History And Development Of Islam: Local And Global Dynamics

Introduction Islam is a dienullah taught to mankind through the intermediary of the Prophet Muhammad. Islam was fought fiercely by the Prophet and then followed by his followers, then by other human beings. They are willing to sacrifice anything even life, for the sake of the establishment of Islam. The development of Islam is very rapid but not easy. Islam develops through various ways, such as preaching, warfare, trade, and so on.

Islamic development in the world

A Brief History of the Development of Islam in the World

Islam first developed in Mecca and Medina as well as the Hijaz region, the Arabian peninsula. When viewed from the side of culture and civilization, this area is actually not too special, especially when compared to the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) and Sassania (Persian) civilizations which were dominant at the beginning of the emergence and development of Islam. However, in a relatively short time, the arrival and spread of Islam has lifted the position of Mecca and Medina, as well as the Arabian Peninsula in general as a place of origin and development of Islamic civilization. The territory of Islam developed rapidly during the time of the Banu Ummayah (41-133 H) / 661-750 AD), expanding its territory to Spain. Meanwhile, Islamic civilization experienced a glory in the Abbasid period (132-656 H / 750-1258 AD). The period of government which was approximately 524 years, gave birth to many figures of scientists and philosophers who were very respected. The subsequent development of Islam to the corners of the world was not carried out through territorial conquest, such as during the Umayyad period. However, Islamic teachings were disseminated through the paths of subtle, wise and interesting propaganda, which were delivered by scholars to various parts of the world. The spread of Islam through this da'wah is in accordance with the word of Allah SWT in Q. S. An-Nahl: 125 'Call (man) to the way of your Rabb with good wisdom and teaching, and argue with them in a good way. Indeed, your Rabb, He is the one who knows who is lost in His way and He knows better who gets the clue ' The professions of the ulama varied, for example, traders, government figures, even Muslim intellectuals, especially in the present. The spread of Islam by Muslim intellectuals for example was carried out by Prof. Ismail Al-Furuqi (died 1986) and Prof. Wazlur Rahman (died 1988) in the United States. They both studied the Islamization of science and founded the International Institute of Islamic thought in 1981. The spread of Islam through Muslim intellectuals proved to be very influential in the United States.

Another factor that drives the development of Islam throughout the world is the teachings of Islam itself, namely:

1. Islam is a fitrah religion, meaning that Islamic teachings do not contradict human conscience, are not burdensome and do not burden. Allah SWT did not make the slightest difficulty for mankind in terms of religion. 'And strive for you in the way of Allah with true jihad. He has chosen you and He has not made for you in religion a narrowness. (Follow) the religion of your parents Ibrahim. He (Allah) has named you all Muslims in the past, and (so too) in (Al-Qur'an), so that the Apostle will be a witness of you and that you all may be witnesses of all men, then establish prayer, raise zakat and hold on to the rope of God. He is your Protector, so He is the best Protector and the best Helper. 'God wants ease for all His servants and does not want trouble for them (Al-Baqoroh (2): 185) '(The specified days are) the month of Ramadan, the month in which the Qur'an was revealed (a beginning) as a guide for humans and explanations for that clue and differentiator (between the right and the wrong). Therefore, whosoever of you is present (in the land where he lives) in that month, then let him fast that month, and whoever is sick or on the journey (then he breaks), (obligatory for him to fast), as much as the day he left, on other days. God wants convenience for you, and does not want trouble for you. And let your number be sufficient, and let you glorify God for His guidance given to you, so that you will be grateful.
2. Islam as a rational religion, both in faith, worship and morality
3. Islam as a religion that encourages progress, a perfect life guide and as for all nature.

Portrait of the History of Indonesian Islamic Religious Settings

Islam in Indonesia is classified as soft, because it thrives amid a variety of local traditions. It is difficult to deny that Indonesian Islam is integrated with local culture along with accommodative-style penetration. It is quite reasonable for the group of Muslims in several categories by Geertz as abangan, priyayi, and santri or traditionalism and modernism by Deliar Noer, because in this context Indonesian Islam was developed persuasively. The abangan category that is dominant in the Indonesian Muslim community is those who have embraced Islam but have not been accompanied by routine religious teachings, and are still superficially knowledgeable about Islam. The majority of Indonesian Muslims are found in this category, but along with the process of Islamization of Indonesia, such categories are slowly becoming irrelevant. Therefore, the term Indonesian Muslims with abangan categories is a model of society in the early period of Indonesian Islam. At this time, Islam has not been practiced according to the rules of the Shari'a because it is still tinged with nuances of tradition, but at the level of awareness of the importance of urging God. After going through this initial phase, Indonesian Muslims are slowly increasing in the santri category. In accordance with Geertz's terminology, the category of santri is a group of Muslims who have obeyed the teachings of their religion in accordance with the Shari'a.

Muslim groups included in the santri category are those who already have enough knowledge about Islam and have gained a comprehensive understanding, so that they have full responsibility for carrying out Islamic teachings. In Azra's terms, this group of santri aggressively reconciled the appeal to Islamic law with an appeal that prioritized the awareness of God's urgency. That is, between Sufism and Shari'a are carried out simultaneously. As noted historically, the practices of Sufism that have developed in Indonesia are many that ignore Islamic law, so the movement for appeals to the application of Islamic law is one step to close the wide space of ignoring Islamic law. Then the priyayi category popularized by Geertz was that they had tasted Western education that was not accompanied by deep religious education, but they had an interest in Islam. In general, these priyayi categories are those from the upper middle class from the indigenous community. This kind of Muslim group according to Deliar Noer is one of the driving forces of Islamic modernism in Indonesia. This group uses an approach to Western success in building civilization. But the most important pillar of Islamic renewal is the enlightened santri in the Middle East. The integration of these two Muslim groups became an important element in launching the Islamic modernism movement in Indonesia. Geertz and Deliar's research as stated above was shattered by the results of Bambang Pranowo's research explaining about Understanding Javanese Islam. In his conclusion, that Geertz and Deliar did not delve deeply into the details of Indonesian Muslims, especially Javanese Muslims, so there were some mistakes in formulating and summarizing the category of Indonesian Muslims such as this category. The disadvantages of the categories put forward by Geertz and Deliar above, there are inconsistencies in accordance with predetermined boundaries. The meaning of the word there is overlapping of each category, priyayi for example is also found in santri and abangan, or the criteria of modernism are found in traditionalism. With all the weaknesses and shortcomings of the results of Geertz's research, at least it has contributed to the portrait of Indonesian Muslims, so that many people appreciate such findings with several actions, such as from the government making a policy towards religious life of the community, as well as more Islamic organizations increasing the role of da'wah in areas categorized as the majority of abangans. Looking at the categories of Muslim groups Deliar has delivered into two parts, namely traditionalists and modernists, is a continuation of the categories of santri, abangan and priyayi which have been coined by Geertz.

In Deliar Noer's view, modernist groups, namely santri and priyayi, belong to the group that moves the rise of Indonesian Muslims through their social and political movements. Whereas traditionalism, namely abangan is categorized as an Islamic group as opposed to modernism − inhibits and obstructs the progress of Islam in terms of thought. Deliar in his work 'Modern Islamic Movement in Indonesia 1900-1942' links the development of the Indonesian modernist movement with other regions, so that the modern Indonesian movement is depicted as not independent. The meaning of the word by examining the Indonesian modernist movement we can recognize at the same time the modern movements of other Muslim regions.

Discourse on Indonesian Islamic Thought

Islam is a religion that is relevant to the times and conditions that surround it. In addition, diversity is difficult to avoid in Islam, because moving from a religious understanding that is not the same will give birth to a difference. As is well known, Islam originating from the Qur'an and the Sunnah and believed by the ummah as a single truth, they interpret according to the knowledge and social-cultural conditions that surround it. Therefore, the harmonization of differences in understanding is a step to eliminate socio-religious frictions that can lead to division.

Accommodating differences that exist within a universal goal framework is an effort to suppress the gulf of community conflict. At first glance it seems different and changing, as a result of differences in social life of followers who also keep changing. So that there is no denying that the differences in interpretation result in different fiqh and theological thinking. If described according to the ideological framework, there are at least four categorizations of Muslims; traditionalist-conservative, reformist-modernist, puritan-radical, and secular-nationalist. As happened in the emergence of several theological and philosophical thoughts in the Islamic world in the classical century, the emergence of ideas about ideological thinking above cannot be separated from the influence of social conditions, interests and social and cultural conditions that are developing. This indicates that even though Islam is one from the point of its main teachings, but after being thrown in a certain socio-political context at a certain level of historical development religion can show a different internal structure. So, if seen of the issues debated among the groups above, they argue not about the points of Islamic teachings themselves, but how to manifest Islamic teachings in the system of social life, between Islam as a model of reality and Islam as models for reality, thus creating at least two forms of religious community, namely between folk variant and scholarly veriant, which in the context of Indonesianness manifested in the form of NU community, Perti, al-Wasliyah, and Muhammadiyah community, al- Ershad. The first group is often claimed as a traditionalist group, and the second group as a fashion group varnish. Traditionalist groups are often categorized as Islamic groups who still practice some practices of superstition, heresy, khurafat, and some animist cultures, or are often identified with the expression of local Islam, while modernist groups are those who no longer practice the above. However, this categorization became less precise when it was discovered that there were practices of animist culture carried out by modernist Muslims, as had been revealed by Munir Mulkhan in his research on Pure Islam in Peasant Societies. In his research he found the existence of four variants of the Muhammadiyah community; namely pure Islam (al-Ikhlas group), pure Islam that is tolerant of the practice of TB (Kyai Dahlan group), neo-traditionalist Islam (MUNU group, Muhammadiyah-NU), and neosinkretic Islam (MUNAS group, Muhammadiyah-Nationalis). From these findings, it is naturally refuted by the grouping of Indonesian Muslims to traditionalists and modernists, as popularized by Deliar Noer, while raising questions, who is actually called the traditionalist group and who is also called the modernist group? What are the characteristics of each type? Of course it is difficult to know the traditionalist and modernist categories because there has been a fusion and demolition of boundaries which have been deliberately established to divide Muslims.

So below, we need to know the growing understanding of the concepts of traditionalism and Islamic modernism in Indonesia from various perspectives including sociology and anthropology.

Surviving with Identity in a Traditional Islamic Context

The assumption so far, when there is talk about traditional Islamic society, is often what is imagined is a picture of underdeveloped society, a conservative Islamic society, a society that is anti or rejects change (anti-progression), conservative (staid approach), and overwhelmed by taqlid attitudes. Plus they are a group that reads and learns 'yellow books', including the works of al-Ghazali and scholars' classical fiqh, and Sufi figures in medieval Islam. Traditional Terma is the term for something irrational, an unscientific worldview, the opposite of all forms of modernity. Traditionalism is considered as a school that adheres to the religion of religion through the interpretation of the holy book Religion is rigid and literalist. Etymologically, traditional means the tendency to do something that has been done by a predecessor, and view the past as an authority of all established forms. According to Achmad Jainuri, traditionalists are those who are generally identified with the expression of local Islam, as well as traditional cultural elites who are not interested in changes in Islamic thinking and practice. Meanwhile, traditionalism is a notion based on tradition. His opponents are modernism, liberalism, radicalism and fundamentalism. Based on the understanding of the traditions above, traditionalism is a form of thought or belief that holds on to the bonds of the past and has been practiced by the religious community. In the field of Islamic thought, traditionalism is a teaching that adheres to the Sunnah of the Prophet, which is followed by the Companions and faithfully practiced by the Muslim community. Traditionalists in Indonesia are those who are consistent in holding fast to the chain of history and the thought of previous ulama'-ulama in their religious behavior. Concretely, holding and developing fiqh scholastic teachings of the four schools. Traditionalists believe Shari'ah as God's law that was understood and practiced since several centuries ago and has crystallized in several fiqh madhab. In the language of Fazlur Rahman, they are more inclined to understand the Shari'ah as has been practiced by the former ulama. They accept the principle of ijtihad, but must comply with traditional legal principles such as qiyas, ijmâ ' and istihsân. Traditional Islam is culturally religious, intellectually simple, culturally syncretic, and politically opportunist. Although for now many traditionalists are controversial with conservatives, the role of color conservatives is very strong. at the local level Traditionalists are often classified into the largest social religious organization named NU, a religious organization founded in 1926 in Surabaya, by several scholars 'Islamic boarding school caregivers, including KH Hasyim Asy'ari (Tebu Ireng) and K. H. Wahab Hasbullah (Rice Pond). Traditions ignore many worship problems. For them Islam seems to be the same as fiqh, and in this connection they recognize taqlid and reject ijtihad. This attitude often causes them to be blindly obedient, because priests of the fiqh or kyai schools are considered maumum, free from mistakes. In such a situation Islam and its interpretation of it are the monopoly of the kyai only, so that the fatwa of the kyai is considered absolute, final and cannot be questioned anymore.

The Collapse of the Limits of Modernism and Traditionalism in Islam

The opposite of traditional is modern, which is a term identified with the age of technology. Modernity is an attitude that questions the past problems, the traditional form must be questioned and tested, there is no attitude back to back. Past ideas are irrelevant in the present. The words modern, modernism, modernization, modernity, and some terms associated with it, are always used by people in everyday expressions. Because of the change in meaning contained in them, these terms often have vague meanings. Modern is a correlative term, which includes new meanings of opponents of ancient, innovative as opposed to traditional. However, what is called modern at a time and place, in relation to culture, will not have the same meaning both in the future or in another context. Religious researchers, especially, who are interested in cultural examples according to a long-term framework, must not forget to put in place perceptions of changing perspectives from what is called new and old. Because the assessment of what is called modern is a matter of perspective from those who see, phenomena that seem to be the same can be very different depending on different contexts. Therefore, examples of modern architectural works in the mid-20th century now look ancient. In the intellectual field, Islamic modernism arises because of the development challenges faced by the ummah. In the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century the political challenges faced by Muslims how to free themselves from Western colonialism, the cultural challenge was the inclusion of new values ​​resulting from the advancement of Western modern science, the socio-economic challenge was how to alleviate ignorance and community poverty, and religious challenges are how to increase the knowledge of religious knowledge and encourage people to be able to understand religious teachings independently.

Conclusion

Islam that developed in Indonesia is a picture of the process of Islamization that never stops. In the early phase of Indonesian Islam there was a re-sharia movement in the midst of the unification of traditional symbols in Islam. Then still found religious practices mixed with local culture. Furthermore, in the mid-phase of Indonesian Islam a modernist movement emerged, a symbol of the antithesis of the ignorance of Muslims towards the future of Islam and the nation. A portrait of the dynamics of Islamic struggle as said above has given the color of the journey of Indonesian Islamic history. All of those born from the Islamic treasure provide variety in understanding Islam. They do not differ from the original problem, but only when decreasing Islam in their respective local social domains that are religious. In this context, the grouping of Indonesian Muslims with the terms modernism and traditionalism is no longer appropriate, because it is difficult to identify which ones are tradiisonal and which are modern.