Contemporary Islam, Volume 8, Issue 3 , pp 285-301
DOI: 10.1007/s11562-013-0278-3
Author: Ahmad Najib Burhani
Author Affiliation: Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta, Indonesia
Author Affiliation: Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta, Indonesia
Abstract
The term “minority
religious community” in the Muslim country of Indonesia refers not only
to those embracing religions other than Islam, but also to minority
groups like the Ahmadiyya. Recently, the treatment of Ahmadis has been
worse than the treatment of non-Muslims. This article, therefore,
intends to study the status of ‘deviant’ groups under Islamic law and
the treatment of them in Muslim society. Specifically, this article
addresses the following questions: How did ulama in the past define and
treat minority groups? How do contemporary Sunni ulama define and treat
the Ahmadiyya? What is the status of this group under Islamic law? Are
they apostates, heretics, or unbelievers? And what are the legal
consequences of these charges? To answer these questions, this article
employs two methods. First, for theoretical treatment of minority groups
in the past, this article focuses its analysis on al-Ghazāli’s Fayṣal al-tafriqa and Faḍā’iḥ al-bāṭiniyya.
Second, following a discussion of classical Islam, the article moves to
contemporary time by analyzing fatwas against the Ahmadiyya from five
institutions: the Rābiṭa al-‘Ᾱlam al-Islāmī,
Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Muhammadiyah, Council of the Islamic
Fiqh Academy of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). This article argues that, first, fatwas against
the Ahmadiyya issued by these institutions were intended as a device to
sustain orthodoxy of umma and, second,
orthopraxy or devoutness in observing religious rituals, as practiced by
the Ahmadis, does not exempt them from the charge of apostasy because
theologically they are believed to deviate from orthodox beliefs.
Keywords: Ahmadiyya, Orthodoxy-orthopraxy, Apostasy, Religious minority, Fatwa, Ideological persuasion
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11562-013-0278-3
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11562-013-0278-3
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