Religion, Culture, and State Journal

MINORITY MUSLIMS IN NORTH BALI: IDENTITY ON THE MAKING

Erni Budiwanti — 2022-10-10

Indonesia faces specific problems in creating and maintaining national unity due to the heterogeneity of its citizens. Identification with and primary loyalty to the nation has to be reconciled with different regional groupings which draw on language, custom, and religion to preserve their distinctiveness. Many of these complex patterns of identity may be called ‘ethnic’ and have the potential to divide the nation internally. The investigation of socio-religious and cultural plurality in such an ethnically rich nation as Indonesia challenges us to identify not only the essential factors responsible for maintaining cultural group identity, but also to show how this occurs within the broader achievement of national unity. The purpose of my study of the Muslim Balinese community in Pegayaman is to clarify issues involved in cultural heterogeneity In this case the socio-cultural diversity of Indonesia is manifest in Bali more in religious rather than in broader ‘ethnic’ category.

This article generally depicts the way the Muslims of Pegayaman in Northern Bali have maintained a separate socio-religious and cultural identity amidst a majority of Hindu-Balinese. Although their livelihood is heavily surrounded by an environment where the socio religious norms of the majority of population are different to their own, they have succeeded in maintaining their separate cultural identity. This study will pay specific attention to the following areas: 1) the Muslims defense mechanism vis-à-vis external challenges to their collective integrity; and 2) the degree to which the Muslims interact with the Hindu population.

This is (not) a Man’s World

Toni Ariwijaya — 2022-10-10

What causes radicalisation and violent extremism to emerge? Such a question has been the forefront of the world’s political agenda as the sense of urgency surrounding terrorism continue to rise. Schools of research have been conducted to reveal social and psychological factors motivating individuals to adopt the ideologies related to violent extremism and radicalisation. However, comprehensive conclusions translatable to policy making are still lacking. In fact, to be able to effectively and expediently address the underlying issues, we must all stand on a common ground, namely, we must return to the starting point of each individual: the family. We must then consider a potential key actor in their pursuit of a potential solution: mothers. Therefore, the purpose of this explanatory study is to investigate mothers’ perception on what causes violent extremism and what actions they should undertake to tackle the issue. A multiple-case study design was used. Eight randomly selected mothers whose children are in their adolescent within Babakan sub-urban area of Mataram city, West Nusa Tenggara, participated. Data were obtained from individual, digitally recorded face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The findings from this explanatory study suggest that the women had moderate knowledge towards violent extremism and radicalisation and aware of their critical roles in preventing their children from exposure to terrorism-related ideologies. Further, the study provides insights into how male domination tends to prevent the women to play the key roles in countering terrorism as, in local context, the issues related to this are sound rather masculine.

Perubahan Status dan Persepsi Masyarakat Lokal Terhadap Eksistensi Kelompok Bangsawan (Menak) di Lombok Tengah

Baiq Sri Rakhma Wati — 2022-10-10

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui konstruksi munculnya kelompok Menak dalam struktur sosial masyarakat di Desa Darek dan hak-hak istimewa apa saja yang dimiliki dan untuk mengetahui proses perubahan nilai sosial atas kelompok menak dan faktor-faktor penyebab perubahan dan untuk mengetahui dampak perubahan nilai pada eksistensi dan perilaku sosial kelompok menak di Desa Darek.

Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif untuk mendapatkan data yang mendalam dengan pendekatan eksplanatif. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Desa Darek Kecamatan Praya Barat Daya dengan unit analisis dalam penelitian ini ialah masyarakat Desa Darek. Penentuan informan dilakukan dengan teknik purposive sampling dengan jumlah informan sebelas orang terdiri dari tokoh masyarakat, masyarakat menak.masyarakat jajar karang. Penelitian ini menggunakan teori tindakan sosial Max Weber dan Fungsionalisme Struktural R.K Merton sebagai analisis hasil penelitian.

Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa perubahan Nilai sosial pada masyarakat Menak yang berada di Desa Darek sudah mulai terjadi perubahan oleh arus zaman yang menyebabkan Menak pada zaman yang serba moderen sudah tidak menjadi panutan atau pun menjadi pedoman dalam kehidupan sehari-hari seperti pada zaman dahulu yakni Menak sangat dihormati dan dijadikan contoh kehidupan bermasyarakat. Tingkat kebangsawanan yang ada di desa Darek saat ini masih ada yaitu pertama Raden untuk laki-laki bangsawan dan perempuan menyandang Dende. Lalu untuk bangsawan Laki-laki dab Baiq untuk bangsawan perempuan. Perbedaan bangsawan zaman dahulu dan Bangsawan Zaman sekarang sangat berbeda.