JIL English Edition

Attempts at reducing our country’s economic hardship seem to have overlooked the potential of religious civil society in coping with social problems. As most religious organizations become part of civil society, they have the obligations to improve civil life, by strengthening the value of voluntarism or generosity which manifests itself in philanthropy.

Religious socialization at the simplest level always emphasizes ethics of fear rather than ethics of hope. Submission is built upon the foundation of human’s fear of God, as if God’s greatness is determined by the human’s frailties and the horror of the metaphysics associated with god. Here is Eep Saefulloh Fatah‘s Islamic reflection, a political observer from University of Indonesia studying at Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus.

The 11^th September tragedy does not always have to be see as a total disaster for humanity. Even though the American Muslim community has suffered from discrimination since the tragedy, a domino effect is currently appearing across all levels of American society in which people are being impelled to satisfy their curiosity regarding Islam. At the moment, in the wake of that heart breaking tragedy, Islam has become a best selling “spiritual commodity” in America.

This short paper provides an overview of the principal arguments presented on both sides of this discourse. It is an introduction to recent works by several leading analysts in the U.S. who are working on democratization issues in the Muslim world. It is intended to provide insight into some of the ideas being debated within U.S. academic and foreign policy circles.

The crucial problems of interfaith marriage involve one’s private right to choose one’s spouse and the stigmas associated with interfaith marriage prohibition as well as bureaucratic resistance. Nuryamin Aini, an alumnus of Flinders University in Australia, shows that the consequences are that sometimes that couples of different religions often resort to manipulating the law (hilah) and become ambivalent and hypocritical in order to slip out of the trap of the marriage registration bureaucracy.

The controversy started with the marriage of 27 year old Nurcholish with 24 year old Mei two weeks ago. That marriage was conducted in two ways. First there was the Ijab Kabul in which consent was given by the bride’s family at a wedding ceremony according to Islamic tradition. The dowry of 8,8 grams of gold was accepted at the Islamic Study Centre Paramadina in Jakarta. Dr. Kautsar Azhari Noer acted in the capacity of Mei’s wali (male relative legally responsible for a bride) while Ulil Abshar-Abdalla acted in the capacity of the Islamic witness. Meanwhile, the Confucian blessing was performed at lithan room of Matakin Secretariat at Sunter in North Jakarta.

The book explains about the history, social-political structure, and the power of European countries. By providing the general illustration about the history and social structure of European society, Khairuddin tried to remind his muslim readers on the model of advance and progress to follow.

This book takes the view that wearing the jilbab is not an obligation. Even Al Asymawy has proclaimed that hadits taken as the reference regarding jilbab or hijâb obligation is hadits ahad (transmitted by single person) cannot be perceived a shaving a legal foundation. If jilbab was obligatory for women, the impact would certainly be substantial. As he quoted: “the statement that woman’s hair is aurat,  is because it is their crown. It follows that her face, which is her throne, is also aurat. Then her voice which is her authority becomes aurat and her body which is her kingdom aurat. Eventually, the entire female being is considered aurat.” The implication is ultimately that woman cannot do anything as Allah’s creature because she is all-aurat.