Learning from an American drawn to Indonesian Islam

 Ixora Tri Devi

Evanston, Illinois / Tue, January 29, 2019 / 04:36 pm

"Before I turned to Islam, I was living in a life of suicide." This what my friend, James (not his
real name), said when I asked him about how important Islam was to him. I have been living in
the United States, near Chicago in Illinois since 2014. I work in the grocery store while my husband
completes his graduate studies. James, an African-American who teaches at a local high school
has become one of our close friends. He is calm, kind and interesting to talk to. I have learned a
lot about life in America from him. It was some time before I learned, surprisingly, how much
Indonesia meant to him. Especially the kind of Indonesian Islam that I grew up with, where inner
peace, tolerance and love go together; and where extremism, politicalization and tribalism that
grip Islam elsewhere in the world are its enemies.

So, why did James say that before he accepted Islam his life was a kind of suicide? As he explained
it, he was killing himself slowly with vanity, and with recreational romances that left him more
anxious than not. “I was slowly going crazy,” he told me.

James says he has witnessed how the faith changes people. James did not convert to Islam until
he met a group of students from Malaysia. He said he admired the way they treated each other,
and saw that was deeply influenced by their faith. He then began to study how Islam was practiced
in other countries including in Indonesia. He learned that Islamic saints, the Sunans, introduced
Islam to Nusantara, in part, through wayang, traditional Indonesian puppetry. James says he
admires the Sunans' cultural sensitivity and their creative approach. In James's view, Indonesians
have adapted Islam to fit their long traditions.

James says he likes how we integrate Islam into our daily lives. We always invite him when we
celebrate Islamic holidays and to share Indonesia’s festive foods. He loves the way we celebrate
Idul Fitri rituals, he admires our gatherings or silaturahmi. He says he prefers our style of Islam to
many of the Middle-Eastern expressions of Islam that are well-represented in Chicago.
My husband and I have a young daughter born in the US. James cautions me that if I want to give
them a religious education while in the US, I will have to “choose my tribe”. The most prevalent
Islamic religious schools, he says, are those where Middle Eastern or South Asian clerics or imams
set the tone. Naturally, they are influenced heavily by the regional practices they grew up with.

In Indonesia, it is easy find Indonesia imams to help with Islamic education, but in the US, they
are rare. Therefore, for James, the most convenient way to learn about Indonesian Islam is from
YouTube, which has some videos from Indonesian Muslim scholars in English. But he hungers
for more because he finds peace in Indonesian Islam. He told me he is also uneasy with much of
American Islam, which is prone to a kind of “transnational Islam” taught by “transnational
Muslims” who commodify and sell their teachings, often tinged with violent messages and hatred
for others, including other Muslims and non-Muslims alike. James says while Islam has brought
peace into his life, he has to resist the kinds of Islamic practices and teachings that can wreck that
peace.

Living far away from home inevitably I reminisce and long for the Islam of my youth in Indonesia.
Over the past four years in the US, my husband and I have tended not display our religion in public,
as we might in Indonesia or when we are among Indonesian friends here. Other than with James,
we rarely mention Islam. Interestingly, in talking with James, we have come to think harder about
how our religion shapes us. We have also come to cherish more the kind of Islam that surrounded
us growing up in Indonesia, which was a tolerant, peaceful kind that coexisted easily with other
faiths, and even with practices of Islam which differed from those of our families and regions.

Furthermore, even through the eyes of people, like us, who are living far from home, it is now
clear that the form of Indonesian Islam that James admires, and we cherish, is at risk. By
monitoring the mainstream and social media every day, we can easily find much bad news
regarding discrimination and intolerance based on religion. My husband and I worry that we may
not return to an Indonesia where our children can learn how to respect, tolerate and value all
Indonesians--or all people. But, rather, we will find ourselves in a country where religious teaching
focuses on how to demonize others, and encourages demeaning others, and stokes violence
against our fellow countrymen, even other Indonesian Muslims.
Ironically, this intolerance comes when many Muslims from all over the world are moving to new
countries where they will live among a non-Muslim majority. Some of these people move by
choice, while others like Muslims in Myanmar, are forced to move by violent intolerance against
them, and some come because Muslims are at war with other Muslims and they seek a safer place
to live and worship.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the
official stance of The Jakarta Post.

Topics :

 Islam Indonesia Muslim moderate-Islam

1. The List of Difficult Word

Word Part of Speech Synonym Meaning

tribalism noun ethnicity The state or fact of being organized in a
tribe or tribes.
grip noun hold Take and keep a firm hold of; grasp
tightly.
witnessed verb 3 (past participle) seen
faith noun religion/belief Complete trust or confidence in someone
or something.
cautions verb warns Say something as a warning.
prevalent adjective general Widespread in a particular area or at a
particular time.
hungers verb really want to Have a strong desire or craving for.
know
prone adjective disposed Likely or liable to suffer from, do, or
experience something unpleasant or
regrettable.
tinged verb 3 (past participle) tinted Colour slightly
reminisce verb remember Indulge in enjoyable recollection of past
events.
demonize verb disfigure Portray as wicked and threatening.
demeaning verb-ing humiliating Cause a severe loss in the dignity of and
respect for(someone or something)
2. Comprehension Map
we have to more respect to Islam
what is learning from
as our religion because Islam in
an American drawn to
Indonesia are more peace and
Indonesian Islam?
tolerant.

who is an American
drawn to Indonesian James
Islam?

because Islam in Indonesia is

more tolerate and peaceful.

because he admires the way they

treated each other.
Title:
Learning from an
American drawn to
because he admires the sunan's
Indonesian Islam why is an American
cultural sensitivity and creative
drawn to Indonesian
approach to introduce Islam to
Islam?
Indonesia.

because he admires how

Indonesians integrate Islam into
their daily life.

because he likes how

Indonesians celebrate the idul
fitri rituals and silaturahmi.

by watching some videos

how does an American
Indonesian Islam from
learn Islam in
Indonesian muslim shcolars in
Indonesia?
English in youtube.
3. Summary

The opinion which is titled “Learning from an American drawn to Indonesian Islam”
tells that there is an American named James (not his real name). James is an African-American
who teaches at a local high school in Chicago. He interested in Indonesian Islam because some
reasons. He began to get interested after he met the Muslim scholar from Malaysia. He drawn
to Indonesian Islam because Islam in Indonesia is more tolerate and peaceful which are
different with Islam in United States, not only that he also admires the way he treated each
other, the sunan's cultural sensitivity and creative approach to introduce Islam to Indonesia,
how Indonesians integrate Islam into their daily life and he likes how Indonesians celebrate
the idul fitri rituals and silaturahmi. The way James how to learn Indonesian Islam is by
watching some videos from Indonesia Muslim scholar in Youtube. From some reasons why
James is interested to Indonesian Islam, we as Indonesians Muslim have to more respect to
Islam as our religion which are peaceful and tolerate.