CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Culture is the whole communication system that binds and
allows operation of a set of people called the public. Thus culture can be
defined as a system of rules of communication and interaction that allows a
society occurs, preserved, and preserved. Culture that gives meaning to all
business and human movements.
Culture can also be interpreted as the activities and the
creation of the mind (reason) people like: faith, art, etc. For example,
Chinese Culture, Culture of Indonesia, and Javanese culture. Based on this
understanding, we can say that only humans have culture. This is due to living
things is people who have sense and reason to generate culture.
In addition to the above two terms, the notion of culture
can also be viewed from the corner of Sciences Anthropology. In this regard,
culture (the culture) is defined as the entirety of the conduct and results of
regular human behavior by the administration that must be acquired behaviors by
learning and all are arranged in life.
Culture in this case is understood as a learned behavior and
conducted by a group of people, cultures obtained from others by learning from
the community. Culture also includes everything that is the result of
creativity, initiative, and the work of humans in an effort to improve the
standard of living and adapt to their environment. As a system, the culture
needs to be seen from the embodiment of human life associated with the ideas,
behaviors, and material that are influenced by various aspects.
Based on the notions above can be concluded is meant by
culture is a result of creative initiative, and the work of humans in an effort
to improve the standard of living and adapt to their environment. These limits
are more emphasized on the fact that humans are capable of producing culture,
because humans are living beings who have mind and reason.
CHAPTER II
CONTENT
A. DIFFERENCES OF MOSLEM AND
WESTERN CULTURE
The
differences between Moslem and Western cultures have been hotly debated since
the September 11, 1992, attacks in the world. Many argue that these attacks
were not preformed by traditional Moslems, but rather extremists from the
religion.
Islam
leans more toward conservative fundamentalism while Western society takes a
more liberal approach to life and culture ,such as :
1. Sexual Morality
In
Islamic law, homosexuality, pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex are against
the law and punishment for these activities is enforced in most Moslem
countries. Unlike Islam, Western society is much more open to "sexual
freedom" than the Islamic religions and is in fact, displayed on
television and film taking part in this type of behavior. This has not always
been so, however. In countries like America and England, homosexuality and pre-marital
sex used to be illegal, even after World War II.
2. Political Government
Western
governments are primarily democracies with clauses to separate church and
state. Western countries like the United States, Canada and Great Britain do
not incorporate religion into their governments and religion does not dictate
laws, as it does in Islamic nations. Religion affects every area of Moslem
governments, from economics to politics, as they interpret laws through the
lens of faith.
3. Gender Roles
The
placement of women in society in Islamic countries and Western countries bears
a marked difference. Because of the modesty required of Moslem women in dress
and in visibility, they are often isolated from public in many Islamic nations.
Women in Western nations have a diverse range of clothing styles and are fully
integrated into society with men. Unlike many early Western cultures, however,
Islamic women have always been considered equal when it comes to inheriting
property while British women were only allowed these rights at the end of the
19th century.
4. Human Rights
Chandra
Muzzafar, President of the International Movement for a Just World, explains in
his interview with the Public Broadcasting Station that Moslems are a communal
society unlike Western nations, which are based on individual rights. Moslems
believe that the choices of others affect the community as a whole and actions
that dishonor and negatively affect a community have definite consequences.
Westerners, on the other hand, take pride in the rights of the individual,
allowing for freedom of expression and freedom of speech.
B. Islam in Indonesia
Modern
Indonesia is known for having the largest population by percentage of any country in the
world. Coming to Indonesia in the 13th century A.D., Islam has continued
to spread, and approximately 90 % of the current population considers itself to
be Moslem.
Nevertheless,
many forms of Islam practiced there combine animist, Hindu, and Buddhist
elements from the country's rich and varied religious past, creating an Islamic
faith that looks different from that of the Orthodox Islam of the Middle
East. With over 17,000 islands spanning 3,000 miles along the equator,
Indonesia's Islamic variations differ significantly not only from other
countries but also from one part of its own land to another. Still, while Islam
dominates the political and social structure of Indonesia, the country still
maintains its other religious roots; as one critic notes, “Indonesia's
civilization is like a marbled layer cake.” Islam is
the dominant religion in Indonesia,
which also has a larger Moslem population than any other country in the world,
with approximately 202.9 million identified as Moslem (88.2% of Indonesia's
total population of 237 million : 2012 data). The majority adheres to the Sunni Moslem
tradition mainly of the Shafi'i madhhab.
Around
one million are Shias,
who are concentrated around Jakarta.
In general, the Moslem community can be categorized in terms of two
orientations: "modernists," who closely adhere to orthodox theology
while embracing modern learning; and "traditionalists," who tend to
follow the interpretations of local religious leaders (predominantly in Java)
and religious teachers at Islamic boarding schools (pesantren).
Before
the introduction of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam into the country, early
Indonesians were prominently animists who practiced ancestor and spirit
worship. This form of religion, generally described as superstitious and
ritualistic, believes that plants and animals, all living things, have a
soul. For instance, many Indonesians consider the waringin tree as sacred
and a symbol of the “vital essence.” Thus they often bury animal sacrifices at
the roots of the tree and no one is permitted to cut down the tree or its
branches, otherwise severe punishment or even death ensues. As
another example of animism, many Indonesians still believe hair to have a magic
quality called mana. Young men, therefore, are encouraged to send girls a
lock of their hair in order to seduce them. Furthermore, the Indonesians hold
many rituals regarding life and death; some very important for appeasing the
dead souls or assisting them through the underworld. Although this
dedication to the god and spirit of nature changed somewhat with the arrival of
other religions, the natives usually just incorporated elements of their
animist culture and superstitions into the new religions.
1. Introduction of Islam
Traveling
to Indonesia by way of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, Moslem traders and
mystical literary figures first brought Islam to the country in the thirteenth
century. Coming from India, this was the mainstream Sunni variant, which was
initially founded in Arabia. Scholars speculate that the mystical Sufi
tradition influenced this Islam, which could have been easily fused with the
native Indonesian culture. Sufi holy men are described as “devout Moslem
mystics renowned for the beauty of their music, poetry”and their internal
spiritual focus, rather than for seeking to impose their religion on their
surroundings or onto politics. As one scholar notes, although no evidence
of Sufi communities from early centuries in Indonesia exists, Indonesians would
have been more likely to accept the more mystical form of Islam than the strict,
law-bound versions.
One
of similarity between the Sufi and Indonesian cultures was the idea of having a
teacher who formed around him a small group of disciples to pass on higher
wisdom. Also, the Indonesian and the Moslem both seemed to focus more on
the correct ways in which to communicate to god instead rather than on the
nature of god. Furthermore, Indonesian tantric mantras were means of
meditation similar to that of the Moslems, as the Moslems often recited the
Koran or other Arabic texts. This form of Islam, therefore, could be easily
incorporated into the native culture. Because of the traders' traveling
routes, Islam spread most rapidly in the northern parts of Sumatra, Java, and
the eastern archipelago. Evidence of this beginning Islamization comes
from Marco Polo.
In
1292 he landed in Sumatra where he found an Islamic town named Perlak.
Although Perlak was already Islamic with a Sunni monarch, Islam was not found
within its surrounding towns. One of the larger cities, Melaka, was a major
impetus for the spread of Islam. This rich port city controlled the
Strait of Malacca and much of the archipelago's trade throughout the fifteenth
century. Iskandar Syah, a prince converted to Islam, founded Melaka, and
through his rule, his successors, and the trading fleet he extended the
religion to various parts of the archipelago. Islam not only offered a
simple message of personal faith and hope, but it could also give one favor and
therefore success in trade or nobility; thus Indonesians had a double incentive
for conversion. Still some regions were resistant to Islam, such as Bali
and parts of Java that kept a more strictly Hindu culture.
2. Versions of Islam
Most
Indonesians, when converting to Islam, synchronized the new religion with their
personal mixture of one or more of Hindu, Buddhist, or, animist religions,
while a minority switched completely to Orthodox Islam. Therefore, like
the many diverse cultures of the islands, Islam began to take on different
shapes across the country. The two distinct versions of Islam, Orthodox
and the blended , were in tension with one another. A believer in
Indonesia who became exclusively Moslem and adhered strictly to Mecca-oriented
Islam and the laws of the Koran is called santri. Santri can also signify
a person who removes himself from the secular surroundings to devote himself to
Islamic schools called pesantren, which translates literally as “the place of
the santri.” The second form of Islam commonly identified is called
kebatinin. This version is a mixture of Hindu-Buddhist beliefs, animism
and Islam practices.
Kebatinin
is also called kejawen, agama Jawa, Javanism, or abangan.One case of this blend
of religions was described earlier in the Hindu god Shiva who adopted Buddhist
characteristics. As Islam spread through the culture, the Javanese
claimed Shiva went to Mecca and also embraced Islam, thus creating a god of
three faiths combined. Because Hinduism never completely reached the eastern
islands, a more pure, orthodox form of Islam formed in the east, while the
western part of Indonesia tended to more often combine Islam with its Hinduism
or other ancient belief systems.
3. Role of Islam in Politics
After
gaining independence, the Indonesians needed to decide on the role of Islam in
the nation's government. After heated disputes, the leaders agreed to
keep religious freedom and to create “a civic code instead of an Islamic
one.”At the same time, one current of Kebatinin, the more indigenous-type of
Islam, became legitimized by the government. Sukarno then became the
first Indonesian president of the Republic. Because he disliked the
divisions among Moslems and other religions (specifically Hindu, Buddhist, and
Christian) of the nation he propagated a somewhat disguised, authoritarian form
of government called the “Guided Democracy.” His successor, Suharto,
introduced a similar type of rule named “The New Order.” Some scholars
say both of these rulers showed “their Javanese religious-cultural bias against
Islam”and made sure that Islam's political influence was limited by various
forces, including the military. Both Sukarno and Suharto, therefore,
restricted political freedom throughout the nation. In response to the
bias against Islam, Islamic and nationalist organizations united to create
parties against Suharto's government. The “red-green” alliance, in
existence today as the Wahid-Megawati administration, was one political
coalition of the nationalist- Islam that helped to defeat the dictatorship of
Suharto.
Suharto,
upon realizing the threat to his rule, turned to a militant form of
Islam. This led to much violence across the nation, and religious groups
who had formerly lived in peace, such as Moslems and Christians, began to fight
against one another. This more militant, violent form of Islam
instigated by Suharto became a lasting part of Indonesia's various branches of
Islam.
4. Branches of Islam Today
The
two most influential Moslem organizations of Indonesia society today are the
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), made up of the traditionalists, and the Muhammadiyah, or,
the modernists. The traditionalists tend to be organized around Moslem
boarding schools (the pesantren) while they preserve traditional Islamic
education.In fact, the name of the organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, literally
translates as “renaissance of Islamic scholars”, and the thirty-five million
involved with this Islamic orientation follow charismatic religious scholars.
The Muhammidiyah, on the other hand, embrace modern thought and culture while
keeping to orthodox Islamic theology. Founded in 1912, this modernist
organization was aimed to create social institutions, such as orphanages and
hospitals, in order to compensate the Protestant and Catholic
efforts. With about twenty-five million followers, it has less
participation than the NU.
5. A Country of Mixed Islam
Since
the 13th century, Islam has filtered into the corners and remote pockets of
Indonesian civilization. Coming into a religiously mixed world of
animism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Islam began taking on forms different than
that of Middle Eastern orthodoxy. The majority of Indonesian Moslems
today shape the Islamic religion to fit their traditional superstitions and
other religious beliefs, while the minority strives for orthodoxy.
These various forms of Islam combine to dominate both the cultural and
political aspects of the nation and give Indonesia the largest Moslem
population of the world. Yet in reality, rather than being unified under
a pure Islam, this population truly is a “marble layered cake” of mixed
religious belief.
6. Religious
freedom
The Indonesian Constitution provides
"all persons the right to worship according to their own religion or
belief" and states that "the nation is based upon belief in one
supreme God." The Government generally respects these provisions; however,
some restrictions exist on certain types of religious activity and on
unrecognized religions. The Ministry of Religious Affairs extends official
status to six faiths: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Religious organizations other than the six
recognized faiths can register with the Government, but only with the Ministry
for Culture and Tourism and only as social organizations. This restricts
certain religious activities. Unregistered religious groups cannot rent venues
to hold services and must find alternative means to practice their faiths.
Although it has an overwhelming Moslem
majority, the country is not an Islamic state. Over the past 50 years, many
Islamic groups sporadically have sought to establish an Islamic state, but the
country's mainstream Moslem community, including influential social
organizations such as Muhammadiyah and NU, reject the idea. Proponents of an
Islamic state argued unsuccessfully in 1945 and throughout the parliamentary
democracy period of the 1950s for the inclusion of language (the "Jakarta
Charter") in the Constitution's preamble making it obligatory for Moslems
to follow Shari'a. During the Suharto regime, the Government prohibited all
advocacy of an Islamic state. With the loosening of restrictions on freedom of
speech and religion that followed the fall of Suharto in 1998, proponents of
the "Jakarta Charter" resumed advocacy efforts. This proved the case
prior to the 2002 Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), a
body that has the power to change the Constitution. The nationalist political
parties, regional representatives elected by provincial legislatures, and
appointed police, military, and functional representatives, who together held a
majority of seats in the MPR, rejected proposals to amend the Constitution to
include Shari'a, and the measure never came to a formal vote. The MPR approved
changes to the Constitution that mandated that the Government increase
"faith and piety" in education. This decision, seen as a compromise
to satisfy Islamist parties, set the scene for a controversial education bill
signed into law in July 2003.
Shari'a generated debate and concern during
2004, and many of the issues raised touched on religious freedom. Aceh remained the only
part of the country where the central Government specifically authorized
Shari'a. Law 18/2001 granted Aceh special autonomy and included authority for
Aceh to establish a system of Shari'a as an adjunct to, not a replacement for,
national civil and criminal law. Before it could take effect, the law required
the provincial legislature to approve local regulations ("qanun")
incorporating Shari'a precepts into the legal code. Law 18/2001 states that the
Shari'a courts would be "free from outside influence by any side."
Article 25 states that the authority of the court will only apply to Moslems.
Article 26 names the national Supreme Court as the court of appeal for Aceh's
Shari'a courts.
Aceh is the only province that has Shari'a
courts. Religious leaders responsible for drafting and implementing the Shari'a
regulations stated that they had no plans to apply criminal sanctions for
violations of Shari'a. Islamic law in Aceh, they said, would not provide for
strict enforcement of fiqh or hudud, but rather would codify traditional
Acehnese Islamic practice and values such as discipline, honesty, and proper
behavior. They claimed enforcement would not depend on the police but rather on
public education and societal consensus.
Because Moslems make up the overwhelming
majority of Aceh's population, the public largely accepted Shari'a, which in
most cases merely regularized common social practices. For example, a majority
of women in Aceh already covered their heads in public. Provincial and district
governments established Shari'a bureaus to handle public education about the
new system, and local Islamic leaders, especially in North Aceh and Pidie,
called for greater government promotion of Shari'a as a way to address mounting
social ills. The imposition of martial law in Aceh in May 2003 had little
impact on the implementation of Shari'a. The Martial Law Administration
actively promoted Shari'a as a positive step toward social reconstruction and
reconciliation. Some human rights and women's rights activists complained that
implementation of Shari'a focused on superficial issues, such as proper Islamic
dress, while ignoring deep-seated moral and social problems, such as
corruption.
There were no reports of forced religious conversion. This coincided with a
continuing de-escalation of violence in the country's main areas of
interreligious conflict: the eastern provinces of Maluku, North Maluku, and
Central Sulawesi.
Some Moslem, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist
holy days are national holidays. Moslem holy days celebrated include the Isra and Mi'raj, Idul Fitr, Idul Adha, the Islamic New Year, and the Prophet's
Birthday.
National Christian holy days are Christmas Day, Good Friday, Pentecost, Easter and the Ascension of Christ. Three other national
holidays are the Hindu holiday Nyepi, the Buddhist
holiday Waisak, and Chinese New Year, celebrated by Confucians and other Chinese.
On Bali all Hindu holy days are regional holidays, and public servants and
others did not work on Saraswati Day, Galungan, and Kuningan.
The Government has a monopoly on organizing
the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and in February, following the latest hajj, the
Department of Religious Affairs drew sharp criticism for mismanaging the
registration of approximately 30,000 prospective pilgrims after they had paid the
required fees. The Government unilaterally expanded the country's quota of
205,000 pilgrims, claiming it had informal approval from the Saudi Government,
an assertion that proved incorrect. Members of the House of Representatives
have sponsored a bill to set up an independent institution, thus ending the
department's monopoly.
C. The Similarities Between Moslem And Indonesian Culture
|
No
|
Islam
|
Indonesia
|
|
Arts
|
Caligraphy
design
|
Traditional
picture of indonesian symbol.
|
|
Marriage
|
The
holy union of a couple. Men in Islam may marry more than one women (but no
more than four) as long as he can treat them all fairly, give them all their
rights and support them all..
|
Man
may marry more than one woman, because , kings in mythology often married
more than one woman.
|
|
Brotherhood
|
Socialization.
|
Teamwork
|
|
Literary
|
The Qur'an had
a significant influence on the Arab language. The language used in it is
called classical
Arabic, and while modern Arabic is very similar,
the classical is still the style to be admired. Not only is the Qur'an the
first work of any significant length written in the language it also has a
far more complicated structure than the earlier literary works with its
114 suras (chapters)
which contain 6,236 ayat (verses)
A famous example of romantic Arabic poetry is Layla and Majnun, dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layla and Majnun to an extent. Layla and Majnun is considered part of the platonic Love
genre, so-called because the couple never marry or consummate their
relationship, that is prominent in Arabic literature, though the literary
motif is found throughout the world. Other famous Virgin Love stories include Qays and Lubna, Kuthair and Azza, Marwa and
al-Majnun al-Faransi and Antara and Abla.
|
Chronologically Indonesian literature may be
divided into several periods:
·
Pujangga Lama: the "Literates of Olden Times" (traditional
literature)
·
Sastra Melayu Lama: "Older Malay Literature"
·
Angkatan Balai Pustaka: the "Generation of the [Colonial] Office for Popular
Literature" (from 1908)
·
Angkatan Pujangga Baru: the "New Literates" (from 1933)
·
Angkatan 1945: the "Generation of 1945"
·
Angkatan 1950 - 1960-an: the "Generation of the 1950s"
·
Angkatan 1966 - 1970-an: the "Generation of 1966 into the 1970s"
·
Angkatan 1980-an: the "Decade of the 1980s"
·
Angkatan 2000-an: the "Generation of 2000s"
There is considerable overlapping between
these periods, and the usual designation according to "generations"
(angkatan) should not allow us to lose sight of the fact that these
are movements rather than chronological periods.
For instance, older Malay literature was being written until well into the
twentieth century. Likewise, the Pujangga BaruGeneration was
active even after the Generation of 1950 had entered the literary scene.
|
|
Architecture
|
Masjidil
Haram.
|
Borobudur
Tample.
|
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Culture in this case is understood as a learned behavior and
conducted by a group of people, cultures obtained from others by learning from
the community. Culture also includes everything that is the result of creativity,
initiative, and the work of humans in an effort to improve the standard of
living and adapt to their environment. As a system, the culture needs to be
seen from the embodiment of human life associated with the ideas, behaviors,
and material that are influenced by various aspects.
Islam leans more toward
conservative fundamentalism while Western society takes a more liberal approach
to life and culture, such as :
Ø Sexual
Morality
Ø Political
Government
Ø Gender
Roles
Ø Human
Rights
From
the explaination on the top we can see the similarities between Moslem and Indonesian culture, such as :
v Brotherhood,
well Society and socialization
v Faith
Tolerance ,
v Arts,
v Literary,
v Architecture.
v Marriage,
v And
many else.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Jean Gelman (2003). Indonesia:
Peoples and Histories. New Haven and London: Yale
University Press.
pp. 29–30
Millan,
Mac. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300, Second
Edition. Miller,Tracy,
ed. (October 2009), Mapping the Global Moslem Population:
A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Moslem Population (PDF), Pew
Research Center, retrieved 2009-10-08
Martin, Richard C. (2004). Encyclopedia
of Islam and the Moslem World Vol. 2 M-Z.
MacMillan.
Ricklefs,
M.C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300, 2nd Edition.
London:
MacMillan. p. 3.
Ricklefs,
M.C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia 1200-2004. London:
MacMillan.
Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. Hamburg: Abera-Verlag, 1996, pp. 19-34.
http://www.ukessays.com/dissertations/religion/islam-in-indonesia.
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