![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
Abstract
Since the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, the Indonesian media landscape has been radically transformed. The country is now a highly saturated media space in which people are exposed to numerous media, ranging from television to social media. In this article, I explore the meanings of Facebook for Indonesian Muslim women, in which morality is a core concern. Facebook becomes a platform in which they address and (re)work their understanding of Islam and ultimately voice their sense of piety. Based on ethnographic research with Muslim women and Indonesian media, I discuss the way they are actively shaping their piety through Facebook, especially around the issue of veiling. Although some religious clerics have concerns regarding Facebook, suggesting that it could incite gossip and jeopardise marriages, my participants utilised Facebook to share and discuss Islamic tenets with other Muslim women. Hence, Facebook is not merely experienced as a site for passing time or for entertainment, but is also used as a medium through which Indonesian women shape and refashion their piety.
Sejak jatuhnya rezim Suharto pada tahun 1998, lanskap media Indonesia telah berubah secara radikal. Negara ini sekarang menjadi penuh dengan ruang media yang mana orang-orang terbuka ke berbagai media mulai dari televisi hingga media sosial. Pada artikel ini, saya mengeksplorasi makna Facebook untuk wanita Muslim Indonesia di mana moralitas adalah perhatian utama. Facebook menjadi platform di mana mereka alamatkan dan (perihal) kerja pemahaman mereka tentang Islam dan akhirnya menyuarakan rasa kesalehan mereka. Berdasarkan penelitian etnografi dengan wanita Muslim dan media Indonesia, saya membahas bagaimana mereka secara aktif membentuk kesalehan mereka melalui Facebook, terutama seputar masalah jilbab. Meskipun beberapa ulama beragama memiliki kekhawatiran mengenai Facebook, menyarankan hal itu dapat memicu gosip dan membahayakan pernikahan, partisipasi saya memanfaatkan Facebook untuk berbagi dan mendiskusikan ajaran Islam dengan wanita Muslim lainnya. Oleh karena itu, Facebook tidak hanya dialami sebagai situs untuk melewatkan waktu atau hiburan, namun juga digunakan sebagai media yang mana melalui itu wanita Indonesia membentuk dan menggubah kesalehan mereka.
Acknowledgments
Hanny Savitri Hartono (Vitri) submitted the final version of this article just a week before she tragically passed away from a stroke in February 2017. Vitri was in the final stages of completing her PhD at Massey University, New Zealand. As editors of this special edition we thank Michael Barr and the anonymous reviewers for facilitating publication of the article. We believe Vitri would have wanted this article dedicated to her family – her husband Sony and their three children Didid, Sasya and Dio.
Notes
1. Reformasi refers to the period after President Suharto resigned. Reformasi signalled a move from authoritarianism to democracy (see Sato, Citation2003).
2. Apjii and Puskakom are acronyms for Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia (Indonesia Internet Service Provider Association) and Pusat Kajian Komunikasi Universitas Indonesia (Centre of Communication Studies University of Indonesia), respectively.
3. Being cognizant about my position as an Indonesian Muslim woman with a veil I made clear that I was not the “moral police” and would not judge them for their views and experiences. As a Javanese woman who was born and brought up in Jakarta and educated in the capital city and overseas I share a similar background to my participants, such as our identities as Muslim women, wives and mothers with a university education. Yet there are a few differences between us, including that I have been living overseas for several years. Indeed, my simultaneous insider/outsider positionality gave me “particular kinds of insight” (Ronaldo, Citation1984, p. 193) that enabled me to empathise with and understand the participants.
4. Hijab (veil) is from the Arabic word ḥijāb, which literally means cover or curtain (Cowan, Citation1976). The veil is also known in Indonesia as jilbab, which refers to a short or long veil, which covers a woman’s hair unlike the traditional kerudung which does not always cover all of the hair. Clothing worn with jilbab can be in the form of a loose-fitting long-sleeved blouse or tunic with long pants or a loose skirt, or an abaya (a shapeless full-length cloak that covers the whole body) (see Shihab, Citation2006).
5. Dakwah is Indonesian for da‘wa in Arabic, which means call, appeal (Cowan, Citation1976).
6. In contrast to other Islamic regions, in Indonesia fatwa is issued collectively by Islamic organisations, namely Persatuan Islam (Persis), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah and the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) (Gillespie, Citation2007; Hooker, Citation2003).
7. MUI was established in 1975 by government initiative to control public expressions of Islam (Hooker, Citation2003, p. 60). MUI is state-financed; hence, the impartiality of its fatāwā is somewhat questionable. The members of MUI have various interpretations of Islam and combine with other experts with different areas of expertise such as social science and finance expertise (Hooker, Citation2003, p. 60).
8. In order to protect my participants’ identities and privacy, I use pseudonyms and have translated all discussions on Facebook into English.
9. And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect (Qur’an 30:21).
10. According to MUI (2010), ghibah is factual information about someone that is told to other people and disliked by the person being talked about. Fitnah is similar but refers to information that is untrue. Note that Arabic loan words may have slightly different meanings in the Indonesian context.
11. Mahmood (Citation2001, p. 212) elucidates piety as “the condition of being close to God” that is attained through “practices that are both devotional as well as worldly in character”. According to Mahmood (Citation2001, p. 212), piety also involves attention to one’s entire self through “a simultaneous training of the body, emotions, and reason as sites of discipline until the religious virtues acquired the status of embodied habits”. See also Mahmood (Citation2005, p. 145). Rinaldo (Citation2008, p. 29) explains that among Muslims in Indonesia, pious practices “are producing a new kind of middle class habitus that distinguishes women by class and approach to religion”.
12. Ariel Heryanto (Citation2003, pp. 26–27) proposes that the concept of the middle class should be treated in the plural form because it consists of contradictory elements; there are progressive middle classes as well as very conservative middle classes in Indonesia. Nevertheless, the middle classes share common variants of any of the following: urban residence; modern occupations and education; and cultural tastes.
13. Hefner (Citation1993, p. 13) argues that Islamic revitalisation among middle-class Indonesia was sparked by growing cynicism and resentment towards political elites who unashamedly displayed their wealth and power, and perceptions of the decline in “traditional mores and etiquette”.
14. I would like to call this Islamic “consciousness” rather than Islamic “resurgence” or “revival”. Like Brenner (Citation1996), I agree that the terms “resurgence” and “revival” have the connotation of recapturing the old spirit of embracing Islam as a way of life, instead of embarking upon a new venture.
15. Aurat or ‘awrah (Arabic) literally means genitals (Cowan, Citation1976). Later jurists have explored the term in connection with covering bodies, especially women’s bodies, in which context the greatest degree of covering for women is applied in the presence of unrelated men (Leaman & Ali, Citation2008, p. 13).
16. The word ilm (Arabic: knowledge, lore, [Cowan, Citation1976]; Indonesian: ilmu) appears more than 800 times in the Qur’an, which suggests its importance. The first verses of the Qur’an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad contain the words iqra (Arabic: read) and qalam (Arabic: pen). As Sardar (Citation1993, p. 44) explains, “the first verses of the Qur’an thus lay the foundations of a culture and society based on reading and writing, research and penmanship, communication and transmission of knowledge and information”.
17. One of my participants regularly engaged with a Facebook pengajian (Islamic study circle) based overseas to gain further religious knowledge that she then used in religious talks she delivered in her neighbourhood. She also drew on hadis, which are the compilations of the Prophet Muhammad’s spoken words and deeds that are read in conjunction with the Qur’an.
18. While wearing a hijab or jilbab can refer to a woman wearing a short veil, long pants and a long-sleeved tunic, hijab syar’i or jilbab syar’i always implies an outfit with a long head covering with a loose long dress or abaya. Jilbab syar’i is a name derived from the term shari’ah or Islamic law. It is considered attire that follows the guidelines of shari’ah law.
19. O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Qur’an 33:59).
20. Istiqomah is an Arabic loan word that refers to standing firm on the straight path of Islam.
21. Aamiin is a saying to end a supplication. Hence, Desi’s last sentence serves as a prayer for her friends.
22. Hijabi is a woman who wears a hijab. The non-hijabi friends might or might not feel at ease, though, with this post.
23. In another post Desi showed pictures of the way she used to dress, not covering her hair entirely, and stated that it was a journey for her to don a hijab syar’i from her previous daily attire.
24. See Jones (Citation2007) for discussion on the rise of Islamic fashion in Indonesia within the context of national debates about modernity and piety.
25. Desi was always humble in her posts and made sure she did not position herself as someone who knew everything about religion. By doing this she tried to make sure her hijabi friends did not feel offended.
26. The phrase is based on the following verse in the Qur’an: “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity” (Qur’an 3:104). It is believed that “Islamic communication should bring good and prevent evil” (Omar et al., Citation2015, p. 44).
27. Not all Desi’s and Yiyi’s Facebook friends were hijabi.
28. Mushola is a prayer room. Malls in Jakarta and Semarang offer mushola for Muslim customers and shopkeepers to pray (see “Malls Offer Cozy”, Citation2008).
29. When I first met Nia more than two decades ago, she was not wearing a hijab. She “only” started to wear hijab in the last decade.
30. Qur’an 24:30-31, 33:53.
31. See Akou (Citation2010) for a discussion of how ijtihad becomes a crucial tool for ordinary Muslims to discuss Islamic understandings, such as of hijab, which are sparsely discussed in the Qur’an.