Word: islamics
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...conversation that ripples through Java, Indonesia's most populous island, where chaotic cities jostle for space with serene rice paddies and dwindling enclaves of rainforest. And it's not yet clear whose telling of Islam will prevail. Will it be the moderation extolled by vast Islamic organizations like Muhammadiyah? The wildly popular entrepreneurship of Aa Gym, whose immaculately clad staff hand out glossy brochures in the gardens of his pesantren-cum-business headquarters while visitors sip on the celebrity preacher's own brand of soft drink? Will it be the dogma of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia - set up by accused terrorist...
...Indonesia's brand of Islam has long been known for its tolerance, and many Javanese are horrified to hear of the suspicion with which many Australians now regard their nation. The fear goes both ways; one pesantren student, asked why he hated Australians, retorts, "because you have banned girls wearing headscarves to school." But Javanese hospitality to strangers endures. Ba'asyir's Ngruki pesantren banned Australian, American and Singaporean journalists after they reported links between the school and members of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah. But after a special plea by an Indonesian-Muslim journalist, Ba'asyir approves from jail...
...shunning the jilbab, the head covering worn by increasing numbers of Indonesian Muslim women. This graduate of an Australian university admires progressive Indonesian scholars for their moderation but also subscribes to the widespread conspiracy theory that Western agents are behind the terrorist attacks in her country: "They have created Islam as the common enemy." And in the dusty grounds of a pesantren in the same city, a young teacher wrestles with the question of whether his faith sanctions violence. Was the Bali attack acceptable? "It's difficult to say," he mumbles, before another student jumps in: "No, because so many...
...past eight years exemplifies that syncretic, tolerant tradition. Apart from the usual country smells of manure and woodsmoke wafting through the windows of his house, Maksun's office is also faintly redolent of incense. For Maksun is a traditional faith healer. He has no problem reconciling his magic with Islam. "I am a good Muslim, but I am also a paranormal," he says, shrugging...
...teachers at al-Islam school have no truck with faith healing or visits to tombs of famous scholars to seek answers to prayers. "Their ideology is not suitable to local people," says Maksun of the fundamentalists. "They don't agree with many of our traditions that we have practiced for hundreds of years." Kasmawati, a 22-year-old who stands outside her house a few hundred yards from the school, agrees. "The students don't mingle at all with us," she says, adding that few local children attend the school. "Those strange-looking trousers, the robes and the beards...