Following Arab Saints

ABSTRACT Most studies on Muslim youth in post-New Order Indonesia have concentrated on those who are affiliated with global Islamist movements. Such studies overlook another spectrum of Muslim youth, those who engage with traditionalist Muslim groups. This article analyses the growing popularity of Hadhrami Arab preachers among urban Muslim youth in contemporary Indonesia. The preachers who claim descent from the Prophet are popularly called habib (sing.) or habaib (pl.). Inheriting holy blood from the Prophet, habaib have enjoyed a special status and respect among Indonesian Muslims, especially traditionalist ones. This study focuses on the late Habib Munzir al-Musawa and his sermon group (majelis taklim), the Majelis Rasulullah (The Prophet’s Assembly), as well as his young followers in Jakarta. The Majelis Rasulullah is arguably the most popular sermon group in Indonesia and has attracted tens of thousands of people to its public preaching events. Seeking to explain its popularity, this study considers the views and experiences of Habib Munzir’s young followers concerning their participation and activism within the group. It explores both structural and cultural factors that drive urban Muslim youths to participate in the sermon group. Borrowing Bayat’s perspective on Muslim youth and leisure, the paper argues that Indonesian Muslims participate in the habaib sermon groups not only for spiritual shelter but also because they see them as sites where they can express both their piety and their ‘youthfulness’ in the midst of uncertainty, discontent, and limited spaces for expressing themselves in Jakarta.