Al-Mufarridiyyah movement in East Timor : a sociological study /
The study attempts to critically analyze the religious expression and social order in East Timor. The focus is on the rivalry in the name of religion for dominance and social order led by two major religions, Catholicism and Islam. The study examines both religions in terms of their competition for...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Gombak, Selangor :
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia,
2006
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Click here to view 1st 24 pages of the thesis. Members can view fulltext at the specified PCs in the library. |
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| Summary: | The study attempts to critically analyze the religious expression and social order in
East Timor. The focus is on the rivalry in the name of religion for dominance and
social order led by two major religions, Catholicism and Islam. The study examines
both religions in terms of their competition for public influence. Catholicism will be
examined in terms of its anti-Islamic attitude to restore social order in East Timor
while Islam will be analyzed in terms of its attempt to defend itself in that country. In
examining Islam, two groups of Muslims are identified, the mainstream and the
deviationist. When Catholicism eventually successfully expelled the mainstream
Muslims in East Timor after 20 years (1979–1999) of their presence, the deviationists
emerged and publicly proclaimed themselves as the last defenders of Islam and
Muslims in East Timor. This group called themselves 'Sabaq al-Mufarridun’. The
words Sabaq al-Mufarridun is a Prophet's phrase derived from a Hadith which this
group manipulated into a new ambiguous 'Islamic' mystical movement called Ùariqah
al-Mufarridiyyah. In East Timor today, antagonism towards Islam has diminished. On
the contrary, we can see today, the good will for peace, reconciliation, tolerance,
reconstruction and development from various religious groups such as Catholicism,
Islam and Protestantism. The challenge now is not from Catholic fanaticism but
deviationists within Muslims themselves in East Timor. It is the latter that is critically
analyzed in this thesis. The study concentrates on exploring such deviant teachings to
know how did they come into existence and why al-Mufarridun had in particular
chosen East Timor for their movement and eventually emerged and proclaimed
themselves as 'the last defenders of Islam' there. The study also analyzes their ritual
performances, structural leadership, as well as their social, political, educational and
economic activities in East Timor since 1989 that reached its peak in 1999. It also
discusses the reasons for the fall of al-Mufarridiyyah in East Timor in December
2004. The study further highlights the reactions, responses and fatawa against this
group and explains the reason for its failure to defend not only Islam in East Timor but
also their own existence. The study also analyses measures taken to deal with deviant
teachings Islamically, scientifically, and sociologically. The study adopts sociological
approach and techniques with participant observation and interview being the main
tools of data collection during fieldwork, in addition to library research. Suggestion
and recommendations are made at the end of this study. |
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| Item Description: | Abstract in English and Arabic. "A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Sociology and Anthropology."--On t.p. |
| Physical Description: | xxi, 192 leaves : ill., maps . ; 30 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references leaves (123 - 133). |