THE DISCOURSE OF SHARĪ’AH IMPLEMENTATION IN BANTEN 1999-2015

The establishment of Banten Province in 2000 has had a profound impact on the political and social situations. It also stimulated the rise of the implementation of Islamic law (sharī’ah) discourse in Banten. It is well known that Bantenese is one of the societies that strictly perform Islamic teachings in Java. The rise of Panitia Persiapan Penerapan Syariat Islam Banten (P3SIB/ The Committee of Sharī’ah Implementation Preparation in Banten), a local organization that propagated the important of the implementation of sharī’ah in Banten for instance, illustrated the willingness of Bantenese to implement it. Supported by some local organizations among others alumnae of PII, FSPP (Forum Silaturrahim Pondok Pesantren/Forum for Friendly Relation among Islamic Boarding Schools), as well as transnational organization such as HTI and Tarbiyah, P3SIB organized public meetings, discussions, and seminars about the importance of the implementation of sharī’ah in Banten. Those activities however are not followed by any further serious steps. This paper analyzes the development of the sharī’ah implementation discourse in one of the “religious” provinces in Indonesia and looks at the future of the discourse in Banten.