Arab Identity

For some Indonesian Muslims, Arab is identical with Islam. Perceiving oneself as an Arab or having Arabian physical attributes is not just a cultural issue, but rather a symbol of Islam and piety. The Arab identity is even seen as a symbol of closeness with God, because there is a relationship with the Holy Land of Mecca and Madinah, the city that is the origin of Islam and the place of the Kaaba, the center of all Muslims.

Some members of our society also mistakenly consider all Arabs to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad, who must be glorified and obeyed. With the development of such views, those who are from Arab countries or have Arabian physical attributes are then easily accepted and receive a place of honor in society. Not infrequently, they are immediately seen as having religious and intellectual authority, even though they have never taken religious education or their lives have never been close to piety.

Arab identity, therefore, can be capitalized or commodified for various interests, including strengthening a person's social and political position and obtaining certain economic benefits. This is what has caused the emergence of the Habib Habiban (habib appearance) phenomenon, or born-again habib, the imitation of Arab appearance in the field of da'wah (preaching) and various mass media. Regarding the economy, as Haidar Bagir states in the introduction of the book on Arab identity, Illusion: I am Habib, I am Indonesia (2022), it is important when "there is a symptom of a tendency to decline in socioeconomic achievement among the Yemeni descendants in this country" (p. 21).

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A concrete example of how Arabness can win the hearts of the masses is seen in Madura. In the article “Beyond Islam Nusantara and 'Arabization'-Capitalizing 'Arabness' in Madura, East Java” (2016), Mirjam Lucking describes how some Madurese people were obsessed with Arabness. They often imitate or try to “become” Arab in their dress, using Arabic gestures, listening to desert music, using Arabic names, following Arab cuisine, and even using Arab-branded cosmetics. Cultural phenomenons like this can easily be found during religious rituals, such as haul (death commemoration). It can also be seen in the ceremonies for haj departures and arrivals.

This Arab identification is also one of the foundations of Madura’s politics and social structure. Because of its more Arab identification, for example, Madurese are more interested in joining the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) led by Rizieq Shihab than being a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Banser (civilian security officer).

National Awakening Party (PKB) chair Muhaimin Iskandar tried to respond to this phenomenon when he said: "In NU, someone is allowed to use serban [robes] if he has the regency kiai level, if [the kiai] is at the district level, he is reluctant. Well, this then hinders people from wearing serban in NU. Meanwhile, by entering FPI, anyone can immediately don a robe"(CNN Indonesia, 2018).

The Madurese understanding of Arab meaning and identity is certainly different from the understanding of the late Buya Syafii Maarif, who spoke about “misguided Arabism” (heretical Arabism). Their understanding is also different from the meaning of Arab as often referred to in NU’s discourse on Islam Nusantara.

If the Arab meaning is often identified with Islam in Madura, then what occurs is the opposite in the Islam Nusantara discourse: The Arab is described as the antithesis of Islam.

Being Arab in the understanding of Buya Syafii and Islam Nusantara refers more to Wahhabism, which is considered to be the cause behind the growth of intolerance, radicalism, and even terrorism. The NU confrontation with Wahhabite Arab has been going on since its establishment in 1926. If the Arab meaning is often identified with Islam in Madura, then what occurs is the opposite in the Islam Nusantara discourse: The Arab is described as the antithesis of Islam.

Confusion occurs when the recent wave of Habib-Habiban used society’s respect for Arabness for political and economic interests. As with the FPI in Madura, the politicization and commercialization of the Arab identity has been successful in several other cases. The most prominent example is, of course, in the field of da'wah, in the popularity of preachers or lecturers who wear Arab fashion or identify as habib.

Another confusion occurs with the term "Taliban police" and "Desert Lizard" (Kadrun), which is sometimes pinned to all Arab groups in Indonesia. Sometimes there is a perception that the Arab community is homogeneous and is under the flag of a particular organization that is banned in Indonesia. We sometimes also adopt the external construction that all Arabs are "dangerous" and a "threat", that everything of Arab origin is negative. This then gave birth to an anti-Arab movement in Indonesia.

To avoid efforts to politicize and sell the Arab identity for certain economic and religious interests, some Arab descendants in Indonesia are trying to dissociate themselves from the Arab identity. This was carried out by several people including Haidar Bagir, who deliberately did not use the Alhabsyi clan name "because he did not want to be identified as an 'Arab' and preferred to be considered an Indonesian national" (p. 17).

His father did the same by refusing to wear Arab clothing while preaching and preferring to wear Indonesian dress, with his black sarong and songkok (hat), not a white robe and skullcap. He also changed the name of the school his family founded, from originally Rabithah al-Alawiyah to the Diponegoro School. This followed in the footsteps of most of the Wali Sanga guardian, who eliminated Arab identity during the acculturation process and integrated with the community.

Like ethnic Chinese, becoming Arab in Indonesia also has a certain dilemma. Musa Kazhim, the author of Illusion: I am Habib, for example, illustrated the dilemma he faced in Indonesia as an Arab descendant. He disclosed how, when he was a child, he was cynically greeted by "Hi, Arab" in his hometown of Jember. Growing up, he faced stigma as an "Ajam agent" (non-Arabic agent) by those who identified as Arab. "Now, because of differences in political views and religious thinking, the author [Kazhim] must even face the frowns of a group calling itself alawiyyin" (p. 22).

Kazhim also described some Arab descendants who continued to question their status and identity: "Are we the same as the others? [...] If we are the same, why are we still considered foreign, seen as ‘the other’? [...] How can we blend in?" Kazhim dreamed that his children "could love the nation as in the pulse that beat in the chests of Bung Karno, Bung Hatta, and all other Indonesian fighters [...] become native Indonesian [...] to struggle proudly: I am Habib, I am Indonesia" (pp. 202-203).

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Ahmad Najib Burhani

AHMAD NAJIB BURHANI,Research Professor at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)