CHAPTER I ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jaelani and ritual reading in West Java

Abstract

This chapter discusses the author's own observations with the history of karamat-reading, drawing on other peoples' experiences and observations about West Java's past. The underlying question under consideration is the process by which the ritual reading of ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jaelani's karamat has come to be regarded as conventional in West Java. The chapter first focuses on the regional elites of West Java, for the critical flows and transmissions that took place in these communities. The religious preferences of the menak enabled the translation of karamat texts from Arabic into the vernaculars of the region. By this process, the observances of Sundanese Muslims came to resemble, in some ways, Islamic norms recognized around the globe. The chapter then approaches local convention. It draws on writings about Sundanese culture, focusing specifically on its traditions of ritual recitation, and explores a distinct social formation, the Tarekat Qadiriyyah Naqsyabandiyyah (TQN).Keywords: ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jaelani; Islamic norms; karamat texts; ritual reading; Sundanese culture; Tarekat Qadiriyyah Naqsyabandiyyah (TQN); West Java