal theory in its essential meaning, that is rationalization in its sociological sense, few

appear to support his idea that modemization in its universal meaning must also include secularization. In fact, his promotion to adopt such concepts has tumed out to be a controversial issue, one which has created a long and hot debate among Muslims in Indonesia and bitter reactions fkorn the '~karna".'~~

Regardlessof their preferences for connotations and their ideological positions, most scholars, in looking at the phenomena of luodtrnization in the West, have not doubted the essential truth of the thesis that secularization is an integral part and an automatic organ of the modemization process. Weber, Harvey Cox, Wilson, and BelIah, for example, have

corroborated the existence of a strong association between the two+'0' Peter L. Berger, in the light of his criticism of modernity, also contends that "modernization has brought with it a

dilemma of secularization that is a massive threat to the plausibility of religious belief and experience."lo2 Also, Huston Smith suggests that modernity is equivalentto secularity which

Irn Among them, HM.Rasyidi was the most outstanding opponent in that he wrote two special books counteringMadjid's idea of secularization.See his Koreksi terhadap Drs. Nurcholish Modjid tentang Seku1urisosi(Jakarta: BuIan Bintang, 1972) and Suatu Koreksi Lugi Bagi Drs. Nurcholish Madjid (Jakarta: DD& 1973). 'O' See Bryan Turner, Weber and Islam-A Critical Snufy (London:: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974);Cox, TheSecularCity:Secularizationand Urbanizationin the TheologicalPerspective(New York: Macmillan, 1990), 25th anniversary edition;Wilson, "Secularization," pp. 9-20;and Bellah, L'ReligiousAspects ofModernizationin Turkey and Japan," in Amen'cm Jouml ofSociology,vol. 64 (1958), pp. 1-5. Irn Berger, Facing up to Modmiry: Excursions in Society, Politics,and Religion (New York: Basic Books, Inc.,1977), p. 78.

"Fathimah, Chapter ll," 81 does not appear as an epiphenomenon only, but as a phenomenon or reality.'"

Similarly,

Lerner asserts that the advance of rationalism in modernization meant an increase in secularism.'" Still, William M. Wenworth, Donald Eugene Smith and Daniel Crecelius, in

their analysis of religion and modernization, insist that secularizationhas played an important

and universal role in the development of modem polities.'" Among Muslim intellectuals,al-

Bahi and al-Attas have also related modernization to sec~larization.'~~ The same idea is also found in the thought of Indonesian Muslim intellectuals such as Hamka (1908-198 I), & M.

Rasyidi (b. 1915), A.M. Saefuddin (b. 1940), Koentowijoyo (1941), Dawam Rahardjo (1942), Ahmad Wahib (1942-1973), Amien Rais (h. 1944, and otherdm

Like these thinkers, Madjid is also an advocate of the role of secularization in society's process of modernization. He maintains that secularity is an inherent ingredient of

modernity, a prerequisite for significant social change, and a powerful global force in the modem world whose reality cannot be challenged. However, unlike most secular thinkers,

'ol

Huston Smith, "CanModernity AccommodateTranscendence?," in Modernity and Religion,

p. 158.

'" Lemer, The Passing of Trditiona1 Sociery, p. 45. See William M. Wentworth, "A Dialectical Conception of Religion and Religious Movements in Modem Society," in Ieftey K. Hadden and Anson Shupe, eds., Seculariurtionand FUItCiClmentuiism Reconsidered, a serial publication of Religion and the Political Order, Volume III (New York: Paragon House, 1989), pp. 47; Smith, Religion, Politics, and Social Change, p. 3; and Cncelms, "The Course of Secularization in M o d e m Egypt." in Smith, ed.. Religion and Political Modemirotion (New Haven: Conn.: Yale University Press, 1974), pp. 67,91 and 93-94.

AI-Bah&Al-Fikr al-Islih-, p. 194 and aI-Attas, i s l h , pp. 16-17.

los

'07 See Rasyidi, Koreksi terhadizp Drs. Nurcholish; Saefuddin, Desekularis~piPemikiran, tczndasan Islamisosi (Bandung Mizan, 1987); Rais, "Introdu~tion'~in Smith, Agam don Modernisasi Politik SW Kajian Annlisis (Jakiuta: Rajawati, 1989, trans. by Machnun Husein from the author Religion and Political Modrktztion, p. x; Koentowijoyo. Paradigma Islam (Bandug Mizan, 1991); Rahardjo. "Ideology Ditmgok KembaIi," in Prisrnu, no. 7 (1985). pp. 2; and Wahi'b. Pergofakan Pemikiran Islam (Jakarta: LP3ES, 1982).

"Fathimah,Chapter 11," 82

Madjid takes his own approach in which he attemps to go beyond the traditional definition of secularization. As he declares, secularization constitutes a logical implication of the rationalization process in that it implies the recognition of rational and scientific authorities in establishing and maintaining the prosperity of human life in this world.'o8 Consequently,

es his notion of rationalizationhas grown, his idea of secularizationhas consistently followed the same logical analysis to the point where it can be subsumed under the Weberian

approach.log However, while most scholars agree on the ground that the character of modernity

is epitomized by the growing process of secularization, others neveahcless disagree and consider this conclusion to be invalid. By looking at the contemporary religious phenomena of the modem world, many thinkers, particularly those with a tendency to a positivist philosophy of science (in which Karl Popper's theory of falsification serves as the principle ba~is),"~ call for a reconsideration of the validity of the extent of secularization. They argue that the secularization thesis seems no longer adequate or is simply wrong since they observe

the anomalous appearance of religiosity in the modem and secular world, that is the emergence of new religious movements. To them, this highlights very clearly how the ,

modem world is not in a process of full spiritualdecline as the seculartheorists advocate. On

Madjid. Islam, Kenrodernan &rt Keidonesian, p. 218. 10sBy this, it is meant that Mdjid's usage of secularizationtheory often refers to scholars such as Weber, Patsons, Cox, Bellah, Wilson, etc.

Popper's theory of falsification, which is also called a theory of trial and error or a theory of conjecturesand rehtations, states that "scientific theories werenot the digest of observations, but that they were inventions-conjectuns boldly put forward for trial, to be eliminated if they clashed with observation^.'^ Seehis book ConjecturesandRefirtatrbms(London: Routledgeand Kegan Paul, 1963). p. 46.

"Fathimah, Chapter 11, 83 ,"

the contrary, it shows how religion is in fact enjoying a continued process of regaining

vitality."' John Obert VoU and Iavaid Saeed can be said to have conceivably been inspired by this line of thought. They insinuate that the Islamic resurgence apparent throughout the

Muslim world in the last few decades shows clearly that there can be no such postulate of a necessary alliance between modernization and ~ecularization.'~'Mumtaz Ahmad moreover believes that modernization, as shown in Iran and other Muslim countries, does not

necessarily imply ~ecularization.''~In both cases, they observe that the modern world has in fact experienced an increasing religious consciousness as evidenced by the emergence of a numbero f religious movements and a new spirit of Islamic revivalism, fimdamentalisrn and

reformism. Moreover, the emergence of such a religious awakening,in their view, is indeed stimulated by the confrontation with the secularizing forces of modem development.

Nevertheless,the disagreements between scholars are not restricted to the association of modernity with secularity.They also disagree on definitions given to secularity and to the values to which it is attached. Indeed, in most cases, their differences over the former issue

have logical implications for their divergence over the latter. Most scholars who deny the validity of the secularization theory often define it in a negative sense when compared to

religious values. For example, they understand secularizationto be a process of losing faith [I1 Ia the Western scholanhip of social sciences of religion. such a stance is represented by the so-called '*postsecularization"theorists such as R Stephen Warner and Frank Lecher. See David Yamane, "Secularizationon Trial: In Defense of a NeosecularizationParadigm," in Journolfor the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 36, no. 1(1997).p. 112. For mom accounts on this, see Hammond, ed., The Sacred in a SecularAge. '12 Voll, Isium: Continuity and Change in the Modem World (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. 1994), 2nd edition, p. 3; and Javaid Saeed, Islam and Mcxkrnization (London: Praeger, 1994). p. 32. 'I3 Mumtaz Ahmad, ''Introduction." in idem, ed., State, Politics, a d Islorn (hdianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1986), p. 30.

"Fathimah, Chapter ll." 84

in transcendence and in a nality that encompasses but surpasses our daiIy affairs,''* a process of expansion of a polity to perform the regulatory functions that were previously performed by religion or a separation of a polity fiom religious ideology and ecclesiastical stnxctures," and above all a process in which religion is at the point of disappearing fiom

or losing its significance and function in human life.'16 Therefore, as far as secularizationis understood with such connotations, Voll, Saeed and thinkers taking the positivist approach, to use Yamane's term, may be correct in

concluding that modernization does not reflect the process of secularizationsince in modem development, religion is not in the process of declining or disappearing; rather it is in the

process of taking on new guises, such as the emergence of a variety of fundamentalist movements.'" However, the Weberian theory of secularization does not apply to such connotations. Although it suggests the association of modernization and the secularization process, for these theorists, the secularization paradigm depends on the assumption that religion will never completelydisappear; in fact its major theorists have discussedthe decline of religion only in the sense of "transformation" of religion in the modem world, which has in fact positive implications for re1igion.l" Transformation here implies the persistence of important elements of religion, rather than their extinction, and tends to mean that religion 'I4

See Huston Smith,"Can Modernity Accommodate Transcendence?," p. 158.

'['

See Donald Eugene Smith, Religion and Polilicai Development (Boston: Little Brown, 1970). p. 85 and Saeed, Islam and Modeniurrion, p. 48. Lerner, Tho Passing of TraditionalSociety, p.45.

Yamane. "Secularization on Trial,"p. I 13. See Cox, ntc Secular City,p. xxv; idem. Religion in the Secular City: Towarda Postmodem Theology (New York: Simon and Schuster. 1984), p. 12;Wfison, "Secularization," p. 9; Olivier Tschannen. 'The Secularization Paradigm: A Systematization," in Journal for the Scientijic Study of Religion, no. 30 (1991) p. 402; and Yamane, bcSecularizationon Triar p. 110.

"Fathimah, Chapter 11," 85

develops more along the lines of its true nature. This transformation itself is indeed inevitable and is a historical necessity. It would be impossible for any nation or society to avoid it. As Bellah writes in one of his early works: It seems worthwhile to stress that the process of secularization, which is part of what the transition from prescriptive to principial society is, does not mean that religion disappears. The function of religion in a principial society is Merent from that in a prescriptive society, but it is not necessarily less important. Moreover, in the very process of transition religion may appear in many new guises. Perhaps what makes the situation so unclear is its very fluidity.'" Following this perspective, Madjid argues that secularization has, therefore, an

alternative meaning, ustially referred to as its sociologicalconnotation. It is regarded as one

form of the liberalization process that affects corrupted traditional and religious values. It refers to a process of liberating society from believing in and operating on the basis of myths,

not a process of erasing its religious orientation.1z0In fact, as Madjid asserts, this liberating

process may be motivated or be the result of a logical continuation of the very basis of religious orientation. in particular that of the principle of monotheism. Thispractice parallels that which the Prophet Muhammad introduced to the Meccan Arabs; it was a "radical devaluation." to use BelIah's term, of the jlihiZFpolytheistic institutions and social structures

'I9

Bellah characterizes"prescriptive" society as basing its nonnative system on the integration

betweenreligion and ideology in that religious system regulates economic, political, and social Life

in great detail, while "principial"society bases its value system on the differentiation between the levels of religion and social ideology in which religious values formuIate only the basic principles of social behavior and in that greaterflexibility at both levels can be established. See his "Religious Aspects of Modernization," p. 1-5. See also Howard Becker, 'gCumntSacredSecular Theory and Xts Development," in Howard Becker and Alvin Boskoff, eds., Modem SocioIogical Theory in Continuity and Change(New York Dryden Ress, 1957) and Mehden, Religionand Modernization, pp. 10-11. '20 Madjid, Islam, Kemodeman dpn Keindonesiaan,p. 258. See also Pasons, et al., Theories of Society (New York Free Press, I961).

"Fathimah,Chapter 11." 86

towards the establishment of a belief in one God?' Furthermore, Madjid goes on to say that what he Elslly means by secularizationis desacralization and the liberation of a world that has

been too much sacralized by Muslims.This is recommended by the fact that according to

Islam, man has the capabiliv to involve himself in the making of history and it is in this context that the concept of modernization in relation to Muslim societies has been brought into being, in that it constitutes an effort to encourage Muslim consciousness about the need

to participate in the making of the modern world. It is dso in this context that the concept of secularization has been defined as temporalizing values which are indeed temporal, but which Muslims have a tendency to regard as celestial and spiritual. It has also been depicted as something more inclusive, involving the "desacralization" of everything other than that

which is truly sacred and tran~endent.'~ Such secularizationin this sense is extremely urgent since Muslims continue to ident@ religion with culture by placing too much religious significance in things that actually have nothing to do with the religion itself. This can be seen for instance in the phenomenon of cultism in which they sacralize certain religious figures and their ideas. Often they even sacralize non-living creatures by giving them a spiritual significance that they cannot posses^.'^ However, what is more significant to note on this case, is that Madjid's call for

secularization should be understood in terms of the historical context of Indonesian political

"' bid., pp. 258-259; Rahardjo, ''Islam dan Modemisasi:'

p. 27 and Bellah, Beyond Beiicf, p.

151.

"Ibid.. pp. 257-258. Ibid., pp. 208.209, and 259; and idem, Ishm, Dokrin ckur Perahban, p. XI. See also A m , "Guardingthe Faith of the Ummah: Religio-lnteIIectual Journey of M o h d Rasjidi." in Studia Islamika, vol. 1, no. 2 (1994). p. 112

"Fathimah,Chapter 14 " 87 and social development in the early New Order period. Realizing that the re1ationsh.i~ throughout this period between Islam, largely in the form of Islamic political parties, and the State has been one of endless frustration and disappointment,Madjid concludes that it would

be useless and time-consuming to insist on such a political and ideological orientation,

particularly in view of the fact that like the Old Order, the government of the New Order appanntly followed the colonialist strategy of maintaining the status quo in order to establish its political stability.'" Therefore, in his capacity as president of the H.M.I., Madjid urged Muslims to undertake instead a strategic and comparative approach like that of the government in order for them to be able to participate actively in development programs.= This could be done, he thought, by insisting that Muslim leaders concentrate on the cultural and spiritual, rather than the political development of Islam,since the latter often falls into

militant activities that are highly idealistic. A more practical solution was clearly needed. It was in this context that Madjid promoted the famous phrase, "Islam

No!"'

Yes.Partai Islam,

Such a concept follows the logical analysis of the neo-secularization theory; that is

desacralizingpolitical activities of Muslim parties and removing their religioussignificance. As recorded in the history of Indonesian independence, it was Islam that the Dutch colonial found as their pivotal challenge. Knowing the fact that the majority of Indonesians are Muslims. though at that time mostly in abangan or priyuyc' sense, such challenge was remarkably threatening that the Dutch had to change their political strategy. In the light of their "ethical politics," Hurgronje employed a diffennt approach towards Muslims by creating such an impression that as colonials they also had a positive side. In so doing, he adopted a view that Muslims shodd be given freedom to perform their religious duties as far as the cultural and social aspects of religion are concerned, while strictly prohibiting and controlling any of their politicd movements. See Madjid. Islam, K e m o d e m dan Keindonesiaan, pp. 192-193; Harry I. Benda, The Crescent and the Rising Sun: Indonesian Islam Under the Japanese Occupation 19424945(Bandung The Hague. 1958). p. 25; and C. W. Watson, "Muslims and the State in Indonesia," in Hussin Mutaiib and Taj d-blam Hashmi, eds.. Islam, Muslim urzd the Modern State (New York: St. Martin Press. 1994). p. 176.

"Madjid, Ishm, Kernodernan don Keindonesiaan, p. 235. Madjid, Islam, Kernodeman dmr Keindonesim. p. 205.

"Fathimah, Chapter 1 ." 88

In other words, Islam would be detached fkom the authority of these political institutions and, consequently, Muslims would have no obligation to vote for them. However, Madjid seems

to agree with Harun Nasution in believing that it is not the authority of Islam that should be detachedfrom politics, but rather the authority of the practices of Muslims.ln This was also

the sort of secularization that Mehmct Zia Giikalp (1875-1924) and Mustafa K e d Atanirk

(1881-1938) promoted in Turkey, i.e. to "demystify" religion. although some scholars,

including Madjid himself, would say that they, paticularly the latter, went too fare1* Furthermore, it seems that this Weberian approach of Madjid regarding the concept of secularization corresponds, although in a somewhat different form, to what the New Testament scholar and theologian Rudolf Bultmann proposes as the b6demythologization"of

the New Testament message in favor of interpreting it in terms of the existentialist philosophy of Martin Heidegger? Or it may be said to resemble what Olaf Schumann calls

bringing religion back to its original purpose, i.e., giving a moral orientation to human beings and freeing them from any relations that enslave them in any possible way, including its

12' Madjid, Islam, Kemodernnn &n Keindonesiaan, pp. 236-237.Nasution, however, necessitates the differencebetween detaching the state from religion and detaching religion from the state. See his "Westernization, Islamization, and [Turkif'ication] in Major Social Institutions," unpublished term paper, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University (April 1969, p. 4.

See Madjid. Tradisi Islam, pp. 77-78; N i f e r Wle, "SecuIarism and Islamism in Turkey: The Making &Elites and Counter-Elites," in Mi& Eosr J o u m l , vol. 5 1,no. 1 (Winter 1997). pp. 46-58. Cf. Niyazi Berkes, The DeveZopment of Secularism in Turkey (Montreal: McGill University Ress. 1964); Nasution. "Westernization, Islamization, and purkification]," and Pardoyo, Sekularisasi dalnm Polern* p. 75.

'" See Rudolf Bulhnann's manifesto, "New Testament and Mythology," in Hans Werner

Bartsch (Ed.) and Reginald H.Fuller nrans.), Kerygma and Myth: A Theological Debate, V O ~ .I (London: SS.C.K.. 1964). pp. 1-16; and his ''The Case for Demythologidng," in ibid., vol. IT, pp. 181-194. However, for a good introduction to the demythologidngcontroversyfor non-theologians can k fomd in his more discursive work namelyJesus Christ curdMythology (New York: Scribner, 1958). Cf. Madjid, I s l m Dohrh dm Peradaban, p. xxv.

"Fathimah, Chapter Il, " 89

exploitation in order to gain political poweron*It also parallels the mission of Arkoun, who is determined to fight against the so-called "mythoIogization" (al-ru'ylal-khurrjFiyya) and

"ideologization" of Islam as proclaimed by Muslim militant^,^' and pardells the calls of 'Abdul al-KacIm Suroush for "desacralization of religious knowledge and Islamic jurisprudence.

In responding to criticisms of his idea of secularization,Madjid, following Cox's and Wilson's advice that one should not confuse secularization with secularism, clearly states that seculaxization cannot be said to be equivalent to adopting secularism.According to him, the latter usually refen to an ideology whose function is identical with religion, whereas

secularization is a more descriptive term implying an irreversible historical process that is

an authentic result of religious influence. Therefore, as regards secularism, it is very clear that Madjid himself fmds it hard to accept it as something valuable and constructive for

Muslim societiedu In this case, he does not differentiate in principle between Western systems of capitalism and socialism since they all ace undoubtedly grounded in the same

paradigm, which is a belief in the absolute name of worldly Me, the ultimate truth of human reasoning and a rejection of any existence in the hereafter. It is in fact because of their '30

Schumann, "Persepsi Diri dm Persepsi Majemuk di Barat," p. 63.

13' See Mohammed Arkoun. Rethinking Islam, translated and edited by Robert D.Lee (Oxford: Westview Press, 1994), p. 2and T~ikhjycual-jXr aI-tArabF~I-I~I&zr translated by Bshim Siilih. (Beirut: Markaz al-In-' d-Qa-, 1986), pp. 21 1-213. See also BouIlata*s Trends and issues in C ~ r n p o r a lArab y Thought,pp. 79-85.

See Roxanne Marcone. "Une critique de l'interpdtation religieuse des ul6mas h i e n s : 'Abdul al-m-m Suroush (1945-)." in SciencesRelc'giemes,no. 26, vol. 4 (1997). pp. 41 1-440. See In

also Afshin Matin-Asgari, "CAbdulkarirnSomh and the Secularization of IsIamic Thought in Iran,'' in Iranian Studies. vol. no. 1-2(Winter/Spring 1997). pp. 95-1 15. In

Madjid, Islrvn.Kemudenuur dan Keindonesiizan, p. 218 and 260. See also Cox, T k Secular

City, pp. I8 and 74; and Wilson, "Secdarization,"p. 11.

"Fathimah,Chapter I& " 90

emphasis on secularism in an ideological sense that Madjid considers neither the capitalist

nor the socialist approach as alternative ways of life for contemporary humanity.'"

He

shows how suchideologies havein fact brought devastation upon Westerners themselves and

how they will lead to their fmal destruction. h this case, Madjid highlights the failure of socialism in Russia as real evidence of the urnliability of communist ideology in which atheism, a fundamental principle of the system, constitutes absolute secularism. In other

words, secularism has its climax in atheism.13' Clearly for him secularism is a violation of the Islamic principles as set forth in the Qur'h.

Unfortunately, Madjid's stance on

secularism, which is apparently also shared by the Muslims,including even his most bitter opponents, has not made him less of a controversial figure. While they agree with Madjid on

secularism, the majority of his critics reject his interpretation of the concept of secularization.'" Harun Nasution, who is known as the promotor of Mu 'tazila ideals in Indonesia and who in general shares Madjid's reformist ideas, seems to fail to understand Madjid's position on this controversial issue."

Madjid, Islam, Kernodeman dan Keindonesiaan, pp. 179-181. Cf.Boullata, Trends and Issues in ContemporaryArab Thought, p. 8.

Madjid, Islam, Kernodeman &n Keindonesiaan, pp. 182- 190. Similarly. Paul M. van B u m he emphasizes fiuther that for a true secularist, atheism is, as much as theism, a presumptuous doctrine without foundations. See Burm, The SecufarMeaning of the Gospel (New York: Macmillan, 1966). p. 194. IM Rasyidi, for instance, argues that there is no such clear difference in value between secularism and secularization, or the adoption of the latter is impossible without holding on to the former, while the latter is as bad as the former with respect to Islamic principles. See Korehi I"

also writes that a true secularist is an atheist; however,

terhadap Drs. Nurchoikh Madjid, p. 14. See also Azra, "Guardingthe Faith of the Ummah," p. 112. ff. Madjid. Islam, Kemodemun d m Keindonesiaan, p. 60. In See forexamplehis special response to Madjid's secdarizatioa thought, "Islam,Sekdarisasi dan Sekularisme: Catatan atas Pemildran Pembaharum Nurcholish Madjid." in Nasution. Islam Rasio~t(lI,Saifirl Muzani, ed. (Jakarta= Mizan, 1993, pp. 188-194.

"Fathimah,Chapter IZ," 91

Furthermore, Madjid explains that the debate on secularization, particularly in Indonesia, can be said to be rooted in an unclear demarcation between the concepts of religion and culture. The existing vague perception of these two broad domains have apparently influenced the attitude towards the validity in terms of religious values of the

cultural expression of Indonesian Islam. Many M u s h believe that, although religion is inseparable from culture, they can still be differentiated. Religion as such, Madjid insists, has an absolute and immutable character, while culture although based on religious norms,

is relative and can change in terms of time and place. Religion is primary and culture secondary. Culture can take on a religious character because it is subordinate to religion. While many cultures are based on religion, it is never the case that religion is based on cultwe. Muslims must therefore be able to distinguish what aspects of religion are authentic

and what are manifkstations of its cultural aspects that constitute its means of e x p r e s ~ i o n . ~ ~

This line of thought seems to be parallel what Iqbal states: r]he moral and social ideals of Islam have been gradually de-Islamized through the influence of local character, and pre-Islamic superstitions of Muslim nations. These ideals today are more Iranian, Turkish, or Arabian than Islamic. The pure brow of the principle of Tauhid has received more or less an impress of heathenism, and the universal and impersonal character of the ethical ideals of Islam has been lost through a process of localizati~n.~~

Having explained Madjid's concept of secularization as a reflection of his understanding of Islamic development in the Indonesian context, we can say that the bitter

and reactionary responses to it seem to be hyperbolic. Not only is this because his ideas are

'38

Madjid, Islam, Agama Kemanusiaan, p. 36. IqbaI, The Reco~tructionof Religious Thought in Islorn (Lahore: Shaikh Muhamrnad

Ashraf' 1951). p. 156.

'*Fathimah,Chapter ll." 92

not in fact in contradiction with the essential principles of Islam, but also because the idea is not in itself new to the history of Muslim reform thought. As can be seen from the above-

mentioned approaches of Arkoun and IqbaI, Madjid's call for desacralization, as von der Mehden points out, is actually echoed by the Muhammadiyah in its so-called "purification"

program, i.e., encouraging Muslims to avoid believing in myth (takhayyul), innovation (bitfa),superstitions (Wlur@t), and other forms of polytheism (shirk)'" It also shows an

evident misinterpretation of Madjid's ideas. Consequently, while Madjid has never intended to imply any separation between Mam and politics in his argumentregarding secularization,

he does open up debate on the question of whether some sort of separable domain between religion and politics in the process of modernization in Islam is eitherpossible or admissible. Also, although many people have accused Madjid of having very peculiar, even

somewhat heretical ideas, the history of Indonesian Islam in the last three decades has demonstrated contrary but comforting evidence. Some academics believe that by urgingthe ideas of modernization, rationalization and secularization,Madjid has virtually given a new

impetus to Islamic development in Indonesia, making it more efftrtive and thriving."' He

'"

Madjid, lslam, Kernodeman dan Keindonesiaatr, p. 259. See also Mehden. Religion and Modemitation, p. 12. For an account of Muhammadiyah reform agenda, see Achmad Jainuri. 'The Formation of the M @ d y a h ' s ideology, 19 12-1942," unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, McGilI University (May 1997) sad Umar Hisyam, Muhamnudiyah Jalun LUW ddam Tajdid, Dukwah, Kaden'sasidart Pendidikan: Krr'tik ckvl Terapirrya (Surabaya: P.T. Bina Ilmu, 1990). 14' S e e M u d , "IsIarndBIarnHegemoniTeoriModemisasi,'' p. 88 and Fachry Ali, 'lntelektud, PengaruhPemildran d mLingltungannya. Butir-ButirCatatanuntukNurcholishMadjid" in Madjici, Dialog Keterbuhn, pp. xxxiii-lvii.Because of this, many observers think that Indonesian Muslim modernists are in a process of approaching, if it is not ovenhadowing, the bold achievement and revohtionaq venture of Subcontinent modernism. Cf,Daniel W,Brown, "IsIarnic Modernism in South Asia: A Reassessment," in The Mustim World, vol. 87, no. 3-4 (July-October, 1997). p. 2!8 and Rethinking Tradition in Modcm Islamic Thought (New York :Cambridge University M s .

1996).

"Fathimah,Chapter ll." 93

has created a conducive environment for the emergence of a new image of Islam -the image

of Indonesian Islam- an Idam that is beyond the characterization of Huntington and other Western stereotype."' It is an Islam that "embraces modernity, advocates religious pluralism and tolerance, and that emphasizes the mercy and compassion of

He has indeed

contributed significantly to the change in the Western Orientalist and Indonesianist mainstream hypothesis that the majority of Muslims in Indonesia are not really Muslim and that Islam has been a marginal component of Indonesian culture and traditiodu He has contributed to the rise of what Woodward calls an "Islam-centered paradigm" in Islamic studies in Indonesia, a movement which has removed the anti-Islamic Orientalism of the colonial era.'*' Madjid has brought about the emergence of the so-called "neomodernist" tradition of Indonesian Islam, the promotion of which Daniel W. Brown calls the revivalist paradigm, one that offers "real tools to resist Western hegemony, while at the same time

holding a greater claim to authentici@."'" Finally, Madjid should receive credit for his insistence on modernization, rationalization and secularization, rather than accusations of being unfaithfulto Islam, as his lhdonesianopponents have claimed. This is because of the fact that the growingphenomenon of the contemporary Islamic movements, as Ira Lapidus highlights, is in fact the product of

See Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations," in Foreign Affairs,

voL 72, no. 3 (Summer,

1993), pp. 22-46.

Woodward, 'Talking Across Paradigms," p. 3. See also Geertz, Afer the Fact: Two Countries, Four Decades, One Anthropologirt (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999, p. 56. See Madjid, Isiatn Agama Peradaban, pp. 297-3 18. '' See Woodward, 'TaIking Across Paradigm," pp. 15-16. 'a Brown, ''hlsmic Modernism in South Asia," p. 270.

"Fathimah, Chapter 1 ." 94 the modernization, rationalization and secularization of Muslim societies, rather than a

reaction against them.14' In short, the emegence of new religious movements in the last few decades has indeed proved the intellectual power of secularization theory as explained by

Madjid. And it is important to quote what Cox has to say about this: "[Tlhe current

reappearance ofreligion does not, however, make the message of The Secular City obsolete. It remains true that biblical faith is often critical of human religi~usness."'~~

See Ira M. Lapidus, "Islamic Revival and Modernity: The Contemporary Movements and the Historical Paradigms," in Journal of the Economic curdsocial Hisrory of the Orient, voI. 40, no. 4 (1997) p. M 8 . Cox, Religion in Thc Secular City, p. 20.

CHAPTER

rn

CONTEXTUALIZATION AND SUBSTANTIALIZATION: NURCHOLISH MADJID'S APPROACH TO ISLAM

A. Madjid and Neo-Modernism. As was pointed out in the previous chapter, twentiethcenturyIndonesia has seen the

emergence of a wide range of religious associations whose establishment had something to do with the effort to provide an Islamic response to the challenges of the modem age. These

associations were predominantly regarded as an outgrowthof Egyptian modernist influences, in particular the theories of MuQammad 'Abduh, in that they gave Indonesian Muslims an

ideological framework on which to fit their faith in the modem world.' However,according to Nurcholish Madjid, as the century progressed, and particularly since the late 1950s and 1960s, these movements, including the Masyumi and the Muhamrnadiyah,' began to experience stagnationand to lose focus. They no longer fimctioned.asreformmovements and had lost sight of their original task, i.e., to promote necessary changes in the lives of Muslims by continuousiyreformulating Islamic doctrines in the light of changing conditions. Instead, See chapter 2, p. 55, s u p . For a more detailed account of these associations, see Deliar Noer, TheModemistMuslimMovement in Indonesia 19061942(KualaLumpur. Oxford University Press, 1973); Harry I. Benda, The Crescent rrnd the Rising Sun: Indonesian Islam Undcr the Japanese Occupation 1942-1945 (The Hague: W. van Hoeve, 1958).

Muhanrmadiyah leaders have indeed had to face this crisis of orientation. In fact, it was in an attempt to redirect the original goal and the reform spirit of the Muhammadiyah's ideoiogy that Amien Rais, as new chairman, established and formulated its programs. See his preface in M.Rusli Karirn*ed.,Muiramnzad&ah Dalum Kritikhn Komentar (Jakarta: C.V. Rajawali. I986), p. xi; idem, "Gcrakan-GerakanIslam hternasionaldm Pengamhnya bagiGerakan IslamIndonesia," in Prism, no. ekstta, year 13 (1984). p. 37. See also M. Rusli Karim, 'Modus Baru Partisipasi Muhammdiyah," in Karim, ed., Muhammadiyah Dalm Kn'tik don Konuntar, pp. 272-280 and Umar Hasuim, Mtdummadiyah J a h Lurus, &tarn Tqdici,Dokwah, Kaderisasi dan Pendidikan: KMiR clrm Terapinya (Surabaya: Bina m u , 1990), p. 187.

'%athimah,Chapter lll, " 96

as Madjid shows, they were trapped in so-called "ad-hoc programs"? focusing mostly on Wlil@yyu (disputes) overfurd'iyyu (pheripheral) aspects of Islamic doctrines, in particular those regarding the purification of ritual practices ('ibzda)),' and the emphasis on formalism

or afiqh-oriented style of thinking." At the same time, due to the fact that their ideological orientation was out of touch with the political realities of the country at that b e , Muslims were also overwhelmingly pessimistic about the future and what this would mean for the religious life of subsequent generations." As Greg Barton explains:

'

Madjid, idma, Dobrin &anPeradabian (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1992). pp. 374-375; idem, Idam, Aguma Kewlunc~siaan:Membangm Trudisi &n Visi Barn Islam tndonesia (Jalata: Pararnadina, 1995), p. 37; md idem, Tradisi Islam: Perm d m Fmgsinya &lam Pembangunan di Indonesia (Jakarta: Panunadina, 1997). p. 112. See also Benda, The Crescent and the Rising Sun, p. 48 and Fachry Ali and Bahtiar Effendy, Merambah Jalan Banr Islam (Bandung: Mizan, 1990). pp. 131-133. What Madjid m a n s by the term 'ibida here is its specific meaning, i.e., that division of Islamic law comprising the ritual aspects or what is often called as 'ubiiiiyaor 'ib* ma444 not its wider sense. Madjid, Islam Doktrin don Perahban, pp. 57-58. See also G.H. Bousquet, '"IbidZt," in EP, vol. 3, p. 647.

'

See the interview with Madjid entitled "Menatap Masa Depan Islam," m Ulumul Qur'on.vol. 5, no. 1 (1994). pp. 54-61, republished in Madjid. Dialog Keterbukaan: Anikulad Nilai dulam

Wacana Sosial Politik Kontemporer, Edy A. Effendi, ed. (Jakarta: Paramadina, 1998), pp. 107-124, henceforth cited as Dialog Keterbukan. See alsoMadjid, "Menegakkm FahamAhlusSmah WalJvnaah "Baru"," in Haidar Bagir, ed., Sutu Iskm Sebuah Dilem (Bandung: Mizan, 1988), p. 27; idem, Islam, D o M n don Peradaban, p. 235ff, idem, Bilik-Bilik Pesantren: Sebuah Potret P e j u l ~ (~ ~J t U Paramadina, 1997). pp. 8-16 and 70; idem. 'Imam Syafi'i. Peletak Dasar Metodologi Pernabaman Hukum dalarn Islam", which is a pceface to an Indonesian edition of M~ammadIbn Idds al-ShifiTs Al-Risalolr (Jakarta: Pustaka Fudaus, 1986), p. xiii Madjid, Trodisi Islam, pp. SO and 1IS. See also his 'The Issue of Modernization a m g Muslims in Indonesia: from a Participant's Point of View." in Ahmad brahim, Sharon Siddique, YasminHussain. eds.,ReadingsonIslam in SoutheastAsiu (Singapore: Institute of SoutheastAsian Studies, 1985), and the discussion in chapter 1 of this thesis, pp. 22ff,supra. See also Fachry Ali and Bahtiar Effendi. M e d h Jalan Baru Islam (Bandung: Mizm, 1986), pp. 117-118. Cf.Taufilr AWullah, "The Formation of a New Paradigm? a Sketch on Contemporary Islamic Discourse," in Mark Woadwatd, ed., Toward a N m Paradigm: Recent Developments in Idbnesim IsIrunic Thought (Tempe:Arizona State University, 1996). pp. 47-53.

''Fathimoh. Chapter Ill. " 97

In the late 1960s, Indonesian modernism had largely lost the dynamism, imagination and creativity that had so characterized it in the pre-war period. Instead, the virile intellectual movement that had so challengedTraditionalist lslam only several decades before had become bogged down in its own tradition. Modernist leaden such as Muhammad Natsir, who in their youth had displayed great agillty of mind in their desire to advance Islam, had become somewhat bitter old men wearied by long years in opposition? For Madjid, disputes over the finufinuYjyaand the fiqh-oriented issues were undoubtedly significant, but their overemphasis, in particular those relating to formal-legal

and normative aspects, had the effect of inducing a certain theontical sterility and repetitiveness within the discipline; indeed, in his eyes, the endless pursuit of the issue has

resulted in an analytical cul-de-sac.' This fod-legalistic and normative focus, according to Madjid, has had the effect of reducing Islam to a matter offiqh or more specifically to one of 'I'bida(formal religious rites), so that a l l that is left is "religious symbolism" or '"formal pattern of spiritualism.'* He points out that this debate over shui's'' and 'I'bidain Indonesia Greg Barton. "The International Context of the Emergence of Islamic Neo-Modernism in Indonesia," in M.C.Ricklefs, ed., Islam in the Indonesian Social Context (Melbourne: CSEAS Monash University, 199I), p. 75. See also WilliamLiddle, "Media Dakwoh Scripaualism: OneFonn of IsIamic Political Thought and Action in New Order Indonesia," in Woodward, ed., Toward a New Paradigm, pp. 323-356. a Madjid Islam, Kernodeman d m Keindonesiaan (Bandung: Mizan, 1989), p. 255; idem, Islam,Agam Kewnusiaan, p. 38. This is Madjid's general critique of Islamic religious practice in Indonesia, which to a large extent is the result of the traditional system of the Islamic education offered in the madrosas and pesantnns. These institutions were strongly influenced by increasing contact with Muslims in Saudia Arabia as a result of the pilgrimage, and in particular those 'dm3who were folIowers of M-adibn 'Abd al-WahhZb, eponymous founderof the WahhZbl school. Madjid, IslmA g m ~ Kemunusiarm, p. 32, and idem. Bilik-Bilik Pesantren, pp. 93-94. The samecritique was directed by Harun Nasntion at the tditionalfiqh-orientedcurridurnofthe 1A.I.N.s(State Institutesof Islamic Studies) throughout Indonesia, a position which led in 1973to his proposing a new curriculum, one more comprehensive in nature. See Refleksi Pemburuan Pemikiran Islam: 70 Tahun Harun N d o n (Jakarta- LSAF, 1989). p. 42 and Saifal M d , 'Wu'tazilah TheoIogy aud the Modernizationofthe IndonesianMuslimCommunity,'' S d i a Islamika, vol. 1, no. 1(1994), p. 104. to The tenn shd's here is employed differently from the term ShmTca (capital S) and used interchangeably with the termfiqh. See Madjid, Islam, Dobrin dm Percldaban, p. 255. ff.Ipaz

"Fathimah, Chapter LU," 98

has been going on for such a long time that it has sapped the C2"i' of the energy needed to focus on the more critical problems of the urnma? In the Indonesian context of the time,

especially afterthe establishment of the New Order, the real issue was how Islam or Muslims

could play a proper and realistic role in the national development program and how universal lslamic values could be translated into the specific socio-economic,political, and cultural values of the nation. For Madjid, this role and the effort of translating the universal Islamic values had to reflect the notion, expressed in the Q u f k and widely believed by Muslims, that Islam is a religion for aU humanity (NmatmIi 'I- 'rS;I&)

(Q.34:28 and 2 1:lO7)."

In light of the circumstances outlined above, ~ a d j i d k ~ ~ ethat s t its would be more appropriate, if not imperative, for Muslim leaders to move beyond these issues and address problems of a wider theoretical interest and greater significance to the c m n t social and political conditions of the Muslim community. Madjid suggests that this may involve attempting to arrive at a new understanding of Islam, especially in regard to the principal Isiamic injunctions regarding the relationship between God, h

w

d and the ~niverse.~

Goldziber and Joseph Schacht, "FiI@," in Ep. vol. 2 pp. 886-89 1. Cf. Madjid, Bilik-Bilik Pesantren, pp. 8-9. In an anecdotal statement, Madjid asks in a nthoricd fmhion why these matters of (formal) 'ib&,especially those concerning ~ ~ 4sal't, 6 : pvm, and other mattersrelatingto Gad-man relationship, havenot been definitively answered after more than fourteen centuries of debate. Such a concern was also echoed by other thinkers, see, for example, Awad Bahasoan's discussion in "GeraLan Pembharuan Islam: Interpretasi dan Kritik," Prism, no. ekstra, year I3 (1984), eqecialIy p. 114. See Madjid "Suatu Tatapan IsIam terhadap Masa Depan Politik Indonesia," in Prima,no. ekstra, year 13 (1984), p. 16 and idem, Islam Agama Kernanusiclcu~,pp. x, 44 and 74-75. See also l2

Abdurrahmaa Wahid m his 'Massa IsIam ddam Kehidupan Bemegam dm Berbangsa," in P r i m , no. ekstra, year I3 (1984). p. 5. See also M o h d Sobary, Diskurms Islam Sosial: Memuhami hnm, Mencan' Sofusi (Bandung:Zaman Wacana Mulia, 1998). pp. 53-56. l3 Madjid. Islam, Kernodeman &n Keindonesiaan, pp. 66, and 211-212; idem, Islam, Dokhin dim Peradaban, pp. 575612. See also Ali and Effendy,Merambcth Juhn Bum Islom, y. 297.

"Fathimah, Chapter Ill, " 99 However, no such attempt can be made without first establishing how to go about this task. For Madjid, this involves applying or "adopting"** a proper method of ijtihrEi and reinterpretation of Islamic doctrines. In the Indonesian context, this has always posed a problem given the comparative lack of involvement of Muslims in the modernist debate,

including the Muhammadiyah. In Madjid's view, this absence can be explained by the fact that the prevailing approach of the earlier modemist movements, as shown earlier, was far

more concerned with the so-calledfiqh-oriented interpretation of Islam, focusing on such and verbal kal'.." Hence the new understanding of Islam narrow topics as the formal '~'bida that Madjid proposes can simply be described as that of an Islam which is beyond the

boundaries offiqh or &&'a

convictions.

However, one should not be misled by Madjid's obsession with this proposal, as some people have been,16 and accuse him of ignoring the shdCa and the unquestioned

necessity for Muslims to apply the religious commands as formulated in the law.'' Madjid

.

l4 The term "adopting" is used particularly to emphasize that Madjid is not actually proposing a completely new method of understanding Islam, but instead the revitalization and renewal of principles that had been put forward earlierby previous reformist, Iike Caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattiib, Ibn Taymiyya, M@ammad 'Abduh, Fdur Rahman, aud Indonesian 'ul'i'who follow their traditions, like Abdul Hamid Hakin fiom Sumatra, Mukti Ali, Hanm Nasution, Munawir S j M , etc.

Is

Madjid, Dialog Keterbukaan, pp. 111-117 and 119; idem, Bilik-Bilik Pesantren, pp. 1546.

Cf.Richard C. Mamh, Mark R. Woodward, and Dwi S. Atmaja, Dcfcndcrs of Reason in Islam (Oxford:Oneworld, 1997). p. 148. I6 See, for example, critiques launched by Media Dakwah in its editorial report "Nabi Gagal Menjalankan Missinya? Menguji Pemikiran Nurcholish," (December 1992). p. 41.

"

See for instance Madjid Dialog K e t e r b u h , pp. 111422. It is interesting to note that JalaIuddin Rakhmat @. 1949), known as a Sbi 4 propagator in Indonesia and whom Muhammad 'haduddin 'Abdulrahim considers as favouring a line of thinking opposite to that of Madjid, has also faced a similar accusation (being ignorant of the ritual aspects of Islam). See Rakhmab Islam Alternutif @andung Mzan, 1991).pp. 15-27 and 48.

"F'athimuh,Chapter m," I00 is careful, in fact, never to undervalue the significant position of the

orfiqh within

the whole framework of Islamic tradition, nor does he ever discredit those Muslims who devotedly perform its injunctions. Madjid himself frequently implies in his writings that the shdca orfiqh is comprised of fundamental teachings of Islam, the ignorance of which can

result in an imperfect attachmentto Islam as one's faith." In line with Abdurrahman Wahid, Madjid even declares that fiqhlsbaZ'a is actually the central component of Islam, and that

an effort to implement its provisions is the same as trying to understand the religion itself." However, such an understanding offiqh or

and the necessity of a Muslim's devotion

to it, as Madjid argues, can only be justified on the condition that it constitutes the result of a committed effort at undertaking a proper interpretation of Islamic doctrines as laid down

in the Qur'hand fledit, their two basic sources. This also implies thatfiqh cannot be formulated or implemented in an adequate manner before the principles of i/ihid and

Islamic understandinghavebeen properly established." Furthermore, in stating that as a true

Muslim,one should observe Islam beyond the minimum standards set by the shmt%,Madjid seems to imply nothing more than calling Muslims to treat Islam as much more than a

I8 See Madjid's discussion on the relation between h i h and 'r'bs'dain his Islam, Dobrin &n PernAnhan, pp. 57-7 land 246-347. l9 See Madjid Iskrm. Dubin don Perdaban, pp. 59-60 and 255; idem, "Sejarah Awal Pe~~yusunm dan Pembhan Huhm Islam," in Budhy Munawar-Rachman, ed., Kcntektualisasi Down Islam hion Sejtzrah (Jakarta: Paramadina. 1994). p. 239;and idem, Bilik-Bilik Pesantren, p. 1s. Cf.Abdutrahman Wahid, 'UenjadiLan HuLYm Islam Sebagai Penunjang Pembangunan," in Prism, no. 4 (August, 1975), pp. 53-62; republished in Agum &n Tmtmgan Zrrmcut, Pilihan Adkd Prismo 2975-1984 (Jalauta: W E S T1985), pp. 63.

In this case, Madjid strongly suggests that madrmahs or pesantrens should begin to give priority or a similar emphasis also to the disciplins of tnfsii. in their curricdum to balance the attention given to issues offiqh.See more details on this in hk Bilik-Bilik Pesantren, pp. 8-13.

"Fathimoh,Chapter Ill," I01

nligion containing a package of rigid rules and personal ritual obligation ( 7bZda)a).Z1 For Madjid, it is clear that Islam is a holistic system of faith in which no distinction exists between the world of individual worship and that of socioelhical awareness, or between its

esoteric and exoteric aspects, since the fundamental nature and basic goal of 'r'bgddeand daZCaare the same as that of Islam itself, i.e., to create a prosperous and harmonious life

for the c011ltaUty by commanding the good and forbidding the wrong (d-amrbid-ma wa a[-nahy 'an al-m&ai).l2

It may after all be intended to encourage Muslims to reinterpret

the Q u r ' l and Ha&,& beyond their specific or literal meaning,which latter were favoured by the traditionalist 'ufamgand firqabit More importantly, it might be aimed at stimulating

Muslims to think and treat these Lslarnic teachings in terms of what Fazlur Rahman calls the "weltanschauung" (world-view) of Islam or in terms of the ethico-religious concept of the

Qur'k, to use Toshihiko Izutsu's paradigm? For Madjid, this would inevitably compel Muslims to come to terms with the theoretical and practical efforts to solve social problems

resultingfrom the globalizationprocess of the contemporaryage by, for instance, developing a theological basis for discussion of such issues as pluralism, tolerance, egalitarianism, and democracy.

Therefore, beginning in the 1970s but especially in the last two decades, Madjid has Madjid, lslarn, Kerndennun don Keindonesim, p. 244;idem, DialogKeterbukaan, p. 122; idem, Bilik-BilikPesuntren,pp. 14-15; and Wahid,'Menjadikan Hukurn Islam," pp. 74-79.See also Facbry Ali's comment on this in his preface to Dialog Keterbuhm, entitled "btelektud,Pengaruh PemiLiraa dan Linghmgannya: Butir-butir Catatan untuk Nurcholish Madjid," p. xxxvii. Madjid, Islam, Dobin dan Perodnban, pp. cvi and 563471. Madjid's elaborationon this in his Tandanganhnia al-QurYiin:Ajaran tentangHarapan kepada Allah dan SeluruhCiptaan," in Abmad Syafi'i Mabarifand Said Tuhuleley, eds., Al-Q&Zn dmr TmrtmgmModamites (Jogyakarta: Sippress, 1990).pp. 1-10. See also Rabrnsn and T o s W o h t s u in their respectivebooks tslam cmdModernity (Chicago: Chicago UniversityRess, 1982)aad Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Korm (Montreal:McGill UniversityPress. 1966). t,See

"Fathimah,Chapter Ill. " 102

been taking part in an effort aimed at shapinga new religious approach -one that avoids Ult formal-legalistic and scripturalistic understanding of Islam and instead places an emphasis on the general spiritual, ethical andcontextualunderstanding of the Qm'k and Ha&& Such

an approach, according to Madjid and his colleagues, should enable Muslims to apply the universal values of Islam in the cultural and historical context of Indonesia for the purpose of creating a better societyu Because of this special, stronger and more serious emphasis on the need to employ

a new method of ijiMtfin understanding the messages of the Qur'kand Had& it can be said that Madjid's movement of Islamic reform under the Indonesian New Order is significantly different in character from those that prevailed in earlier decades. The differences are so char that his initiative has been referred to by a name that distinguishes it from earlier movements. This new name is "neo-m~dernism,"~ and Taufik Abdullah has

indirectly suggested that it represents the emergence of a "new paradigm" in Indonesian Islamic discourse." The term neo-modernism was first introduced by Fazlur Rahman to characterizehis

own distinctive call for Islamic r e h a t i o n . In Indonesia, it was in fact Rahman himselfwho introduced the term and its principles when he visited the country at the beginning of the 1970s. It grew in influence and popularity, however, when a number of Indonesian students,

"

See Mark Woodward's account of Madjid's role in this aspect in his "NurcholishMadjid." in John Esposito, ed., The OMord Encyrlopaedia of the Modern Islamic World(New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 254-255.

"See Ali andEffendi,Merombah Jalm Barn Ishm,p. 175; Bahasoan. "GetakanPembahatuan tlam," p. 125; GregBarton, "Neo-Modernism:A Vital Synthesis of Traditionalist and Modernist Islamic Thought in Indonesia,'*in Shrdia Islamika, voI.2, no. 3 (1995), p. 65. "See his sbirrmlatingarticIe "The Formation of A New Paradigm,"pp. 47-88.

"Fathimah,Chapter Ill, " 103 . who are now among the most prominent Muslim intellectuals in the country,came back from

Chicago after pursuing their graduate studies in the mid4 980s.nNurcholish ~ a d j i w das one

of these and may be said to have made the most siflicant contribution in promoting this new approach of neo-modemism. He has from the beginning been the most authoritative

spokesman for the movement and is seen as a particularly controversial figure who, with his

organization Paramadina, has brought the discourse of neo-modernism onto the national level. However, although the main thrust of the neo-modemist movement is to offer a new

paradigm both in understanding the theory of ijihfd and in reinterpreting the Qur'kand

Ha&& as the main sources of Islamic doctrines, and although the movement has gained considerable popularity in Indonesia, ncent developments in both these fields --among

Muslims and non-Muslims alike- have failed to engage the theoretical foundations of the

neo-modernist approach set forth by Rahman. Many Indonesianists, as Mark Woodward comments, seem to have been unaware of the significance of Rahman's influence and his The conncetion is even more striking given the fact that Madjid and his other Indonesian colleagues trom Chicago, such as Ahmad Syafi'i Ma'arif @. 1935) and Amien Rais, had enjoyed a close acquintance with Rahman who at that time semd as professor and, for Madjid as his thesis supervisor. Some years afterthe return of these studentsfmm Chicago, a special national conference focusing solely on Fazlur Rahnul's thought, forinstance, was held in Jakarta in 1988. However, this priviledged acquintance with Rahman, as the Chicago students had. was not the sole precedent for the popularity of this new movement of thought Barton for instance emphasizes that the genesis of neo-modernismin Indonesiacan in fact be traced back to the inteltectual activitiesof Ahmad Wahib (1942-1973), Moldi M,Djohan Effendi @. 1939), and DawamRabardjo, in Yogyakarta in the mid1960s. See Barton, "Neo-Modedemism," pp. 9-1 I; Ali and Wendy, Merambah JafanBum Islam, p. 132; see also Ahmad Wahib's book Pcrgoloknn Pemikiran Islmn (Jakarta: LP3ES. 1988). Also, besides the above mentioned names, many other Indonesians whose ideas bear a similarity to Madjid's approach are to be included in the attribution of this movement.They are primarily to be found in figures like Hmn Nasution (19 l8-1998), lbrabim Hosen, Munawir Sjadzali (b. 1940). Abduffahman Wahid (b. 1940), Masdar MasCudi, and others among the younger generation of Muslim intellectuals. For a pnlimiaary overview of some of these figures,see Muhammad Azbar. Fiqh KontemporerdalamPmulangan Neo-modemisme Islam (YogyaLarta: PPstaLa Pelajar, 1996).

"Fathimah,Chapter III," 104 contribution to the emergence of this new school of thought within the Indonesian Muslim community in the late 1970s and the first half of the 1980s One wonders at the reason for

this omission. Was it caused by a lack of interest in or an appreciation of Rahman's ideas in general and neo-modernist approach in particular? Or was it due to an assumption that there was little theoretical substance to the movement's agenda? In all fairness, of course, there

is hardly any reference either in Arab-Islamic political discourse to the phenomenon of neo-

Rahman's influence, in fact, is greater in Indonesia than anywhere else in the

Muslim World. Its role in changing the character of Islamic discourse there is noted by Robert Cribb, who comments that "although Indonesian has been strongly influenced in the

past by currents of thought from the Middle East, Indonesia itself is the intellectual center of a major new school of Islamic thought which has been called neo-modernism."w Furthermore, although in recent years Madjid and his associates have been referred to by

other names, such as perennialists3' Barton and Abdullah Saeed insist that the term neoWoodward, 'Talking Across Paradigms: Indonesia, Islam, aad Orientalism," in idem, ed Toward a New Paradigm, p. 14. William Liddle and John R. Bowen in his most recent discussion of the new approaches of Islamic jurisprudence in the Indonesian New Order, including that of Madjid, for instance, never ever mentions the term "neo-modernist!' See Lid& "Media Dakwah Scripturalism," pp. 323-356 and Bowen, "Qur'k,Justice, Gender: Internal Debates in Indonesian lrlamic Jutisprudence," in History of Religions, vol. I, no. 38 (1998). pp. 52-78. a Although Woodward does admit the significant influence of Rahman in the development of the neo-modernist movement in Indonesia, he himself apparantly prefers a employ the term "nee modernism," not as a universal paradigm as Rahman had intended, but rather as "a distiactively hdonesian theology." See his 'TalkingAcross Paradigms," p. 4. Cf.Barton, b'Neo-Modernisrn," p. 64 n, 3 and p. 65. n. 4.

" Robert Cribb and Colin Brown, Modem Indonesia: A History Since 1945 (New Yo* Longman Group Limited. 1995). p. 159. 1\5 Romaruddin Hidayat shows, Madjid's Islamic inclusive and plumbtic ideas have basically drawn on theories ofperennial philosophy of Frithjof Schuon and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. See Hidayat, "Schom, Nasr dan Cak Nur,"in lllwnul Qur'rm, vol. 4, no. L (1992). pp. 84-86; idem aad Mubarnad Wahyuni Nafis, A g m Mara Depan: Perspektif Filsafat Perennial (lekaaa: Paramadina, 1995), p. xii. See also Budhy Munawar-RaEhrnan, '*face,'' in idem, ed.,

"Fathimah, Chapter 114" 105 modernism is still an accurate and usefbl one to describe the character of Madjid's movement:" In addition, although inhis writings, Madjid himseff seldom refers specifcally to the ideas and works of RahmanTupreferring instead to cite Ibn Taymiyya whom he openly

declares to be the main inspiration of his thought, Rahman's influence remains obvious, and not the least in light of the fact that it was through Rahman that Madjid came to appreciate the significance of Ibn Taymiyya Therefore, although it is not the only perspective that can be used to explain Madjid's thought, neo-modernism is theoretically the most relevant one.

B. Madjid's Method of gtihzdand His Reinterpretation of the Qur'b. Madjid has made it clear that the issue of the reconstruction of the historical heritage of Llam in response to the modern times is one of the most crucial tasks facing Muslims of today. But the anticipated reconstruction has to be based on the primary sources of Islamic tradition, that is, the QW'M and @adii%. Madjid believes fuahermore that in order to

reconstruct Islamic tradition, there must fmt be developed an adequate methodology of ~ t ~ i d a an n dapproach to reinterpretation which can be used to understand properly the

message of the Qur'Zn? Although M u s h reformists have addressed this question, they . .

.

.

. .- -

-- - - -

Kontekstualisasi Dokrh Islam dolam Sejarah (Jakarta.. Panunadina, 1994), p. xvi. Cf. Madjid's discussion of "Pascarnodernismedan Dilema Islam di Indonesia," in Islam, Aganuz Kmuunusiaun, pp. 108- 119.

Barton, 'Weo-Modernism," p. 65; M. Syafi'i Anwar, "SosiologiPembman Pemikiran hlam Nurcholish Madjid," Ulurnul Qur'an, vol. 4, no. 1, (1993),p. 48; and Abdullah Saeed, bbli,tibs'dand Innovation in Neo-Modernist Islamic Thought in Indonesia," in Islam and Christian-Mwlh Relations, vol. 8, no. 3 (199'7). pp. 279-295. a The only work of Madjid which gives direct and specific reference to and appreciation of Rahmanis his article "FazlurRahmgn dan Rekonstruksi Etika al-Qur'an," in Islamih, no. 2 (1993). pp. 23-28.

Madjid, Islam, Doktrin don Peradnban. pp. 576-579. However, not all exegetes or henneneuts -Muslim or non-Mush- believe that the theory of interpretation should discuss epistemoIogica1 questions. Hans Georg Gadamer, for instance, has been fighting against the

"Fathimah, Chapter m," I06

have not yet been successN in developing this methodology? Madjid suggests that most methods of #tibidand scriptural interpretation which were introduced by traditionalists and fundamentalists are insufficient for the task of extracting the fundamental meaning of the

Qur'k. Instead, they result in unfair and inadequate interpretation of the text either by foUowingthe rigid and dogmatic formulations of the classical Islamic tradition or by holding strictly to the textual meaning of the Qur'iin while ignoring its contextual meaning, which is in fact its most relevant a~pect?~ Madjid contends that this attitude has taken Muslims in

the wrong direction, producing a partial and superficialunderstanding of the whole Qur'iinic message. On the other hand, he also criticizes the methods of the earlier modernists and calls for a return not only to the Qur'in and the Hadth, but also to the ciassical Islamic tradition

as the twin basis for determining Islamic social and religious pra~tices.~ At the same time, he offers an alternate approach to ijtthidand Qur'kic interpretation, which is often called

a contextual or substantial method?* imposition of the method. According to him, a text will "discIose its meaning to the readers since the disclosure of the text's meaning, in fact, should be appreciated as an example of truth manifesting itself and not as a d t of t&e more or less successful application of sophisticated methods!' See, W a r G. Jeanroisd, ~~edogr'cul ilnnienrutics, Dcvrloytttet~tcvui Signijicuncr (NewYork:Cross Road Publishing Company, 1991), p. 9. 3s In this case, however, Madjid distinguishes the effort of Fazlur R a h m in trying to formulate a systematic method of Qur'ihic exegesis,a method whichhe follows in many respects.See Madjid, "Fazlur Rahman clan Rekonstruksi Etika al-Qur'an" and Rahman, Islam rmd Mod;emity. MMadjid,"KonsepAsbab al-NtlZU1,RelevansinyaBagiPandanganHistorisis Segi-SegiTerkntu Ajaran Keagamaan," m Munawardachmao, ed., KontekstwIls~siDoknin I s h &lam Sejarah, p. 27. " Madjid, 'Saya Cembum dengan Pak Roera," in Madjid and Mohamad Roem, Ti& u&z Negara lslnn: Sumt-SuratPolitikNurchIishMdjid-Mohamad Roent ( J m Djambatan, 1997), p. 51 and idem, Ishnt, D o w n dan Perdbttn, p. 597. '' See Madjid, "Konsep Asbab aI-Nml," pp. 24-41; Munawar-Rachman 'Weface," in idem, d,KontekstuofisasiD o M n Is[am&lam Sejarah, pp. xiii-xxi. See also Waiam Liddle's attick "MediaDclhvah Scriphualisrn"in which he characterizesMadjidasthe "~ubstantialist'~, as opposed

"Fathimah, ChapterZZJ" 107

This method, as Madjid implies, insists on the idea that the Qur'k and H a d i which lay down the fundamental principles of Mam should be interpretedin the context of changes

in time and space. Therefore, central to an understanding of the contextualization and substantialization of Islamic doctrines is the pivotal importance of historical accounts. Madjid argues that such an approach isjustified in virtue of the fact that it is in harmony with the Qur'k as a historical text and even with Islam itself as a historical religiodg Inspired

by both Rahman's and Ibn Taymiyya's methods, Madjid sets out to show that the only adequate way to interpret the Qur'kis to take into account the historical background and contemporary setting of the Arab community before and while the Qur'k was being revealed? In order to do so, the asba'b d - n d or shs'o al-ouzil (the occasions of nvelation) must necessarily be taken into account. The asba'bd - n d ,according to Madjid, constitute "a concept, a theory or Wlnbar on the existence of the occasions of certain revelations to the Prophet M@ammad, either in the form of a single verse (iya),), two or more continuous verses (iyit),or even a chapter (ska)." What this essentially means is that there

must have been certain situational contexts for which a verse was reveded:'

and a

knowledge of ash-b a l - n u c a n be used to understand the situational context of a given

verse which in turn enables one to determine whether its meaning is specific or universal,

to the "scripW-st", which is how he describesMedia Dakwah (MD) or Dewan Dakwah Isiamiyah Indonesia (DDU);and Saeed, b'&tihYand hovation!' Madjid, "Konsep Asbab al-Nupll," p. 35; idem, Islam. Dokzrin don Peradabm, p. 358. See also Rahman, "Approaches to Islam in Religious Studies: A Review," in Approaches to I h in Religious Studies, Richard C . Martin,cd. flucsou: University of Arizona Press, 1985), p. 198. 39

" Madjid,'Konsep Asbab aI-Nu&." 'I

p. 38.

Madji4 "Konsep Asbab aLNW," p. 24.

"Fathimah, Chapter m," 108

and ultimately how it is to be applied in different situational context^.^

According to Madjid, the purpose for taking this historical background into account is to enable one to infer and extract the basic principles and values that exist behind the

statements of the Qur'h. However, this process should be done in such a way that the universality of Tslam remainsi n t a ~ tindeed, .~ Madjid, followingCaIiph 'Umar,is convinced

that the universality of the Qur'b is not to be found in its literal words, but rather in its

substantial meaning.u This is proved in his eyes by the fact that the Qur'in provides few general principles (&

W j y a ) ; the bulk of the Qur'in, in fact, consists of specific

comments and solutions to problems that the Prophet and his community encountered.& Therefore, to prove the universality of the Qur'ih, the substantial meaning of its message

must first be arrived at. To do SO,one should generalizethe specific cases and answers of the Qur'k beyond the time and place of its revelation by differentiating between the goal or ideal implied in the Qur'k, and the specific legal stipulation. Madjid also asserts that the ideal morality of the Qur'bic message is more significant as a key for the interpretation of

the Qur'k?

Madjid presents yet another argument in favor of considering the historical context

42 Madjid, "Konsep Asbab d-Numl," p. 25; idem, 'Tidak Usah Muna€ik," in Dialog Kererbukaan, pp. 134-135.

Madjid, "Konsep Asbab al-Nuzul," p. 30. Madjid, "Konsep Asbab al-Nuznl," p. 3 1; idem, IsLun. Doktrin dmr Percrdcban, p. 36I. Madjid, 'Konsep Asbab aI-Nd," pp. 24 and 29. Madjid, "Masalah Simbol dm S i m b o b cialam Ekspnsi Keagamaan,', in MimawarRachman. ed., K o n t e ~ l i s mDokrtin i Islam &I' Sejurah, pp. 454455; and idem, "Komep 43

Asbab al-NumI," p. 35.

"Fathind, Chapter In. " I09

when interpreting scripture: this is the concept of abrogation (n&ikh and rnaas~Z&)~'and the fact that the Qur'k itself was revealed in the Arabic language, the language of the place where the Qur'kwas revealed, and not in any other languages (Q. 42:7, 12:2, and 14:4).

However, for Madjid, the concept of language here should not be referred to narrowly as a linguistic language, but also as a cultural language and a mode of thinkingu In this respect Madjid quotes Abdullah Yusuf ALi's commentary on Q. 14~4: If the object of a Message is to make things clear, it must be delivered in the language current among the people to whom the apostle is sent. Through them it can reach d mankind. There is even a wider meaning for "language!' It is not merely a question of alphabets, letters, or words. Each age or people-or world in a psychological sense-casts its thoughts in a certain mould or form. God's Message-being universal-can be expressed in all moulds and forms, and is equally valid and necessary for all grades of humanity,and must therefore be explained to each according to his or her capacity or receptivity. In this respect the Qur'in is marvelIous. It is for the simplest as well as the most ad~anced.'~ Therefore, in the course of his analysis of the text of the Qur'k, Madjid reaches the conclusion that the fixst thing to do when discussing a verse (iya) is to locate it within the historical and cultural fimework of M@ammad's activities either in Mecca or in Medina,

and of the Arab way of life. Havingestablished this point, Madjid huther argues that after gaining an insight into the universal principles of the Qur'ihic verses, the problem of how to apply them to the

"

Madjid, "Konsep Asbab al-NuzuI,"p. 35 and idem, "Th Sureh of Islamic Roots for Modem PIuralism: the Indonesian Experiences." in Woodward, ed., TowordoNnv Pamdigm," pp. 105-106.

"

Madjid, Islim, Agama Kemnusiam, p. xvii; Islam, Dobrin &m Pertuiabun, p. 358; and 'Xonsep Asbab d - N d , "pp. 37-38; and idem, 'Reface,"in Hidayat and Gaus, eds., Passing Over, pp. xxxii-XXXiii.. See also Saeed, "@t&Zdand Innovation," p. 286. "S a Abdullah Yusuf AIi, T k Holy Qur'ms TextTrunstationand Cornmentory (Al-Murgab, Kuwait: Tbat es Salnsil, 1983), p. 620, a. 1874.

"Fathimah,Chupter Ill." 110

specific cultures, times and places remains.As Madjid explains, applying the principles similar to those mentioned above, the first thing to do is to gain sufficient understanding of the specific social and culturalrealities of a given Muslim society, paying particular attention to practical considerations. For this purpose, a knowledge of certain modem sciences, such

as sociology and anthropology is as necessary as that of the asba'b ah&,

hadilk, and

other traditional sources. In other words, Madjid believes that these modem sciences, which are the f i t of mankind's attempt at understanding the prevailing natural and objective laws of the universe (as stated in the Qur'in verse 41:52), am essential tools that will enable

Muslims to discover the true meaning of the Qur'iid0

The obvious implication of Madjid's position on the contextual and historical situation of the Qur'iin's revelation is that, although Islam did originally emerge in Arabia, this does not mean that it should be permanently linked with the local Arab customs and cultures of that time or that these should be applied in exactly the same way throughout the

Muslim world. In Madjid's view, certain practices of Muslims at the time of the Rophet may no longer be relevant today. Therefore, he does not believe that it is either possible or even particularly Islamic to ask for a literal return to the conditions of the Prophet and the early

caliphateWn

In view of the important role that he assigns to knowledge of the classical and medieval Islamic traditions and of modem Western scholarship in any effort at applying

"Madjid, Islam, Dokrin don Peradabon. pp. 492408. Madjid, Islam, Aggon Kemmusiamr.p. 35and idem, "InSearch of IslamicRoots forModem PIrualisrn," pp. 104-105. This concIusion of Madjid is clearly the same as that of Roem when the lattersays that '%lam in Indonesia does notnecessarilyconstitute an accuratecopy of Islamia Saudi Arabia or anywhere else!' See Ram. 'Tidak Ada Negara Islam," m Madjid and Roem, TIdakAdo Negura Islam, p. 11.

"Fathimah.Chapter 111." 111

Islamic doctrines appropriately, it can be concluded that Madjid's intention is to combine the two approaches of his modernist forebears and the traditionalists into a single, new a p p r ~ a c hAccording .~ to Madjid, modernists of the old school, such as the Muhammadiyah, call for a return to the Qufkand Hadth and argue for modem ideas, but lack a thorough

knowledge of historical Islamic traditions, while the traditionalists, such as make up the

N.U.'s membership, champion classical Islamic traditions but are at the same time ignorant He refers to his new approach as al-m@Zqa 'didqa& of modern methodologie~.~

al-

waal-akbdh bid$a&dal-a@'',which means "retaining what is good from the past and taking up what is best of the new."M It is in this respect that Madjid honors the ideas of

Rahrnan who seems himself to have been inspired by Ibn ~ayrniyya?

In Rahman's thought, this principle of combiningthe old with the new results in what he calls the double movement method. The first movement is from the present situation to the time in which the Qur'kwas revealed. This stage will enable the interpreter (mufassir) to evaluate the verse in the light of its socio-historical background. The second movement

5z

Because of this combination of two dierent approaches, traditionalism and modernism, the

new approach promoted by Madjid can equally be described as 'heo-modernismT'or 'heotraditionalism!' See Barton, " Indonesia's Nurcholish Madjid and Abdunahman Wahid as Intellectual Ulama: The Meeting of Islamic Traditionalism and Modernism m Neo-Modernist Thought," in Islam Md Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 8, no. 3 (October 1997), p. 342.

a Madjid, "MenegegakLan Faham AhIusSunnah Wal-Jamaah "Bm","p. 26 and 34; idem, TradisiIslon, pp. 107-110; idem. "Saya Cembum dengan Pak Roem," in Madjid and Roem, Tidak a& Negara Islum, p. 50. Cf. Barton, 'Indonesia's Nurcholish Madjid and Abdurrahman Wahid as Intellectual Uluma," p. 326.

See Madjid Islam, Agama Kemanusiaan, pp. 33 and 35. Madjid, "Faziur Rahman clan Rekonstmksi Etika alQu'an," p. 24; idem, 'Saya Cemburu den- Pak Ram," p. 51. The same appreciation is expressed by Madjid of Abdutlah Yusttf 'Ali and Muhammad Asad, whose translations of the Qur'h reflect a thorough IcnowIedge of classical and modem sciences. See S& ''@hiidand hovation," p. 289.

"Fathimah,Chapter 1 ' " I I2 is from the time of the Q u r ' h back to the present situation, where an attempt is made to interpret the verse in the context of the present socio-cultural situation." In Ibn Taymiyya's thought, on the other hand, a similar p ~ c i p l eis founded on his concept of d'aqI'da d-

wa?.iu,a,about which we will have more to say below. At the basis of Madjid's principle lies an approach to Islamic tradition that is fundamentally different from that of so-called orthodox Islam. Following both Rahman and Ibn Taymiyya,Madjid appears to believe that reliance on past traditions should be tempered by criticism and an analytical attitude, and show a concern for an authentic foundation, the preservation of identity, and comparative

analysis of how Islam had been interpreted and practiced by the Muslims and learning from

its appropriateness and inappropriate~ess.~ While Madjid saw himself as a latter-day disciple of ibn Taymiyya, it must be noted

that his critics in Indonesiahave attacked him on the grounds of inconsistencyfor attributing

contextualization to this medieval jurist. They argue that Ibn Taymiyya was well known as

a strong supporter of the Hanbali tradition, one of the four legal schools (81-ma&&& alfiqhiyya) of S

d Muslims, and regarded as having been orthodox and traditional in his

approach to the ~ u r ' h . " However, few people including these Indonesian opponents,

realize that Madjid's distinct outlook extends not only to Ibn Taymiyya's approach but also to that of Alpnadb. HanbaI (780-855) himseIf, the founder of the HanbaIi schooLn Quoting Islam rmd Modernity, p. 20. Madjid, "Fazlw Rahman dan Rekonstmksi Etika aI-Qur'an," p. 24; idem. Idam, Agama Kemanusiaan, pp. 33 and 40; and idem, "Saya Cemburu dengan Palc Roem," p. 51. s6

RBhmB(I,

See,for example, the criticism hunched by his inteUectual opponents such as Daud Rasyid and Ahmad Human in Cak Nur in Focw (Jakarta: Paramadha, n.d.).

" For an account of +b. mbal and the IJanbaE

movement, see Ignaz Goldziher, b. M@ammad b. HanbaI," in Shorter Encydopaedia of l"lam, pp. 20-21.

"Fathimah, Chapter m," 113 Ibn Taymiyya himself*Madjid argues that although +ad

b. W b a l was conventionally

considered as among the a61 al-n'w&lve'& a/-Qadi% (the advocates of Tradition/Had?kh)

which is the trademark of the IJijiizi (Mecca and Medina) scholars. he nevertheless was originally among those 'Iraqi (Kiifa and Bqra) scholars who were known as the d d r a y ' (the advocates of nasodrs 3." This may explain why, in spite of being a member of the

al-&&i% which assigned primacy to the Hadith as a source of law, Ibn Hanbal nevertheless had considerablerespect for reason, a legacy perhaps of his days among the &I dm'y. Perhaps it is because of this distinctive background of Ibn Hanbal's intellectual

career that Madjid seems to support Marshall Hodgson's uncharacteristic conclusion that the HanbaGs never actually advocated closure of the gate of iji#a'd, an instrument essential

for reinterpreting Islam according to the needs of time and place. On the contrary, by rejecting taqEd, as implied in the use of gma ', they maintained ijtiidas a living tradition among Muslims. Nor, according to Hodgson, wen they primarily a school offiqh at all as

it is known in the Sd

tradition; rather, they constituted a comprehensive and essentially

Similarly, radical movement within Islam featuring its own distinctive Weltmr~hauung.~

"

Madjid, "Sejarah Awal Penyusunan," pp. 242-243 and idem, "Ibn Taymiyya on K a l h and Falscrfa," (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, 1984), pp. 99-100. Madjid argues that it is wmng to make such strict characterizations as those describing both the 'Iraqi and the @jki scholars as belonging exclusively to the oh[ at-ra'y and the oht al-&@a respectively. In this case, Madjid indicates that Alpad b. KanbaI is not the only case when such a strict characterization cannot be applied. Quoting Ibn Taymiyya,for example*he cites the exampIes of 'Iriqjs, such as the CAbbBsidcaliphs,who wen among the strongest supporters of Tradition but who also gave primacy to the traditions of Fjiiz over those of 'Iraq and other places. See also Iba Taymiyya, Madhub Ah1 at-M& (Cairo: Ma!bacat al-ItnEm, n.d.), pp. 33-40.

Macijid, "Ibn Taymiyya on K a h and FaIsafu," p. 30. See also Hodgson, The Ventrcre of Islam (Chicago: TheUniversity of Chicago Press. 1977). vol. 3, p. 160;and Henry Laoust, Essai sur lesdoctniies sociales etpolitiquesdk T.ktd-DiirMadk Taimri!8(Cairo:Imprimerie de l'hstitut Fm@ d'ArchCologieOrientale*1939). p. 228. Cf. Madjid. "Kontroversi di SeIcitar Ketokohan Ibn Taimiyyah," serie KKA, v01. 81, no. 7 (December 1993); and idem, "Argumen untuk

"Fathimah, Chapter In," 114 Madjid's unique recognition of Ibn Taymiyya as a precursor of IsIamic renewal may be due to his ability to appreciate the rationalist aspect of Ibn Taymiyya's Kanbiili dis~ourse.~ Ibn Taymiyya, for example, clearly claims for himself the tide rnu~7ahilidmt$laq or mujta6d muptaqiU(independentinterpreter), and in so doing, even as he promotes literal reliance on

the Qur'in and the Hadith pradition), he at the same time employs the rigorous method of reasoning known as q&kedJ An interesting comment on this made by M. Ben Cheneb seems to justify Madjid's attitude. Ben Cheneb says that although belonging to the Hanbali school,

Ibn Taymiyya did not follow all its opinions blindly." On other occasions, Madjid points to Ibn Taymiyya's self-acknowledged role as wwat (moderate) between alI shades of extremism; such as between the strict ahld-nnwiyaand the strict abldra 'yor between the

traditionalist and the modernist, the mixture of which, according to Madjid, contributed to

the best exemplification of sdi%fiqh As Madjid remarks: The moderating group, he [Ibn Taymiyya] said, was known as dihihkitib wa 'I-suaoa or al-slrt~lllaWB 'I'am2a, or simply ah1 al-jbnZ 'a, names that emphasizednot only the importance of Traditions [capital T]as the basis for authenticity and orthodoxy, but, as had been always the case with the ideology of Jamii'ism from the early time of Islamic history. also the primacy of social harmony and solidarity of the majority of the Muslims, if not the whole community." Keterbukaan, Moderasi d m Toleransi: Beberapa Pokok Pandarigan Ibn Taimiyyah," in Mochtar Pabottinggi, ed., Islam: Antam Visi, Tradsi dmr Hegemoni Bukan Muslim (Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 1986). p. 126.

"

Madjid's admiration for the soundness of Ibn Taymiyya's sound scholarship is indicated in his dissertation "Ibn Taymiyya on K u l h and FuIsafaa,"and his other numerous writings. a For Ibn Taymiyya's use of this method of reasoning, s a his ~ q j m z ? . td ~ ~ (Cairo: al-Matba h al-'-a al-Sharafiyya, 1905), vol.1. p. 207. See also Laoust, EPsai sur les doctrines, p. 228; and M. Ben Cheneb, "Ibn TapTya,"in Shorter Encyclopaedia of lslan, p. 152.

"Ben Cheneb, 'lbn Taynn'ya,"in Shorter Encycfopaediaof Islam, p. 151. "

Madjid, '?bn Taymiyya on K d 'and Fulsafa," p. 63. See also Ibn Taymiyya's af-'Aqfda rl-m@&. (Beymt: al-Maktab al-IsIkr& 1999). 3" edition and its French hanslatioa and

~

~

"Fathimah, Chapter III, " 115

In commenting on this case, Bowen seems to miss the point: Madjid and his allies see themselves as Islamic liberals and as inheritors of the 'Iraq school, the AMal-Ra 'y, the "People of Reason," as against the Hijaz school, the Ah1 al-Riwayoh, the "People of Stories." [JaIaluddin] Rakhmat and others who cautionagainst overreliance on analogy and i j ~ drefer , to the Hijaz school in slightly different terms, as the AblaLHa&tb, the "people of Kadith," the scholars who,in his words, ''based their fiqh on the Qur'fin, Sunnah, and the apostle's ijtihiid.' Another important characteristicof the contextual and substantial method employed

by Madjid is in the operation of ma$i@a (public interest) and al-maq@id al-sharYjya (the underlying purposes of the Shmvk)as its key concepts. The central message of these concepts is that religious injunctions are to be observed not exclusively because of their divine origins, but because of the benefits they confer on society." Furthermore, the proper implementation of ijtridshould be based more on the particular and practical needs of the

society and the underlying objectives of the Sha5's rather than on the normative injunctions of specific Qur'kic texts? Madjid argues that the normative-oriented approach of

Utihid

such as that adopted by earlier reform movements in Indonesia, particularly the Persis and the Masyumi in its later period, offers little features of practical consideration and, it is

therefore not only dishonest and unrealistic, but also produces negative and destructive attitudes, such as rigidness, intolerance, radic-

extremism,militancy, a d exclusiveness,

particularly when the results of this type of flZdki5dprove difficult to implement in a plural commentary by Henri Laoust, La ~ [ b j y d'fin a Tayn-a

(Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul

Geuthnet, 1986). @

Bowen, "Qur'9 Justice. Gender," p. 65.

"

According to Madjid, this principle is to be found in the Qur'kic verses 4: 114, 1l:88, and 7: 56 and 58. S a his Tradisi Isl- p. 87. a Madjid, Islam, Do-

&n PernAnhnn, p. 391; and idem, "Konsep Asbab aLNd," p. 33.

"Fathintah, Chapter nl," 116 *

and evolving society such as Indonesia? Besides, classical Islamic history shows that the social conditions, the concepts of rnyI&a and al-maqei'd al-dar'r'yya were already exercised by the classical 'damif'and had represented the predominant influence in the formative period of fiqh.''

From this standpoint, Madjid and other advocates of this

contextualized ytibid might well claim not only to be following the example of their predecessors but also to be improving upon it. The position of these two principles, rnqiea and dmaq@idd-sbar'iWa within

the whole framework of the context-based approach, is essential while at the same time sensitiveand Liberating sincethey would determine whether certainQur'hic texts or&&bs and the religious rules derived from them should no longer be applied if they are considered

to be somehow in contradiction with the ethical values of humanity, such as justice and equality (d-mq@d d-&rYpa), or if they are interpreted as posing a threat to the best

Madjid cites, as an example ofthis, the case when 'Umar interests of the people (mtyi'a))."

forbade Muslims to marry women of the ah1 al-kitlibdespite the fact the Qur'ballowsthem to do so (Q.55). According to Madjid, this decision of 'Umar reflects an interpretationof the Qur'inic verse based on concern for the best interests of Muslim women at that time, for

'Umar femd that they would be abandoned (Ieft unmarried) if Muslim men were frecly allowed to marry among the &al-kt'@* whose numbers at that time were much larger due

to the expansion of Muslim territory. However, this does not mean that the prohibition

69

Madjid, IsZam, D o b i n dun Pera&ban, pp. xlvii-xlviii and Lx.

See Madjid's discussion in 'Xonsep Asbab al-Nuzal," pp. 24-41; and idem, "&jarah Awal Penyusurran dm Pembalcnan Hub;lm Islam,**pp. 237-250.

Madjid, "Konsep Asbab aLNud," pp. 30-31.

"Fathimah, Chapter Ill. " 117

againts marrying women of the & al-kita-b became a new universal rule replacing the Qur'sc stipulation. The Qur'iinic verse allowing men to marry non-Muslim women is in

fact universal in nature, but it may be applied differently according to specific conditions based on the principles of m&,Fi@a and al-rneqi$ida/-sbarYjyi~. Therefore, in this instance, the prohibition would have been revoked once the marriage opportunities of the Muslim

women were no longer under threat? The same consideration seems to have been applied by Madjid himself when he acknowledged the Pancasila as the basis for the Indonesian state and voiced the slogan "Islam, Yes;Islamic Party*No" He realized the dangers Muslims faced in continually insisting on the ideological necessity of an Plamic state or an Islamic political party working on behalf of the whole of Muslim societyn

Closely linked to the applicationof this concept ofmesl'aand the general principle of context-based i j i b i ' i s the 'iUe (ratio legis) of the texts. As Bowen explains, Madjid's position was that the Qur'kic verses contain two basic kinds of statements: eternal religious

truths and historically specific rules. The latter kind of rule has a reason ( 'ildratio fecgis)

Madjid. "Konsep Asbab al-Numl," p. 33. See aslo Bowen, "Qur'h,Justice, and Gender," p. 6 1. Another instance of the application the concept of m@@a is the case when 'Urnarchose not to distributethe g h c r h to the Muslims,althoughthe Qur'hinstructs otherwke. SeeMedjid's long discussion on this in Islam, DobTin dun Peradzbun, pp. 391-409.

See Madjid, Iskum, Agamu Kemanusiaun. p. 13; idem, "Tslamdi Indonesia dan Potensinya Sebagai Sumber Substansiasi Ideologi dan Etos Nasional." in Munawar-Rachman, ed., Kontekrualisasi Dokzrin Islm dalam Sejarah, pp. 568-581; and idem, "Saya Banyak KesaIahan," in Madjid and Roem, Ti&k Ada Negam Islam, p. 104. This ideological approach, according to Madjid, is no longer applicable to the needs and the new situation of Indonesiansociety. Therefore, the change of attitude from insisting on the ideological to the more practical or program-on'ented approach on the part of the Muslims in this sense was indispensable. For Madjid, such a change in attitude*which he hirnsEIf underwent and for which he was accused of inconsistency by his opponents, reflects the recognition of the validity of the contextud approach. For an account of Mdjid's ideological appmach*see his Islam, Ker&atan dim Keindonesim (Bandung: Mizan, 1993).

"Fathimah, Chapter ID." 118

underlying its velat ti on?^ Madjid bases his conclusion on the famous rule (qZifd of prqr3 at-fqh: d-&km y a d m 'di'I- 'Wit, meaning that the existence of the law depends on the

existence of thc

In the above example, the 'iUa is the undesirable consequence of

Muslim women being left unmarried; if this 'iUewere no longer to exist, then the prohibition against marrying women of the ahlal-&fa% would also be removed.

Another aspect involved in contextual ijtiidis the concept of ta 'wi%Madjid often

argues that what is most important in Islam is the accomplishment of the spiritual or inner aspect of lslamic doctrine; its formal or outward aspect is consequently of less importance.

In this case, Madjid asserts that the Prophet's teachings basically constitute allegories (smthil) and symbols (rum@, and that what the Qur'k actually means by those symbols

and allegories should be sought for through metaphorical interpretation based on the

historical c o n t e ~ t Hen, ? ~ he stronglycriticizesthe fundamentalistand puritanist movements which claim to represent the original values of Islamic teachings. Madjid's objection to the

fundamentalist ideology is based on the methodology they use to understand the Qur'ids

meaning." According to Madjid, the fimdamentalist approach is strongly inclined to literal interpretation, which Madjid considers the same as avoiding interpretation of the Qur'Zn altogether. In other words, hdamentalists are in reality doing nothing more than understanding the original texts of the Qur'in in a trans1ation, the consequence of which is b'Qur'in,Justice, Gender," p. 60. "Madjid, "Konsep Asbab al-Nuzal," p. 34. "Madjid. I s h : Dokrin drm PeraAahnn_ p. 576. Madjid, "Beberapa Renungan tentang Rehidupan Keagarnaan di Indonesia lmmk Generasi Mendatang." in U Z d Qur'm,vol. 9, no. 1 (1993), pp. 8-9. This article is republished under a sIightIy di&rent title in Islam, Agama Kemanusim, pp. 120-168. "Bowen.

'%athimah, Chapter Ill," I I9

that the meaning of the text is in danger of being di~torted.~ Some observers may challenge the efforts of Madjid or other neo-modernist thinkers in promoting this new type of contextual and substantialist commentary on the ground that the interpretation of the Qur'an as a divine text should be purely objective. The neo-

modernist approach of Madjid and his allies, according to them, tends toward subjectivism and pragmatism. It is only a way to justify a particular interpretation of the Qur'H and the

Ha&?Ch based on the pre-conceived, subjectively determined standards. Jalaluddin Rakhmat is one contemporaryIndonesian intellectualwho has voiced such criticism. He statesthat this kind of i/tdiBi$ emphasizingthe substantiverather than the literal meaning of the Qur'iin, had

been practiced in the past under the Umayyad and 'Abbasid caliphs. Even the early caliphs

(al-kbdfi'dalrrSj.12idzk), and in particular the Caliph 'Urnar, had often misinterpreted the sources for the sake of political agendas and other subjective interests. Rakhmat also identifies thefiqh resorted to during these periods as thefiqh of the ruling elite?

This was probably due to the fact that there is no uniformity among the 'dm2 on which values in the texts should be considered as universal or treated as substantial. They

cannot even agree ammgthemselves on which verses are m@kmif(having fixed meaning) or muf&a3~it(having ambiguous meaning). Similarly, in relation to the concepts of qiyk

and maplea, there is no agreement on what constitutes the 'iUaof the texts or which values should be seen as representing the interests of the umma Yet he argues that this indecision

"Madjid, Islam, A g m Kenuutusiaan, pp. xvii and 37. Rakhmat's strongcriticismof the advocatesof contextaal &ribidwho accordingto himcome for the most part from that most liberal of schools, the ahl al-m'y, including Madjid and his allies. can be fomd in his articIes "Tinjam Kritis atas Sejarah Rqh: Dari Fiqh al-Khulafa' d-Rasyidin Hingga Madxhab Libemlism," in M ~ a w ~ R a c h m aed., n , Kontekstucrlisasi D o w n Islam &zlizm Sqarah, pp. 25 1-3 10.

"Fathimah,Chapter U'" 120

does not mean that Muslims have no choice but to follow the scriphualist approach in their search for objective truth?' Although Madjid's gti&Zdseems to have won considerable s u p p a from the government and has found relevance in certain of its recent policies and rulings," this does not mean that his interpretation is biased against the interests of the M u s h majority, nor does it mean that it lacks any genuine religious grounds or motives. On Madjid's tendency to reject the literal application of the concept of an Islamic state, Ahmad Syafi'i Mabarif,for instance, still regards Madjid as a true Muslim believer and his position as a contextual

response to the cumnt social and political conditions in Indonesia." The hope of achieving objectivity, however, especially as regards activities of the human mind such as #tib&$ is

an unlikely one. No matter how sophisticated the method might be, scripcurd or contextual, classical or modem, it cannot prevent it from falling into "presupposed" or "biased" interpretation, and consequently from producing several "varietiese of interpretations. This would certainly also mean that "presupposition" or "subjectivity" and "pluralism" are

inherent in the activity of interpretation.Fiqh itself, the science which governs the activities of gthiidand Qm'inic exegesis alike, is often defined as legal speculation." It would seem that Madjid, however, at least as far as can be examined from his

statements, realizes this and therefore specifically stresses the importance of the notion of

"In this case, Rakhmat also discusses the weaknesses of the scripaualistapproach. Rakhmat, "Tiijauan Kritis Atas Sejarah Fiqh," pp. 287-289. at

See for example, Liddle, "Media Dakwuh ScripttuaIism," especially pp. 335-349.

a2

See Ahmad Syafi'i Mabarif's preface "Dialog Dua Generasi," in R a m and Madjid, Ti&k

Ada Negara I s h , p. xiii. See more detailed explanation on the subjeain implications of this term in Goldziherand Schacht, TQch;'in EI', especially p. 103.

"

"Fathimah,Chapter IZ " I21 internal relativism. One cannot of course be justified in claiming that his interpretation achieves absolute truth, since only God has the right to such a claim. Nevertheless, every individual needs to be equipped to choose reasonably between several possible alternatives or solutions to particularproblems since it is in this that the Qur'bic concept of Muslims as the umma w e l i e s , as ibn Taymiyya states." What should be realized by Muslims,Madjid

suggests, is that God has guaranteed a reward (th w 2 )for every single interpretation, no

matter whether it is right or wrongu Furthermore, some Muslim or non-Muslim scholars may argue that trying to understand the Qur'k by putting it back into its historical context is the same as confining its message to that place and time. As implied by Madjid, this is baseless, since one should differentiatebetween the act of understanding the Qur'L and the meaning of its message, and

the act of confining it to that context. For the purpose of putting the Qur'k into its context, time and place, is to apply the concept of the universalism of islam, which is clearly referred to in the Qur'kas ra@natstaafi 'I-'alam&, or in the traditions as s a li kullizmh wa

m s k k Nevertheless, only with this kind of purpose could the effort to apply Islam in the

%ladjid, Islam,Kemderenan dan &?indo?&?si~n, pp. I74175 and 181-184; idem, 'InSearch of IsIamic Roots for Modem PIuraIism," p. 105. In this case, it is important to note that Madjid seemsto have fonned a view of Ibn Taymiyyaopposite to that of Golddha, who d e m i the latter together with his pupil Mi@ammadb. Qayyim al-Jawziyya, as being "knownfor the harshness of their dogmatic system and their intolerant controversy against those who believe and think otherwise!' See Goldziher, "Alpad b. HanbaI," in p. 21. Is See Madjid, Islam, Doktrin dmr Pera&h, pp. Lxiii,240 and 380; and idem, Tradisi Iskm, pp. 34-35. In this case, Madjid dearly follows the argument of Ibn Taymiyya rather than that of Mu'tada or other A4it-h. See also Madjid's fiequent qnotations of Ibn Taymiyyds M;iab@' d-Smua ccl-NbawWs BNaqQKiPI,at'hZa wa 'I-Qadaa'!s(Cairo: aI-Matba'a d-Aniiriyya, 1903). VOI. 1, pp. 192-193.

"Fathimah,Chapter UI, 122 ,"

modem wodd be successful." Therefore, the bulk of Madjid's analysis can be said to involve working out the cultural and historical dimensions of reinterpretation of Islamic doctrines.

This constitutes his major task.

C. Madjid's Concept of Inclusivism and Religious Pluralism. From the very beginning, Madjid's ideas have carried with them a sense of the inclusive tendency of Islam and of religious tolerance and pluralism in general. He argues that

such senses an highly fundamental and indispensable to any effort at guaranteeing the existence of a harmonious life for religious believers in this world. In Indonesia, where the

differences within its population stem from culture, language, ethnicity, geography, and religion, and are quite distinctive, such an attitude is even more imperative. For Madjid, although there are several factors that need to be considered to ensure the achievement of harmony among the population, the religious considerationseems to be the most critical one. Therefore it is important to inquire into the fundamental principles laid down by the religions

themseIves, especially those regarding the need to create a peacefid life and inter-religious dialogue. Moreover, gaining such understanding of the internal religious basis could give the

effort greater legitimacy and make it more convincing, rather than simply basing it on the practical benefit it contains."

In describing the Islamic perspective on socalled inclusive theology and religious

Madjid, Islam Agam Kemunusiaan, p. 40;idem, Islam, Doktrin dan Peradaban, p. 360; idem, "In Search of Islamic Roots for Modern Pluralism," pp. 100 and 104; and idem, "Konsep Asbab aI-NW," p. 37 6'

"

Madjid, "Dialog Agarna-agama ddam Perspektif Universalisme al-Is1h," in Komamddia Hidayat and Ahmad Gaus*eds., Passing Over Melintad BatasAgarna (JGramedia Pustaka Utama and Paramadim, 1W8), p. 6.

"Fathimah,Chapter IIl, " I23 pluralism, Madjid uses, among others, many of Ibn Taymiyya's, Abdullah Yusuf Ali's, and

Muhammad Asad's commentaries on the Qur'iinic verses relating to the relationshipbetween Islam and other religions and the essential meaning of "Islam". According to Madjid, the first

thing to be considered in trying to find the fundamental source for the concept of the

universality of Islam is the definition of the term "id& " itself. The term "isl"', he explains, in its generic or literal sense. means "submission to God" which is identical to the literal meaning of &(religion) itself, that entails "submission" or "obedience." Thisprinciple of "submission to God" constitutes the most fundamentalmessage of God's revelation to alI prophets, all human beings, and even to all his creatures. Therefore, a religion cannot be considered as valid or authentic, if it does not promote this message of submission or obedience to God as the Only Creator. In other words, all authentic religions are essentially Madjid to be identified also as ''isIW and all their believers are also to be called rn~slirns.~

finds this to be the teaching of Q. 2~136;3: 19; 3% 4: 163-65; 29~46.For Q. 3:85 especially, he appears to be impressed with AbduUah Yusuf Ali's commentary: The Muslim position is clear. The Muslim does not claim to have a religion peculiar to himself. Islam is not a sect or an ethnic religion. I . its view all religion is one, for the Truth is one. It was the religion preached by all the earlier Prophets. It was the truth taught by a l l the inspired Books. Iu essence it amounts to a consciousness of the Will and Plan of God and a joyful submission to that Will and Plan. If anyone wants a religion other than that [ishh],he is false to his own nature, as he is false to God's W111 and Plan. Such a one cannot expect guidance, for he has deliberately renounced guidance?

For Madjid, this is also padel to Muhammad Asad's explanation: -

- -

#a Madjid, Islam, D

O&n Peradzban, ~ pp. 427428; idem, 'geberapa Renungin,"pp. 19-21.

" See Yusuf Ali, Thc Holy Qur'm,p. 145, n. 418.

[Wlhen his amma mad's] contemporaries heard the words isf' and muslim they understood them as denoting man's "self-surrenderto God" and "one who surrenders himself to God," without limiting these to any specific community or denomination..? However. Madjid asserts that it cannot be expected that the word "isfGd' should form

part of the terminology of religions other than Islam, which was brought by Mulprnmad?' Madjid relies on the categorization given by Ibn Taymiyya of the meaning of "isis into

"universal isf&n" (al-isiiin e l - ' k ) and 'particular isiiihr" (al-isiih al-kh@g)." "universal i s . ' , which also constitutes the

al-us2 or q2idat al-&,

The

contains the

principle of monotheism (tawv& which is submission of the self to God, the One Reality. Since this principle is also to be found in all authentic and valid religions, however, it is the

one that serves as their common platform (kalimatunsawi')." Therefore, in this category of "isliiin,"all religions are united by the single principle of tswpldand universal ethics; they a l l believe in the oneness of God,in man's obligation to submit himself to God and in the

purpose of his religion as being to create an ethical world society. For both Madjid and Ibn

Taymiyya,a l l religions are the same in their essential and universal teachings, because all the prophets brought the same kind of fundamental teachings and truth which came from the one .

-

.

Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'b (Gibraltar: DZr aI-Andalus, 1984), p. vi.

Madjid, Islam, Doktrin dan Pemdaban, pp. 383384. See also his "Reface,"in Hidayat and Gaus, eds.. Passing Over, p. xxxv. Madjid, Islam, AgKernanusiaan, pp. xiv -xv;idem, islom, Do& dan Pemdabon, pp. 440 and 442. See also Iba Taymiyya, &Tm al- 'lrfipjyifi %A'mil d-Qalbtjya (Cairo: IdPat al-mfa al-Mudriyya, ad.), p. 39; idem, sl-Ri9ca al-Tadsmmmfia (Riyad: Maktabat al-RiyHd al-Haditha, 1980), p. 60. This categorization of Madjid clearly parallels Hanm Nasution's dBerentiationbetween uabsoIuteisliiid' (the Qur'kand the Swtlux)and "relative"Isi (cultural interpretations of the Qur'in and the Sunncr accordingto its specificcu1tutal context). See Muzani, "Mu'tazilah Theology," p. 107. "Madjid, I s t w Duktrin dm Perrrdaban, pp. 428-429 and 437.

"Fathimah,Chapter 114 " 125 source, the ultimate Reality, who is Allah. In other words, there are no differences between the believers of religions, and none therefore between Muslims and the aljl al-kft#b,such as

the Jews and the Christians, in their essential religious messages (Q. 42: 13).They alI can be

called muslims in the eyes of ~ o d . " Madjid finds support for this idea in Yusuf Ali's

commentary on Q.42: 13: "God's religion is the same in essence, whether given for example, to Noah, Abraham, Moses, or Jesus, or to our holy Prophet. The source of unity is the revelation from God? However, according to Madjid, since human beings live in different times and places, each with particular historical, social and cultural settings, the concept of this universal isI&

i.e., submission to the one God, is inevitablyinterpreted in a variety of ways according to their respective differences in time and pIace."To anticipatethese different contexts, God has sent His prophets to every community or every period of human history (Q. 16:36) and He gave each its respective sbir'a (law) and mid@ (way of life) (Q. 548); and He did not send a prophet except according to the language of its community (Q. 14:4). These different interpntations, thus, result in the existence of different religious conceptions of the one ultimate Reality: here lies the fundamental meaning of "particular isIcSin." Thus, these

'particular islid b a n be said to take the form of Christianity,Judaism, and Islam itself, and

therefore Judaism and Christianity must be accepted as legitimate revelations ftom God?

"Madjid Islam, Doktrin drur Pera&ban, pp. Ixii,31'1and 498; idem, 'Tidak Usah Mmafik,"

in Dialog Keterbukaan, pp. 128-129; and idem, "Dialog Agama-agarna," pp. 15-18. 9s Madjid, Islam, Doktrin don Pera&ban, pp. 498499. See also Yusuf AIi, me Holy Qur'an, p. 1308, a. 4541. "Madjid, Ishm, Do& &zn Peradcrbrm, pp. 437. Madjid, "Bebrapa Renungan," WZmuf Qur'un, vol. 4, no. 1 (1993), pp. 4-25 and idem, 'ln Seiirch of bIamic Roots for Modem Pluralism," pp. 89-116. See also Woodwad, "TalbjngAcross

"

"Fathimah, Chapter I . " 126

Referring to the Qur'ik (Q.2:136 and 285, and Q. 3:84), Madjid explains that these differences which are called &'a

and

lzljnhal

and which include different rituals and

personal worship, are not essential ones since they reflect differences in historical, social and cultural factors? It is in this connotation of isIb, perhaps, that van Nieuwenhuijze's statement that Islam is the outcome and consolidationof a parting of ways with the two older

monotheisms, Judaism and Christianity,finds confinnati~n.~ As Madjid himself contends in this case, the Qur'k continues, comcts and supplements the messages of the previous holy

bookdW With this inclusive interpretation of the term b%Irilm)t'Madjid seems willing also to

expand the meaning of ahl d-kita'b to all religions which contain the basic doctrine of monotheism (taw874and which have a kind of holy book."' Therefore, referring to 'Abd Hdd

al-IfaEm and Hamka (1908-1982), prominent Indonesian 'Ul'Z' fiom West

Sumatra,he stresses that the religions which can be considered part of the &&kita'b are not only Judaism and Christianity, but also Zoroaseianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even

Confucianism,Taoism, and Shintoism, on the ground that these religions also believe in

-

-

-

Paradigms,"p. 11. Madjid. "Kosmopolitanisme Islam," p. 44; idem, Islam, Dobrin don Peradoban, p. Ixii; idem, ''Dialog Agama-agama," pp. 19-20; and idem, "Kebebasan Beragama dan Pluralisme dalam Islam," in Hidayat and Gaus eds., Passing Over, pp. 173-174 and I8 1. See CAO. van Nieuwenhuijze, Paradise Lost: Refections on the Struggle for Authenticity in the Midde E m (Leiden: EJ.Brill, 1997), p. 89.

Madjid, Islan. Dokrrin don PermMan, p. 495. lo' Madjid, '%ekrapaRenungad', p. IS and idem, "Cita-CitaPolitik Rita,'' in Dasrizal, ed. Aspirasi Uinmat Islam IrrCiOnessio(JLeppenas, 1983), pp. 9-16.

"Fathimah,Chapter IlI, " 127 taw@t(monotheism) and have a holy s ~ r i p t u n . T ' ~hi~s perspective of Madjid is apparently shared by Kommddin Hidayat @. 1953), his ally, who says that although the historical connection of some of these religions,such as Buddhism, Hinduism,Confucianism, Taoism, with I b r i i m cannot be traced, this does not mean that they do not contain the monotheistic idea?* The same idea is suggestedby OlafSchumann who, echoing Huntington'sthesis, says that all religions, even so-called national religions like Shintoism, share a universal character

in that each can serve as an example of good moral principles, showing how people should deal with each other, and contributeto the construction of culturai values and expressions that

are regarded as belonging to all people.'" Therefore, Madjid maintains that the adherents of these religions, as long as they believe in God, and the Hereafter, and perform good deeds, deserve also to achieve happiness in Heaven (Q. 2: 120 and Q. 5:69).lW This religiously pluralisticunderstanding of Madjid follows the lines of his contextual and substantial approach in the sense that the world's religions should be perceived as

different human responses to the one divine Reality. In other words, there is one ultimate

Reality beyond all religious expressions, which also implies that the various conceptions of the one ultimate Reality found in the world's religions are ultimately human images

'" Madjid, 'Beberapa Renungan," pp.

1546; idem, "Prefk$'in Hidayat and Gaus, eds., Passing Over, p. xxx; idem, "In Search of Islamic Roots of Modern Pluralism, p. 109; and idem. "Konsep Asbab aI-Nd," p. 32. See also Ibn Taymiyya, N & w a akSa@ fiMaa Baddalam a f - M e 'AGb. Hasaa b. N i , 'Abd. AI-'Ah b. IbriEm al-'Askar & Hamdin b. M@ammad al-HamdSia, eds. (Riyad: Dk al-'&#ma, 1993). vol. 1, p. 8 1. Hidayat and Nafis,Agum Maro Depart, pp. 41-42. l"OIafSchumann, 'TersepsiDiri dan PersepsiMajemukdi B arat," in Agdrm Dialoghtar PeraAahan (JaLaRa: Pammadinp. 1996). p. 81. See also Huntington's 'The Clash of Civilizations," in ForeignAffairs, vot. 72, no. 3 (Summer, 1993), pp. 22-46. los Madjid, 'Tref~e," in Hidayat and Gaus, eds., Passing Over, p. xativ.

"Fathimah,Chapter Ill." I28 tepresenting the various ways of approaching the one divine Reality. It also impIies the existence of relational and tentative truths as a result of human understanding of God as the absolute ~ m t h .Thus, ' ~ the notion that Islam is a religion for all humanity (&uzatarr li 'I' i h z i i ~is) based on its claim to universal truth, not its particular or relative truth. This latter

truth, reflected for instance in its rituals and other practical rules, is relevant and valid only

for Muslims, not for other believers. Yet,however relative and specific this religious truth

may be, it still contains universal meanings, since it is in fact a derivation of the universal truth, which is the ultimate Truth of God. In view of the fact that this universal truth is present in every religion, there is therefore a basic unity among the religions, such that their

practitioners constitute a single wnma." Hidayat finds this understanding of other religions to be in line with the basic principIe of perennial philosophy. He says that perennial philosophy believes that the Absolute Truth is only one and that the essence of religious truth is only one as well. Yet, since religion comes to the world at different times and in different

places, the particularity and plurality of its form and language is indispensabIe to historical

reality.la In relation to this, Madjid argues further that it is extremely important to realize that the teachings of religions are also described as the signs of God (Zyit allrib), expressed in various symbols. In order to understand these symbols, one should go beyond or "pass over"

them. However, the problem which the believers of every faith in Indonesia often encounter is the temptation to focus only on these symbolic forms of piety and to avoid trancending

Madjid, ''Beberapa Renungan." pp. 12-13; idem, Islam, Dobrindon Peradobon, p. Ixiii and idem, 'Tidak Usah M~mafik,"in Dialog Keterbukaan,p. 128.

'" Madjid, "I(osmopolitanism Islam, " p. 44. See for example Q. 16:36. Hidayat and Nafis, Agama Masa Depun, p. 6.

"Fathimah, Chapter Ill," 129

them to their more essential meanings and to act in accordance with these intended meanings?' This inclusiveview of Islam provides not ody a more comprehensive theoretical basis for understanding differences between religious systems, but also encourages Muslims to

engage in fiuitfd and enrichingdialogue with members of other faiths. According to Madjid, this is hndamentally signifcant since dialogue and understanding constitute the logical

consequence of the most basic tenets of the Qur'k."O Therefore,one findshquent reference in Madjid's works to this tolerant and pluralistic tendency of Islam. In several of his essays,

for example, Madjid claims that, when viewed on the basis of its historical record, Islamic society has been relatively tolerant of minorities, as can be seen in its assigning to the a61

bta'bthe doctrinal status of ahl a l - & m a (protected pcople). What is more, this special status of the

al-btibwas strengtened by other rules, such as can be seen in a prophetic

tradition quoted by Madjid, "maw Z i i &mmwm fa l a p a &MZ' meaning "whoever abuses or hurts a diu'mmfisnot among my people.""l

In Indonesia, however, not all Muslims a

p with Madjid's inclusive interpretation

of Islam. The neo-revivalists, of which the Media Dakwah group and the Dewan Dakwah

Islamiyah Indonesia are major examples, have expressed sharp criticism of Madjid's idea in

general and on this issue in particular. Abdul Qadir Djaelani (b. 1938) and Didin Hafidhuddin, for instance, argue that Madjid's interpretation of the term "isIW is not only awkward and

"Macijid, "Preface," in Hidayat and Gaus, eds.,

"

Possing Over, p. xxxix.

See Sch~maan,"Christian-MuslimEncounterin Indonesia," in Yvonne Y.Haddad andWadi Z Haddad, eds.. ChristianMutim Encounters (Florida: University ReJs of Florida, 1995), p. 295.

"Fathimah, Chapter 11." I30

without basis in the Qur'k and Ha&&, but also that it reflects a literal interpretation of the sources which contradicts his own commitment to the contextual approach. They also reject the implicationsof any interpretation which holds that all religions are to be considered as true religions. For them, it is very clear that Islam is the only true religion and that neither

Christians nor Jews can be said to be followers of TbrihTm.l12Similarly, H. M. Rasyidi, in his criticism of Harun Nasution, whose ideas on this issue seem to correspond with those of Madjid, strongly rejects the concept that aIl religions are principally the same. Rasjidi argues that such a categorization or division of IsIam cannot be used to justify the claim that other religions are basically the same as Islam since Islam is clearly declared in the Qur'h to be distinct and perfect (Q. 3: 5).'* Djaelani's and Rasjidi's criticisms, however, may be said to

miss the point. Neither Madjid nor Nasution denies the fact that Islam is the final and most perfect religion."' However, this does not mean that it is then appropriate to maintain an Islamcentric paradigm in which Islam is placed before all other religions. The truth contained

in the assertion that Islam is the most perfect and the final religion seems to constitute only a relative truth, i.e., it is valid only for Muslims. Similarly. Madjid' s claim that all religions

are the same and true is based on the fact that Islam acknowledges the validity of all monotheistic religions whose prophets and teachings come from the samesource. that is God. 'I2 See their npsective works Menelusuri Kekeliruun Pembahanron Pemikiran Islam Nurcholish Maaid, (Bandung: Yadia. 1994), pp. 144-157 and %Iatn: Tunduk dan Patuh pada Syari'at is lax^^," inMedia Dakwah. (February. 1993). citedin Djaelani,Menelusuri Kekelim, ibid.

Rasjidi. Koreksi terhodcp Dr. Harun N u t i o n tentang Islam Ditinjau &ri Berbogoi Aspeknya (Jaltarta: Bulan Bintang, 1977). p. 23. See also Miuani?%lu6tazilahTheology,"p. 107. lL4 This opinion of Madjid is. in fact, stated very clearly by Franz MagnisSuseno, a Catholic priest, who says that even with his distinctivedefinition of "tsl,@"Madjid is not at all attempting to reIativize Islam as a religion and is not about to sacrifice his TsIdc faith. See Magnis-Suseno, "NucholishMadjid, Islam dm Modernitas," in Ulumut Qur'un,vo1.4, no. I (1993). p. 37.

"Fathimah, Chapter Ill, " 131 and therefore acknowledges their right to exist side by side with Islam.

Similarly, some object to Madjid's inclusive theology on the ground that there are special cases, as stated also in the Qur'k, when the Jews and the Christians can no longer be

called as aljl al-kit& and when the universal sense of "mlLslim"can no longer be attributed to them.As Rahman himselfargues, since they are guilty of sectarian divisiveness through willful stubbornness (baghy), these Jews and Christians could not meet the substantial

requisite of the term "islrid' (surrendering to the law of God) or "muslim" (one who surrendersoneself to the law of God). Various prophets and their communities,Rahman adds, from N a (Noah) onward and in particular Ibriliim, were called "musIi131s."But, because the Jews and the Christians distorted some parts of the original &&'a

bestowed on them by God

and because they have divided themselves into sects, they became deviant, even to the extent of becoming mmbn'k(beIiever in more than One God). On the basis of this, therefore, the

Qur'Tin withholds fiom Jews and Christians the title &mZ (true believer in God) which is

applied to Ibriihim, to other prophets, and their contemporary followers (Q. 61 :7and 98:4-

5).'lS For Madjid, it is true that in its historical development, there are deviations in the belief systems of the ah1 at-kit& especially in those of the Jews and the Chti~tians.~'~ However, See Rahman, "Some Key Ethical Concepts of the Qur'En," in Journal ofReligious Ethics, vol. 11-12 (1982-1983), p. 174. See also Djaelani, Menelusuri Kekefiruan,pp. 150-152.

In fact, Madjid himself was involved in a somewhat bitter dialogue on the issue of the cormptedbeliefs in Christianity duringaconference held at the University of Indonesiaon 5-6 April 1995 resulting in a long polemic between Madjid and the Jesuit priest Fraas Magnis-Suseno. The latter accused Madjid of being Wlfait in comparing between Islam and Christianity in that Madjid discussedIslamfromanormative point of views, while hetreatedChristianyfromanhistorical point of view. See the unpublishedexhange of letters of both Madjid and MapMuseno. See dso Kanl Steenbtink,"Muslirn-ChristianRelations in the PancasilaStateof Indonesia," m The Muslim World, v01.88, no. 3 4 (1998), pp. 348-349. The same criticismwas Iamcedby Suseno when he commented on Madjid's book I s h , Dobrin cyld PeraAnhnn. See Magnis-Suseno, "NmhoIishMadjid, Islam dan Modemitas,"p. 37.

"Fathimoh, Chapter Ill, " I32 quoting fin Taymiyya, Madjid asserts that "most of the contents of the Old and New Testaments, as faras laws are concerned, are still authentic, and the little part of the Bible that

was altered comprises only a very small fraction of the original, such as news or predictions (like the coming of the Prophet MuQammad) and some prohibitions

me eating pork)."'"

In

addition, one should also balance this with the consideration that such cases of corrupted belief-systems occur not only in Judaism and Christianity, but have to a certain degree also existed in the history of Islam. Besides, as Madjid stresses, this corruption and change should not prevent us from looking for and insisting on the similarities or the common platform

(kalt'matun saws'), which is i s l ' (submission to one God), and the ethical and moral

mission of maintaining a harmonious life among religiously plural societies, as stressed in Q. 42: 13,2 l:Z,and 3:64.11'Furthermore, Madjid also thiaksit is necessary to considerthese

kinds of theological differences may have been intended as a means of inciting all believers to strive as in a race for all virtues (fa 'StabiqF 'khayrBr) as stated in Q.2:148,5:48 and S:64.

'* This principle is in fact considered by Issa J. Boullata as the key to findinga Q d i i n i c

basis for interreligious dialogue.120 Still, some scholars have noted that there is a serious deficiency in any theory of Madjid, ''h Search of hlamic Roots of Modem Pluralism," p. 1 10. It' Madjid, Islam, Doktrin dan P e r a h h , p. kii; and idem, "In Search o f Islamic Roots of Modem Pluralism," pp. 109-110. h the hdonesian context, Madjid argues that this common platform of religions is to be found in the country's ideology, namely Pancasila. Madjid,Trdisi Islam, pp. 24-25. It9 MBdjid, U K ~ ~ o ~ l i t a nIslax&' i m e p. 44; idem, Islam, Dobrin dan Peradaban,p. Lxii; idem, "DialogAgama-am" pp .19-20; idem, "Kebebasaa Beragamadan P l u r a l k daIamIslam," ~~ in Hidayat and Gaus, cds., P d n g Over, pp. 173-174 and 181; and idem. '?InSearch of Islamic Roots of Modern Plaralism," p. 107. '20 See bsa J. Boullata, "Fa-~tabiqu"~kiiaynit: A Qur'Znic Principle of Interfaith Relations," in Yvonne Y.Haddad and Wadi 2.Haddad, eds., Christian-Muslim Encounters, pp. 43-53. 11'

"Fathimah, Chapter Ill," 133

religious tolerance, including that of Madjid. Donald Emmerson, for instaace, argues that the religious tolerance of any majority is usualIy cognitive. It does not necessarily imply emotional tolerance, in particular toward those who believe deeply and completely in only one religion. The fact that cognitivetolerance hardly everexists alongside emotional tolerance and that it is normally accompaniedby emotional intolerance, shows how

it is to maintain

a spirit of coe~istence.~' However, fromthe perspective of Madjid's theory, one can discern that this emotional intolerance may occur only when the aspects of articular isid' are given more emphasis than those of "universal isi&n." According to Madjid, the Qur'L

clearly indicates the need to always emphasize the aspects contained in the concept of "universal isIiin," including the principles of monotheism and universal ethics. By this statement, it can be inferred that the theory of religious tolerance and pluralism does not

necessarily mean believing in and accepting the truth of all the religious teachings of other religions, but of one's own. Particular consideration should be given to Woodward's remark that there is a critical

difference in reasoning respecting the theology of tolerance according to Madjid and according to its Western proponents, especially regarding the need to work for religious tolerance. He argues that Madjid bases his arguments on exegesis of the Qm'b and the

Bad&and on works of earlier Muslim reformists such as Ibn Taymiyya, while 'Western toleranceis rooted in somecombinationof the secularphilosophies of theEnIighte~mentwith contemporary cultural and religious relativism." Therefore, he contends, "[wlhen Madjid

speaks of Islamic tolerance, he is concerned with the ways in which AUah has revealed

"

Donald K. Emmrson, Indonesids Elite: Political Culture and Cultural Politics (Ilhafa: CorneU University b s , 1976). p. 192.

"Fathimah,Chapter II& " 134

himseifto human beings in differentcdtural and historical contexts." and stressesthe fact that a l l People of the Book an religious believers in their own ways, no matter how they "submit

to God". By contrast, 'Western proponents of religious and cultural relativism also come to this similar operational conclusions, but begin with the premise that people share a common

h u m ~ t y ,the cultural products of which are entitled to universal n~pect."'~ However, although it is clear that Madjidts formulation of inclusive theology and religious tolerance

derives fiom his desire to provide a Qur'kic basis for religiousand cultural pluralism, it does capture precisely the principles laid down in the secular and modem Western outlook, since he finds common grounds between Islamic teachings and the general spirit of Western

humanism on the fundamentallydiverse n a t m of human beings." In an illuminating essay where he refers to the ideas of humanist thinkers as well as to those of Muslim reformists,

Madjid states that inclusive theology is principally based on the spirit of humanity and universalism to be found in Islam, meaning that Islam constitutes a religion of humanity

whose ideals really conform to the general ideals of human it^.^ In fact, this kind of theology manifests what Madjid refers to as 'tombining theocentrism and anthropocentrism," in that he stresses how faith (belief in God) without humanity is nothing, just as humanity cannot exist without faith.'*

IP

Woodward, 'Talking Across Paradigms," p. 11.

Madjid, "Kebebasan Beragama dm Pluralisme dalam Islam," p. 175.

Madjid, "Beberepa Renungan," pp. 12-13; idem, islam, Dokrin dnn Peradoban, p. xliv; idem, Tmdsi Islam, pp. 101-102; and idem, ''In Search of Islamic Roots of Madem Pluralism," p. '21

116.

mMadjid, Ishm,Dokrin dnn Petadohn, p. 101. Meed, quotingGiovami Picodella,Madjid says that the Western theory of humanismis influencedby that of the Islamic. See his T d i s i I s h ,

p. 36.

CONCLUSION

Although many people have accused Madjid of having very peculiar, even somewhat heretical ideas in introducing a more modern interpretation of the Islamic doctrines, the

history of Indonesian Islam in the last three decades has demonstrated contrary but comforting evidence. Some academics believe that by urging the ideas of modernization, rationalization and secularization, Madjid has virtually given a new impetus to Islamic development in Indonesia, making it more effective and thriving. He has created a conducive environment for the emergence of a new image of Islam -the image of Indonesian Islam-

an Islam that is beyond the characterizationof Huntington and other Western stereotypes. It is aa Islam that Wilfred Cantwell Smith and Mark Woodward, among others, identify as

embracing modernity, advocating religious pluralism and tolerance.' He has indeed contributed significantly to the change in the Western Orientalist and Indonesianist

mainstream hypothesis that the majority of Muslims in Indonesia are not really Muslim and that Llam has been a marginal component of Indonesian culture and tradition. He has

contributed to the rise of what Woodward calls an 'Warn-centered paradigm" in Islamic

studies in Indonesia, a movement which has removed the antitiIslamic Orientalism of the

See W

i Cantwe11Smith, Isfumin Modern History N e w York: Mentor, 1959), p. 86 and Mark Woodward, ''Talking Across Paradigms: Indonesia, Islam, and Orientalism,"inToworda Ncw Paradigm: Recent Developments in Indonesiun Islamic Thougk(Tempe:Arizona State University, 1996), p. 3.

"Fathimah, Conclusion," 136

colonial era? Therefore, Madjid should receive credit for his insistence on modemization, rationalization and secularization, rather than accusations of being unfaithful to Islam, as his Indonesian opponents have claimed. Thisis because ofthe fact that the growingphenomenon of the contemporary Islamic movements, as Ira Lapidus highlights, is in fact the product of the modernization, rationalization and secularization of Muslim societies, rather than a reaction against them.) In short, the emegence of new religious movements in the last few

decades has indeed proved the intellectual power of the general theory of modernization as explained by Madjid. Based on his faith in the positive name of modernity and its essential affinity with the purpose and spirit of Islam, Madjid argues that there is no reason for Muslims to reject

or oppose it, particularly if they can be made to see how useful it can be to the development of Islam and Muslim society in the future. However, although Madjid has been gaining

support and considerable approval for his ideas in general, many still find it difficult to accept their specific implications. For instance, however interesting Madjid's definition of secularization might sound, Dawm Rahardjo, one of his main supporters, still prefers its

more conventional definition. He says that although he agrees with Madjid on the dire need for modernization in the form of secularization, hence in the sense of desacrahation, he See Madjid, Islarn Agama Peradaban: Sebwh teiiaah Kritis tentang M d a h Keimamn, Kentanusiuan, dan Kemderenan (Jakarta: Patarnadina, 1992),pp. 297-318and Woodward, 'Taking Across Paradigm," pp. 15-16. See Ira M.Lapidus, "Islamic Revival and Modernity: The Contemporary Movements and the Historical Paradigms," in J o u d of the Economic rmd Social History of the Orient, vol. 40, no. 4.

(1997), p. 448 aod Madjid, "BeberapaRenungantentang KehidupanKeagamaan di Indontsiauntuk Generasi Mendatang," in Ulumul Qur'an, vol. 9, no. 1 (1993). p. 5.

"Fathimah,Conclusion, " 137

himself still believes in the relevance of its conventional meaning in that he urges that sacralizatioa of certain cultural aspects, like sexual mores and marriage relations, is still needed.' In this case, although Madjid did admit his unproper approach in deliberating this controversialissue of secularization, he did not indeed expect too much from "followers" or

"supporters" who would understand and accept it right at that time. He was also quite aware of the reactions he would get over his controversial thoughts. That awareness was indeed not stronger than his belief that it was his obligation as a good Muslim and as a good Indonesian to propose such thoughts and effect a breakthrough. He was hoping that people would at least recognise the good intention he has always had, if not the truth of his whole ideas. He is right that such a change would need a considerable amount of time to be fully accepted. Madjid, however, may be criticized for operating with an implicit definition of modernization which pennits himto discuss IsIam in terms echoing the Weberian approach. As we have seen, Madjid's Weberian outlook on Islamic modernism is particularly evident

in his emphasis on the global phenomena of modernity, in that he is of the opinion that

modernization also possesses the basic epistemological character of science in general, i.e. that it is neutral or value-he and therefore interchangeable and transformable. As a result, Islamicmodernization can be applied as one way of giving value to the theory. Nevertheless,

as Bryan S. Tumer writes, the Weberian approach ultimately regards Islam as having a problematic nature? Moreover, as Peter L. Berger explains, although such a social theory

must k value-fke,

it certainly cannot be guaranted to

stand still. given that it is human

Rahardjo, "Islamdan Modernisasi: Catatan atas Paham SekuIarisasi NurchoIish Madjid," a preface to Madjid, IS& Kemodernan (kUI Keindonesiaan (Bandung: Mizan, 1982), p. 3 1. Bryan S. Tumer. Religion a d Social meow o n d o n : Humanities Press, 1983). p. 21.

"Fathimah,Conclusion," 138

beings who are the practitioners of the science and who by definition cannot be value-fret. The application of Islam or any other pactisanship to the theory would result in the

annihilation of its value-he character and the cessation of its status as a science,

In other words, by adopting such a transforming it rather into ideological pr~paganda.~ stance,one would not be able to defend the neutrality of science and social theories. Madjid's attempt to reinterpret modernization in the Islamic context, therefore, would appear to place him in the company of Isma3 al-Fihiqi and Naquib al-Attas, proponentsofthe Islamization

of knowledge and science. Whether this is true or not, their goals cannot be said to be identical since for Madjid, Muslims an divided over what constitutes 'Warn" in the term b%lamization".' Besides, Madjid's opinion on modernization in an Islamic sense can be said

to rely essentially on the same foundations as ZaE Najib Malpfid (b. 1905) of Egypt who says: Those who say that the Islamic world must be fked from subservience to capitalism or Marxism because Islam is all sufficient and because God left nothing to be completed by Adam Smith, Saint Simon, Hegel or Marx, should realize that the question is not one of technical terms like capitalism, Marxism,etc. What concerns me is the system and the thought contained in certain technical terms. What is called capitalism or Maaisrn may contain something which is also found in Islam. Before we rcject the technical terms we should look at the systems behind them regardless of the names they ace given. Perhaps we wiIl find things that do not conflict with our creed.'

In the Indonesiancontext, Madjid can be said to be associatedwith the Iegacy of neo-

mo&m*sm inspired by Fazlur Rahman. In this respect, Madjid believes that the priority Peter L.Berger, Facing up to Modernity (New York Basic Books, 1977), p. xviii.

'

Madjid, Tmdisi Islonc Perm dun Fungsinyu &lam Pembangu~ndi Indonesia ( J a k a r ~ Paramadina, 1997). p. 82. L~l-Mr&z, March 14,(1976), quoted fromkhn J. Donohue and John L. Esposito, eds., islam in Transitiox Muslim Perspectives (New Yo& Oxford University Press, 1982). p. 244.

"Fathimah,Conclusion," I39

concern of Muslims should be given to a fundamental question of methodological approach to the understanding of Islam and the formulation of the QurWc world view (weltanschauung). He is convinced that by elaborating on these issues in the way advocated

by the Qur'iin, Muslims would have no difficulty in responding positively and properly to the challenges of modem time~.~~herefore, as a neo-modernist, Madjid proposes his concept

of reactualization of Islamic teachings through @ihi!Zdandthe reinterpretation of the Qur' iin, using what is called a contextual or substantial approach. According to him, this is essential to the survival of the universalism of Islam. Therefore, the basic principle of neo-modernism consists in reinterpreting Islam according to its historical context while making its universal

and substantial principles as well as its basic goal and spirit the primary consideration. In so doing, he follows both Fazlur Rahman and Ibn Taymiyya in calling for a return to the Qur'k and Ha&& as the main sources, while at the same time urging a reliance on the classical

heritage of the Islamic tradition and observing the principle of "retaining what is good &om the past and taking up what is best of the new" (al-m@Zqa 'dZal-qadErn a!-!&'@

wa al-

&& bi s;l-j"ddd~IA@). This is because Madjid believes that although Islamic doctrines

should always be reinterpreted and reformulated according to the demands of modern times,

they should also be kept rooted in the Islamic culture and tradition. In light of this stance, Madjid can be said to promote what Daniel Brown calls "real tools to resist Western

hegemony, while at the same time holding a greater claim to authenticity."'" Furthermore,

Wjid, "Menegakkan Faham AhIus Sumah wal-Jama'ah Baru." in Siztu Islam Sebuoh Difenrma (Bandung: Mizaa, 1990), p. 33. loDaniel W.Brown. '%Islamic Modernism in South Asia: A Reassessment," in Mudim W d MI. 87, no. 3 4 (Jdy-October, 1997)' p. 270.

"Fathimah,Conclusion, " 140

Madjid's approach, on the one hand, emphasizes the use of particular interpretations of the specific Qur'Zinic injunctions, as does that of the traditionalists, while on the other hand it also recognizes the importance of answering those social needs which vary with respect to time and place, as does that of the modernists. In Madjid's own illustration,this principle

may best be expressed as a combination of the approaches advocated by the N.U., representative of the traditionalists, and the Muharnmadiyah, representative of the modemists.

Therefore, what inspins Madjid to promote such a new approach to #iba'dand a new method of reading the Qur'in is his strong ambition to prove the common theory that generally speaking, the Qur'bic precepts an in the naturt of ethical norms in that they are broad enough to support modern legal structures and capable of varying interpretations to meet the particular needs of time and place.

Furthermore, Madjid's impact on the contemporary Muslim intellectual scene in

Indonesia has been increasingly important as the Islamist movement grows in strength. But his greatest impact can be said to be in his usage of a contextual or substantial approach in his interpretation of both the problems of modernization and Westernization, on the one hand, and of Islamization and Arabization on the other. As a substantialist thinker, he consistently stresses the need to discover the essential features of both modernity and Idam,

and he emphasizes that these should not be blumd by superficial values and formalities. Therefore, if modernization cannot be described as Westernization despite its initial emergence in the West,neither should Islamization, even though it first emerged in Arabia, be similarly identified as Arabization.

'*Fathimah,Conclusion, " I41

Madjid's contribution can also be found in his concept of inclusive theology in that he has expressed a conception of Islam as the religion of all the prophets and humanity. He

has also recommended a concept of religious tolerance and pluralism which can be said to be a considerably important aspect in the framework of thought of Indonesian neo-

modernism, in the context of which can be seen a penetrating analysis of the ongoing effort

to create peaceful life in the religiously and culturally plural country of Indonesia. In this case, his stance expresses the belief of S u d tradition which holds to the notion of religious and social equilibrium in human history and to the purpose to halting the advance of fitha in the Muslim world."

Finally,Madjid's neo-modernism seems to be in linewith the Islamic agenda that was pursued by Mulytmmad 'Abduh, a pioner of Islamic modernism in Egypt. They both favour

the socalled substantialist approach in which the focus is not on law or the state, nor even on the traditions and idealized practices of the first u

. in Medina, but on what is

understood to be the core values of the Qur'iinic revelation. For according to these values, the inner impulse of Islam and its historical call is moral, energetically activist, rational,

egalitarian, and emancipatory.l2

-

p p

Madjid, Ed. Khuzunah htelkktrral lskun ( T a k a : Bdan Bintang, 1984), p. 16. l2 See Clive S. Kessler, ''FmrAarrre!ntalism:Reconsidered," in Peter G.Ridden and Tony Street, eds.. I s k Essays on Scripture, Zbught, curd Society: Festschrijt in Honour OfAnthony H.Johns (Leidm: B r a 1997). p. 334.

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