This article seeks to endeavors and strategies of an Islamic organization, Hidayatullah, to survive in changing political regimes in the New Order to Reformation period of Indonesia. It was established as an Islamic educational and dakwah (Islamic proselytizing) institution in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, in 1973. Despite socio-political changes in the country, it has expanded to several provinces in Indonesia which transformed it to become the largest Islamic educational institution with 402 branches of Islamic schools. The organization focuses its activities (...) on Islamic education and dakwah through various ways including printed media such as Suara Hidayatullah magazine, distributed weekly to its branches, mosques, and schools. Based on a literature review of Suara Hidayatullah magazine and interviews with Hidayatullah prominent figures, this article delves into the struggles and movement of Hidayatullah through its dynamics and transformation in socio-political changes in Indonesia. This article argued that in political dynamics and transformation within Hidayatullah organization show the resistance and resilience to survive in the socio-political crisis of Suharto’s New Order era (1966-1998), which discriminated against Islam as a political ideology and in the aftermath of reformation. One of the strategies to comply with the political repressions is to declare Hidayatullah as an Islamic organization like Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah in 2000. This transformation process proves Hidayatullah’s strategic foresight and adaptability in socio-cultural and political changes. (shrink)

Adzan Pitu is one form of the legacy of Syarif Hidayatullah in spreading Islam in Cirebon. One of the ways in which Sunan Gunung Jati spread Islam is by building mosques. The construction of the Sang Cipta Rasa mosque aims to centre the spread of Islam in Cirebon and surrounding areas. A Mosque is symbolised not only as a place of worship but also as a place of studying Islam. This is what underlies the construction of the Sang Cipta (...) Rasa mosque by Syarif Hidayatullah which is now in the Kasepuhan palace complex in Cirebon. The noble goal is constrained by the evil intentions of the Mataram envoy who wished to thwart the construction of the mosque. Until today, when the People of Cirebon are affected by an epidemic such as measles, they have to perform Adzan Pitu to repel the outbreak and sacrifices as a condition to purify the spell that was spread by the envoy of Mataram. Adzan Pitu is a call to prayer with seven people at the same time. It is a form of mixing of Islamic and Hindu culture. Adzan Pitu has character values in it, which include religious values, hard work and social care. The values contained in Adzan Pitu are a reflection of Syarif Hidayatullah’s struggle in spreading Islam in Cirebon. In addition, these values are also a legacy of Sunan Gunung Jati in an effort to increase the value of character for the nation’s next generation.Contribution: This article contributes from a multidisplinary theological perspective to hermeneutical studies behind philosophies related to the Abrahamic religions as expressed in the Qur’an. (shrink)

Overall, this book is indispensable for anyone wanting to have a richer understanding of how the Qur’an is read and interpreted within a feminist context. It is a wonderful synthesis of the work that has been done in the field thus far and provides tools necessary to seek out new avenues in understanding the Qur’an while still retaining a feminist spirit. Yet, in the end, this book does not disturb Muslim world order. It remains an overwhelming possibility for Hidayatullah (...) that interpretations which hierarchally differentiate between men and women may not be wrong. There is a comforting sense of resignation, or at least an affirmation of the ambivalence that Muslim mothers have transmitted to their daughters for centuries. We, feminist Muslims, are left with the same ambiguity with which we started the book. However, we now have a much deeper understanding of the nature of that ambiguity, and that perhaps is worth embracing in itself. (shrink)