44 Sufi groups combat terrorism in Indonesia

By: Abdel Hady Rabie

Indonesia is one of the most populous Muslim countries. It has a population of 250 million people, and Muslims represent more than 90%. Indian immigrants and the Arab merchants brought Islam to Indonesia in the first century A.H. (the 7^th century). The Arab merchants were from Hadhrami tribes. The majority of those people were Sufis.

Islam rapidly spread in Indonesia due to the good-behaviors of the Muslim travelers and merchants. Islam was widely spread by the 13^th century.

Jamiyyah Thariqah Al Mu’tabarah

Indonesia has a large number of Sufi orders, which emerged in the country with the advent of Islam. The Nahdlatul Ulama movement, which considers itself an offshoot of the Ash’ari theological school, was founded by Sheikh Hashim Ash’ari in 1926.

Jamiyyah Thariqah Al Mu’tabarah was established in 1957 to organize and supervise the activities of the Sufi orders in Indonesia.

Jamiyyah Thariqah Al Mu’tabarah sets conditions for the recognition of Sufi orders, most notably: “to adhere to one of the four schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali), and the Sheikh should take the order from his predecessor.

Jamiyyah Thariqah Al Mu’tabarah approved more than 44 orders, most of them Sunni, some of them Shiite, such as the Bektashi Order, a Sufi group that is closer to Shiism. Its teachings were taken from many Sufi orders. Its name refers to Haji Bektash Veli, who died in 1270.

It is based on the principle of philosophical mysticism, and the followers of this principle mix their Sufi inclinations with their intellectual concepts. This order is well-spread in Albania and the Balkans in general, and their leader lives in Albania’s capital, Tirana.

Wahidiyah Order

Although there are 44 Sufi orders in Indonesia, the most prominent of which is Wahidiyah, an independent Indonesian order, which is Indonesian to the core as it did not come from abroad or an offshoot of another Sufi order.  Although it was established 33 years ago, many Muslims have become followers.

The order is based on a number of supplications called the Wahidiyah prayers, written by its founder Haj Abdul Majeed Ma’arouf (1920-1989). Wahidiyah differs from the other orders as it does not stipulate allegiance, which is fundamental in other Sufi orders.

Seclusion, or mystical isolation, is not imposed on the followers. Wahidiyah requires the good-will in the worship of Allah: which mean “”doing the good for Allah with the help of Allah”.

It also requires obedience to the Prophet with the blessing of the Prophet, and obedience to the Qutb with the blessing of Qutbb, or pivot: the highest rank in Sufi order).

Qadiriyya Order

Qadiriyya is one of the oldest Sufi orders in Indonesia. It is attributed to Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (1078-1166). Its followers are spread throughout the Levant, Iraq, Egypt and East Africa. Its members have a great influence in the spread of Islam in Africa and Asia.

There are those who have introduced and disseminated Qadiriyya order in East Asia in general and Indonesia in particular, such as Sheikh Ismail Dafi in the 6^th century A.H. He moved to Aceh in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

The order has become popular and the most well-known in Indonesia. One of the most prominent sheikhs is the Indonesian sheikh Hamzah Fansouri, the first author in Indonesian Sufism.

Tijaniyyah Order

Tijaniyyah is one of the modern Sufi orders in Indonesia, a Sunni one, attributed to Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad at-Tijani (1737-1815) and is spread in North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, the Levant, Sudan, Mauritania, Senegal, Nigeria and other countries .

Tijaniyyah was known in Indonesia in 1920, and was registered as a Sufi order in 1931, after several years without official recognition.

Sufism and politics

Sufism is involved in Indonesian political life. The government pays special attention to Sufi orders, with all respect for the rights of other faiths and sects such as Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and others.

The Indonesian government also receives many Sufi delegations from other countries, and signs cooperation protocols with numerous Sufi-related bodies, such as the International Islamic Sufism Academy, with which it has a protocol of cooperation to disseminate tolerant religious discourse and to combat the radical discourse adopted by terrorist organizations.

Moreover, it organizes lectures on the role of Sunni Sufism attended by many religious, political and military figures in Indonesia.