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Report on Webinar Discussion on the Book Fiqh on Guardianship in Cooperation between Pondok Pesantren Dar Al Fikr, Rumah KitaB and the Oslo Coalition

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Cirebon, 5th July 2020

 

“The Tradition of Pesantren: Reading Facts Offers a Solution”

CIREBON [5/7/20]. In cooperation with Pesantren Dar Al Fikr Arjawinangun, Cirebon, Rumah KitaB has again conducted a seminar for discussion of the Book Fiqh on Guardianship in order to disseminate research-based ideas about the efforts for prevention of child marriage. This event was held thanks to the support of the Oslo Coalition, a human rights institution based at a university in Oslo, Norway that works to strengthen human rights, including the rights of women and children.

Adapting to the current protocol to prevent spread of the corona virus, the activity, which was held at Aula MAN Nusantara, Arjawinangun on 5 July 2020, was limited to 25 participants attending in person, in line with the guidance from the governor of West Java. However, to accommodate other participants throughout Indonesia who were interested after seeing the advertisement for the seminar, another 204 participants followed the seminar online, and a further 4000 followed it through the broadcast on Facebook Live.

The event, which began at 9.00, presented three resource persons: Nyai Nurul Bahrul Ulum, a young activist researcher in Cirebon who is active in daily life at the Fahmina Institue; Ustadz Iqbal, graduate of a sharia faculty in Morocco, who currently teaches at the Ma’had Aly within pesantren Darut Tauhid in Cirebon; and Kyai Husein Muhammad, who is often called a “kyai feminis”, caretaker of Pesantren Dar Al Fikr and a leading figure in the women’s movement in Indonesia who previously served as a commissioner of the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan).

The seminar went beyond merely analyzing the content of the book and its contribution to efforts for prevention of child marriage through discussion of a particular issue that strongly influences the practice of child marriage: hak ijbar (the right to coerce) in the name of the role of the father, as the guardian of his daughter. The practice of child marriage in Indonesia is conditioned by, among other matters, religious views that grant tremendous authority to the father, or to the state as the representative of the father (wali adhol) which allows an underage marriage to take place through the legal remedy of granting a request for dispensation for the marriage.

Child marriage is a serious problem and an obstacle to prosperity in society. One out of eight women in Indonesia marries below the age of 18 (Central Statistical Agency, BPS). Child marriage can lead to a series of other problems: increased risk of maternal and infant mortality, reproductive health problems, mental health problems, domestic violence, and perpetuation of poverty. This research-based data was presented by Nyai Nurul Bahrul Ulum, activist and founder of Cirebon Feminis, in the Webinar Book Discussion entitled “Prevention of Child Marriage and Forced Marriage through Study of the Book Fiqh on Guardianship” on 5 July 2020.

Therefore, Bahrul Ulum said, child marriage will always correlate with poverty and violence. To break this chain, religious interpretation is needed which is just and takes the side of women. She stated that this is why the book “Fiqh on Guardianship” published by Rumah KitaB is important to help address the problem of child marriage.

“This book can raise the awareness of religious figures in performing reinterpretation of religious texts, particularly with regard to the right of guardianship (walayah) and relations between husbands and wives (qiwamah),” said Bahrul Ulum

Ustadz Muhammad Iqbal, the second resource person, confirmed what had been conveyed by Bahrul Ulum. Iqbal, said that this indicates the urgency of the perspective of maqasid al-syariah as an analytical tool to closely examine religious texts, as is used in this book.

“Through analysis using maqasid syariah, we can not only examine what lies behind the text (maqasid al-nash) but also explore the objective or intentions of its author (maqasid al-syari’),” Iqbal said.

In this way, he said, religious texts can take the side of humanity and not perpetuate injustice. This is because the purpose of sharia is to prevent harm (mudarat) and promote benefit (maslahat) for humankind. Therefore, according to Iqbal, child marriage must be prevented, because it causes enormous harm.

Finally, Kiai Husein Muhammad, as the third speaker, further confirmed that texts will be meaningless if they conflict with reality. Hence, in the context of child marriage, the data resulting from research must serve as the benchmark and basis for legal decisions.

In his presentation, Kyai Husein described the four stages of reading a text using the Maqashid Syariah method. He said that first of all, a passage should be read as a “statement”; second, we raise the question ”why is there such a statement?”; third, we ask “what is the objective of this statement?”; and finally, this leads to advocacy by seeking to understand “how” as a proposed solution. Using the example of verses on “males as leaders”, kyai Husein demonstrated the operation of the technique for using the maqashid syariah methodology so as to produce a more transformative interpretation that can limit the right and authority of a father over his daughter (walayah) or a husband over his wife (qiwamah).

The event concluded with a very lively discussion and question and answer session. In her closing remarks, Ibu Lies Marcoes, representing Rumah KitaB, expressed her appreciation for the very high quality of the discussion, in which the resource persons perfectly complemented one another. She also expressed her thanks to the caretaker of Pesantren Dar Al Fikr and to the resource persons. The event, chaired by kyai Jamaluddin Muhammad, ended at 12.30 and was followed by a more limited discussion on the practical strategy to publicize and disseminate the book Fiqh on Guardianship as an effort to prevent child marriage. (JM/LM)

 

Gus Jamal from Rumah KitaB

Ustadz Iqbal, teacher at the Ma’had Aly within pesantren Darut Tauhid in Cirebon

Kyai Husein Muhammad, who is often called a “kyai feminis”, caretaker of Pesantren Dar Al Fikr

Nyai Nurul Bahrul Ulum, activist and founder of Cirebon Feminis

“Character Education based on Pesantren Tradition” Book Discussion with Gus Mus and Buya Husein

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On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, I was invited to be a resource person in “Character Education Based on Pesantren Tradition” book discussion, representing the other authors. The theme of the event was First Century Anniversary of Bahrul Ulum Madrasah and 191th Anniversary of Bahrul Ulum Pesantren, Tambak Beras, Jombang, East Java. The event was also attended by Mbah (respected) K.H. Mustafa Bisri and Mbah K.H. Husein Muhammad, all of whom are Indonesian influential figures in the field of social and religious affairs.

The book discussion was conducted by Bahrul Ulum pesantren, initiated by its kyais and students, colliding with the First Century Commemoration of Bahrul Ulum Madrasah and 191 Years of Bahr Ulum Pesantren, Tambak Beras, Jombang, to learn from the kyais’ journey within pesantren in the development of flexible and in-depth religious education in Indonesia. The religious education is based on values exemplified by the kyais and nyais, in building students’ great personality.

Hundreds of kyais and gus, and ten thousand of students from Bahrul Ulum and its surrounding pesantrens were enthusiastic attending the event. Their extraordinary enthusiasm was perceived by the committee who were really prepared and helpful, led by KH. Fadlullah Malik, M.MPd. and Dr. Muhyiddin, Deputy President of Wahab Hasbullah University. The committee had prepared four main venues of the event; Main hall in which Gus Mus, Buya Husein, and I as resource persons gathered with four hundreds participants, all of whom were kyais, nyais, and students of Wahab Hasbullah University. Meanwhile, other participants attended the event in two other large buildings and a courtyard, in which dozens of television and high-amplified sound system were placed. The participants were highly enthusiastic following the event through television screen.

Indeed, this commemoration was exceptional, and I was grateful and blessed was able to be together with Gus Mus and Buya Husein, who attracted thousands of participants in the event “Character Education based on Pesantren Tradition” book discussion, written and published by Rumah KitaB in the early 2014.

The event was officially opened by K.H. Irfan M. Sholeh, M.MPd. as the Chairman of Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Bahrul Ulum, and the opening speech was delivered by the head of committee, K.H. Fadlullah Malik, M.Hi. and Dr. Muhyiddin. During the event, the resource persons congratulated the anniversary of Bahrul Ulum.

The book discussion was moderated by Dr. Muhyiddin, as the vice president of Wahab Hasbullah University. In the introduction, the moderator stated that the Character Education based on Pesantren Tradition book has successfully mapped and explored pesantren’s noble traditions and reminds the education practitioners to liven up the traditions in this modern era, whose values have eroded the ‘traditional’ living values of many young people in Indonesia.

The moderator invited Ahmad Hilmi as one of the authors to speak first. The author describes the profile of Rumah KitaB organization briefly, then explained the background of the writing, the purpose of the writing, and the methodology. Character Education Based on Pesantren Tradition book is a result of field research, conducted in various schools in Indonesia. The background to the writing is the unavailability of teaching materials that focus on character education in Indonesia. On the other hand, the character development of young people is losing its ground. The number of student’s fights which cause casualties is still high, as well as hates speech through social media that are often motivated by discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, race, and class. The students are losing of the spirit of learning; they prefer to hang out until late at night rather than study, becoming drug users, etc.

This situation shows that the school has no longer served as the central place for character building. It only serves as a means of regular formal learning; it starts at 07.00 a.m. in the morning, students do homeworks and tasks, study for the national exam, then return home later in the afternoon. The important thing is GRADUATED!

It therefore is alarming as the students are only taught to answer the questions during exam, but their characters are not fostered because specific book as a medium to learn values with student-friendly methodology used a primary handbook for teachers in the classroom has not yet been provided. On the other hand, our country has an abundant of educational values that come from pesantren’s noble traditions that have not been explored.

Thus, in the early 2014, Rumah KitaB had successfully written the book, as a result of field research in various pesantrens in Indonesia. The book contains fifteen main values, adopts many poems and stories of the former kyais in pesantren, and describes the values using rich interpretations of various verses in Al-Qur’an and Hadith, concluded from readings of a number of Yellow Books. Therefore, this book can be read for students from different background and educational institutions in Indonesia. Before in Jombang, Rumah KitaB has successfully held a series of training and book discussion in many cities, involving hundreds of teachers and students who represent their respective educational institutions.

After that, the next speaker is Gus Mus, a charismatic kyai figure in Indonesia. He explained that pesantrens in the past put forward the elements of education (tarbiyah) rather than teaching (ta’lim). When this condition is reversed 180 degrees, the pesantren buildings are more luxurious and towered, but the kyais are losing their roles and ”have nothing to do”, because the existing management and organizational structure do not ensure kyai’s involvement in pesantren.

If we want to restore the dignity of pesantren back to the glorious era, today’s kyais need to strive to achieve the level of sincerity like kyais in the past, who never needed anything from the others. Gus Mus greatly appreciated the views of Buya Kyai Husein in one of his works that stated ascetic (juhud) must be encouraged for kyais in the present. However, it is too heavy to be implemented in today’s current situation that, arguably, is too extreme. We can start from the concept of ”simplicity” because simplicity would bring us to “peaceful from within” as the opposite of ”peaceful from the outside”.

According to Gus Mus, characteristic that has been missing from the preachers (mubaligh), educators, and dai now is the spirit of ad-da’wah that reassuring and refreshing. Da’wah spirit spread by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Wali Songo, and Salaf scholars, is eroded by threatening and intimidating behaviors in da’wah. This kind of da’wah is not inviting, but dismissing people. Basically, there is a sharp distinction between the meaning of da’wah (invitation) and amar (command). However, nowadays the meaning of both terms is confused, so it creates an ambiguous concept.

Most kyais in the past did not know the “nationalism” term, but they acknowledged that Indonesia was their homeland, and it must be preserved and must not be destructed or colonized. Therefore, students who did not love their country will be bombarded by the advice of Mbah Wahab, Mbah Hasyim Ashari, and other kyais, who loved Indonesia with their body and soul.

According to Gus Mus, today’s serious concern is that people put forward their interests and search for the verses later. It is inversely proportional to the scientific tradition in pesantren which have responsibility until doomsday. Gus Mus Appreciating the book “Character Education Based Pesantren Tradition” that elevates the stories and inspiring stories in conveying the message, because the methods of the story was not threatening but pervasive.

On the other hand, Buya Husein emphasized on the importance of building awareness to contemplate various shortcomings and social problems that exist, as well as to contemplate the required exit strategy. Social problems are always closely linked to the failure of educational institutions in developing its students’ characters. Therefore, schools should return to its roots therefore the nobleness of the schools, as it has been successfully established in the past, can be restored in the present. Buya Hussein appreciated to the existence of Character Education Based on Pesantren Tradition to remind us the importance of values-based education that has been established by the scholars in the past. After that, Buya Hussein recited a poetry and sang Arabic poetry that rich in values.

The event was closed by a poetry recital by Gus Mus about hubb al-wathan (nationalism) titled “I Still Remember that Melody”, created by Gus Mus himself, and can be found in Character Education Based on Pesantren Tradition book page 38 – 40. In the end, an anthem titled ”Syubbanul Wathon” was sung by all participants. The song was created by Mbah Wahab Hasbullah, famous ulama from Jombang, a colleague of Mbah Hasyim Asy’ari, the founding father of NU.