Deradicalizing Islam in Indonesia Through the Perspective of Al-Ghazali’s Maqasid al-Syari’ah (Purposes of Islamic law)

This article studies and analyses programs of deradicalization of Islamic understanding in Indonesia through the concept of Al-Ghzali’s maqasid al-syari’ah (purposes of Islamic law). This concept is chosen because of its considered comprehensiveness in nature. The Al-Ghazali’s concept of maqasid al-syari’ah (purposes of Islamic law) is focused to guard properties of a man, which are the following: religion, soul, intelligence, generation, and wealth. This concept is relevant to analyze deradicalization programs of Islamic understanding in Indonesia. This study is a library research, which uses a content analysis method. The analysis tries to do a mapping of the concept of maqasid al-syari’ah, and analyze elements of maslahah (common good) found in the deradicalization program of Islamic understanding, and its relevance to the Ghazalian concept of maqasid al-syari’ah. This study argues that deradicalization of Islamic understanding is not incompatible with the Islamic law and values. This study also recommends that effort of deradicalizing Islamic understanding needs to be performed in Indonesia, in order to ward off radicalism and contraterrorism. As such is an effort to create order, safety, pleasure, and persistence of life and human’s civilization, as well as a guidance and demand of Islamic teaching. Finally, this study concludes that Al-Ghazali’s concept of maqasid al-syari’ah is very contextual to cope the deradicalization problem of Islamic understanding in Indonesia, especially seen from the legal perspective.