Abstract
The Muhammadiyah in Indonesia is commonly known not to be very sympathetic
towards mysticism in terms of its manifestations in mystical religious fraternities and
pantheistic identity mysticism. Although its stance versus these religious phenomena
seems to be very clear, many of its members are struggling to determine their attitude
towards the issue. The continuing uncertainty about its legitimacy is evident from the
questions Muhammadiyah members send to the Suara Muhammadiyah regarding this
topic. In this article I focus on the Muhammadiyah’s ‘official’ vision through its first
hundred years of existence. My thesis is that its rigidness in rejecting ‘mystical and
spiritual’ manifestations is not only caused by its fear of unbelief and heresy, but also
closely related to the political and social circumstances in which it is confronted with
these ‘mystical and spiritual’ manifestations in the first place.
towards mysticism in terms of its manifestations in mystical religious fraternities and
pantheistic identity mysticism. Although its stance versus these religious phenomena
seems to be very clear, many of its members are struggling to determine their attitude
towards the issue. The continuing uncertainty about its legitimacy is evident from the
questions Muhammadiyah members send to the Suara Muhammadiyah regarding this
topic. In this article I focus on the Muhammadiyah’s ‘official’ vision through its first
hundred years of existence. My thesis is that its rigidness in rejecting ‘mystical and
spiritual’ manifestations is not only caused by its fear of unbelief and heresy, but also
closely related to the political and social circumstances in which it is confronted with
these ‘mystical and spiritual’ manifestations in the first place.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 183-219 |
Number of pages | 37 |
Journal | Journal of Sufi Studies |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- aliran kepercayaan
- mysticism
- Indonesia
- Muhammadiyah
- Islamic modernism
- kebatinan
- polemic
- religious diversity
- Sufism
- tarekats