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PREFACE To THE FIRST EDITIon The original version of this book is my doctoral dissertation in anthropology submitted to Cornell University in 1976. Data for the dissertation was obtained through fieldwork and archival research. The fieldwork was conducted in the town of Kotagede in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, for a period of nineteen months between October 1970 and April 1972. The archival research of two and a half months was carried out in the Netherlands between June and August 1972. In this book I attempt to present a history and an ethnography of a local branch of the Muhammadiyah movement, one of the most influential Islamic movements in contemporary Javanese society. My perception of Islam in Java in general, and of the Muhammadiyah movement in particular, changed markedly through my field experience. Before fieldwork, I thought that Islam in Java was a losing religion: Javanese Muslims were politically divided and weak, economically stagnant, ideologically conservative, and culturally dull in spite of their numerical strength; Islam as a religion concerned only a small proportion of the Javanese population, a particular segment which was commonly referred to as santri in recent social science literature. Personal encounter with Islam and Muslims through fieldwork has changed my perception: Islam in Java is by no means a waning religion but a vital living faith providing guidelines for ethics and inspiration for aesthetics; the Islamization of Java is not a completed historical event but an ongoing process; the Muhammadiyah represents part of this process of continuing Islamization; Islam concerns not a particular segment of Javanese society but its entire population in that it constitutes an integral part of Javanese religious traditions. This book is thus, in a sense, a testimony for the ‘conversion’ of my view on the significance of Islam in Javanese society. But, at the same time, it is my hope that this book will also contribute to providing some empirical answers to questions often asked about Islam in Java: To what extent and in what ways are the Javanese Muslims? And why is it that Islam still persists in Java? In revising the original dissertation for publication, I have tried not to be tempted to produce an entirely new work. The “ethnographic present” of this book remains at 1970–1972 as it is in the original dissertation. Certainly, there have been many developments in the town since then. Also, a number of important academic works on Islam in Java have appeared and my own xxxix knowledge and understanding of the subject has increased further in more recent years. However, I have resisted the desire to incorporate these factual and intellectual developments into the present work. Instead, I intend to write another monograph in the near future in which the period subsequent to the original fieldwork will be covered and new theoretical dimensions expounded.1 On this occasion, therefore, the revision has been kept to a minimum: the correction of errors in fact and interpretation; the elimination of redundancy and premature arguments; improvements in language and style; the adoption of the new official spelling for Indonesian and Javanese words; and selective updating of references. No new substantial information has been added. Many people have contributed to the research on which the writing of this book was based. I would like to thank, first of all, those individuals in the town of Kotagede, especially the local leaders and ordinary members of the Muhammadiyah, who helped my fieldwork in various ways. They are too many to be mentioned individually. My particular appreciation goes to the following four local students who worked as my research assistants for almost the entire period of my fieldwork: Muhadjir Darwin, Effa Djumairy, Dahrowy Hasjim, and Wahzary Wardojo. I also acknowledge the assistance of the Indonesian government authorities, including the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), who sponsored my research. I am also grateful to Professor Selosoemardjan and Professor Sartono Kartodirdjo whose advice was helpful in designing fieldwork and to Drs. Tedjo Susilo who introduced me to the town of Kotagede. I also thank Drs. R.S. Kami of the Royal Institute of Anthropology and Linguistics, Leiden, who helped my archival research in Holland. I also acknowledge the help of Akira Nagazumi, Kenji Tsuchiya, Masashi and Suzuko Nishihara, Ken’ichi Goto and Yoshitaka Masuko. I am also grateful to Bapak and Ibu R.M. Tjokrodiprodjo who made my family and me feel at home in Yogyakarta. A number of teachers helped my graduate study at Cornell University. Professors James...

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