by Muhammad Adlin Sila

President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono (SBY) while he attended a ceremony of the Maulid Nabi service held at the National Monument (Monas) on 6 February calls in his speech on Muslims to follow the Prophet Muhammad’s example in living in a religiously diverse society and in overcoming differences among people (the Jakarta Globe, 6/2/2012).

Although his religious minister, Suryadharma Ali, is criticized by activists for his failure in encouraging the public to respect religious differences of the Shi’a branch of Islam and the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect, SBY’s appeal is still up-to-date.

Meaning that there is no place for any kind of violence when faced with a different opinion or a different belief system.

In observance of Maulid or Mawlid (refers to the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad), emphasis should be given to the Ahl al-Bayt (members of the Prophet’s family).

According to the Qur’an (Chapter 33: 34, 37 and 40), the Ahl al-Bayt consists of all family members of the Prophet Muhammad including wives and their descendants.

Since Fatimah, wife of Ali bin Abi Thalib (the father of Shi’a Muslims) and daughter of the Prophet, many Sunni ulama’ agreed upon the position of Fatimah as the only heir of the Prophet Muhammad family.

It is worth mentioning that public celebrations of the Maulid Nabi did not emerge until four centuries after the death of the Prophet.

It was originally a festival of the Shi’a Muslims and then adopted by the Sunni Muslims.

The first official Maulid Nabi festivals occurred in Egypt (Sunni country) towards the end of the 11th century. But the first public festivals by Sunnis took place in 12th Syria under the rule of Nur ad-Din Zangi.

Though, there is no slight evidence to indicate the reason for the adoption of the Shi’a festival by the Sunnis.

Some postulate the festival took place to inflame the fighting spirit of Muslim soldiers under the legendary Muslim knight, Salah al-Din Yusuf bin Ayub or Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi (1137-1193), in liberating the land of Palestine during the third phase of the Crusades.

In short, many Shi’a traditions have constituted a number of Islamic rituals and festivals celebrated among Sunni Muslims in Indonesia, not to mention the Maulid Nabi festival alone.

Within Sunni Muslims, however, practices of Maulid Nabi festival vary significantly across Indonesia, not only outside Java but within Java itself.

Maulid Nabi festival in the Sultanate Yogyakarta comprises seven piles (gunungan) made from earth resources harvest of Grebeg Maulid paraded along the way to Great Agung Mosque in Kauman district. This gunungan represent philosophy of sharing for each others. This includes the ritual of purifying keris (traditional Javanese weapon).

Practices of the festival outside Java show adaptation of local practices more profoundly. In Cikoang near at Takalar regency of Makassar, it is the Hadhramis of Yemen who play pivotal role in the festival. They have adopted local elements in accordance with Islamic Sufi teachings.

Needles to say, the Hadhramis are popular for their descent from Ahl al-Bayt. They are also said in Javanese Islamic history to have constituted members of Wali Songo (nine saints).

In Cikoang, the Hadhramis have approved boats (perahu) to be the main part of Maulid Nabi festival which is locally called Maudu Lompoa (great Maulid). The perahu is seen as a point of departure in the relations between the Hadhramis and the locals.

It represents also a symbol of salvation in the sense that their children marrying within the Hadhrami family will be regarded safe, metaphorically by the boat of Nuh (Noah).

While for the locals, perahu is a symbol of their livelihood since they are mostly fishermen.

In Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, Maulid Nabi festival is an annual event conducted as a remembrance of the coming of Islam to the region. The Makassar and the Malay are highly attributed to the event as the early Islamic preachers in the 17th century (The Jakarta Post, 12/30/2011).

The festival is locally called Hanta U’a-Pua meaning to transmit sirih puang (hanta is hantar or to transmit, sirih is betel leaf and puang is a Makassarese noble title) consisting of a bucket of 99 colourful eggs which reflects 99 of the Asma’ul Husna (Allah’s names) in the Qur’an.

The Hanta U’a Pua is carried on a large platform ‘house’ from Kampung Melayu, a settlement of the Makassar and Malay, to the Sultan’s palace, commemorating the gift of Islamization.

Examples of Maulid Nabi festivals as described above show that early Islamic preachers chose to incorporate pre-existing local rudiments as an effective tool in disseminating Islam to the locals.

For some scholars (e.g., Clifford Geertz), the adjustment of local components is believed to have been influenced by deep syncretism, the accretion of bits and pieces remaining from past eras and local culture (Beatty 1999).

The term has unavoidably formed a dominant theme in studies of diverse Islamic rituals and festivals in Indonesia for decades.

Today’s topic of Indonesian Islam, however, has shifted to the idea that cultural diversity and ecological adaptation make Islam is complex. As Brakel (2004) put it, ‘is so decisive, that it would be a considerable error to speak of a uniform Indonesian Islam’.

By observing Maulid Nabi festivals in Yogyakarta, Makassar and Bima, I disagree with the term syncretism as it has a number of practical and conceptual limitations.

Rather, Islamic festivals are always the result of synthesis, interaction and change, both past and present, and they are continually in the making (see "Islam outside Java").

In sum, Islamic festivals have been typically accomplished in the forms of religious integration with various Islamic theologies (either Sunni or Shi’a) on the one hand and with local basics on the other hand.

This proof represents a new generation of studies of Indonesian Islam that moves beyond the blunt instrument of syncretism, a concept that fails to capture the dynamic character of Islamic festivals.

It is hoped that this new understanding will encourage the public to respect religious differences leading to religious harmony.