Merayakan Kebebasan Beragama - Democracy Project
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

Merayakan Kebebasan Beragama - Democracy Project

Merayakan Kebebasan Beragama - Democracy Project Merayakan Kebebasan Beragama - Democracy Project

abad.demokrasi.com
from abad.demokrasi.com More from this publisher
12.07.2015 Views

Democracy Projectcome to know him somewhat well and to have been drawn, howeverincompletely, into his world into his and thought. This paper willseek to understand Djohan as a public intellectual and Islamic thinkerand as a civil-sphere actor. It does not and cannot aspire to being acomprehensive study but hopefully succeeds in introducing a coupleof perspective points that will be productive and useful for thoseseeking to understand show. The aim of the paper is to try andunderstand Djohan’s contribution to the development of progressiveIslamic thought in Indonesia. This is an important topic, perhapsmore important than many people in Indonesia realize. WithinIndonesia the presence of a significant element of progressive Islamicintellectuals is more or less taken from granted. Those who havestudied or lived and worked in the Arab world will be aware thatthis is a very different state of affairs than that found in most Arabsocieties. For not only is Indonesia the world’s largest Muslimcountry it is also, arguably, amongst the most advanced when itcomes to new Islamic thought and to exploring the role of religionin modern, plural society.There are many things that could be said about Djohan, morethan any one of us knows and is able to articulate, and more than thesum of all the chapters in this book. So to attempt any sort ofcomprehensive portrait of Djohan is to attempt an impossible task.I will confine my rough sketch, instead, to seven key points. Theseseven points strike me as being at the core of his character and asdefining features of his professional life, but they are certainly notthe whole story.The first thing to say about Djohan is that he is driven by a deepspirituality and Islamic piety. This point might appear at first to bean unnecessary platitude. It is after all, the sort of thing spokenpolitely and in public about many people particularly those whosevocation disassociated with their religious identity. And perhaps formost people such statements are, more or less, true. The influence ofspirituality and the desire for piety can be found in the lives of mostdecent religious people. But this is not what is meant here. Djohanis one of those rare individuals in whom a deep spirituality is selfevidently and consistently present. For many people spirituality isbut one of many elements driving the personality and influencingtheir choices. And even then, it is seldom consistently to the fore,754 |MERAYAKAN KEBEBASAN BERAGAMA

Democracy Projectbut rather ebbs and flows as if struggling with other forces and otherimpulses. With Djohan, however, there is a sense that he is constantlyand overwhelmingly driven by a deep spirituality. The fact thatDjohan is generally quiet to the point of appearing shy, and evenwhen he does speak he seldom thrusts himself forward or in any waydominates a conversation, it is not in itself the main thing whichspeaks about his spirituality. Rather, one of the strongest indicatorsof his inner life is the fact that despite his apparent shyness andseeming absent-mindedness he is one of the most morally courageousand bold public intellectuals of his generation. It is because heoperates on the basis of deep and unwavering convictions and isprepared to be guided by them regardless of the consequences, ratherthan any quirk in of personality or personal style, that he can be saidto be deeply spiritual. There are a number of other related aspects ofDjohan’s character that speak to this deep spirituality and confirm itspresence, and these aspects shall be enumerated individually.But before going into these details it is important to speak aboutthe nature of Djohan’s Islamic piety. There are, no doubt, manypeople who evidence a deep spirituality without conforming to, oraligning themselves with a particular form of organized religion. Butthis is not the case with Djohan. It is important to explain, thatdespite what many of his critics would claim, his progressive and anopen-minded religious faith and spirituality is derived from anddirected by orthodox Islamic belief and practice. Because of hisboldness and his deep commitment to dialogue and to reaching outacross communal lines it is often said of Djohan, or at least implied,that he is a ‘liberal’ Muslim who is only loosely anchored to thehistorical traditions and doctrines of his faith. To give but oneexample, some have alleged that he is quietly following Ahmadiyahrather than orthodox Islamic practice. They seem to arrive at thisposition based, in part, upon his long scholarly interest in Ahmadiyahand in his preparedness to speak up for the welfare of the minorityof Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia, together with his relatedcriticism of the hardline Orthodox figures who find value in leadingattacks upon Ahmadiyah. Yet, when one studies his writing, observeshis life and comes to know him it is clear that Djohan’s toleranceand open-mindedness has not come at the expense of conventionalorthodox belief. In fact, he would argue, that they are sustained byBunga Rampai Menyambut 70 Tahun Djohan Effendi| 755

<strong>Democracy</strong> <strong>Project</strong>come to know him somewhat well and to have been drawn, howeverincompletely, into his world into his and thought. This paper willseek to understand Djohan as a public intellectual and Islamic thinkerand as a civil-sphere actor. It does not and cannot aspire to being acomprehensive study but hopefully succeeds in introducing a coupleof perspective points that will be productive and useful for thoseseeking to understand show. The aim of the paper is to try andunderstand Djohan’s contribution to the development of progressiveIslamic thought in Indonesia. This is an important topic, perhapsmore important than many people in Indonesia realize. WithinIndonesia the presence of a significant element of progressive Islamicintellectuals is more or less taken from granted. Those who havestudied or lived and worked in the Arab world will be aware thatthis is a very different state of affairs than that found in most Arabsocieties. For not only is Indonesia the world’s largest Muslimcountry it is also, arguably, amongst the most advanced when itcomes to new Islamic thought and to exploring the role of religionin modern, plural society.There are many things that could be said about Djohan, morethan any one of us knows and is able to articulate, and more than thesum of all the chapters in this book. So to attempt any sort ofcomprehensive portrait of Djohan is to attempt an impossible task.I will confine my rough sketch, instead, to seven key points. Theseseven points strike me as being at the core of his character and asdefining features of his professional life, but they are certainly notthe whole story.The first thing to say about Djohan is that he is driven by a deepspirituality and Islamic piety. This point might appear at first to bean unnecessary platitude. It is after all, the sort of thing spokenpolitely and in public about many people particularly those whosevocation disassociated with their religious identity. And perhaps formost people such statements are, more or less, true. The influence ofspirituality and the desire for piety can be found in the lives of mostdecent religious people. But this is not what is meant here. Djohanis one of those rare individuals in whom a deep spirituality is selfevidently and consistently present. For many people spirituality isbut one of many elements driving the personality and influencingtheir choices. And even then, it is seldom consistently to the fore,754 |MERAYAKAN KEBEBASAN BERAGAMA

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!