This thesis is an attempt to study the role of Ahmad Surkati in al-Ishrad movement in Java and its implications for the Arab community in Indonesia.

This thesis investigates the Islamic response to modernization and its common dilemma as seen through the eyes of Nurcholish Madjid, one of the most influential and prominent Muslim thinkers in Indonesia today. He and his followers represent the most radical development in Indonesian Islamic religio-political discourse in recent decades. This study will survey the growth of his thought from his first involvement with the Islamic renewal movement in the early 1970s, or more precisely after the inception of the New Order era, until the mid-1990s. The movement that he has founded seeks to reformulate the positive nature of modernity and its essential affinity with the purpose and spirit of Islam. The general thrust of Madjid's contribution in the discourse on Islamic modernism in Indonesia is to call Indonesian Muslims to change their attitude and way of thinking in order to play a proper and realistic role in national development and in reinterpreting universal Islamic values to fit the specific socio-economic, political, and cultural values of the nation. In so doing, Madjid proposes his concept of reactualization of Islamic teachings through ijtihad and reinterpretation of the Qur'an using what is called a contextual or substantial approach in that he is associated with the legacy of the neo-modernist approach proposed by Fazlur Rahman, Madjid's chief mentor. According to him, this concept is essential to the survival of the universalism of Islam. Therefore, the basic principle of neo-modernism consists in reinterpreting Islam according to its historical context while making its universal and substantial principles as well as its basic goal and spirit the primary consideration.

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This thesis studies Moenawar Chalil's reformist thought, as it was patterned after that of earlier reformists. Issues which have been long formed the heritage of religious reform appear therein, ranging from a call to return to the original sources of Islam to condemnation of popular religious practices. In his approach to Qur'an-interpretation, Chalil stripped the texts of legendary traits, rejected the principle of naskh, offered a particular approach to the interpretation of the mutashabihat verses and emphasized the i'jaz 'aqli/. His aim was to revitalize the Qur'an's function as a guide for modern life and to stress its compatibility with present modes of thought. Chalil's call for the emulation of the Prophet's sunnah was designed to reestablish the latter's direct link to rulings of a legal nature. He urged greater scrutiny of the authenticity of hadiths in order to restore the simplicity of faith and to halt inappropriate practices falsely attributed to the Prophet's example. This attitude was the logical outcome of his puritan stance, which was also manifested in the scope of his ijtihad which he restricted only to matters related to the purification of 'aqidah and 'ibadah. Similarly, Chalil's total rejection of the practice of taqlid shows his puritan agenda which went beyond even that of the early reformists. This extreme position, however, led him to misunderstand the true meaning of taqlid and its role both in the procedures of the judicial system and in shaping the faith of the 'awamm. Chalil's concept of ittiba' did not assess the intellectual state of the 'awamm, whose inability to detect the reasons behind the proofs meant that they would inevitably have to remain in a state of taqlid. Similarly, his call for the abandonment of the madhhab only helped to foster a new taqlid in response to this position. Also central to Chalil's reformist thought was his revision of the understanding of the basic tenets of Islam and his correction of the tradition

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This study aims to trace the development of Islamic theological discourse in Indonesia, from the early 1900s to the end of the twentieth century. It will focus on how modernist Muslims have constructed their theological thought throughout the century, which, in turn, reflects their religious understanding in response to the particular demands of their age. The modernist theological thought constructed so far signifies a continuum of progress, developing from one stage to the next. Implicitly, this progress also indicates the improvement of Indonesian Muslims' understanding of their own religion, which may suggest the betterment of their commitment to doctrinal beliefs and religious practices. Therefore, this study will also examine the ways in which Indonesian Islam noticeably grows more orthodox through these forms of religious commitment. Drawing upon an Indonesian term, the growth of orthodox Islam is known as the santri cultural expansion, which, at least since the last two decades of the century, has been characterized by the vertical (and horizontal) mobility of devoted Muslims in political, cultural and economic enterprises. As well, this study will include a discussion of the theological thought underlying that santri cultural expansion.

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No description available.