Abangan

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Abangan (derived from the Javanese word abang , "red") is a term that has been used in Java since the middle of the 19th century for people who are Muslim by name but who do not regard the Sharia as binding for them and whose beliefs contain elements of other religions, such as Hindu or traditional Javanese beliefs. On the other hand, followers of teachings that are based on Orthodox Islam of the Middle East are called Santri .

A marked contrast between Abangan and Santri only existed since around 1900. While the Abangan still made up the majority of the population of Java around the middle of the 20th century, they are only a minority here today.

Concept history

Abangan originally had the meaning of "secular" or "profane" and in East Java was a derogatory term for population groups who were not strictly religious Muslims. The latter were called putihan (from putih , Indonesian “white”) because many wore white clothes. Under President Sukarno , abangan also became a political classification in the 1950s , because parties involved in communist and nationalist politics made red their symbolic color.

The rejection of Sharia law by the majority of Javanese had a major impact on Indonesia during the proclamation of independence . At that time, an attempt was made to submit all of Indonesia to Sharia law. This was rejected by the then President Sukarno, who was of Madurese descent and rejected the religious intolerance of the Santri who dominated there.

Based on on-site observations, the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz developed an influential theory in his book The religion of Java (first published in 1960), according to which Java society has always been divided into three population segments: Abangan , Santri and Priyayi (court nobility). However, MC Ricklefs proved in 2007 that the term “Abangan” did not appear until the middle of the 19th century.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ See Ricklefs, MC "Abangan." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Edited by: Gudrun Krämer , Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online, 2013.
  2. ↑ James J. Fox: Abangan . In: Keat Gin Ooi (ed.): Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor. Volume 1, ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara (CA) 2005 p. 112, ISBN 979-1576077701

literature

  • Andrew Beatty: Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological Account. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999 ISBN 0-521-62444-4
  • Clifford Geertz : The Religion of Java. University Of Chicago Press, Chicago 1976 ISBN 0-226-28510-3
  • Michael Leifer: Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia . Routledge, London / New York 1996 ISBN 0415138213
  • MC Ricklefs: Polarizing Javanese Society. Islamic and other visions c. 1830-1930. Honolulu 2007. pp. 84-104.

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