Propagation Islam thru culture Sunan Ampel's way
Propagation Islam thru culture Sunan Ampel's way
SURABAYA (JP): It is said that more than five centuries ago,
Sunan Kalijaga suggested to the other Walis, charismatic
religious teachers who disseminated Islam in Java, imbue the
teaching with local culture such as selamatan, preparing and
offering food as thanksgiving to the powers that be.
Sunan Ampel then expressed his concern. "Won't that be a
problem in the future? What if the local rituals be considered
part of Islamic teaching, while they are actually bid'ah?" he was
supposed to have said.
The term he mentioned denotes something that people add to
rituals with any religious ground. This is considered to be a
violation of religious rules.
It is said that the other Wali, Sunan Kudus, placated Sunan
Ampel by saying, "I'm sure that, someday, there will be Moslems
who will work to perfect the Islamic rituals here."
Today, many ulemas believe that there is a great portion of
Islamic rituals here which has yet to be purified, purged from
the contamination of local tradition and beliefs. There are
plenty of Moslem organizations who strive to do just that,
including the Muhammadiyah, but even a brief look at many Islamic
worship places here will demonstrate that the job is not an easy
one.
In addition, there are many people ready to defend the current
situation by saying that the mixture of Islamic teaching with
local tradition was precisely why Islam became the majority
religion here.
Centuries ago, indigenous Javanese, for instance, might have
found it much easier to convert to Islam when they felt at home
with it, when there were links between Islam and their local
culture which was based on other beliefs, such as Hinduism and
Buddhism.
Cultural approach
Sunan Ampel, according to many scholars and historians, was
very successful in disseminating Islam precisely because he was
using a cultural approach. H.A. Hafidz Madjid, a spokesman of the
Sunan Ampel Mosque, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying in
December, that "Sunan Ampel propagated Islam through local
traditions".
To know this great Moslem teacher and missionary, whose life
history is also a mixture of legends and academic studies, one
needs to go back further than five centuries.
According to tradition, there were nine outstanding figures
who together were largely responsible for the dissemination of
Islam throughout Java. Known as Wali Songo (the nine Islamic
saints), they are recognized today as having been especially
influential in the transformation of Javanese culture and
religion.
The tombs of the Wali Songo, as well as those of many other
important figures, can be found scattered along Java's north
coast between Surabaya and Cirebon. The Walisongo Pilgrimage
(1992) lists the nine walis and the locations of their graves as
follow:
1. Maulana Malik Ibrahim, in Gapura Wetan, Gresik, East Java
2. Sunan Ampel (or Raden Rakhmat), in Ampel Denta, Surabaya,
East Java
3. Sunan Giri (or Raden Paku) in Giri, Gresik, East Java
4. Sunan Bonang (or Raden Machdum Ibrahim) in Tuban, East Java
5. Sunan Drajat (also known as Raden Qosim), Paciran, East
Java
6. Sunan Kudus (or Ja'far Shodiq), in Kudus, Central Java
7. Sunan Kalijaga (or Raden Mas Said), in Kadilangu, Demak,
Central Java
8. Sunan Muria (Raden Umar Said) in Colo, Mt. Muria, Central
Java
9. Sunan Gunung Jati (known also as Syarif Hidayatullah) in
Mt. Sembung, Cirebon, Central Java.
If the first of the Walis, Maulana Malik Ibrahim, was
considered to be the "father" of the Wali Songo, then Sunan Ampel
was the elder brother of the Walis, who are often considered
"Islamic saints" Indeed, two other walis, Sunan Bonang and Sunan
Drajat, were Sunan Ampel's own sons.
While Maulana was the pioneer who founded the earliest Islamic
community in Java, Sunan Ampel is recognized as the figure who
cultivated and consolidated the influence of the other Walis.
As to the origins of Sunan Ampel, it is believed that his
father Syekh Maulana Ibrahim Asmorokondi, who came from the
Middle East or somewhere in Central Asia, married a princess in
Cempa or Champa.
Solichin Salam wrote in Sekitar Wali Sanga (1960), citing the
Encyclopedia Van Nederlansch Indie, said Champa is a small
kingdom within what is now known as Cambodia.
It was from Campa that the young Raden Rachmat, or Rakhmat, or
Rahmad, arrived in Java early in the 15th century. He married a
woman from Tuban, Nyai Ageng Manila, and had four children: Nyai
Ageng Maloka, Sunan Bonang, Sunan Drajat and another daughter who
became the wife of Sunan Kalijaga.
Kingdom
Sunan Ampel first established an Islamic school in an area now
known as Ampeldenta in Surabaya. He trained young men and women
and sent them to various regions to spread the teaching.
Sunan Giri, Raden Patah, Sunan Bonang, Sunan Drajat, and
countless other people who struggled to spread Islam in Java were
all Sunan Ampel's disciples.
It is also said that Sunan Ampel was the spiritual force
behind the founding of Java's first Islamic kingdom in Demak,
Central Java. He picked his disciple Raden Patah to become king
of Demak.
Sunan Ampel was buried in a plot inside the mosque's compound.
Today, dozens of foreign and domestic scholars and ulemas are
gathering in Surabaya to commemorate the 546th anniversary of the
death, or known locally as khaul, of Sunan Ampel by discussing
his role in the spreading of Islam here.
-- Santi W.E. Soekanto and Wisnu Pramudya