The recent trend for musicians and actors to use the entertainment industry to propagate militant brands of Islam has raised concerns about conservatism creeping into the arts. The Jakarta Post's team Arya Dipa, Bambang Muryanto and Nani Afrida analyze how this trend might further complicate the role of political Islam in Indonesia.
During the heyday of the rock band Sheila on 7 in the 1990s, guitarist Saktia Ari Seno stood out for his swinging, long-haired, "head-banging" style on stage. But now, if you happened to be one of his long-lost fans and bumped into him on the street, the chances are that you would not recognize your idol. His appearance has radically changed: He sports short hair and has grown a full beard.
At his home in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on a recent afternoon, wearing a blue Arab-style robe, black pants and a white skull cap, he awaited his friends for a mass Quran recital at his house.
"This robe is the kind worn by the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. In this garb, I won't be tempted to do bad deeds, such as going to the cafe or casting amorous glances at a woman who is not my wife," he said.
Shortly thereafter, there arrived a group of men in robes. They sat themselves on the carpet in his living room. Then women in black burqas shrouding them from head to toe entered from a back door. "Today we're expecting members of punk band RW or Error Without Emotion," he said.
In the evening, Saktia – who has adopted the Arabic name Salman Al-Jugjawy, or Salman from Yogyakarta – was scheduled to speak at a Quran recital in a mosque in a neighboring village.
This is only part of Saktia's daily routine since he quit Sheila on 7 to become an Islamic preacher. It was a week's getaway in a friend's Islamic boarding school in Bali back in 2004 that changed his life forever.
And Saktia is only one of several celebrities who have become "born-again Muslims" in the wake of the robust fundamentalism that began to surface along with the newfound democracy following the end of 32 years of Soeharto's authoritarian rule in 1998.
Classic examples were singers Gito Rollies (1947 to 2008) and Irvan Sembiring. Dubbed the Mick Jagger of Indonesia, Gito left the glamorous world of entertainment and became a celebrity preacher.
TV personality and soap opera actor Teuku Wisnu from Aceh is the latest to have quit the "sinful" industry and dedicate himself to spreading the word of Islam.
In Bandung, the West Java capital famous nationwide for its singers and actors, punk rock band Jeruji sang the blues in 2015 after losing a member, Aldonny, better known for his stage name Themfuck, who chose to focus on religious activities.
Bandung indie music fans have also bid farewell to Aditya Ardinugraha and Yudistira Ardinugraha of the rock band Pure Saturday. They followed in the footsteps of Rocket Rockers frontman Ucay, who has changed his name to Noor Al Kautsar.
Oddly enough, most of them made news not only because they left the worldly glam and walked the religious path, but also for the strains of Islam they have chosen to embrace, Wahhabism or Salafism – both are commonly associated with ultraconservatism, militancy and intolerance toward others who do not share their dogmas.
While born-again Muslims like Saktia still use music as a medium of propagation, many others have turned their back on it. Aldonny considers music to be haram, or forbidden under the Islamic teaching he embraces.
Since he quit Sheila on 7 and joined a Quran recital group called Jamaah Tabliqh as a preacher, Saktia has released two Islamic albums titled Islam itu Indah (Islam is Beautiful) and Selamatkan (Save). "In the past, I loved music. Now, after I have studied Islam, I love it even more," he said.
His method of propagation bears a resemblance to that of a Jehovah's Witness. He goes from door to door to preach about the faith. "Some people thought I came for alms and others turned me away. But it's all OK because the Prophet Muhammad PBUH also experienced the same rejection when propagating Islam."
But militant believers like Aldonny, Aditya, Yudistira and Ucay belong to more reclusive sects. None of them would grant The Jakarta Post's request for interviews.
"Sorry I can't give you an interview because my cleric has asked me to study [more about Islam]," Aldonny said on the phone. On his Path account, he explains why he quit the band:
"I left the band because I wanted to focus on my bakso [meatball soup] business. Besides, I realized that my religion forbids music because the activity leads to immoral acts like drinking and adultery. I know that happened when we performed concerts. I know lots of people regret my exit but please understand I'm only His servant and I have to listen to and take my King's orders."
Upon his withdrawal from Jeruji, he started a bakso business and worked for a Muslim fashion outlet in Bandung.
The reclusiveness of Aldonny's community has also baffled Hikmawan Saefullah, an ex-guitarist with another Bandung-based indie band, who is doing research on political Islam for his doctoral thesis at the Asia Research Center of the Murdoch University, Australia.
"They become suspicious of strangers who do not share their religious beliefs. But they will open themselves up once they are convinced that the people they are talking to are like-minded," he said.
Hikmawan has concluded that some artists may have become radicalized after they became disillusioned with a political system they were unable to resist.
Then, when the state ideology Pancasila lost its luster along with the demise of Soeharto's New Order regime, people were in search of new ideologies.
Some have founded sectarian movements such as Punk Muslim, Ghuraba Militant Tawheed and Strangers Al Ghuraba – all have their own political agendas. Thufail Algifari, an activist who founded Ghuraba Militant Tawheed in2009, revealed his mission was to promote the transnationalism of Islam.
Aldonny and Ucay were among the big crowd of Muslims who staged an anti-Shia rally at the West Java Legislative Council complex in Bandung in May last year.
The uptrend also bears witness to a worrisome development: Religious conservatism is creeping into the arts and campuses.
Recently, the renowned Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta has been awash with demonstrations against what students and the management see as infiltration of Islamic radicalism into their campus. The issue came to a head when lecturers affiliated to Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) refused to teach about drawing human figures on the pretext that it was haram.
HTI activists were present at the campus's mosque and propagated the idea of the caliphate – an ideology that the college regards as against the state ideology Pancasila and as a threat to the freedom of art and expression.
HTI activists have also been openly promoting their ideology at other major campuses in the "City of Education" Gadjah Mada University, the State University of Yogyakarta, the Islamic University of Indonesia and the State Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga.
ISI rector Agus Burhan is drafting a decree banning the propagation of any ideologies other than Pancasila on the grounds that they restrict the freedom of art, curtail creativity and hamper campus academic activity.
"It will apply not only to the HTI, but also all other civil organizations and political parties," he said as quoted by tempo.co.
A HTI spokesman, Muhammad Ismail Yusanto, has defended his organization's activity on campuses. On the ISI controversy, he insists that religion should serve as the guiding light for the arts. On the caliphate issue, he argues that it in no way contravenes Pancasila.
The creeping religious conservatism in the arts and formal education also concerns Herry Sutresna "Ucok" Homicide, leader of Grinloc Records who is also a cultural activist.
"Leaving or using music for religious activism is everyone's right. What worries me is if it becomes a trend with a political agenda. Even more worrisome is that my friends are among them."
Now as radicalism spreads unabated, music means more than entertainment but it has also become an effective medium to propagate theocratic ideology and mobilize the masses for political purposes.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/07/ultra-religious-conservatism-creeps-arts.html