Abangan Explained

The Abangan are Javanese people who are Muslims and practice a much more syncretic version of Islam than the more orthodox santri.^[1] The term, apparently derived from the Javanese language word for red, abang, was first developed by Clifford Geertz, but the meaning has since shifted. Abangan are more inclined to follow a local system of beliefs called adat and Kebatinan than pure Sharia (Islamic law). Their belief system integrates Hinduism, Buddhism and animism. However, some scholars hold that what has classically been viewed as Indonesian variance from Islam is often a part of that faith in other countries. For example, Martin van Bruinessen notes similarity between adat and historical practice among Muslims in Egypt as described by Edward Lane.

Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66

See main article: Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966.

Many Abangans were supporters of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI),^{[2] [3] [4]} and their interests were thus supported by the PKI.^[5] They subsequently made up most of the people who were slaughtered in the anti-Communist Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66.^{[6] [7]} Abangans were targeted for attacks by Ansor, the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama and the Santri with help from the Indonesian Army.^{[8] [9]} To avoid being classified as atheist and communists, Abangan Muslims were forced by the Indonesian government to convert to Hinduism and Christianity in the aftermath of the slaughter.^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

See also

• Islam Nusantara
• Kejawèn

Further reading

• Embree, Ainslie T. ed. Encyclopedia of Asian history (4 vol. 1988) 1:1.
• Book: Clifford Geertz. The Religion of Java. 15 February 1976. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-28510-8.

External links

• Global and local in Indonesian Islam
• Abangan – World History Study Guide

Notes and References

1. Book: Murray, Alison J.. No Money No Honey: A Study of Street Traders and Prostitutes in Jakarta. 1991. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. 978-0-19-588991-8., glossary p. xi
2. Book: Donald Hindley . The Communist Party of Indonesia: 1951–1963 . 1966 . University of California Press . 12– . GGKEY:LLE8C4X460W.
3. Book: John H. Badgley . John Wilson Lewis . Peasant Rebellion and Communist Revolution in Asia . 1974 . Stanford University Press . 978-0-8047-0856-2 . 108–.
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=tsCFAAAAIAAJ Solidarity, Volume 3, Issues 7–12 1968
5. https://books.google.com/books?id=TJptHWc4i1EC&pg=PA155 Crouch 2007
6. https://books.google.com/books?id=BHUPunyir8QC&dq=abangan+bali+killed&pg=PA84 Darmaputera 1988
7. Book: McDonald, Hamish. Demokrasi: Indonesia in the 21st Century. 6 January 2015. St. Martin's Press. Google Books. 9781466879263. 16 December 2023. 16 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231216035003/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ymb2AwAAQBAJ&q=abangan+bali+killed&pg=PT39#v=snippet&q=abangan%20bali%20killed&f=false. live.
8. https://books.google.com/books?id=SawyrExg75cC&dq=abangan+bali+killed&pg=PA264 Cribb & Kahin 2004
9. https://books.google.com/books?id=0AAdBQAAQBAJ&dq=abangan+bali+killed&pg=PA327 Ricklefs 2008
10. Book: Mariko Urano . The Limits of Tradition: Peasants and Land Conflicts in Indonesia . 2010 . Kyoto University Press . 978-1-920901-77-6 . 145–.
11. Book: R. B. Cribb . Audrey Kahin . Historical Dictionary of Indonesia . 1 January 2004 . Scarecrow Press . 978-0-8108-4935-8 . 176–.
12. Book: Brita Heimarck Renee . Balinese Discourses on Music and Modernization: Village Voices and Urban Views . 21 August 2013 . Taylor & Francis . 978-1-136-80045-0 . 198–.
13. Book: Michel Picard . Rémy Madinier . The Politics of Religion in Indonesia: Syncretism, Orthodoxy, and Religious Contention in Java and Bali . 13 May 2011 . Taylor & Francis . 978-1-136-72639-2 . 182–.