Islam Nusantara culturally institutionalized in local traditions

Lamongan, NU Online
Thus, the ideas of Islam Nusantara culturally 'institutionalized' in various belief systems or religious traditions both maintained and preserved by especially Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) have been inseparable from the process of spreading the teachings of Islam in Indonesia for centuries.

Deputy Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chapter of Lamongan KH A. Suyuthi told NU Online here recently, saying that NU had successfully Islamize the values of Nusantara through such doctrines as theology, figh, and tasawuf (sufism).

"In the field of theology, NU bases its thoughts on Abu Hasan al-Asy'ari and al-Maturidi. in the field of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), NU follows the four schools of thought (madzhab), namely Hanafi, Maliki, Syafi'i and Hanbali. While in the field of tasawuf, NU bases its thoughts on both Imam Junaid al-Baghdadi and Imam al-Ghazali,"he said.

According to Kiai Suyuthi, through these three doctrines of orthodoxy, NU has managed to bring a smiling Islamic face, namely Islam Nusantara that is quite different from the one in various parts of the world.

He added that Islam Nusantara propagated by the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization is a typical Indonesian Islam that promotes tolerance in addition to accepting differences such as religious, ethnic, racial, cultural and so on.

"Thus, the NU ideas of Islam Nusantara could be used as a means of building solidarity through the inclusive values such as tawasuth (moderation), tasamuh (tolerance), taáwun (mutual help), tawazun (harmony), and others." (Masdar)