A growing body of scholarship examines the diverse and new ways that popular music is used as a vehicle for Islamic discourse in contemporary Indonesian society. This dissertation compares three modern leaders who place their music within their own ideological context through non-musical discourse. K.H. Abdullah Gymnastiar (Aa Gym) is a preacher in Bandung whose music attempts to bring together Arabic traditions and optimistic practical advice; his piece "Jagalah Hati" shares in the theology of the Islamic philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and represents the "Managemen Qolbu" philosophies of his pesantren Darut Tauhid, a center for the nasyid musical style. Ahmad Dhani is a rock musician of the Jakarta band Dewa 19, who refashioned himself as a spiritual leader in order to oppose radical Islam through Islamic rock music; his songs "Satu" and "Laskar Cinta" clearly reference the philosophies of the Indonesian Sufi saint Syekh Siti Jenar. Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak Nun) is a writer in Yogyakarta who uses a modern revamping of traditional Javanese music in eclectic and philosophical community gatherings with his gamelan ensemble Kiai Kanjeng; their pieces "Gundul Pacul" and "Ilir-Ilir," examples of Islamic fusion, are analyzed with reference to Cak Nun's prose writings "Menyorong Rembulan dan Matahari Berkabut" and "Gundul Pacul, 'Fooling Around,' Cengengesan." This dissertation also describes the work of other Islamic musicians in Indonesia, including Snada, Bimbo, Edcoustic, Ungu, Letto, Gigi, MQ Voice, and The New MQ Voice. The three spiritual leaders use their music to fuel an Islamic revival in Indonesia that can be called Sufi. Their definitions of Sufism vary, but all are attempting to spur a discussion of Islam that is meaningful for Indonesians. By performing Islamic music, musicians teach their listeners about their own understandings of the religion and in effect are "performing Islam." This dissertation explores the musicians' theosophic associations, their ideas of how their music can be conceived of as universal, and their roles as civic leaders.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-08202010-101359 |
Date | 30 September 2010 |
Creators | Knauth, Dorcinda Celiena |
Contributors | Akin Euba, Anne Rasmussen, Deane Root, Bell Yung |
Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text |
Format | application/pdf, application/octet-stream |
Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08202010-101359/ |
Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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