NU intellectual : Sunni and Shia had influenced each other

Yogyakarta, NU Online
Historian Agus Sunyoto said that Islamic sects like Sunni and Shia had influenced each other and peacefully co-existed for years for having similar belief systems.<>

“Islam in Indonesia cannot be seen as black and white, between Shia or Sunni, as both have influenced each other,” said Agus who claimed to have conducted extensive research on Shia.

The NU intellectual gave an example that the Sunni traditions, especially preserved by Nahdliyin (NU followers) like kenduri (thanksgiving) were the traditions coming from Iran which is the most populous Shiite country in the Islamic world.

"The kenduri tradition had come from Iran. The tradition of commemorating the 40th day of the death of a loved one was influenced by Shia and not by Hinduism, as widely believed," he said on the sidelines of an international conference on Shia held in Yogyakarta earlier this week.

Other examples include the tradition among Javanese people to not hold wedding parties during the month of Sura, which was also the same month of the death of Sayyidina Ali. Javanese believe that having parties during Sura would bring them bad luck.

Another speaker at the forum, Siti Maryam of Kalijaga UIN in Yogyakarta, said that traces of Shia in Java could be easily found.

Among other examples is the tradition of cooking porridge during the month of Sura, according to the Javanese calendar and the symbol of the Cirebon Kingdom that uses the image of the sword of Sayyidina Ali (bin Abi Thalib).

“In Java, Sunni and Shia acculturation occurs mostly in areas far from the reach of the ‘control’ of the religious authority such as in the domain of art and culture,” Siti said.

Editor : Sudarto Murtaufiq