The Essence of Intentions in Constructing Agency in the Indonesian Muslim Intellectual Community

Abstract

Background The Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought and Civilization (INSISTS) is an Indonesian Muslim intellectual organization with agents envisioning the future through writing. From 2003 to 2023, INSISTS agents conducted various activities such as studies, lectures, and writing about various topics continually associated with the Islamic worldview. Despite the fact that each agent’s capacity is different, they act under a shared vision, specifically spreading Islamic ideas and forming Islamic civilization. Each agent has the intention to change the world around him through writing. Objective This paper seeks to examine the intention to imagine whether the future is the main component that forms its agency or it is a component that complements other agency’s components, such as cultural construction and power relations. Methodology This paper is an ethnographic study of the Jakarta INSISTS community, including participants’ observation, in-depth interviews, and researchers’ involvement in joined discussions. As a qualitative research method, this paper also uses a literature study on books written by INSISTS agents. Conclusion This paper shows the capacity of intention to envision that the future is important and has a significant impact on the behavior of everyday agents in spreading Islamic thought. The intention is formed from religious memory, cultural memory, causality, cause and the effect affecting the agent and the agent’s focus on intellectual work such as writing books and organizing in the spirit of ukhuwah Islamiyah or Islamic brotherhood. They also shape this intentional ability with innovation to produce new knowledge through exploratory studies. The writings of INSISTS agents are motivated to carry out synergy between agents in the form of spreading Islamic thought as the basic foundation of the formation of Islamic civilization. Writing books is an example of how agents synergize for the INSISTS community