A history of Fahmina written for Fahmina’s 7th birthday celebrations
Fahmina is born
Fahmina grew out of the intellectual activism of young pesantren and ex-pesantren students who were troubled by what they saw as a lack of strong social and intellectual ethos in modern pesantren. When pesantren were first established, they were designed to defend the interests of ordinary people while providing them with education and facilitating their intellectual development. However these young activists saw that these ideals were no longer being upheld.
In 1998, a group of young people associated with Bildung Prayer Club and Lakpesdam Cirebon carried out a series of discussions in various pesantren, encouraging the contextual study of the classical Islamic texts (kitab kuning) used in pesantren. These discussions met with an extraordinary response from young pesantren activists, and received support from a number of religious elders such as KH Syarief Usman of Kempek Pesantren and KH Fuad Hasyim of Buntet.
Out of this intellectual activism, more concrete social activism emerged as an imperative. These circles of young pesantren-based activists sought to defend the interests of marginalised people by discussing citizens’ rights and other issues of interest to the grassroots of society, as well as defending their interests at the level of public discourse.
The intellectual activities and social empowerment programs carried out Bildung Cirebon, JILLI, and other forums devised by ex-pesantren students, were modest in character. They were not connected or coordinated by a single organisation or association which would provide continuity. Often, this resulted in a piecemeal or unfocused approach to issues. It became clear that it was necessary to establish a formal institution, capable of coordinating and facilitating the kind of intellectual and social activism which these young people aspired to carry out.
On this basis, a number of the founders and supporters of these forums established Fahmina Institute. In November 1999, Fahmina was founded by KH Husein Muhammad, Affandi Mukhtar, Marzuki Wahid and Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, and based in the home of KH Husein Muhammad in Pondok Pesantren Dar al-Tauhid. Fahmina later began its social engagement in earnest in February 2001 when it moved its headquarters to Jl. Pangeran Drajat 15, Cirebon. Fahmina was established as an independent, non-government, non-partisan institution, open to community membership across ethnicity, gender, social group and religion.
Rallying Pesantren Alumni
In the beginning, Fahmina was intended to rally young alumni of pesantren with a thirst for knowledge in the Cirebon district. Fahmina began by involving them in deeper textual study in which they would consider the social, political and economic background from which a particular religious text emerged and was written. This involvement brought Fahmina into contact with individuals, institutions and communities that already had experience in the fields of intellectual and social activism. Among them were local Cirebon organisations such as Gerbang Informasi and Dewan Kesenian Cirebon, as well as organisations based outside Cirebon including PP Lakpesdam NU, Rahima, LKIS and Desantara. With them we debated and discussed, gave, received and shared. In Cirebon we invited even more pesantren alumni to share with us and each other and strengthen their own abilities.
It was, and is, our core belief that Islam or “Islamicness” must take shape within a framework of social justice. However, we stressed: this was limited by our understanding, or, in Arabic, “fahmina”. We published our ideas in the Cirebon newspapers Radar and Mitra Dialog, as well as the now defunct Media Pantura.
But we did not feel this was sufficient, because newspapers do not often make their way into our base community, the pesantren community. Therefore, in 2001, we began to publish a small, 4-page newsletter, al-Basyar, once a week. Initially 400-1000 copies were distributed to mosques and prayer groups in the Cirebon district. We wanted to stimulate a collective consciousness of the social inequities around us and the consequences for political, social and economic interests. Such social inequity oppresses women, migrant workers, street traders, fishers, farmers, minority groups and people with different abilities. Al-Basyar continues to be published today and is circulated throughout Cirebon Region III, including Cirebon city and in the Greater Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka and Kuningan districts as an intercommunity medium of creating solidarity towards the weak and oppressed.
In producing this newsletter, we have come into contact with even more pesantren communities, mosque committees, prayer and social groups in our region. People who write for Al-Basyar are kyai and nyai (pesantren leaders) in Cirebon, ustadz (pesantren teachers) and senior santri (pesantren students), academics and students as well as the activists that get down and dirty with the community on a daily basis. Al-Basyar inspired many mosques and religious discussion groups to publish their own newsletters.
For as long as Fahmina has been active, we have continued our efforts to open the most effective forums possible as a means of intellectual enquiry and social articulation for pesantren alumni. We do this by working in cooperation with pesantren as well as local and national institutions. We hold an annual Ramadan prayer meeting, fortnightly study groups, religious discussion groups for pesantren women, courses in Islamic Jurisprudence related to women and democracy, classical Islamic text study groups (halaqah kitab kuning) and informal meetings of Islamic scholars (mujalasah ulama) in a number of pesantren. These media for education and the analysis of tradition are attended by young kyai and nyai, ustadz and senior santri from Cirebon Region III. All these activities are carried out to open intellectual and professional avenues for pesantren alumni, in addition to those already open to conduct business, be active in party politics, to become a government official or a civil servant. For three years we have facilitated a meeting of muhajirin santri at the beginning of the month of Syawal of the Hijriah calendar. The term ‘muhajirin santri’ means alumni of local pesantren that have chosen to live outside the Cirebon region. This meeting of pesantren alumni is a medium for sharing experiences, information and for strengthening the intellectual and social activities of pesantren alumni.
Via these various forums, we continue to promote the intellectual tradition of pesantren as an inspiration for the upholding of social justice. We have inspired, encouraged and facilitated rituals and traditions in local pesantren to be imbued with intellectual tradition and solidarity with the oppressed. These ceremonies include haul in Buntet, Babakan and Arjawinangun, the end of year festival in al-Mizan Majalengka, a number of events at Bode Lor Pesantren, Ulumuddin Susukan Pesantren, in addition to Khatulistiwa Kempek Pesantren that has long carried out such events.
This has also included organisational ceremonies, mainly NU ceremonies, as NU is the main institution in pesantren circles. In ceremonies such as branch meetings and meetings of ulama (Islamic scholars), we pushed for the creation of a momentum of studying tradition and social concerns.
We are currently attempting to expand these forums, not merely in Cirebon Region III, West Java and at a national level, such as in Situbondo Jawa Timur and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, which are now established, but also with Muslim communities in South-East Asia – Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as internationally such as in Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Fahmina has been visited – and in some cases cooperated with, various research and educational institutes – from local institutions such as STAIN Cirebon, Unswagati, STAIC and UMC, to national institutions including UIN Jakarta, UIN Yogyakarta, STAIN Purwokerto, STAIN Malikussaleh Lhokseumawe NAD, UI Research Institute, Pusdakota Ubaya, Pusham Unair, and internasional organisations such as Ohio University, Daikin University, Sisters in Islam Malaysia, Majlis Ulama Afghanistan, and Nisa ul-Haqq fi Bangsa Moro Philippines. As a continuation of post-pesantren intellectual forums, Fahmina is currently establishing a tertiary institute ‘Institut Studi Islam Fahmina’ (ISIF, Fahmina Institute for Islamic Studies). In January 2008, this tertiary institute was open for registration of new students.
This is how we broaden opportunities for pesantren alumni in Cirebon to be socially and intellectually active without having to be cut loose from the richness of pesantren tradition which they have inherited. They do this by writing in the media, writing books, publishing magazines, lecturing on social issues and current events, supporting and organising society in order to obtain justice. A number of books have been published containing the work of writers from pesantren communities in the Cirebon District including KH. Husein Muhammad, KH Fuad Hasyim, KH Yahya Masduki, KH Syarif Usman Yahya, KH Maman Imanul Haq, Ny. Hj. Masriyah Amin, Ny. Hj. Afwah Mumtazah, Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, Marzuki Wahid, Nuruzzaman, Baiquni, and a number of other collections of articles, working papers, sermons, lectures as well as works by pesantren social movements and organisations too numerous to mention.
This is how we open forums and explore our understanding: Fahmina.
Strengthening Community Autonomy
In our view, every community should be able to advocate to obtain their rights and in their own interests. They should be empowered to recognise the problems they face, to find solutions to these problems and strengthen their ability to organise themselves. This is in the interest of the whole community. Through such community autonomy, it is hoped that development programs will be truly designed and carried out for the benefit of the people; not merely as a bureaucratic routine to use up budgets or to improve image and get votes.
In 2001, Fahmina facilitated the establishment of a women’s crisis centre, “Mawar Balqis”, based in the pesantren community of Dar al-Tauhid Arjawinangun. This crisis centre, with the support of a number of parties, has become a significant community force in supporting and handling cases of violence against women. Balquis’s 2007 report states that since 2001 it has handled 643 cases of violence against women, 58% of which were domestic violence cases.
In 2002, Fahmina worked with victims of the political tragedy of 1965-1966, to obtain mutual recognition between members of the Indonesian Communist Party and NU. These efforts opened the door for community reconciliation, and although the issue is not, and may never be, resolved, at the very least, victims have now met with NU authorities and pesantren leaders.
Because Fahmina’s secretariat is located in the city of Cirebon, Fahmina has greater contact with marginal communities in the city, in particular with fishers and becak (pedicab) drivers. From 2001 to 2003, our contact with marginal communities focused on identifying with them community issues, seeking solutions through which they could help themselves to resolve problems, and running a small number of training courses in entrepreneurship and computer skills as well as distributing charitable aid.
From 2003 to 2005, contact with these communities was more focused on self organisation and the ability to negotiate to obtain community rights in Cirebon city. Fahmina facilitated Community Empowerment Institutes (LPM) in every village (kelurahan) in Cirebon city, including street-traders, fishers, becak drivers, street artists, motorcycle taxi drivers, labourers and some housewives. This community empowerment was in the context of increasing participation of citizens in the development of the city as a sign of good governance. From this facilitation, those that are relatively capable of organising themselves and negotiating effectively with other institutions are LPM, Street-traders Forum (FPKL) and Paguyuban Seniman Harjamukti Cirebon (PSHC). Both LPM and FPKL have significant positions in the formulation of city development and obtain reasonable government budget allocations.
From 2006-2007, FPKL was entrusted to manage 1 billion rupiah in funding from the provincial government budget. However at the end of the year, this trust was damaged by the actions of a few senior members of the Maju Bareng cooperative who acted out of compliance with the procedure regarding the use and repayment of funding. Now all members of the community have agreed to discontinue the program until the perpetrators take responsibility for their actions. This is an example of the dynamics of organisations that make community empowerment a challenging process.
Fahmina has also carried out empowerment projects with the community of Muslim prayer leaders (imam and khatib) in Indramayu District, pesantren communities, student communities, drivers in the eastern Cirebon district and the Bannati Palimanan community, and has also cooperated with a number of strong communities such as the Migrant Workers Citizens Forum Indramayu (FKBMI) and the Migrant Worker’s Families’ Forum Indramayu (FKBMI).
Since January 2007, Fahmina has facilitated empowerment programs for communities in villages (kelurahan) in the Cirebon region through community radio stations. These radio stations are intended as forums for communication between members of the community to identify problems, search for solutions and organise themselves to cultivate their own empowerment. This project is being carried out in six villages in the cities and region of Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka and Kuningan. The empowerment of these communities, in our view, is part of our strategy to ensure that public policy is inspired by justice and solidarity with the marginalised people.
These community empowerment activities keep in check the practice of mass mobilisation so often carried out by political and mass organisations. Mass mobilisation inevitably only gives rise to political models that are emotional, pragmatic, irrational, short term and which do not benefit poor groups in real terms. The number of household classified as poor in Cirebon city, according to census data of heads of households, is as high as 15,000 from a total population of 290,000 people – and the number of poor household in neighbouring districts is almost certainly higher. Though as members of masses they provide support for certain parties, in real terms these people receive little more than a t-shirt or an envelope at election time. This threatens the project of creating good governance and thwarts aspirations of social justice.
Good governance, in our view, means being truly open to the involvement of all components of society in the drafting of and agenda of development, control and evaluation. Only by doing so can community aspirations of social justice be guaranteed, particularly for the weak and oppressed. In 2002, we brought together various community groups in Cirebon city to get a reading of the hopes and expectations of society regarding ‘good government’. Key community figures in Cirebon city met on a number of occasions to formulate a list of these hopes. Those who attended included Agus Prayoga, Agus al-Wafier, Ahmad Syubbanuddin Alwi, Sri Maryati, Nurdin M. Noor, Ipah Jahrotunnasipah, Dewi Laily Purnamasari, Ade Asep Sarifuddin, Agung Sedijono, Akbarudin Sucipto, Amran Jaenuddin, Pra. Arief Natadiningrat, Cawita, Dadang Kusnandar, Dalis, Djarot Surodjo, Eman Sulaeman Syahri, Enang Iman Gana, Eti Nurhayati, Djayadi, Khoiruddin Imawan, Kholifah Mudeni, M. Fahrozi, Mamat Soedia, Mumun Munyati, Nani Rusnaeni, Nurdin M Noer, Setyo Hajar Dewantoro, S.Silalahi, Suketi, Supriatno, Suryapranata, Tari, Yasin and Lies Zakiyah.
These meetings led, in 2004, to a decision to create a body to balance government power known as the ‘City Advisory Council’ (Dewan Kota). This was a forum with a representative membership from interest and community groups, as a way of balancing legislative and executive activities in providing public services. The activities of members of this City Advisory Council then worked with the regional development planning body (Bappeda) to strengthen public participation in the planning of development. There were 21 groups involved in the budget formulation for 2005-2006, with representatives from communities, professional groups, NGOs, the local parliament and executive, who had authority to examine the budget suggestions from relevant government agencies. This is a significant achievement that is unprecedented in local governments in areas surrounding Cirebon City. Nevertheless final decisions are still made in sessions of the City DPRD, and it remains to be seen whether negotiations between the City Advisory Council and DPRD will indeed be honoured.
Fahmina has also undertaken activities to promote public participation as a pillar of good governance in the Cirebon and Indramayu districts. In 2005, with a number of groups and communities, Fahmina carried out evaluation and supervision of health and education policies in Indramayu, as well as involving the community in actively contributing to regional anti-trafficking laws through the Indramayu Anti-Traficking Unit (SANTRI). In Cirebon District from 2005-2007, members of the Community Anti-Trafficking Network (JIMAT) were mobilised to participate in the drafting of regional laws regarding anti-trafficking, migrant worker protection and an integrated service centre. Interestingly, pesantren community involvement in the two district government policy-making was significant while in the Cirebon Metropolitan area there was virtually no involvement from the pesantren or associated mass organisations in creating policy that takes into consideration the interests of the poor, women and children. In 2007, Fahmina worked in cooperation with Cirebon District PC Nahdlatul Ulama to introduce representatives from all Majlis Wakil Branches (sub-district level) of Cirebon District NU, to follow up the possibility of working together to protect the community from the drugs and trafficking crime.
In a situation where democracy is still, in many cases, simply procedural, it is not sufficient for public participation to be limited to voting for regional or national representative, governors or the president then leaving it to them to run the country. The Indonesian public, for example, has still not seen the work of policy-makers truly guarantee government policy will run according plan or budget or the mechanisms and goals of society. Periods of recess each year are used for meetings with the community but these are still partisan and without a real agenda to control the executive. Sometimes policymakers use the recess period to travel, calling their holiday a “comparative study”. In this context, direct participation by the people, is a precondition for ensuring good governance. Increasing public participation, at the very least, will empower the community to deal with the problems they face, such as violence towards women and children.
Empowering Women
Women, although they are many in number, remain victims of a patriarchal social system that turns them into objects, weakened and vulnerable to many forms of violence. Islam is based on principles of justice in all things, including relations between men and women, does not oppress one gender or permit one gender to become an object of violence. Behaviour and actions that cause oppression or violence towards women are in opposition to Islam. As a result, Fahmina, along with other local and national women’s groups, campaign to create a social order that is more just, without violence towards one sex towards another, oppression, discrimination or any forms of tyranny.
Since 2001, women victims, their families and community advocacy groups have demanded that Fahmina take action, to become directly involved in advocating for victims of violence. Although Fahmina has been involved in cases of direct advocacy, Fahmina’s direct advocacy work is not as intensive or as numerous as those handled by advocacy groups such as WCC Balqis, FWBMI, Bannati, Puspita ass-Sakinah. Fahmina prefers to work strategically, with regard to the development of culture and understanding of religion, in order that it may become a basis for the realisation of ideals of justice and advocacy for the weak.
Nevertheless, in the last three months of 2007, Fahmina was involved with some direct advocacy cases such as that of three women, with family connections in Cirebon, who had been sold as commercial sex workers in Lubuk Linggau, Southern Sumatra; a case of a woman who died as a result of burns inflicted by her husband; a case of domestic violence as a result of dismissal from a private company, assisting and bringing home Acehnese women who were victims of violence perpetrated by organised crime in Cirebon, demanding the alimony and medical expenses, and recognition of paternity in the LP Gintung lor cases; and assisting cases of migrant workers and victims of domestic violence in Majalengka, Cirebon and Indramayu. These cases are brought to our attention by the victims or their families who ask Fahmina for assistance. Although Fahmina prefers to focus on gender advocacy through cultural transformation, assisting with these cases strengthens our strategic work in developing a critical Islamic discourse that is friendly to women and based on gender justice.
Our work in cultural transformation takes several forms, and is both a primary and ‘cross-cutting’ issue in our programs. These forms include courses, training, discussion groups, religious text study groups, writing prayers and publishing books, al-Basyar and Blakasuta bulletins as well as articles in local and national media. These strategies are directed at two target groups: women’s activists and religious preachers, particularly those from pesantren. For the first group, our goal is for them to understand and use Islam to strengthen their empowerment work. In addition, we also derive benefit from the real experiences faced by women as a basis for reinterpreting the pesantren intellectual tradition. Meanwhile for the second group, our goal is that they recognise gender perspective, and understand and preach a form of Islam that is friendly to women and based on gender justice. Of course, we also benefit from this second group with the richness of intellectual tradition that they bring to discussions with us.
For the first group, in 2004 we carried out a course on Islam and gender (Dawrah Fiqh Perempuan) attended by 28 activists from various regions of Indonesia including some of the first generation of women’s activists such as Ibu Saparinah Sadli, Debra Yatim and Kamala Candrakirana among others. From this experience, we published a book. Using this book we facilitated training sessions for members of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam police, Acehenese women’s activists, male activists from Aceh, activists from NGOs and advocacy groups in Bangkalan, Madura, and finally for Muslim women activists in Davao City in the Philippines in December 2007. About 2,000 copies of the book, ‘Dawrah Fiqh Perempuan; A Training Course in Islam and Gender’ are in circulation among activists and women’s groups. A further 2,000 copies of the English language translation are also in circulation in national, regional and international NGOs.
For the second group, we have run various courses, training, discussion groups, religious text study, ihtisab ramadhan, writing in media and publishing books, and more specifically publishing cassettes and books of prayers for justice. Even though this second task is a little more difficult and we face many challenges, contact with pesantren figures that possess extensive libraries and a wealth of intellectual tradition sharpen our own abilities and beliefs.
Preaching Pluralism
Pluralism is the acceptance of difference as the basis of civilisation and development. Since it was first founded, Fahmina has tried to socialise a perspective of religious pluralism to wider society, especially pesantren communities or communities with a classical religious tradition. Many pesantren elders have demonstrated their readiness to meet face-to-face and engage in interfaith dialogues with other religious groups in the Cirebon region. However, at the level of discourse and action, serious obstacles remain, especially in defending the rights of religious minorities, such as LDII, Ahmadiyah, HDH and New Age groups like Dayak Bumi Segandu.
Interfaith dialogue is extremely important for the peaceful life of a nation of diverse religions and sects. Too often conflicts that have occurred in Indonesia have claimed religious differences as their basis. A number of kyai from Cirebon pesantren have emphasised that the message of diversity preached by Sunan Gunung Jati, the famous wali songo of Cirebon, should not be betrayed in the interests of particular groups. In the words of K.H. Syarif Usman Yahya: “don’t let Cirebon become like Poso”. We convey messages like this to a variety of groups via al-Basyar bulletin, local media and the books we publish. We use as our foundation the civilisation of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Medina Charter, and the civilisations of Abbasiyah, Islam Cordova, and Turki Usmani, among others. In these civilisations differences did not destroy civilisation or lead to inequality but were a source of strength to create a better, humanist society that takes care of the welfare of all parties.
The work we carry out promoting pluralism emphasises the importance of meetings, negotiation, and seeking solutions without violence for all inter-group relations. Since 2001, we have been involved in creating, building and preserving the Cirebon Saturday Forum, a forum to bring together religious groups. Before the local government created the Forum for Communication between Religious Congregations (FKUB), the Saturday Forum was the main space for the many local religious groups to engage in dialogue and negotiations. Now, most people from minority groups have become apathetic because FKUB is no more than an extension of the interests of majority groups. In this context, Fahmina is often asked to carry out campaigns and advocacy for minority religious groups experiencing problems with government or other community groups. There are also reported cases of majorities that feel threatened by minorities.
Since 2001, some of the cases Fahmina has been involved with are: Kedung Menjangan Christian cemetery, Chinese cemetery in Kalitanjung, the ‘Dayak Bumi Segandu’ group, the community around Sumber Waras Ciwaringin Hospital, Radio Gratia, Chinese prayer house, Gratia group activities, Jama’ah Ahmadiyah and majlis ta’lim HDH. In addition to providing assistance, in 2006 Fahmina began to form commitments with a number of other institutions in West Java in the Jaker Network for monitoring and advocacy of freedom of religion and belief using human hights instruments. Cirebon region possesses a diversity of religions and religious groups as well as traditional practices that are vulnerable to being declared ‘heretical’ by influential groups. Because of this, promoting pluralism as described above is important for continuing the development of a humanist civilisation that is tolerant and just.[]
Out of this intellectual activism, more concrete social activism emerged as an imperative. These circles of young pesantren-based activists sought to defend the interests of marginalised people by discussing citizens’ rights and other issues of interest to the grassroots of society, as well as defending their interests at the level of public discourse.
The intellectual activities and social empowerment programs carried out Bildung Cirebon, JILLI, and other forums devised by ex-pesantren students, were modest in character. They were not connected or coordinated by a single organisation or association which would provide continuity. Often, this resulted in a piecemeal or unfocused approach to issues. It became clear that it was necessary to establish a formal institution, capable of coordinating and facilitating the kind of intellectual and social activism which these young people aspired to carry out.
On this basis, a number of the founders and supporters of these forums established Fahmina Institute. In November 1999, Fahmina was founded by KH Husein Muhammad, Affandi Mukhtar, Marzuki Wahid and Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, and based in the home of KH Husein Muhammad in Pondok Pesantren Dar al-Tauhid. Fahmina later began its social engagement in earnest in February 2001 when it moved its headquarters to Jl. Pangeran Drajat 15, Cirebon. Fahmina was established as an independent, non-government, non-partisan institution, open to community membership across ethnicity, gender, social group and religion.
Rallying Pesantren Alumni
In the beginning, Fahmina was intended to rally young alumni of pesantren with a thirst for knowledge in the Cirebon district. Fahmina began by involving them in deeper textual study in which they would consider the social, political and economic background from which a particular religious text emerged and was written. This involvement brought Fahmina into contact with individuals, institutions and communities that already had experience in the fields of intellectual and social activism. Among them were local Cirebon organisations such as Gerbang Informasi and Dewan Kesenian Cirebon, as well as organisations based outside Cirebon including PP Lakpesdam NU, Rahima, LKIS and Desantara. With them we debated and discussed, gave, received and shared. In Cirebon we invited even more pesantren alumni to share with us and each other and strengthen their own abilities.
It was, and is, our core belief that Islam or “Islamicness” must take shape within a framework of social justice. However, we stressed: this was limited by our understanding, or, in Arabic, “fahmina”. We published our ideas in the Cirebon newspapers Radar and Mitra Dialog, as well as the now defunct Media Pantura.
But we did not feel this was sufficient, because newspapers do not often make their way into our base community, the pesantren community. Therefore, in 2001, we began to publish a small, 4-page newsletter, al-Basyar, once a week. Initially 400-1000 copies were distributed to mosques and prayer groups in the Cirebon district. We wanted to stimulate a collective consciousness of the social inequities around us and the consequences for political, social and economic interests. Such social inequity oppresses women, migrant workers, street traders, fishers, farmers, minority groups and people with different abilities. Al-Basyar continues to be published today and is circulated throughout Cirebon Region III, including Cirebon city and in the Greater Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka and Kuningan districts as an intercommunity medium of creating solidarity towards the weak and oppressed.
In producing this newsletter, we have come into contact with even more pesantren communities, mosque committees, prayer and social groups in our region. People who write for Al-Basyar are kyai and nyai (pesantren leaders) in Cirebon, ustadz (pesantren teachers) and senior santri (pesantren students), academics and students as well as the activists that get down and dirty with the community on a daily basis. Al-Basyar inspired many mosques and religious discussion groups to publish their own newsletters.
For as long as Fahmina has been active, we have continued our efforts to open the most effective forums possible as a means of intellectual enquiry and social articulation for pesantren alumni. We do this by working in cooperation with pesantren as well as local and national institutions. We hold an annual Ramadan prayer meeting, fortnightly study groups, religious discussion groups for pesantren women, courses in Islamic Jurisprudence related to women and democracy, classical Islamic text study groups (halaqah kitab kuning) and informal meetings of Islamic scholars (mujalasah ulama) in a number of pesantren. These media for education and the analysis of tradition are attended by young kyai and nyai, ustadz and senior santri from Cirebon Region III. All these activities are carried out to open intellectual and professional avenues for pesantren alumni, in addition to those already open to conduct business, be active in party politics, to become a government official or a civil servant. For three years we have facilitated a meeting of muhajirin santri at the beginning of the month of Syawal of the Hijriah calendar. The term ‘muhajirin santri’ means alumni of local pesantren that have chosen to live outside the Cirebon region. This meeting of pesantren alumni is a medium for sharing experiences, information and for strengthening the intellectual and social activities of pesantren alumni.
Via these various forums, we continue to promote the intellectual tradition of pesantren as an inspiration for the upholding of social justice. We have inspired, encouraged and facilitated rituals and traditions in local pesantren to be imbued with intellectual tradition and solidarity with the oppressed. These ceremonies include haul in Buntet, Babakan and Arjawinangun, the end of year festival in al-Mizan Majalengka, a number of events at Bode Lor Pesantren, Ulumuddin Susukan Pesantren, in addition to Khatulistiwa Kempek Pesantren that has long carried out such events.
This has also included organisational ceremonies, mainly NU ceremonies, as NU is the main institution in pesantren circles. In ceremonies such as branch meetings and meetings of ulama (Islamic scholars), we pushed for the creation of a momentum of studying tradition and social concerns.
We are currently attempting to expand these forums, not merely in Cirebon Region III, West Java and at a national level, such as in Situbondo Jawa Timur and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, which are now established, but also with Muslim communities in South-East Asia – Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as internationally such as in Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Fahmina has been visited – and in some cases cooperated with, various research and educational institutes – from local institutions such as STAIN Cirebon, Unswagati, STAIC and UMC, to national institutions including UIN Jakarta, UIN Yogyakarta, STAIN Purwokerto, STAIN Malikussaleh Lhokseumawe NAD, UI Research Institute, Pusdakota Ubaya, Pusham Unair, and internasional organisations such as Ohio University, Daikin University, Sisters in Islam Malaysia, Majlis Ulama Afghanistan, and Nisa ul-Haqq fi Bangsa Moro Philippines. As a continuation of post-pesantren intellectual forums, Fahmina is currently establishing a tertiary institute ‘Institut Studi Islam Fahmina’ (ISIF, Fahmina Institute for Islamic Studies). In January 2008, this tertiary institute was open for registration of new students.
This is how we broaden opportunities for pesantren alumni in Cirebon to be socially and intellectually active without having to be cut loose from the richness of pesantren tradition which they have inherited. They do this by writing in the media, writing books, publishing magazines, lecturing on social issues and current events, supporting and organising society in order to obtain justice. A number of books have been published containing the work of writers from pesantren communities in the Cirebon District including KH. Husein Muhammad, KH Fuad Hasyim, KH Yahya Masduki, KH Syarif Usman Yahya, KH Maman Imanul Haq, Ny. Hj. Masriyah Amin, Ny. Hj. Afwah Mumtazah, Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, Marzuki Wahid, Nuruzzaman, Baiquni, and a number of other collections of articles, working papers, sermons, lectures as well as works by pesantren social movements and organisations too numerous to mention.
This is how we open forums and explore our understanding: Fahmina.
Strengthening Community Autonomy
In our view, every community should be able to advocate to obtain their rights and in their own interests. They should be empowered to recognise the problems they face, to find solutions to these problems and strengthen their ability to organise themselves. This is in the interest of the whole community. Through such community autonomy, it is hoped that development programs will be truly designed and carried out for the benefit of the people; not merely as a bureaucratic routine to use up budgets or to improve image and get votes.
In 2001, Fahmina facilitated the establishment of a women’s crisis centre, “Mawar Balqis”, based in the pesantren community of Dar al-Tauhid Arjawinangun. This crisis centre, with the support of a number of parties, has become a significant community force in supporting and handling cases of violence against women. Balquis’s 2007 report states that since 2001 it has handled 643 cases of violence against women, 58% of which were domestic violence cases.
In 2002, Fahmina worked with victims of the political tragedy of 1965-1966, to obtain mutual recognition between members of the Indonesian Communist Party and NU. These efforts opened the door for community reconciliation, and although the issue is not, and may never be, resolved, at the very least, victims have now met with NU authorities and pesantren leaders.
Because Fahmina’s secretariat is located in the city of Cirebon, Fahmina has greater contact with marginal communities in the city, in particular with fishers and becak (pedicab) drivers. From 2001 to 2003, our contact with marginal communities focused on identifying with them community issues, seeking solutions through which they could help themselves to resolve problems, and running a small number of training courses in entrepreneurship and computer skills as well as distributing charitable aid.
From 2003 to 2005, contact with these communities was more focused on self organisation and the ability to negotiate to obtain community rights in Cirebon city. Fahmina facilitated Community Empowerment Institutes (LPM) in every village (kelurahan) in Cirebon city, including street-traders, fishers, becak drivers, street artists, motorcycle taxi drivers, labourers and some housewives. This community empowerment was in the context of increasing participation of citizens in the development of the city as a sign of good governance. From this facilitation, those that are relatively capable of organising themselves and negotiating effectively with other institutions are LPM, Street-traders Forum (FPKL) and Paguyuban Seniman Harjamukti Cirebon (PSHC). Both LPM and FPKL have significant positions in the formulation of city development and obtain reasonable government budget allocations.
From 2006-2007, FPKL was entrusted to manage 1 billion rupiah in funding from the provincial government budget. However at the end of the year, this trust was damaged by the actions of a few senior members of the Maju Bareng cooperative who acted out of compliance with the procedure regarding the use and repayment of funding. Now all members of the community have agreed to discontinue the program until the perpetrators take responsibility for their actions. This is an example of the dynamics of organisations that make community empowerment a challenging process.
Fahmina has also carried out empowerment projects with the community of Muslim prayer leaders (imam and khatib) in Indramayu District, pesantren communities, student communities, drivers in the eastern Cirebon district and the Bannati Palimanan community, and has also cooperated with a number of strong communities such as the Migrant Workers Citizens Forum Indramayu (FKBMI) and the Migrant Worker’s Families’ Forum Indramayu (FKBMI).
Since January 2007, Fahmina has facilitated empowerment programs for communities in villages (kelurahan) in the Cirebon region through community radio stations. These radio stations are intended as forums for communication between members of the community to identify problems, search for solutions and organise themselves to cultivate their own empowerment. This project is being carried out in six villages in the cities and region of Cirebon, Indramayu, Majalengka and Kuningan. The empowerment of these communities, in our view, is part of our strategy to ensure that public policy is inspired by justice and solidarity with the marginalised people.
These community empowerment activities keep in check the practice of mass mobilisation so often carried out by political and mass organisations. Mass mobilisation inevitably only gives rise to political models that are emotional, pragmatic, irrational, short term and which do not benefit poor groups in real terms. The number of household classified as poor in Cirebon city, according to census data of heads of households, is as high as 15,000 from a total population of 290,000 people – and the number of poor household in neighbouring districts is almost certainly higher. Though as members of masses they provide support for certain parties, in real terms these people receive little more than a t-shirt or an envelope at election time. This threatens the project of creating good governance and thwarts aspirations of social justice.
Good governance, in our view, means being truly open to the involvement of all components of society in the drafting of and agenda of development, control and evaluation. Only by doing so can community aspirations of social justice be guaranteed, particularly for the weak and oppressed. In 2002, we brought together various community groups in Cirebon city to get a reading of the hopes and expectations of society regarding ‘good government’. Key community figures in Cirebon city met on a number of occasions to formulate a list of these hopes. Those who attended included Agus Prayoga, Agus al-Wafier, Ahmad Syubbanuddin Alwi, Sri Maryati, Nurdin M. Noor, Ipah Jahrotunnasipah, Dewi Laily Purnamasari, Ade Asep Sarifuddin, Agung Sedijono, Akbarudin Sucipto, Amran Jaenuddin, Pra. Arief Natadiningrat, Cawita, Dadang Kusnandar, Dalis, Djarot Surodjo, Eman Sulaeman Syahri, Enang Iman Gana, Eti Nurhayati, Djayadi, Khoiruddin Imawan, Kholifah Mudeni, M. Fahrozi, Mamat Soedia, Mumun Munyati, Nani Rusnaeni, Nurdin M Noer, Setyo Hajar Dewantoro, S.Silalahi, Suketi, Supriatno, Suryapranata, Tari, Yasin and Lies Zakiyah.
These meetings led, in 2004, to a decision to create a body to balance government power known as the ‘City Advisory Council’ (Dewan Kota). This was a forum with a representative membership from interest and community groups, as a way of balancing legislative and executive activities in providing public services. The activities of members of this City Advisory Council then worked with the regional development planning body (Bappeda) to strengthen public participation in the planning of development. There were 21 groups involved in the budget formulation for 2005-2006, with representatives from communities, professional groups, NGOs, the local parliament and executive, who had authority to examine the budget suggestions from relevant government agencies. This is a significant achievement that is unprecedented in local governments in areas surrounding Cirebon City. Nevertheless final decisions are still made in sessions of the City DPRD, and it remains to be seen whether negotiations between the City Advisory Council and DPRD will indeed be honoured.
Fahmina has also undertaken activities to promote public participation as a pillar of good governance in the Cirebon and Indramayu districts. In 2005, with a number of groups and communities, Fahmina carried out evaluation and supervision of health and education policies in Indramayu, as well as involving the community in actively contributing to regional anti-trafficking laws through the Indramayu Anti-Traficking Unit (SANTRI). In Cirebon District from 2005-2007, members of the Community Anti-Trafficking Network (JIMAT) were mobilised to participate in the drafting of regional laws regarding anti-trafficking, migrant worker protection and an integrated service centre. Interestingly, pesantren community involvement in the two district government policy-making was significant while in the Cirebon Metropolitan area there was virtually no involvement from the pesantren or associated mass organisations in creating policy that takes into consideration the interests of the poor, women and children. In 2007, Fahmina worked in cooperation with Cirebon District PC Nahdlatul Ulama to introduce representatives from all Majlis Wakil Branches (sub-district level) of Cirebon District NU, to follow up the possibility of working together to protect the community from the drugs and trafficking crime.
In a situation where democracy is still, in many cases, simply procedural, it is not sufficient for public participation to be limited to voting for regional or national representative, governors or the president then leaving it to them to run the country. The Indonesian public, for example, has still not seen the work of policy-makers truly guarantee government policy will run according plan or budget or the mechanisms and goals of society. Periods of recess each year are used for meetings with the community but these are still partisan and without a real agenda to control the executive. Sometimes policymakers use the recess period to travel, calling their holiday a “comparative study”. In this context, direct participation by the people, is a precondition for ensuring good governance. Increasing public participation, at the very least, will empower the community to deal with the problems they face, such as violence towards women and children.
Empowering Women
Women, although they are many in number, remain victims of a patriarchal social system that turns them into objects, weakened and vulnerable to many forms of violence. Islam is based on principles of justice in all things, including relations between men and women, does not oppress one gender or permit one gender to become an object of violence. Behaviour and actions that cause oppression or violence towards women are in opposition to Islam. As a result, Fahmina, along with other local and national women’s groups, campaign to create a social order that is more just, without violence towards one sex towards another, oppression, discrimination or any forms of tyranny.
Since 2001, women victims, their families and community advocacy groups have demanded that Fahmina take action, to become directly involved in advocating for victims of violence. Although Fahmina has been involved in cases of direct advocacy, Fahmina’s direct advocacy work is not as intensive or as numerous as those handled by advocacy groups such as WCC Balqis, FWBMI, Bannati, Puspita ass-Sakinah. Fahmina prefers to work strategically, with regard to the development of culture and understanding of religion, in order that it may become a basis for the realisation of ideals of justice and advocacy for the weak.
Nevertheless, in the last three months of 2007, Fahmina was involved with some direct advocacy cases such as that of three women, with family connections in Cirebon, who had been sold as commercial sex workers in Lubuk Linggau, Southern Sumatra; a case of a woman who died as a result of burns inflicted by her husband; a case of domestic violence as a result of dismissal from a private company, assisting and bringing home Acehnese women who were victims of violence perpetrated by organised crime in Cirebon, demanding the alimony and medical expenses, and recognition of paternity in the LP Gintung lor cases; and assisting cases of migrant workers and victims of domestic violence in Majalengka, Cirebon and Indramayu. These cases are brought to our attention by the victims or their families who ask Fahmina for assistance. Although Fahmina prefers to focus on gender advocacy through cultural transformation, assisting with these cases strengthens our strategic work in developing a critical Islamic discourse that is friendly to women and based on gender justice.
Our work in cultural transformation takes several forms, and is both a primary and ‘cross-cutting’ issue in our programs. These forms include courses, training, discussion groups, religious text study groups, writing prayers and publishing books, al-Basyar and Blakasuta bulletins as well as articles in local and national media. These strategies are directed at two target groups: women’s activists and religious preachers, particularly those from pesantren. For the first group, our goal is for them to understand and use Islam to strengthen their empowerment work. In addition, we also derive benefit from the real experiences faced by women as a basis for reinterpreting the pesantren intellectual tradition. Meanwhile for the second group, our goal is that they recognise gender perspective, and understand and preach a form of Islam that is friendly to women and based on gender justice. Of course, we also benefit from this second group with the richness of intellectual tradition that they bring to discussions with us.
For the first group, in 2004 we carried out a course on Islam and gender (Dawrah Fiqh Perempuan) attended by 28 activists from various regions of Indonesia including some of the first generation of women’s activists such as Ibu Saparinah Sadli, Debra Yatim and Kamala Candrakirana among others. From this experience, we published a book. Using this book we facilitated training sessions for members of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam police, Acehenese women’s activists, male activists from Aceh, activists from NGOs and advocacy groups in Bangkalan, Madura, and finally for Muslim women activists in Davao City in the Philippines in December 2007. About 2,000 copies of the book, ‘Dawrah Fiqh Perempuan; A Training Course in Islam and Gender’ are in circulation among activists and women’s groups. A further 2,000 copies of the English language translation are also in circulation in national, regional and international NGOs.
For the second group, we have run various courses, training, discussion groups, religious text study, ihtisab ramadhan, writing in media and publishing books, and more specifically publishing cassettes and books of prayers for justice. Even though this second task is a little more difficult and we face many challenges, contact with pesantren figures that possess extensive libraries and a wealth of intellectual tradition sharpen our own abilities and beliefs.
Preaching Pluralism
Pluralism is the acceptance of difference as the basis of civilisation and development. Since it was first founded, Fahmina has tried to socialise a perspective of religious pluralism to wider society, especially pesantren communities or communities with a classical religious tradition. Many pesantren elders have demonstrated their readiness to meet face-to-face and engage in interfaith dialogues with other religious groups in the Cirebon region. However, at the level of discourse and action, serious obstacles remain, especially in defending the rights of religious minorities, such as LDII, Ahmadiyah, HDH and New Age groups like Dayak Bumi Segandu.
Interfaith dialogue is extremely important for the peaceful life of a nation of diverse religions and sects. Too often conflicts that have occurred in Indonesia have claimed religious differences as their basis. A number of kyai from Cirebon pesantren have emphasised that the message of diversity preached by Sunan Gunung Jati, the famous wali songo of Cirebon, should not be betrayed in the interests of particular groups. In the words of K.H. Syarif Usman Yahya: “don’t let Cirebon become like Poso”. We convey messages like this to a variety of groups via al-Basyar bulletin, local media and the books we publish. We use as our foundation the civilisation of Muhammad (pbuh) in the Medina Charter, and the civilisations of Abbasiyah, Islam Cordova, and Turki Usmani, among others. In these civilisations differences did not destroy civilisation or lead to inequality but were a source of strength to create a better, humanist society that takes care of the welfare of all parties.
The work we carry out promoting pluralism emphasises the importance of meetings, negotiation, and seeking solutions without violence for all inter-group relations. Since 2001, we have been involved in creating, building and preserving the Cirebon Saturday Forum, a forum to bring together religious groups. Before the local government created the Forum for Communication between Religious Congregations (FKUB), the Saturday Forum was the main space for the many local religious groups to engage in dialogue and negotiations. Now, most people from minority groups have become apathetic because FKUB is no more than an extension of the interests of majority groups. In this context, Fahmina is often asked to carry out campaigns and advocacy for minority religious groups experiencing problems with government or other community groups. There are also reported cases of majorities that feel threatened by minorities.
Since 2001, some of the cases Fahmina has been involved with are: Kedung Menjangan Christian cemetery, Chinese cemetery in Kalitanjung, the ‘Dayak Bumi Segandu’ group, the community around Sumber Waras Ciwaringin Hospital, Radio Gratia, Chinese prayer house, Gratia group activities, Jama’ah Ahmadiyah and majlis ta’lim HDH. In addition to providing assistance, in 2006 Fahmina began to form commitments with a number of other institutions in West Java in the Jaker Network for monitoring and advocacy of freedom of religion and belief using human hights instruments. Cirebon region possesses a diversity of religions and religious groups as well as traditional practices that are vulnerable to being declared ‘heretical’ by influential groups. Because of this, promoting pluralism as described above is important for continuing the development of a humanist civilisation that is tolerant and just.[]
