THE POLITICS OF A LOCAL SUFISM IN CONTEMPORARY INDONESIA

Abstract

This article discusses the politics of local Sufi group (tarekat) in Indonesia, the Shiddiqiyyah. It addresses the locality of Shiddiqiyah tarekat and its politics during New Order Indonesia and following the fall of the regime. It is argued that the Shiddiqiyah, a local tarekat with its roots in East Java and later successfully welcomes national reputation, is an example of a tarekat that utilizes nationalistic slogan to expand its influence as well as to protect the tarekat from heretic accusation. Through a series of intensive fieldwork, the article argues that the Shiddiqiyyah has successfully maintained ideological patronage to the New Order Indonesia through nationalistic slogan which has been a core value of the group. The doctrine of nationalism has been translated in Sufi and Javanese idioms and become fundamental doctrine of the Shiddiqiyyah. [Artikel ini mengkaji tentang dimensi politik dalam salah satu kelompok tarekat lokal bernama Shiddiqiyyah. Secara spesifik, studi ini fokus pada era Orde Baru dan pasca ketumbangannya sebagai bagian penting bahwa Tarekat Shiddiqiyyah mampu menunjukkan eksistensi di tengah rezim yang sensitif dan represif. Dapat dikatakan bahwa Tarekat Shiddiqiyah—yang berakar di Jawa Timur dan kemudian mendapatkan reputasi nasional itu—adalah contoh tarekat yang berhasil memanfaatkan slogan nasionalisme sebagai DOI: 10.21274/epis.2021.16.1.59-82