Preface

Summary

My motivation for writing this book grew out of my desire to present the everyday experiences of Muslims and what constitutes being Muslim in Bima. At present, Bima has been attracting large audiences nationwide. The region, located in the island of Sumbawa, province of Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) in Indonesia, became the subject of unprecedented attention when two suspected terrorists were shot dead by Densus 88 counterterrorism squad personnel in 2017. They were reportedly members of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). The Indonesian National Police stated there was good reason for thinking that JAD in Bima is affiliated with the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (MIT), the East Indonesia Mujahidin, a terrorist network in Poso, Central Sulawesi. The MIT was led by Santoso, alias Abu Wardah, before he was killed in July 2016 (The Jakarta Post, Tuesday, October 31, 2017).

On hearing this news, people experience a gut reaction rather than resorting to careful analysis, which easily leads to an overgeneralization which labels the Muslims in Bima radical and evokes the idea that the region has become a breeding-ground for terrorism. In the case of JAD and its activities in Bima, emotional reactions often give rise of the mistaken view that this is what is happening there in general. During further visits to Bima, in 2018 and 2019 respectively, when exploring the activities undertaken by NU and Muhammadiyah members there to combat the radical movements of the members of JAD, I discovered that JAD is a tiny group and certainly not representative of the whole picture of Islam in Bima. As discussed in greater depth in this book, in their religious orientation and observances most Muslims in Bima rely either on the NU or Nahdlatul Ulama (the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization affiliated to traditionalist Islam founded in East Java in 1926) or on the Muhammadiyah (the Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization associated to reformist Islam founded in Yogyakarta in 1912). The NU and Muhammadiyah are two largest Muslim organizations in the country and enjoy a reputation as role models of moderate Islam in Indonesia.

Therefore, in this book, I seek to present a systematic analysis of the everyday Islamic practices of the Muslims in Bima in order to give an unbiased depiction of Islam in the eastern part of Indonesia.