Islam in Madura and the tradition of violence

Islam in Madura and the tradition of violence

Abdur Rozaki, Contributor, Madura Island, East Java

Islam in Indonesia is deeply rooted in local communities and
it is therefore impossible to find a common interpretation of the
religion in this country of diverse ethnic groups. There are many
Muslim communities, each with its own character. The different
characteristics of each community mostly stem from different
methods being used to interpret religious texts and are also
closely linked with real socio-cultural situations.

Take the Madurese, for example.

Madura is part of East Java province and people outside Madura
Island often assume that culturally the Madurese are the same as
the Javanese. However, if we take a closer look into Madurese
communities, there are clear socio-cultural differences that
distinguish the religious character of the Javanese from the
Madurese.

In Madura, there are common beliefs that reflect the social
character and way of life of the people regarding certain issues
perceived to be sacred and that command full respect. Among those
issues are Islam, women and self-esteem and the three are closely
intertwined. A disregard of any of the three will bring forth
violent reprisal, popularly known as carok, which is the Madurese
problem solving mechanism.

According to a study conducted by Wiyata (2002), sexual
advances or harassment of other people's wives topped the list of
conflicts between carok in Madura. Although religion values human
life and advocates amicable solutions to conflicts, for the
Madurese there is only a solution to a dispute involving a man's
wife: kill the perpetrator. Moreover, Muslim clerics or kyai seem
to give social approval of such a violent action. No case
involving a dispute over women has ever been settled peacefully,
despite the involvement of the kyai as a mediator.

There were even reports of a kyai resorting to carok when his
wife was harassed.

Carok has become the common way to settle problems in Madura,
especially with regard to a threat to human dignity and self-
esteem, as it satisfies the Madurese' craving for justice, as
compared to a court settlement. Madurese people have no trust in
law enforcers. For the Madurese, to bring a case to a legal
institution means to end up with greater losses. The case may not
be settled, while the individual must also dig deep into his/her
own pocket to cover the legal fees. Besides, it is a common
belief that justice here belongs to the rich, not to the poor.

Madura's religious institutions are powerless to end this
violent practice. The Kyai, too, in whose hands lies the power to
interpret religion and promote nonviolent acts, seem to be
powerless to end the practice of carok. They have been trapped
into providing justification and social approval for this
cultural phenomenon.

In most cases, carok has led to a vicious retaliatory cycle.
It also form a vicious cycle of violence which is unbreakable as
the kyai and religious institutions in Madura are unable to start
a new tradition of conflict-resolution. Ironically, some kyai
play a significant, albeit indirect, role in preserving the carok
culture by practicing magic and selling religious symbols like
amulets, spells, and offering other "religious services".

Why does violence as reflected in the carok tradition flourish
in Madura?

There are several explanations to the question. First, the
land is barren with limited water resources and yields limited
agricultural produce. Poverty is rampant and discontent has made
the people highly temperamental and emotional. Poverty has turned
the eyes of the Madurese to immaterial things, including the
value of dignity and self-esteem. Poverty has not made the people
lose their social dignity. Hence, life is at stake when it comes
to preserving their self-esteem, considered to be the last
"treasure" owned by an individual. Ango'an pote tolang e tembeng
pote mata", literally translates as: "It is better to have white
bones than white eyes", a local proverb meaning ... Life simply
loses its meaning when a man or a woman is humiliated and loses
their self-esteem.

Second, there is the blater tradition. In Madura, there is a
community known as blater, or thugs that plays a prominent role
in their community. As a blater, an individual must have courage,
wit, and skill in handling all means of defense, like martial
arts, weapons and debus (magic). Blater are very fond of
cockfighting. In addition, these local thugs also belong to a
place called remoh, where they get together to feast to enjoy
music and alcoholic drinks. Blater each take turns to hold such
meetings and contribute money to the host.

A blater will enjoy great influence and command respect from
the people if he wins in a carok duel. The influence of blater is
strong in Madura as most village heads or klebun come from the
blater community or are at least a former blater.

Third, weakening governmental institutions. The impotence of
the already corrupt government institutions has strengthened
blater's presence in Madurese society and made them more powerful
than government security forces.

Among these three social factors, Madurese Muslims seem to
face a complicated social dilemma. On one hand, they are willing
to create the basis for peaceful and tolerant values, but are
faced with social-cultural conditions that provide a hotbed for
violent traditions. In this context, Muslim Madurese are still
dominated by local character rather than by Islamic teachings
which are basically humanistic.

Hence, the best way to break the vicious cycle of violence is
through: 1. Promoting a more pluralistic, tolerant, and humanist
face of Islam through discussion because Islam that merely
emphasizes symbols and texts promotes a violent expression of
Islam; 2. Building a religious orientation which is deeply rooted
in society by strengthening civil society to counter the
structural and cultural domination that has tainted the religious
elite, i.e., the kyai; 3. Tracing back the socio-cultural roots
of the Madurese society to find a conflict resolution model that
capitalizes on the people's social behavior and non-violent
facets like humility, rampa'naong, baringen korong (life in the
shadow of peace).

-- The writer is a post-graduate student of the school of
sociology of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. He is also
writing a thesis on the Power relationship between kyai and
blater in Madura.