M.A. dissertation, University of Hong Kong, 1979. / Typescript.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Graduate

There is a perception, held not only by scholars in the field but by many Muslims as well, that Islamic law in Indonesia is strongly colored by "non-Islamic" local custom (adat). Historically, this notion has given rise to a number of movements which have sought to ensure that religious beliefs and practices be restored and brought into harmony with the primary sources of Islam, the Qur'an and Sunnah. One of these movements was led by Ahmad Hassan (1887-1958), acknowledged by many as a great scholar and a tireless advocate of the need for renewal (tajdid) and reform (islah). This study analyses the significance of Hassan's role in the movement for Islamic legal reform and examines in particular his legal theory (usul al-fiqh) and its application to problems of substantive law (fiqh). In terms of Indonesia (and perhaps other regions as well), this is a new approach; for few works on Islamic law in Indonesia concerned with either the Islamic judicial system or substantive law devote any significant attention to usul al-fiqh, which, in fact, provides the foundation for these institutions, not to mention other aspects of Islamic teaching as well. / As a reformer, Hassan was sometimes led to adopt bold, even extreme positions. He attacked his traditionalist opponents for placing too much faith in the doctrines of particular legal schools when seeking solutions to the problems faced by Muslims. Too often this led them to base their decisions on individual opinion, which placed them at a doble remove from the two primary sources. Instead Hassan advocated constant ijtihad, or at least ittiba', in the belief that the door had never been shut on direct analysis of scripture. In adopting this position, Hassan developed a sound, consistent and text-based approach to usul al-fiqh that was adopted after his death by his followers and students. Indeed, this approach has even had a substantial effect on his opponents, whose stance has changed subtly to reflect many of Hassan's concerns.

This thesis looks at the Indonesian government’s strategy for managing the threat of terrorism between 2001 and 2006. Various socio-political factors such as the importance of Islam in Indonesian society and politics, ongoing democratization and important civil-military reform all contribute to an environment where counterterrorism efforts are both necessary and politically risky. In order to better address the many complexities of the Indonesian case study, this thesis uses a modified securitization theory framework which gives increased weight to the political and social context in which securitization decisions are made. The modified framework disaggregates the decision of an agent to rhetorically securitize an issue from the decisions behind subsequent policy actions, and considers separately the motivations behind each. When applied to the Indonesian case study this modified framework reveals that between 2002 and 2006, President Megawati Soekarnoputri and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono managed terrorism by employing a combination of securitizing and criminalizing strategies. It additionally reveals that for each president the non-discursive policy action was not solely result of the success or failure of discursive securitization, but was also dependent on the specific political environment each faced.

In the field of education, the Islamic educational institutions, both formal and non-formal, have played a major role in educating Indonesians from the colonial era 1600-1945, to the present day. / One of the Islamic educational institutions famous for its Islamic approach is the pesantren. This institution, however, is facing major challenges at present and is being asked to update, develop and change many of its programs in order to enable its graduates to participate more fully in Indonesian national life, particularly in the field of national development. As a result, some pesantrens began modernizing their educational systems. The modernization process is accomplished through the adoption of the national education system alongside the classical system, thus providing students with secular subjects and skills training together with religious education. As is to be expected, this modernization effort has created a number of problems for pesantrens such as lack of funds, finding skilled teachers for the secular and skill subjects, building the necessary facilities and creating the needed administrative apparatus. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This study discusses the establishment of Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh (All Aceh Ulama Association) by a few forward-looking Acehnese 'ulama's and the role that this organization played in educational reforms in Aceh. The educational reforms are discussed in two ways: (1) The actual change in the educational system of the madrasa, and the establishment of a teachers' training school Normal Islam Instituut. (2) The socio-religious changes that contributed to the success of the educational revolution in Aceh. / The thesis discusses the educational changes made by Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh and the impact they had on Aceh during the 1930's and indirectly on modern Aceh.

As the most populous Muslim country in the world, Indonesia has a unique experience in dealing with Islamic education, a system that was established years before the country's independence. This dissertation focuses on the development of Indonesian Islamic schools in facing the challenges of modernization and globalization, with special reference to their changing curricula. Using the social constructionist perspective as an approach, this study examines the significance of political and social changes to the development of Islamic schools' curricula throughout the country's history. This study finds evidences of a reciprocal relationship between the changing curricula of Indonesian Islamic schools and the changing social and political circumstances.

The main objective of this study is to analyze three major Indonesian Muslim responses to the Pancasila, the state ideology of Indonesia. The first Muslim response occurred when the Secular Nationalists proposed, shortly before Indonesia's independence in 1945 and again later in the Constituent Assembly debates (1956-1959), that the Pancasila be the basis of state. The second Muslim response to the Pancasila took place in 1978 when the New Order government proposed that the P4 (Guidelines for Understanding and Practicing the Pancasila) be legalized. The Muslims at first objected to both the proposal of the Pancasila as the foundation of the state and that of the P4, but finally acquiesced. Each stage in this process was marked by debate over the role of Islam in Indonesian society and politics, which often led to antagonism between the government and the Muslim community. When the government proposed in 1982 that the Pancasila serve as the sole basis for all political and mass organizations, the third Muslim response occurred. The Muslims' acceptance of this policy marked the end of the government's application of severe policies towards them and has resulted in the former being allowed to play an even greater role in Indonesian politics than had previously been the case.

This thesis investigates the activities of the Majlisul Islamil A`la Indonesia (MIAI), an Islamic federative organization of pre-independent Indonesia, elaborating in particular on the federation's socio-religious and political stance. Operating for only six years (1937--1943), the MIAI represented Muslim groups, as a counterpart to the "secularists," within the nationalist movement during both the final years of Dutch rule and the early stages of the Japanese occupation. The MIAI was established for the specific purpose of unifying the Islamic organizations---political and non-political, traditionalist and modernist alike---while at the same time reviving Muslim political and socio-religious strength after the decline of the Sarekat Islam, which had for almost fifteen years dominated the nationalist scene. / The mission of the MIAI was seen by Muslims as a response to the threat posed by external forces. It reacted in particular against Dutch policies considered discriminatory by Muslims concerning matters involving Islamic belief and practice, such as marriage and education. The federation also took a strong stand regarding Christian polemic aimed at Islam and took part in Indonesian Muslim response. That the establishment of the MIAI was favored by most Islamic organizations attested to the strong sentiment among Indonesian Muslims for a common front, regardless of their differences on socio-religious and political issues. Together with the GAPI (Gabungan Partai Politik Indonesia or the Federation of Indonesian Political Parties) and the PVPN (Persatuan Vakbonden Pegawai Negeri, or the Association of Government Employees), the MIAI took part in demanding political reform on behalf of Muslim groups. Indeed, notwithstanding its short life span, the MIAI was a pioneer for national unity in general and Indonesian Muslim unity in particular.