Kamis, 14 Januari 2010

Ethics Of Social Religious Relations In Heterogeneous Society

Abstract

Indonesia is widely known as a nation with diverse social realities. Social relations of the Indonesian society have been the product of long-time cultural history. The Indonesian history from time to time has recorded the contacts of the nation to other great cultures and religions of the world. This experience has constructed old and new values. Old values which are no more conducive to the present and future needs of the society should be reinterpreted for implementation in social life. While new values suitable for the present and future human development should be understood and implemented in social relations. The process of transformation will need a social-religious ethics in its implementation.

Religious life and orientation of the Indonesian society will need special attention since this society has declared as a society with social religious characteristics. Islam and other great religions have developed influences extensively in many facets of social and religious practices. But religious practices seem to have no parallelism with ideal moral standards expected by the people; in fact, say, corruption and other ugly practices have been national phenomena in the last three decades. Religious practices seem to be connected only to the relations of man and his Creator, Allah the Almighty; while social relations tend to be separated from those religious practices.

In other words, hablumminallah (the vertical relations of man and Allah) has not been parallel with hablumminannas (the horizontal relations of man to man). Ideally hablumminallah should be reflected as well in the practices of hablumminannas, then man may achieve his highest status as insan kamil – human being with supreme human quality (NHK).


1. Introduction
Our social life has been the product of long-time historical process which constructed values – some parts should be left out, other parts would be understood and internalized in social relations as well as national relations. Some values should be left out for they are no more suitable for our present and future needs and ideals. Some would need reinterpretation for social implementation.
So we understand that our social life has been the result of influences of diverse elements of cultures and of great religions of the world. We have been living the social life with the teachings of Hindhu since around the 4th century to the beginning of the 16th century, even up to the present; with the civilization of Islam since around the 13th century; with the European civilization since the 16th century; and with other great civilizations of China, Arabs, Japan and America to the present time.
Our life history is just like a mouth-open giant ready to swallow elements and patterns of civilizations and cultures originated from various sources which flow through the new Indonesian civilization’s throat headed to the stomach of future Indonesian culture. In the stomach of culture the dynamics of social life and social relations move around. In the complex branches of cultural bowels, the dynamics of social relations and religious life process, move around, twist, go forward and back, not-linear.

2. Social Religious Facts
It is noted that the 240 million Indonesian population inhabit in a geographical and social area which consists of over 17,600 small and large islands, with around 400 culture and subculture systems, and 300 languages, shall unite with the Indonesian national language (Bahasa Indonesia) and Five Principles (Pancasila) as uniting umbrellas. This Indonesian population lives in 1,919,317 km of land and water, in September 2004 (KPU 2004) divided in 70.669 villages, within 5,106 subdistricts (kecamatan) in 440 districts (kabupaten) and cities (kota).
Around 10 to 15% of the population could be categorized poor and truly needy. How about the rich? They could be estimated of the top of the social cone, less than 1% of the population. Researches on social economic realities tend to open the answers concerning the poor population, since researches on the poor are surely easier to be carried out!
Other important facts should be social religious facts: over decades the Indonesian society recognizes official religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism; there exists as well other various original beliefs and sect practices, which have existed over centuries with participants within groups of communities.
It should be noted that social religious life in two or three decades has tended to a much better increase quantitatively, and probably qualitatively, mostly due to the sound development of information and communication strategies. Reasonably, as the majority the elevation of the Moslems’ social religious life immensely pushes forward. However, other social religious practices have developed as well.
Yet, there is a notable irony which occurs. In one side, the social religious life shows better tendency; in another side, the moral quality of many persons, especially those who attain political and economic power, tend to be extremely disgusting. There are comments concerning this situation: the Moslems seem to be active in pious practices: mosques are always full of prayers at Friday worship, they are fasting at fasting month of Ramadhan, they pay zakat and pilgrimage to Mecca; however, corruption and other ugly practices continuously multiply. With this situation the Indonesian society, the socio-religious society where Moslems are the majority, is widely known as a corrupt society as well. In addition, conflicts involving violence and terror tend to enlarge and promote fear.
Concerning this situation, a kiai (Islam master/leader) responded that understanding and implementation of ibadah (worship to Allah) and taqwa (devotion) are not yet complete. Our understanding and implementation to religious substance as reflected in our social religious relations tend to heavily fall into dimensions of relations of man to Allah (hablumminallah) and lack of dimensions of true sound relations of man to man (inter-human relations/hablumminannas). Whereas for the sake of real devotion to Allah (taqwa), a person shall understand and implement the true hablumminannas!
“If you made a mistake (sin) to a person, and the person does not forgive you, so Allah would not forgive you, especially when your mistake (sin) was before your parents, more especially your mother. Then you are sinful…,” educate a kiai.

3. Discourse on the Culture and Religion
Realizing and making a socio-cultural configuration of our heterogeneous society, what can we talk about?
On the discourse of culture and religious orientation of the Javanese, Clifford Geertz (1960) divided the Javanese communities on the basis of their orientation of cultural and religious values. He categorized the Javanese into 3 (three) variants, namely (1) abangan; (2) santri; and (3) priyayi (Geertz 1960). He described abangan as those who oriented to Java-Hindu values, even though formally admitted Moslem; while santri were those who oriented to relatively tight Islamic teachings; and priyayi those oriented to Javanese feudalist practices. One objection on these findings was that not all priyayi were not tight Moslem and quite possible that priyayi were abangan as well. Also, those who were considered santri in Java sometimes practiced Java-Hindu values.
However, Geertz (1960: 11) qualitatively in detail described various practices of values of Javanese socio-religious life, such as slametan which he viewed as
…. the Javanese version of what is perhaps the world’s most common religious ritual, the communal feast, and, as almost everywhere, it symbolizes the mystic and social unity of those participating in it. Friends, neighbors, fellow workers, relatives, local spirits, dead ancestors, and near-forgotten gods all get bound, by virtue of their commensality into a defined social group pledged to mutual support and cooperation.
He added,
A slametan can be given in response to almost any occurrence one wishes to celebrate, ameliorate, or sanctify. Birth, marriage, sorcery, death, house moving, bad dreams, harvest, name-changing, opening a factory, illness, supplication of the village guardian spirit, circumcision, and starting off a political meeting may all occasion a slametan.

Another fascinating description was concerned with the belief on spirits and ghosts among abangan variant, such as memedi (frightening spirit), lelembut (possessing spirit), tuyul (familiar spirit), demit (place spirit), and danyang (guardian spirit) (Geertz 1960: 16-29), and also the practices of dukun as curer, sorcerer, and ceremonial specialist (Geertz 1960: 86-111).
The socio-religious activities of santri were concentrated on religion education institutions in the santri educational system, such as pondok (pesantren) (with traditional pattern), langgar and mosque (the local santri community), madrasah (the conservative school), and tarekat (traditional Islamic mysticism) (Geertz 1960: 177-198).
Concerning life activities of priyayi, Geertz considered “the development of great tradition” which was concerned with the role of etiquette, linguistic etiquette, the role of classical art such as wayang (the shadow play), gamelan (Javanese music), tembang (Javanese poetry), joged (Javanese dance), batik (Javanese textile dyeing) as well as popular art such as wayang wong, ketoprak, and ludruk (popular drama), ledek, jaranan, and janggrung (street dancers) and tayuban (Javanese party). According to Geertz, priyayi developed mysticism and mystical sects as well (1960: 227-352).

4. Plural Configuration and Al-Kafiruun
Diverse plural configuration presented can be viewed as socio-religious realities which continue to live and develop up to the present. Parts of these values and practices experience processes of getting mouldy and released; other parts transform into new and other shapes or packages, especially due to the efficiency on the use of information and communication technology. How can we build a position and determine an attitude toward this configuration of socio-religious reality, while we live within it and wish a harmonious socio-religious life?
Definitely, we are supposed to escape from any sharp conflict, especially extended and endless physical conflict which involves human as well as material victims.
For Moslems Surah CIV/99, Al-Kafiruun (Those who reject Faith) renders early warnin g statement and guides a plural socio-religious society for safety and justice:
Say: O you that reject Faith!;
I worship not that which you worship;
Nor will you worship, that which I worship;
And I will not worship that which you have been accustomed to worship;
Nor will you worship that which I worship;
To you be your way, and to me mine.

5. Implementation of Ethics of Socio-religious Relation as Amal Shaleh (Good Deeds)

Islam determines society as arena of implementation of supreme moral values and considers the social dynamics and movements as implementation of highest moral order. At the same context, noble ethical values are absolutely needed for the direction of morality in social relations. Yet, ethical values demand the existence of human society, human interactions, and the condition which promotes positive responses toward a moral action of excellent qualities.
Themes of human attitude and behavior such as love and affection, generosity, kindness, justice, peace, wisdom, and sacrifice can be merely implemented by human being as an intelligent creature within social interactions (hablumminannas). It is quite hard to imagine a person who implements a moral action and ethical movements with no relation to other persons, or even to other creatures. Thus, Islamic morality at the end must be supreme social ethics and good deeds.
As Surah LVII/57, Hadid (Iron), has taught:
7. Believe in God and His Apostle;
And spend (in charity)
Out of the (substance)
Whereof He has made you Heirs.
For, those of you who believe and
spend (in charity), -
for them is a great reward.
…………………………………………….
17. Know you (all) that God gives life
to the earth after its death!
Already have We shown
The Signs plainly to you,
That you may learn wisdom.
18. For those who give in charity,
men and women,
and loan to God a beautiful loan,
it shall be increased manifold
(to their credit),
and they shall have (besides)
a liberal reward.

6. Brotherhood
Brotherhood in social relations and religious life within plural society has certainly been recommended highly in Islam. The doctrin of tauhid (the belief in the One, and the Only God) involves the idea of brotherhood to all human beings in the world, for human being and other creatures are created by Allah, the One and the Only God. Thus, what is called amal shaleh (good deeds) in Islam is not limited to good attitude and behavior to human only, but also to other creatures such as animal (see Nasution 1987: VIII).
Nevertheless, degree of social relations of human beings is givenly ordered in stages. The order of three stages of human social interactions can be a general guide in our social relations.
In the first stage, ukhuwah Islamiyah, brotherhood between Moslems; the second, ukhuwah Wathoniyah, brotherhood in social relations between persons of the same nation, even though in different religious orientation, different ethnic or tribal groups; and the third, ukhuwah Insaniyah, which is social relations between human beings, as the creation of Allah, the One God, which consist of diverse nations.
However, the basic concept of inter-human and inter-creature relations should be love and affection to all creatures, as the implementation of supreme attitude, amal shaleh (good deeds) and taqwa (devout). Surah XLIX/49Al-Hujurat (Inner Apartments): Ayah 13,
O mankind! We created you
from a single (pair)
of a male and a female,
and made you into
nations and tribes,
that you may know each other
(not that you may despise each other).
Verily the most honored of you
in the sight of God
is (he who is) the most righteous of you.
And God has full knowledge
and is well acquainted
(with all things)

Thus, for the Moslem, as an individual or as a group, there should be no obstacles to immerse into a plural society, as long as the moral standard and highest value to be devotion to Allah, the Almighty. Human being should always strive for a human ideal type as Insan Kamil (human being with supreme quality), through good deeds in social relations.

7. Concluding Remarks
Rasullullah Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasalam has stated (from Abu Dawood & Tirmidzi): “There is nothing heavier of the weights of his good deeds but proper behavior.” Surely, only human being who has the capacity and capability to understand and implement ethics of social religious relations as amal shaleh (good deeds) toward an achievement of high valued devotion: Insan Kamil, human being who implements good deeds into proper behavior. Amen. Wassalam.
Semarang, 29 September 2004

Nurdien H. Kistanto
Professor of Anthropology. He holds an MA in American Studies (1985) from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA and a Ph. D. in Social Anthropology (1995), Sydney University, NSW, Australia. He lectures ‘Basic Social Sciences,’ ‘Social Systems,’ ‘Qualitative Research Methods,’ ‘Ethnography Indonesia,’ and ‘Social Environment’ (Diponegoro University) as well as ‘Anthropology’ (IAIN Walisongo).
Ph: 024-6712267; Cellphone: 08122803645







BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ali, A. Yusuf. Third Edition, 1938. Al-Quranulkariim. The Islamic University of Al Imam Mohammad ibn Sa’ud.

Dewanto, Nirwan. 1991. “Kebudayaan Indonesia: Pandangan 1991,” PRISMA No. 10/Oktober: 3-21.

Faruqi, Ismail R. 1984. Islam dan Kebudayaan (Islam and Culture), translated into Indonesian by Yustiono. Bandung: Mizan.

Geertz, Clifford. 1960, 1976. The Religion of Java. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Hassan, A. 1976. Tarjamah Bulughul Maram 2. Bandung: CV Diponegoro.

Koentjaraningrat. 1971, 1993. Manusia dan Kebudayaan di Indonesia. Jakarta: Djambatan, Cetakan Keempatbelas.

Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU). 2004. Edaran untuk KPU Daerah. Pemilihan Presiden Putaran Kedua, September 2004.

Nasution, Harun, dan Bachtiar Effendi (Editors). 1987. Hak Azasi Manusia dalam Islam. Jakarta: Pustaka Firdaus.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar