Islamic Religious Leaders Research Articles

The Centrality of Kyai in Establishing Moderate Understandings in Salafiyyah Pesantren

The yellow book as a compulsory curriculum in Salafiyyah Islamic boarding schools includes intolerant teachings, especially in the chapters of jihad and hudud. However, the students at this pesantren showed extraordinary tolerance and avoided cases of religious violence. This sketch shows that the students did not just learn and explicitly follow the teachings of centuries-old religious texts. This article reveals the guidance of kyai (Islamic religious leaders) in shaping the attitude of tolerance of students through the interpretation of the yellow book. With a qualitative approach in the form of a case study, this study interviews the kyai who act as supervisors and teachers at the Sabilurrosyad Islamic boarding school in Malang. The findings of the study revealed that the kyai consistently guided their students in understanding classical texts based on their socio-cultural background, by emphasizing obedience to the government, respecting local wisdom, considering social conditions, and maintaining tolerance of other religions. In conclusion, kyai plays an important role as an interpreter of the yellow book so that students have a moderate understanding.

Voices from the Pulpit: Islamic Religious Leaders’ Perspectives on Green Open Space Corruption and Their Prevention Efforts in Bandung

This article examines the views of Islamic religious figures regarding the Green Open Space (RTH) corruption case in Cisurupan Village, Cibiru District, Bandung City, as well as their role in preventing similar corruption. Considering that the majority of Cisurupan residents are Muslim, this research highlights the views of religious figures from various backgrounds. Qualitative research methods with a field study approach were used. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with four religious figures who play a role in society, education, MUI, and government, as well as secondary data from literature and internet sources. Data analysis compares interview results with literature to understand the perceptions and role of religious figures in RTH corruption cases. The research results show that religious figures' views on corruption vary. Some consider corruption a religious violation due to a lack of understanding of religious teachings, while others see it as a personal choice influenced by individual and environmental factors. The role of religious figures in preventing corruption includes moral education, anti-corruption outreach, and education on the values of honesty in schools. The conclusion of this research shows that the views and roles of religious figures are greatly influenced by their social background, personal experiences and position in society. This research provides insight into the perceptions and roles of Islamic religious leaders in preventing corruption in Muslim-majority areas. It is recommended that further research involve more religious figures for a more comprehensive understanding.

The Constitutionality of Inheritance Rights for Extramarital Children: Assessing the Legal Response under Balinese Customary Law

This article analyzes the inheritance rights of extramarital children under the post-Constitutional Court decision of Balinese customary law. Any child born of unmarried parents or out of adultery is stigmatized as an extramarital child (walad al zina) for his entire life and forbidden from inheriting an estate from his biological father. This legal issue is chosen as the main subject of this study is because of the legal circumstance in which the Balinese community does not grant status to extramarital children in matters of inheritance from the Purusa line. Hindu-Balinese religious leaders such as Parisada and the Traditional Village Council have never upheld the Constitutional Court’s ruling that states that children born out of wedlock have civil relations with their biological fathers. Islamic religious leaders have followed up on the Constitutional Court’s decision by issuing a fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). The fatwa imposes an obligation on biological fathers to separate their wealth for a guarantee of life to children. Applying the statutory approach, conceptual approach, sociological approach, and case approach, it can be understood that children born out of wedlock (the Balinese call it begin at children) have no status as heirs in the Purusa line but have inheritance rights from their mother and their mother’s family.

PENGUATAN KAPASITAS TOKOH AGAMA DALAM UPAYA PENANGGULANGAN STUNTING WILAYAH KABUPATEN KUPANG ALOR

The problem of stunting has the potential to disrupt the quality of human resources and is related to health levels and even child mortality. In this case, religious leaders are parties who play a direct role, especially in preventing stunting through shaping family consumption patterns in religious service areas. Family mothers who cultivate and implement nutritious food consumption patterns can prevent family members, including children under five, from nutritional problems, including stunting. The activity was carried out in Alor Regency on 21-23 October 2023 with the aim of strengthening Christian, Catholic, Hindu and Islamic religious leaders in carrying out service duties to families, especially family mothers, in order to increase knowledge about consuming diverse, nutritious, balanced and safe food. and be able to take preventive action at the stage of preparing nutritious food for family consumption. Implementation uses the "Education and/or counseling" method. Where, all religious leaders are given teaching or material with the aim that they can determine the source of the problem and form services related to overcoming and preventing nutritional problems including stunting through choosing healthy, varied and safe types of food. The evaluation process was carried out before and after the activity to measure the abilities and changes in attitudes of 60 religious leaders regarding the counseling material. The pre-test results found that the majority (69.7%) of religious leaders already knew about stunting but did not understand consumption patterns including the type, quantity and correct method of food processing and the impact on the incidence of stunting. However, after confirmation from the results of the counseling, it was discovered that 100% of religious leaders could understand the correct consumption patterns. This starts from indicators of the ability to choose the type of food, compiling a simple but nutritious menu using a processing method that is friendly to the availability of sufficient and appropriate nutritional content as needed and can ensure that the amount of food consumed is according to the needs per day per age per gender of family members.

The perception of imams (Islamic religious leaders) on the legal status and decriminalization of suicide attempts in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

The perception of imams (Islamic religious leaders) on the legal status and decriminalization of suicide attempts in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Why Do They Not Do More? Analyzing Peacebuilding Actions of Religious Leaders during and after Violent Conflicts

This article examines how religious leaders navigate between tensions involving theological ideals of peace and pragmatic realities during violent conflicts. The findings are based on 75 in-depth interviews with Orthodox, Catholic, and Islamic religious leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina, conducted between the years 2015 and 2017. The paper introduces the concepts of “theological dissonance” to describe mismatches between principles and actions, and “pastoral optimization” for the strategy of maximizing influence under constraints. Factors influencing engagement in peacebuilding include doctrinal traditions, individual differences, organizational capacity of a religious community, effective control over messaging, and audience receptivity. In terms of practical suggestions, the article proposes several measures that could enhance synergy between religious and nonreligious actors working together in this field, most notably, understanding each other’s scopes and limitations and clarifying what “peace” and “peacebuilding” represent to each partner.

Organizational Ethnography Analysis: Participation of Islamic Religious Leaders in Handling Covid-19 through Integrative Communication

This study aims to explain the participative actions of researchers (ethnographers) in synergising culture and values between Public Relations Officers from the Bogor City Government, West Java, Indonesia, and Islamic religious leaders in handling the Covid-19 pandemic through integrated communication. The research method used is organisational ethnography to identify and find sociocultural barriers between informants (public relations officers of the Bogor government and Islamic religious leaders) with data from semi-structured interviews, centralised discussions, and participatory efforts during a mutually agreed period. The findings of the study show that the application of communication integration recommended by researchers to Bogor City Government Public Relations Officers can encourage collaboration in activities and reduce cultural barriers between them in handling the Covid-19 crisis through the use of conventional media and social media can create an accelerated life that is deliberative, healthy and optimistic during a pandemic. In particular, the precision and intensity of organisational ethnography implementation can reduce conflicts of interest among public relations officers to build a sense of identity and sustainably shared culture.

The Problem of Waqf Land Legality in Sarmi Regency: A Sociological Perspective of Law

The problem of legality and management of waqf land in the midst of Muslim community life in the realm of praxis, often triggers case problems, such as the withdrawal of the waqf land, the seizure of waqf land and others. This study intends to identify factors of ineffective regulation on waqf land certification in Sarmi District, Papua Province. This qualitative study is empirical legal research. SoerjonoSoekanto's theory of legal effectiveness became the theory of subject matter analysis. Data collection through observation techniques, interviews and documentation. Meanwhile, data analysis uses data reduction, presentation, and verification techniques. The results of this study show that the ineffectiveness of regulations related to certification of various waqf lands in Sarmi Regency is caused by the views of the community which is a weak legal culture, including the view that there will be no waqf land disputes, the view of the difficulty of the waqf land certification process, the view of the Wakf Pledge Deed as the legality of waqf land. The theoretical implications and novelty of this study emphasize that to realize the effectiveness of the implementation of waqf land certification, massive and comprehensive socialization is needed related to understanding of the waqf land certification program and waqf land management management. The limitation of this study is that it has not examined the role of Islamic religious leaders in Sarmi Regency regarding the waqf land certification program.

Literacy and stigma of suicide among Islamic religious leaders (Imams) in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Literacy and stigma of suicide among religious leaders affect help-seeking behaviours for suicidal behaviour in the community. We did not find any study assessing the literacy and stigma level among religious leaders in Bangladesh to date. We aimed to assess the status of suicide literacy and stigma and factors related to them among religious leaders in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted from April to July 2023. Data were collected from 162 religious leaders (Imams) by self-reporting instrument purposively. The instruments contain several parts, like socio-demographic variables, suicidal behaviour, suicide literacy, and stigma towards suicide. The mean literacy score was 4.75 ± 1.56 (range 1–8). We did not find any relationship between suicide literacy and stigma. We found a positive correlation between stigma and isolation subscales (r = 0.67; p < 0.001) and a negative correlation between isolation and glorification subscales (r = −0.28; p < 0.001). Suicide literacy was higher in Imams with better income (p = 0.025), and Imams who observed suicide in close persons (p = 0.017). Isolation was lower in Imams with a family history of suicide attempts (p = 0.036), and lifetime suicidal thoughts (p = 0.020) whilst glorification was higher in persons with suicide attempts (p < 0.007). In conclusion, suicide literacy among the Islamic religious leaders (Imams) of Bangladesh is low and similar to the levels among the students. Strategies are warranted to improve the situation, as religious leaders can play important roles in suicide prevention and help-seeking for suicidal behaviour.

Ulama's Resistance to the Closing of Worship Places During The COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

PPKM Darurat (the implementation of community activity restrictions) is one of the policies implemented by the Indonesian government to control the spread of COVID-19. PPKM Darurat received opposition from ulama (Islamic religious leaders) because all places of worship had to be closed. Our qualitative study explores the forms, factors, and impacts of ulama’s resistance to the closing of worship places during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research data were collected through interviews with participating ulama. This study indicates that ulama’s resistance to the closure of places of worship during the PPKM Darurat period manifested in discourse and action. In the form of discourse, they considered the closure of places of worship contrary to the provisions of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). While in action, they demonstrated resistance by continuing to perform five obligatory prayers, the Friday prayers, and Eid al-Adha prayers in congregation in mosques and prayer rooms. This study suggests that there should be cooperation between the government and religious leaders in drafting, socializing, and implementing laws, including those on PPKM Darurat.

Violence in the Eradication of Violence in the Perspective of Islamic Religious Leaders in Maluku, Indonesia

This paper aims to examine the perception of Islamic religious leaders in Maluku against acts of violence in eradicating apostasy in society. Data were collected through field research using observation and interview techniques. The data were analyzed qualitatively and descriptively interpretively. The results show that from the perspective of Islamic religious leaders in Maluku, acts of violence in da'wah to eradicate apostasy have three characteristics, namely destroying facilities that are considered as means of apostasy, easy accusing heresy and infidels against Muslims who are not in line with their group, and at a certain level kill the target through a suicide bombing. Therefore, acts of violence by Islamic Community Organizations to eradicate apostasy in society are illegal and can even damage the image of Islam and Muslims in Indonesia. This violates Islamic law. For this reason, a non-violent solution is needed to eradicate Munkar through enacting regional regulations by accommodating local wisdom and increasing understanding of Islamic teachings through intensifying da'wah based on Amar ma'ruf.

Taliban's war on educating girls and women must end now: A call for global actions

Taliban's war on educating girls and women must end now: A call for global actions

Halal Tourism Potential in Muslim Minority Areas (A Case Study in Indonesia)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the potential that Ngada Regency has as a Muslim minority area in developing halal tourism, as well as the efforts that must be made to support this potential so that it can be applied. Research Methodology: The research method used is descriptive qualitative research. Primary data sources were obtained through interviews with fourteen respondents, including; the Indonesian Ulema Council of Ngada Regency, the Ministry of Islamic Religion of Ngada Regency, the Ngada Regency Tourism Office, Islamic religious leaders, and local Muslim tourists. Results: The results of this study show that Ngada Regency has the opportunity to implement halal tourism, judging from the tourism potential it has, including; marine parks of 17 islands, beaches, mountains, hills, waterfalls, craters, hot springs, and traditional villages. The available tourist attractions are the main attractions and characteristics that distinguish Ngada Regency from other districts in East Nusa Tenggara. Then, judging from the enthusiasm of local Muslim tourists visiting tourist destinations, Ngada Regency has the opportunity to implement halal tourism. However, the facilities and infrastructure available in tourist destinations and lodging places must follow halal tourism principles. Limitations: This study has limited data coverage in an Eastern Indonesia region that has a Muslim minority demographic. Contributions: The study is the first to examine the potential of halal tourism in eastern Indonesia with the condition of the Muslim minority population. Novelty: This study makes a valuable contribution to the study of the development of halal tourism in eastern Indonesia, which has a Muslim minority demographic.

Prophetic Communication of Islamic and Christian Religious Leaders in Overcoming Conflict of Religious Harmony (Social Studies at Griya 1, Martubung Village, Medan City)

This essay investigates the religious leaders' employment of prophetic communication. In modern-day Indonesia, disregard for ethics is an evident concern, giving rise to strong subjectivity and ethnocentrism. The emergence of this issue made it difficult for religious leaders to resolve societal difficulties. Personal interest in preaching is a problem that must be set aside if a moderate society is to be established. This study employs a qualitative, phenomenological methodology. The writers obtain their data through interviews, observations, and documentation. The primary informants for this study were religious leaders at the research site, while the community comprised the secondary informants. The findings indicate that ethical negligence persists and is defined by a number of contemporary events. The Qur'an describes six prophetic communications of the Apostles as a guideline for preaching in order to mitigate this issue. These six principles then serve as the foundation for religious leaders' sermons, allowing them to foster a reasonable attitude in society.

Marjambar as a Symbolic Interaction of the Bunga Bondar Society in Sipirok District - North Sumatra

Bunga Bondar Village has a unique culture called Marjambar. Marjambar is held by distributing pastries typical of the local community during religious holidays, which are ahead of Eid al-Fitr for Muslims and one day before New Year for Christians. This study aims to analyze the multiculturalism model that exists in marjambar. This study uses Mead's symbolic interaction theory. The research method of this study is a qualitative descriptive approach, while data collection technique is conducted through observation, interviews and documentation. A total of eight research informants were interviewed, comprising two Islamic religious leaders, two Christian religious leaders, one traditional leader, one youth leader, two village apparatuses. This research found that in realizing the values of multiculturalism there is a philosophy of life "thick water is thicker, brotherly relations and we are one blood (alkot aek alkotan dope mudar dan hita dongan samudar). The implementation of marjambar local wisdom reflects the value of cosmopolitan multiculturalism in which each individual is free with his cultural life, without intimidation and domination, thus creating an attitude of concern between people of different faiths and ethnic groups. In conclusion, intercultural life which exists side by side shows equality between people. The researcher suggests that local governments through schools provide formal and informal education to educators who stay at the forefront of the effort to disseminate local wisdom among students. It is necessary to provide bailout funds to preserve marjambar local wisdom, for example, for monthly meetings between religious leaders, community leaders, traditional leaders and the community.

Tiga Lapis Makna Ayat Toleransi dalam Mori Sama

Tolerance is an issue that is widely promoted in the midst of the Indonesian government's efforts to moderate daily attitudes in religious and state life. An understanding of it continues to be explored through the values of the texts of the Qur'an and hadith as well as local traditions that exist in the community. Mori Sama in Donggo, Mbawa is one tradition that has tolerance values which are given a dimension of legitimacy by the traditional leaders of the Qur'anic texts. This paper explored the understanding of the Donggo Mbawa community in understanding tolerance; sees how the community understands the verses of tolerance; and finally how the practical implementation of the Donggo community on their understanding of tolerance. As a form of field research, this paper was based on observation and interviews as the main sources of data. By borrowing Karl Manheim's analysis through the theory of meaning, this research concluded that the Mbawa community has held the principle of mori sama because they basically come from one ancestor. Then after Islam and other religions entered the Donggo area, the Mbawa people began to separate themselves by determining their own beliefs. Second, the understanding of Donggo Mbawa Islamic religious leaders and the community towards the verses of tolerance is realized in the form of mutual respect, appreciation, and acceptance of every difference that exists. For example, events that are held in the village, such as weddings, circumcisions, taste prayers, pilgrimage prayers, Kasaro ceremonies and also when celebrating religious holidays. Third, the meaning of the verses of tolerance in the understanding of Islamic religious leaders and also the Mbawa community in general is based on the hereditary principle, namely the principle of mori sama.

Qardh Contract in the Peccoten Tradition (Analytic Study of the Peccoten Tradition in the Madura Kubu Raya Circle)

This study aims to determine the contract contained in the Peccoten tradition, which uses cigarettes, soap, cloth and others as tools to invite marriage. The Peccotan tradition, which is a Madurese tradition, is still carried out by those who live in Madusari Village, Sungai Raya District, Kubu Raya Regency. The object of this research is the symbolic meaning of cigarettes used as a medium for invitations to pickpockets found in Samatan Village. The collection technique in this study uses a descriptive qualitative research method to reveal the implied meaning of the symbolization of cigarettes in the peccotan tradition. This research data collection includes observation, documentation and direct interviews in Madusari Village. Collecting data from resource persons such as Madurese leaders and Islamic religious leaders who have long practised the Peccotan tradition in Madusari village. There were six resource persons used in this study consisting of people who had used the pecotan tradition and received an invitation to pecotan in Samatan Village. The results showed that in the pecotan tradition in Samatan Village, there was a symbolic interaction where cigarettes which were used as invitation media had different types of cigarettes used as invitation media; the difference was in the type of cigarettes and the number of envelopes given and the pecotan tradition has become a hereditary tradition that continues until today in Madusari Village, Kub Raya Regency.

Resolutions of Conflicts among Radical Beliefs through the Wisdom of Cultural Values

This study seeks to identify a form of cultural reconciliation applied by the community to the radical belief clash between Dayak Indramayu mysticism and the Muslim community in Indramayu Regency, West Java, Indonesia. This study employed a strategy for resolving cultural conflicts by collecting data via observation and in-depth interviews with both parties. This investigation yielded multiple findings. First, the fight between Dayak Indramayu and Muslims in the Indramayu Regency is a religious dispute. The crisis began when the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) labelled Dayak Indramayu group as heretical. Following the labelling, Dayak Indramayu responded by criticizing Islamic religious leaders who engage in numerous unethical behaviours. Second, although this dispute affected religious leaders on both sides, it had no effect on the religious followers at the grassroots level. Thirdly, religious conflicts involving religious leaders and beliefs can naturally lessen due to the community-owned and religious leader-guided cultural framework. The author identifies this as a cultural resolution to religious problems. This study contributes to two aspects. First, as a model for resolving interfaith problems that can be replicated abroad through the application of cultural values' wisdom. Second, this idea of resolution contributes to the corpus of religious studies on the management of religious conflicts founded in radical views.

Memahami Pencatatan Perkawinan di Indonesia dalam Paradigma Hukum Islam Kontemporer

The phenomenon of unregistered marriages is still rampant in Indonesia. Regardless of the various reasons that trigger it, empirical facts show that unregistered marriages cause many legal problems, both for the life of the family concerned, society and the state.This quality research in the form of a literature review intends to re-understand the existence of marriage registration in the Islamic legal paradigm through the contemporary sharia maqasid approach conceptualized by Jasser Auda. This research uses a normative-philosophical approach. Primary data of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage and compilation of Islamic Law. Data collection techniques through documentation techniques. Meanwhile, data analysis through reduction, presentation, and verification. The results showed that the construction of the paradigm of marriage registration rules in Indonesia is in line with the contemporary Islamic legal paradigm that emphasizes holistic legal arguments, namely involving various perspectives, both normative, social, buddhist, developmental and state regulations for the realization of the benefit of marital life. The results showed that the construction of the paradigm of marriage registration rules in Indonesia is in line with the contemporary Islamic legal paradigm that emphasizes holistic legal arguments, namely involving various perspectives, both normative, social, buddhist, developmental and state regulations for the realization of the benefit of marital life. This can be proven through the various paradigms of system philosophy features elaborated by Jasser Auda as a contemporary sharia maqasid approach. The theoretical implication of this research is that a holistic Islamic legal paradigm is needed, namely through multi-perspectives, not a monolithic paradigm in understanding the implications of the benefits of marriage registration rules. The limitations of this study have not examined the Islamic legal arguments of Islamic religious leaders in Indonesia who tend to be apathetic or permissive to the phenomenon of marriage without being registered in society.

LANGUAGE AND PARTIALITY OF MEDIA

The present study aims to describe the type of transitivity, logical meaning and point of view from news about blasphemy conducted by Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (BTP), the former governor of Jakarta reported by Kompas, a news website. The present study is grounded under qualitative research with a functional discourse analysis approach. Data is obtained from news about BTP which were published from September to November 2016. The results of the analysis suggest that the most dominant type of transitivity was verbal process, the most dominant participant was verbiage, the most dominant circumstant was location, while the logical meanings found were 178 data out of 220 (80.91%). Discourse field is analyzed through the verbal process which contained rebuttals, clarifications and explanations that BTP did not mean to insult Islam. The social context links the blasphemy of Islam with politics. Kompas website intends to state that there are parties who deliberately take advantage of the blasphemy of Islam for political purposes. Discourse actors are divided into roles, social distance and social status. The prominent roles and social status came from Islamic religious leaders, especially from the religious organizations whose opinion was more favorable to BTP's position while social distance narrates BTP's closeness to Muslims, especially ones in Jakarta.