NEGOTIATING PIETY: Locality, Identity, and Contestation within Tablighi Jamaat in Southeast Asia

Sofiandi Sofiandi, Zulkifli M Nuh, Masbukin Masbukin

Abstract


This article explores the internal dynamics of the Tablighi Jamaat in Southeast Asia through an anthropological approach to religion. As a transnational da'wah movement originating from colonial India, the Tablighi Jamaat promotes a particular form of piety that interacts with, is negotiated, and at times contested within the local socio-cultural contexts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Drawing on the theories of locality (Appadurai), piety as a social construct (Asad & Mahmood), and symbolic capital (Bourdieu), the article highlights how language, travel experiences (safar), ethnicity, and gender serve as key arenas in the formation of hierarchy and authority within the movement. Through a critical reading of language adaptation, cultural resistance, and shifts in proselytizing practices by youth and converts, this study argues that piety within the Tablighi Jamaat is not a fixed entity, but rather the result of ongoing negotiations between global values and local realities. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of transnational Islam as a project shaped by locality, conflict, and social transformation.

Keywords


Locality, Identity, Contestation, Tablighi Jamaat

References


Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large : cultural dimensions of globalization / Arjun Appadurai. In Public worlds: v. 1.

Aqil, M. (2020). Konflik Kepemimpinan Jamaah Tabligh Di Kota Padang, Sumatera Barat. Indonesian Journal of Religion and Society, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.36256/ijrs.v2i1.85

Arifin, Z. (2017). Authority of Spiritual Leadership at Pesantren Temboro Based on Jamaah Tabligh Ideology. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.14421/jpi.2017.62.265-292

Asad, T. (2003). Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. In Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity (Vol. 107, Issue 2).

Aula, S. K. N., Rizal, D. A., & Khafsoh, N. A. (2022). Penyebaran Nilai-Nilai Ideologis Kelompok Minoritas Muslim: Kajian atas Jamaah Tabligh Wonosobo, Jawa Tengah. Jurnal Ilmu Agama: Mengkaji Doktrin, Pemikiran, Dan Fenomena Agama, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.19109/jia.v23i2.15077

Badriza, K., Wildan, M., & Prabowo, T. T. (2022). Kampung Madinah Temboro as Tablighi Jama῾at Sub-Cultural Community: A Socio-Historical Studies. KARSA Journal of Social and Islamic Culture, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.19105/karsa.v30i2.6438

Bourdieu, P. (1989). Social Space and Symbolic Power. Sociological Theory, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.2307/202060

Dayyan, M., Mardhiah, A., & Sembiring, M. (2019). DA’WAH EXPERIENCE, SPIRITUAL, AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE OF JAMAAH TABLIGH IN LANGSA. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v19i2.4545

Dickson, R. (2009). The Tablighi Jama ’at in Southwestern Ontario: Making Muslim identities and networks in Canadian urban spaces. Contemporary Islam, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-008-0072-9

Doni Saepol Aziz, Ms Udin, I. (2022). Problematika Dakwah Jamaah Tabligh Di Desa Tanjung Kabupaten Lombok Utara NTB. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial, 1(2).

Drury, A. (2014). Islam on the Move: The Tablighi Jama’at in Southeast Asia. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2013.847022

Fenn, R., & Geertz, C. (1974). The Interpretation of Cultures. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.2307/1384392

Gaborieau, M. (2021). The Transformation of Tablīghī Jamāʿat into a Transnational Movement. In Travellers in Faith. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004453036_010

Gugler, T. K. (2010). The new religiosity of tablīghī jamā ’at and da ’wat-e islāmī and the transformation of islam in Europe. Anthropos, 105(1). https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2010-1-121

Guruh, P. (2014). Respon Masyarakat Terhadap Penyebaran Agama Jamaah Tabligh Dan Saksi Yehuwa Di Kota Tanggerang Banten. In Paper Knowledge . Toward a Media History of Documents (Vol. 7, Issue 2).

Hairil, H., Agustang, A., & Syukur, M. (2023). Pola sosialisasi Jamaah Tabligh dalam Meningkatkan Semangat Keagamaan di Desa Rumbia Kecamatan Rumbia Kabupaten Jeneponto. JISIP (Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Dan Pendidikan), 7(1). https://doi.org/10.58258/jisip.v7i1.4223

Hamdi, S. (2021). Dakwah Jamaah Tabligh di Asia Tenggara; Negosiasi Mazhab, Transformasi Pendidikan dan Fasilitator Konflik Politik-Keagamaan. JRP (Jurnal Review Politik), 11(1). https://doi.org/10.15642/jrp.2021.11.1.105-139

Husda, H. (2020). Jamaah Tabligh Cot Goh: Historis, Aktivitas dan Respon Masyarakat. Jurnal Adabiya, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.22373/adabiya.v19i1.7483

Ikbar, I., Nurrahmi, F., & Syam, H. M. (2020). Kohesivitas Pada Kelompok Jamaah Tabligh. Jurnal Komunikasi Global, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.24815/jkg.v8i2.15266

James Clifford. (1994). Further Inflections: Toward Ethnographies of the Future. Cultural Anthropology, 9(3).

Kepel, G., & Masud, M. K. (2021). Foi et Pratique: Tablīghī Jamāʿat in France. In Travellers in Faith. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004453036_014

Mahmood, S. (2011). Politics of piety: The Islamic revival and the feminist subject. In Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2006.108.3.603

Masud, M. K. (2021). The Growth and Development of the Tablīghī Jamāʿat in India. In Travellers in Faith. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004453036_006

Moleong, L. J. (2017). Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Remaja Rosdakarya.

Ningtyas, E. (2015). PIERRE BOURDIEU, LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLIC POWER. Poetika, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.22146/poetika.v3i2.10437

Noor, F. A. (2012). Islam on the Move : The Tablighi Jama’at in Southeast Asia. In Islam on the Move : The Tablighi Jama’at in Southeast Asia. https://doi.org/10.26530/oapen_424530

Noor, F. A., & Hedges, P. (2023). Discovering ‘Religion’: Nineteenth Century Colonial Attitudes Towards Religious Identity and Difference in Southeast Asia. Journal of Intercultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2023.2282969

Nu’ad, I. A. (2016). ISLAM KANAN: GERAKAN DAN EKSISTENSINYA DI INDONESIA. Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.21274/epis.2016.11.1.49-66

Okai, H., & Takahashi, N. (2023). Conflict and coexistence among minorities within minority religions: a case study of Tablighi Jama’at in Japan. Religion, State and Society, 51(3), 267–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2023.2222616

Santoso, D., Yusefri, Shesa, L., Asmara, M., Usmani, S. A. A., & Syarifudin, A. (2022). The Understanding of the Jamaah Tabligh on Wife Gender Justice: A Maqāṣid Sharīʿa Review. Juris: Jurnal Ilmiah Syariah, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.31958/juris.v21i2.6935

Sarwan, Franata, D., Sabiruddin, & Zainal. (2021). Sejarah Pemikiran dan Gerakan Dakwah Jamaah Tabligh. Al Hikmah: Jurnal Dakwah Dan Ilmu Komunikasi, 8(2).

Sila, M. A. (2016). Masjid Jami’ Kebon Jeruk: Menjadi Markaz dan Penjamin Jama’ah Tabligh dari Seluruh Dunia. Harmoni: Jurnal Multikultural & Multireligius, 15(2).




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24014/apjrs.v9i1.37756

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Asia-Pacific Journal on Religion and Society



 

   Asia-Pacific Journal on Religion and Society (APJRS) Indexed By:

   

Mailing Address:

Nusantara Journal for Southeast Asian Islamic Studies is published by Institute for Southeast Asian Islamic Studies (ISAIS) Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau.

Gedung Islamic Center Lt. I Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Jl. H.R. Soebrantas Km. 15 No. 155 Kelurahan Simpang Baru Kecamatan Tampan Pekanbaru - Riau 28293, PO. BOX 1004.

Published by:

Institute for Southeast Asean Islamic Studies (ISAIS)
Universitas Islam Negeri  Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau
Jalan H. R. Soebrantas KM. 15.5, Simpangbaru, Tampan
Pekanbaru - 28293
email: isais.uinsuska@gmail.com

Indexed by:

 

 

web stats

View My Stats

 Creative Commons License APJRS is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.