ATTITUDES TOWARD MUSLIM DIVERSITY AND LOCAL NORMS
The issue of tolerance toward religious difference was sometimes brought up by the ulama in Kelantan and South Sulawesi. Again, the issue was not simply textual, but also contextual.
Some preachers argued for Muslim unity while recognizing diversity in non-fundamental matters. In Kelantan, Haji Nik Muhammad Adeeb (1918-64), who studied in Mecca and then in an American University in Egypt where he learnt general knowledge and English, was asked about diversity in Islam to which he replied: ‘If they prayed there would be no difference.’[1531] Tok Khurasan, the ulama graduate from Deoband, India, was reported to have been not very interested in the then current debate on the issues of talqin and talfiq (see above). Instead, he focused on his teaching of the hadith and the school of thought of Imam Hanafi, rather than Imam Shafi’i.[1532] Nik Muhammad Adeeb and Tok Khurasan were among those who did not see the need to worsen the existing internal schism on the issues they regarded as non-fundamental. In other words, they wished to adopt a ‘moderate position’ between or remain outside the kaum tua and kaum muda debate of the time.In South Sulawesi, some preachers paid some attention to the issue of tolerance. The Muhammadiyah preachers recognized the diversity of Muslim organizations in the Netherlands Indies as part of global and local reality as long as they shared the commitment to preach and teach Islam according to the Qur’an and the Prophet’s tradition. They interpreted the term ummah as not simply the Islamic community but also as Islamic organization, which meant that Islam could be preached by different organizations (ummah) in different local areas.[1533] Here the Muhammadiyah tolerated organizational plurality. The local organization, Bone Islamic Association (Perhimpoenan Islam Bone, PIB) in established on 20 January 1940 in Watampone, also aimed to promote tolerance among Muslims particularly in Bone because of difficulties there.
In their sermons, local Muslims were encouraged to counter backwardness, improve the economy, be more faithful to Islam and be tolerant toward different interpretations of Islam.[1534] Here the P.I.B. promoted tolerance of more ritualistic orientations of Islam.As for the local norms, many emphasized that Islam should coexist with these. For instance, in Bugis society, siriq is regarded as an important cultural belief. As I have discussed above, siriq is a fundamental concept which governs behaviour based on mutual respect.[1535] Some preachers tried to explain the local norm of siriq in light of Islamic norms. Hamka, a Muhammadiyah preacher who preached and taught in South Sulawesi from late 1931 to 1934, realized the religious importance of siriq and the cultural importance of the religious norm of shame. In a public speech, Hamka suggested that siriq was actually in accordance with Islamic norms but should not be done in an excessive or exaggerated fashion. Dignity, he continued, should be based on true faith and moral moderation. Hamka then quoted Imam al-Ghazzali who said that ‘the best dignity is one that is moderate’. What he meant by exaggeration was killing and violence that often resulted in the defence of siriq. In justifying his opinion, Hamka quoted an Arab poem translated as: ‘If you do not defend your dignity then you undermine it, and others will undermine it even more; therefore respect yourself and if a place is narrow for it, then move to another place where respect is possible.’ Hamka explained siriq by the Islamic terms maru’ah (self-dignity), shaja’ah (bravery) and haya (shame). An Islamic siriq, according to Hamka, is a reflection of individual liberty, national freedom, no fear but of God, no place with greatest protection but in God. Siriq could also mean respect for women and the dignity of religion. Hamka then quoted a Hadith saying: ‘Whoever is killed in defense of his property dies a martyr (shahid); whoever is killed defending his life dies a martyr; whoever dies because he defends his religion dies a martyr; whoever dies in defending his family dies a martyr.’ He then supported this with a hadith, ‘shame is part of faith’.[1536]
Hamka noted that a Bugis preacher, Haji Abdullah, preached at the Congress of the Muhammadiyah in 1932 at Makassar, emphasizing that ‘to die in the defense of the religion of Allah is to die in the most honorable way and to idealize the implementation of Islam in the country is to live meaningfully’.
Hamka then concluded his speech by saying, ‘I am amazed by the bravery of the Bugis and Makassarese people in facing death over only small things, but I would encourage you to apply the siriq in reaching higher goals, such as the dignity of your country, your nation, and your religion, so your death will be worth it.’[1537] Bugis scholars, such as Abu Hamid, later argued that siriq is equivalent to Islamic motivation (niat) because siriq serves as a motivating factor in social action.[1538] Here Hamka and Abu Hamid tried to Islamize the traditional doctrine of siriq and to localize the Islamic norm of respect and dignity. Thus, in South Sulawesi, there was an attempt to synthesize and reconcile the local norms of siriq and the Islamic norms of shame, dignity and respect to form a single religio-cultural concept.In Kelantan, a similar melding of cultural and religious ideas was complicated because there was no consensus on what aspects of Malay culture were actually Islamic. However, the connection between Malay- ness and Islam was often emphasized in the sermons. If Malays were poor, Islam played a role; and if they were developed, Islam also played its role. In Kota Bharu, Friday sermons emphasized the close connection between the Islamic faith and the Malay community. Even while recalling the glories of the Melaka Sultanate, preachers were aware that the Malays remained poor and backward in comparison with other nations, especially the Chinese and the English. Haji Abdullah Nuh (1905-47) travelled through Kelantan to raise awareness among ordinary Malays of the continuing relevance of Islam.[1539] For him, Malayness and Islam were an interlinked identity that could prove productive by emphasizing that Islam promotes progress, and therefore the Malay people as true Muslims must become modern.[1540]
In addition to the effort by preachers to reconcile Islam with local culture, another of their concerns was to determine how they should interpret what the Qur’an and the Prophet’s tradition said regarding the proper Islamic attitudes toward other religious communities. Both Kelantan and South Sulawesi had large religious minorities, and therefore this was an important problem facing the preachers. While some focused on religious books for a resolution of the question, others formed their interpretations by going directly to the Qur’an. In shaping preachers’ views of other religions, elements of text and context, as well as exegesis and history, had a major role.
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