Improvisational Islam: Indonesian Youth in a Time of Possibility

197 Pages·2018·1.386 MB·English

by  Nur Amali Ibrahim

Improvisational Islam

Improvisational Islam
Indonesian Youth in a
Time of Possibility
Nur Amali Ibrahim
Cornell University Press
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2018 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or
parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University
Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit
our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.
First published 2018 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ibrahim, Nur Amali, author.
Title: Improvisational Islam : Indonesian youth in a time of possibility /
Nur Amali Ibrahim.
Description: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2018. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018003313 (print) | LCCN 2018005722 (ebook)
| ISBN 9781501727870 (e-book pdf) | ISBN 9781501727887
(e-book epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501727856 | ISBN 9781501727856
(hardcover) | ISBN 9781501727863 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Muslim youth—Religious life—Indonesia—Jakarta.
| Muslim college students—Religious life—Indonesia—Jakarta. |
Islam—Indonesia—Jakarta—Customs and practices. | Universitas
Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta—Students—Religion. |
Universitas Indonesia—Students—Religion. | Ethnology—Indonesia—
Jakarta.
Classification: LCC BP188.18.Y6 (ebook) | LCC BP188.18.Y6 I27 2018
(print) | DDC 297.084/209598—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018003313
For my grandparents

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue 1
Introduction 7
1. The Tremblingness of Youths 30
2. Religion Unleashed 52
3. Accounting for the Soul 75
4. Playing with Scriptures 99
5. From Moderate Indonesia to Indonistan 125
Epilogue 149
Notes 155
Bibliography 165
Index 175

Acknowledgments
I have accrued many debts over the past ten or so years that I worked on
this project. First and foremost, I wish to thank the numerous student ac-
tivists and civil society activists in Indonesia who generously shared their
lives with me and taught me so much about what it means to lead a so-
cially and politically engaged existence. My gratitude toward them is im-
measurable. Even though I could never do full justice to their stories,
I hope that the book is able to convey a small part of their hopes, dreams,
and struggles. For facilitating my research and continually pointing me in
the right direction, I am grateful to the staff at Center for the Study of Re-
ligion and Culture at the State Islamic University in Jakarta (UIN Syarif
Hidayatullah), particularly Irfan Abubakar, Sholehudin Aziz, Amelia Fau-
zia, Idris Hemay, Mohammad Nabil, and Sylvia Nurman. Special thanks
are also due to my Indonesian friends Wina Andreini, Nelden Djakababa,
Tito Imanda, Veronika Kusumaryati, Subhan Muhammad, Ully Damari
Putri, and Rianne Subijanto for their support and encouragement during
my research and for teaching me invaluable lessons about Indonesia.