The Emerging of Islamic Identities, Sarungan vs Cingkrangan under Democratic Regime in Indonesia

This study aimed to analyses how the so-called “Islamic Identity(ies)” differences shapes Indonesian social behaviour and Islamic political aspirations and activism. We witnesses that the current Islamization in Indonesia has, among other things, meant an accentuation of religious symbols in public, a rise in forms of personal religiosity, the proliferation of Islamic institutions, and the spread of new religious life-styles. However, the Islamization process has been colored by a contestation between between traditionalist Islamic groups (Sarungan), and scripturalist and conservative Islamic groups, Cingkrangan (influenced by Wahhabi/Salafi interpretations). A long-standing cultural and theological divergence between Sarungan and Cingkrangan groups have now escalated into social life and political domain. As a response to the rise of Cingkrangan group in Indonesia, we witnesses the emerging of defender of traditional Islamic values by Sarungan group that promoting the idea of Islam Nusantara, as a distinctive brand of Islam developed in Nusantara (Indonesia Archipelago) at least since the sixteen century, as a result of interaction, contextualization, indigenization, interpretation and vernacularisation of universal Islamic values, according to socio-cultural reality of Indonesia. This study will analyses the dialectical relationship between Sarungan and Cingkrangan Islamic groups in Indonesia.