Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2017. xvii, 212 pp. (Map, B&W photos.) US$27.95, paper. ISBN 978-0-691-17665-9.
Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority and Ethical Improvement in Aceh, Indonesia provides an overview of how Aceh has more to offer than just a site for religious violence and political rebellion. David Kloos goes beyond the usual approach to Aceh and Islam by looking into how the making of individual religiosity intersects with the state’s installment of shari‘a law, village structures of leadership, and the religious authority of scholars. Kloos argues that becoming better Muslims in post-conflict, post-tsunami Aceh not only involves both the pursuit of individual piety and one’s perception of sinfulness and repentance as a personal project, but also takes into consideration how the state’s implementation of shari‘a law seeps into public awareness of what is morally acceptable and abominable. Kloos taps into the cultural phenomenon of how Muslims cultivate their own ethical formation as a process that correlates to one’s individual life stages.
As Kloos values the process of ethical formation, he looks into the historic and ethnographic contexts in which such devotion is rooted. Here is where Kloos’ approach to his subject matter and his interlocutors merit its own consideration. In presenting individual religious ethical formation as a project, he intersects history and anthropology. The historical approach allows Kloos to reframe the continuity of social structures and practices that nurture the communal setting, whereas his anthropological account gives voice to individualized experiences in forming religious agency. As Kloos is interested in delving into the development of individual ethical agency as a project, he is successful in providing connectivity between the historical practices of Islam as embodied in Acehnese social and political structures, and the cultural phenomena of being Muslims in a post-tsunami and conflict context.
Becoming Better is divided into five chapters. In the introduction, Kloos argues that Islam in Aceh is a contesting subject, as much emphasis is given to its political dimension. Against this backdrop, this book sets out to discuss Islam as a factor in an individual’s life changes—whether successes or failures. Such ordinary ethics not only corresponds to individual life phases, but also shapes the development of inner religiosities. This tendency to be pious accords with the historical narrative of Aceh as Serambi Mekkah (the Veranda of Mecca) as well as the continuity of religious reform within Acehnese adat (customary practices) settings, the implementation of shari‘a law, and a broader development of Islamic revivalism in Indonesia. Chapter 1 captures the historical contexts of what makes Aceh a “pious” place politically, economically, and religiously. While colonialism plays a major role in producing and reproducing the image of Acehnese exceptionalism, post-colonialism picks up the important relationship between the central state and local leaders on the one hand, and the majority of lay Muslims on the other. Kloos notes, as demonstrated in chapter 2, that the majority of Acehnese subscribe to traditional practices such as ziyarah (visiting mausoleums for blessing purposes) and adat rather than following Islamic scripturalism. The scriptural approach to Islam emerged in Aceh especially through various efforts by PUSA (All Aceh Association of Ulama), which advocated for the purification of Islam starting from 1937. Although the PUSA model of Islamic scripturalism in post-independence undergirded both rebellious and peaceful movements in Aceh, it forecasted the widespread implementation of Islamic law. Alliances between PUSA leaders, state representatives, and non-state representatives created tension within village communities as religious scholars served the interests of the state more than the communities around them. In chapter 3, Kloos provides a detailed account of the relationship between people of Jurong and the leaders of dayah (Islamic boarding school) to demonstrate the changing dynamic of religious scholars’ roles in village settings. Chapter 4 further elaborates on the direct impact of Islamic scripturalism on families in the tsunami-affected area of Blang Daruet in Banda Aceh. In this chapter, Kloos shows how ethical development as a process within the social and political context of Aceh takes place among ordinary Muslims as a result of exposure to Islam’s scriptural rules and the practical traditions embedded in adat. Chapter 5 gives a detailed account of what it means for someone to be a good Muslim. In this chapter, Kloos reiterates his earlier point that emphasizes the importance of agency by connecting ethical development to age, gender, seniority, personal character, and life phase. Becoming a good Muslim would therefore involve embracing Islam wholeheartedly within social and political boundaries and, at the same time, having the ability to customize individual religiosity.
Kloos’ emphasis of ethical development as a religious process sheds new light on Muslims’ inner struggle in bettering themselves. This book challenges the narratives that Islam is a violent religion and that Acehnese are fanatical. Such contribution is a welcome addition to the study of Islam, history, and anthropology in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Becoming Better Muslims is also relevant for scholars and students of religious studies, as Kloos puts the role of religion at the centre of the investigation. He accounts Islam as a factor in explaining human actions to show how Acehnese frame life’s success and failures and moral consequences in religious language. While the book is short in explaining the theological roots of such perspectives, it invites readers to consider Islam beyond a narrative of violence.
Etin Anwar
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, USA