NU: Islam has contributed to cultural diversity

Malang, NU Online
Islam as a religion has contributed to the cultural diversity of the archipelago. Islam is not only present to color the great traditions but has also enriched the cultural plurality through the Islamization and indigenization of Islam, which in turn gave birth to the many little traditions of Islam.

The advisory board of NU KH M. Tholhah Hasan made the remarks at a seminar held in the Islamic University of Malang recently.

According to Kiai Tholhah, Islam has taken part in coloring the faces of Islam in the country.

"There are Islam-Aceh, Malay, Java, Sunda, Sasak, Bugis, and others and all of the faces of Islam have given certain patterns of diversity, which consequently may be ambiguous. The ambiguity or ambivalence is a religious function that is generally accepted from the sociological point of view," he added.

Speaking of the influence of local culture and customs in relation to religion, no doubt there is an attempt to articulate the message of religiosity with local content. The religious encounter with the local culture could take many forms.

"Firstly, there will be a clash in which the local culture is wiped out and replaced with new ones through the process of Islamization as happened in Padang in the past. Secondly, it could be carried out through the way of accommodation. That means there is complementary dialogue between one another," he said

"Thirdly, it could be through the way of hybridity by accepting the religion but only half of it, and the rest is through local tradition. This form is then commonly known as, for example, Java Islam, Banjar Islam, Sasak Islam and so forth. Thus, efforts of reideologizing and retraditionalizing Islam Nusantara has a solid footing in the doctrinal, historical and cultural spaces." (Masdar)