Ulumuna Vol.
No.
1, 2025, p.
Journal of Islamic Studies Published by State Islamic University Mataram p-ISSN 1411-3457, e-ISSN 2355-7648, available online at https://ulumuna.
RESHAPING ISLAMIC KNOWLEDGE,
ADVOCATING WASAISM:
The Azharites and the Transformation of Urban Religious Learning in Banda Aceh.
Indonesia Moch.
Nur Ichwan1* Sehat Ihsan Shadiqin2.
Mujtahid1 Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga.
Yogyakarta.
Indonesia 2Universitas Islam Negeri Ar Raniry.
Banda Aceh.
Indonesia *Correspondence email: moch.
ichwan@uin-suka.
Abstract: This article examines the significant role of the Azharites (AlAzhar alumn.
in reshaping Islamic knowledge alongside the transformation of urban religious learning in Banda Aceh over the past two decades.
The study highlights their contributions to disseminating Islamic knowledge through platforms like the Middle East Alumni Association (Ikatan Alumni Timur TengahAiIKAT), advanced reading communities, mosques, coffee shops, and mass/social media.
They have facilitated public learning in classical Islamic knowledge, such as tafsr, tausin al-QurAoan, uadth, fiqh, ul al-fiqh, aqdah, srah, and mawArith by introducing not only basic and intermediate but also advanced religious texts.
Furthermore, the Azharites have promoted also Wasaism .
asaiyyah, moderatio.
in the understanding of Islam, rooted in Shafi'ite-Ash'arite traditions, while incorporating texts from other madhhabs, such as the Hanafite.
Hanbalite, and Malikite schools, in comparative way.
Their approach distinguishes them from both the strict madhhabism and the anti-madhhabism of Salafi-Wahhabism and radical Islamism.
The study concludes that the Azharites have contributed to the discursive democratization and reform, which have resulted in the reshaping of Islamic knowledge in Banda AcehAiand Aceh province in generalAiand the moderation of madhhabism, by introducing Wasaism and fostering alternative urban religious Keywords: Azharites.
Islamic knowledge, urban religious learning.
Wasaism, religious authority.
Banda Aceh.
DOI: http://dx.
org/10.
20414/ujis.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 250 Ulumuna.
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Introduction ACEH is the only province in Indonesia granted the official, legal permission to implement sharia (Islamic la.
based on Laws No.
44 of 1999 and No.
18 of 2001.
Since then, shariAoa has been enforced gradually through various qanuns .
ocal by-law.
, from those concerning Islamic creed, worship, and shiAoar .
Aiqanun No.
and consumption of intoxicants .
, gambling .
, and khalwat .
eing alone with someone of the opposite sex who is not a relativ.
AiQanuns Nos.
12, 13, and 14 .
respectivelyAito the more comprehensive Islamic criminal lawAi Jarimah Qanun No.
, which expands the scope of criminal law and revises the previous qanuns.
Apart from khamr, maysir, and khalwat, the latter includes such criminal offenses as adultery, sexual harassment, rape, liwA .
ay sexual ac.
, and musAuaqah .
esbian sexual ac.
, but does not include the hard uudd punishments, such as hand cutting, stoning .
, and death sentence .
iA).
The mainstream response to this official shariAoatization has been one of constructive enthusiasm.
However, there are other responses, such as excessive euphoria by specific individuals or groups of people who attempt to enforce shariAoa without proper legal procedure, primarily, but not exclusively, during the early implementation of shariAoa.
1 critical engagement by several public intellectuals, women's and human rights activists, queers, and some .
eo-)Sufi circles.
2 and ignorance and 3 This has been shown by not only Muslim elitesAi religious scholars (AoulamaA.
, religious organization leaders, and 1 Munawiah Munawiah.
Hasnul Arifin Melayu, and Nurul Husna.
AoPerempuan Aceh Dan Human Security,Au Gender Equality 3, no.
: 19Ae36, https://jurnal.
ar-raniry.
id/index.
php/equality/article/view/3440.
2 Moch Nur Ichwan.
AoAlternatives to Shariatism: Progressive Muslim Intellectuals.
Feminist.
Queer and Sufis in Contemporary Aceh,Au in Regime Change.
Democracy, and Islam: The Case Indonesia, ed.
Kees van Dijk and Nico Kaptein (Leiden University, 2.
, 137Ae79.
3 David Kloos.
AoThe Ethics of Not-Praying: Religious Negligence.
Life Phase, and Social Status in Aceh.
Indonesia,Au in Straying from the Straight Path: How Senses of Failure Invigorate Lived Religion, ed.
Beekers and D.
Kloos (Berghahn Books Inc.
, 2.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A religious as well as local political leadersAibut also the general Muslim public.
Many actors have been involved in official and societal shariAoatization processes.
Among these actors are the Azharites or Al-Azhar alumni,5 either personally or collectively as an They are involved in both official shariAoatization through the local government, especially the Shari'a Office (Dinas Syariat IslamAiDSI) responsible for drafting the shariAoa qanun and ensuring that all qanuns are by shariAoa, and the Ulama Deliberation Council (Majelis Permusyawaratan UlamaAiMPU), as well as societal shariAoatization through daAowah .
and Some key Azharites might be mentioned in this regard, such as Prof.
Al-YasaAo Abubakar, the first chairman of the Shari'a Office.
Prof.
Muslim Ibrahim, the chairman of MPU for several periods.
Prof.
Muhibbuddin Waly, the adviser of the Nanggroe Aceh Ulama Council (Mejelis Ulama Naggroe AcehAiMUNA), and Prof.
Azman Ismail, the Grand Imam of the Baiturrahman Grand MosqueAito mention some.
Later, the younger generations of Azharites became more active in various fields, especially after the establishment of the Middle East Alumni Association (Ikatan Keluarga Alumni Timur TengahAiIKAT) in 2007, but mostly, although not exclusively, in the field of Islamic knowledge and This article aims to explain the dynamics of the Azharites, or AlAzhar alums, in reshaping Islamic knowledge and religious learning in the shariAoatized urban area of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province, by introducing Al-Azhar's reform approach, known as Wasaism .
asaiyyah, moderatio.
Islamic knowledge .
r Islamic religious knowledg.
here refers specifically to the so-called Aoal- 4 Moch Nur Ichwan.
AoThe Politics of Shariatization: Central Governmental and Regional Discourses of ShariAoa Implementation in Aceh,Au in Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia: Ideas and Institutions, ed.
Michael Feener and Mark Cammack (Islamic Legal Studies Program.
Harvard University Press, 2.
, 193Ae Michael Feener.
Sharia and Social Engineering: The Implementation of Islamic Law in Contemporary Aceh.
Indonesia (Oxford University Press, 2.
Arskal Salim.
Challenging the Secular State: The Islamization of Law in Modern Indonesia (University of HawaiAoi Press, 2.
5 The terms AoAzhariteAu and AoAl-Azhar alumni" are used interchangeably.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 252 Ulumuna.
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ulm al-diniyyahAu .
eligious science.
, such as tafsr (QurAoanic exegesi.
, uadth (Prophetic traditio.
, fiqh (Islamic la.
, kalAm (Islamic theolog.
, srah (Prophetic biograph.
, mawArith or ilm alfarAis .
, and tausn al-QurAn (QurAoan recitation religious learning .
r Islamic religious learnin.
refers here not only to formal but also .
to non-formal urban learning .
ncluding daAowa.
of Islamic knowledge.
Wasaism .
asaiyyah, moderatio.
refers to Al-Azhar's way of Islamic reform, which emphasizes a balance between traditional Islamic teachings and modern interpretations by promoting adherence to the four principal Sunni schools of law .
, belief in one of the AshAoari.
Maturidi, or Athari creeds (Aoaqai.
, and the practice of Sufism (Tasawwu.
Despite the long history of Al-Azhar alums in Aceh, their role in reshaping Islamic knowledge and learning has been largely overlooked by researchers.
7 Indeed, there are some studies of AlAzhar alumni in the international context .
uch as Masooda Bano and Keiko Sakurai,8 and John T.
Che.
,9 and of Indonesian students in Cairo, particularly Al-Azhar (Mona Abaza,10 Michael Laffan,11 and On Al-Azhar Wasaism, see Aria Nakissa.
The Anthropology of Islamic Law:
Education.
Ethics, and Legal Interpretation at EgyptAos Al-Azhar (Oxford University Press, 2.
7 The data for this qualitative research was gathered during our fieldwork in Banda Aceh .
June - 10 October 2.
through Focused Group Discussion (FGD), in-depth interviews, observation, and examining relevant documents.
One of the co-authors.
Mujtahid, who is also an Al-Azhar alumnus, functions as both research assistant and informant whom we interviewed.
As a professional doctoral student, he is conscious of taking distance from the subject of study he is a part of.
Moreover, both the principal author (Ichwa.
, who has been a researcher of Aceh for about two decades, and the second co-author (Shadiqi.
, who is himself an Aceh scholar and researcher, together conducted fieldwork and ensured AoobjectivityAu .
of the analysis.
8 Masooda Bono and Keiko Sakurai, eds.
Shaping Global Islamic Discourses (Edinburgh University Press, 2.
9 John T.
Chen.
AoRe-Orientation: The Chinese Azharites between Umma and Third World, 1938-55,Au Comparative Studies of South Asia.
Africa and the Middle East 34, no.
1 (May 2.
: 24Ae51, https://doi.
org/10.
1215/1089201X-2648560.
10 Mona Abaza.
Changing Images of Three Generations of Azharites in Indonesia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1.
Mona Abaza.
Indonesian Students in Cairo: Islamic Education.
Perceptions and Exchanges (Association Archipel, 1.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Kinoshita Hiroko.
William Roff13 and Norshahril Saat14 studied not only Indonesian students, but also those from other Southeast Asian countries in Cairo.
Some studies on the role of Al-Azhar alumni in Indonesia after returning to Indonesia have been done by such scholars as Mona Abaza,15 Hiroko Kinoshita,16 AsAoad.
Ansusa Putra, and Arfan,17 and Pangeran Arsyad Ihsanulhaq and Mohammad Izdiyan Muttaqin.
18 However, the study of the Azharites in contemporary Aceh is almost nonexistent, at least 11 Michael Laffan.
AoAn Indonesian Community in Cairo: Continuity and Change in a Cosmopolitan Islamic Milieu,Au Indonesia 2, no.
: 1Ae26, https://hdl.
net/1813/54309.
12 Kinoshita Hiroko.
AoDiscovering the Diversities of Indonesian Islam in Contemporary Cairo-The Case of the Indonesian Azharis Community,Au Mediterranean Review .
83Ae103, https://w.
kr/link?id=A60179184.
13 William R.
Roff.
AoIndonesian and Malay Students in Cairo in the 1920Aos,Au Indonesia 9 (April 1.
: 73, https://doi.
org/10.
2307/3350623.
14 Norshahril Saat.
Tradition and Islamic Learning: Singapore Students in the AlAzhar University (ISEAS Ae Yusof Ishak Institute, 2.
15 Abaza.
Changing Images of Three Generations of Azharites in Indonesia.
Mona Abaza.
AoIndonesian Azharites.
Fifteen Years Later,Au Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 18, no.
: 139Ae53, https://muse.
edu/article/401655.
16 Hiroko Kinoshita.
Islamic Higher Education in Contemporary Indonesia Through the Islamic Intellectuals of Al-Azharite Alumni.
Kyoto Working Papers on Area Studies: G-COE Series (Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Kyoto University, 2.
, http://hdl.
net/2433/155748.
Hiroko Kinoshita.
AoAlAzharites Popularized in Present Day Indonesia: Through an Analysis of the First Congress of Establishing the Indonesian Branch of the World Association of AlAzhar Alumni,Au Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 511, no.
: 124Ae34, http://id.
jp/bib/11132478.
Hiroko Kinoshita.
AoThe Networks and Activities of Al-Azhar Alumni in Contemporary Indonesia,Au "Contemporary IndonesiaAu Kyoto-Cornell Joint International Workshop on Trans-national Southeast Asia:
Paradigms.
Histories.
Vectors, https://researchmap.
jp/montacat2/published_papers/35758660.
17 AsAoad.
Ansusa Putra, and Arfan.
AoBeing Al-Wasatiyah Agents: The Role of Azharite Organization in the Moderation of Indonesian Religious Constellation,Au Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 11, no.
2 (September 2.
, https://doi.
org/10.
32350/jitc.
18 Pangeran Arsyad Ihsanulhaq and Mohammad Izdiyan Muttaqin.
AoAlAzhar UniversityAos Indonesian Student Alumni Strategic Role Analysis in Influencing the Politics of Indonesia-Egypt Foreign Policy,Au Journal of World Science 3, no.
10 (October 2.
: 1351Ae61, https://doi.
org/10.
58344/JWS.
V3I10.
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until the writing of this article.
19 In this context.
Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad's newspaper article is worthy of mention.
20 He refers to the growing visibility of the Azharites as Aothe revival of the Al-Azhar alumni.
Au The intersection of the sociology of knowledge and urbanity examines how urban environments influence the production, circulation, and legitimacy of knowledge, including religious It investigates how urban space, social structure, and power influence what is considered valid knowledge and who can produce or access it.
21 Based on this theoretical perspective,22 this article argues that the Azharites have contributed in reshaping Islamic religious learning especially, but not exclusively, in the urban spaces of Banda Aceh, either individually or collectively, through various means, including organization, religious learning communities/circles, mosques, and mass and social media, by which they exercise their religious authority, in the last decades following the official implementation of shariAoah in the region.
so doing, they have offered alternative ways of learning Islamic knowledge beyond the conventional institutions, such as dayah (Islamic boarding school.
, madrasahs, and Islamic universities, and beyond the strict ShafiAoite-AshAoarite madhhabism.
As pointed out by Foucault,23 knowledge contains power, and vice versaAiso does Islamic knowledge.
Such a condition is closely linked to the There are some studies on the individual Al-Azhar alumni, but not because they are Azharites.
See, for instance.
Abdullah Sani.
Mukhsin Nyak Umar, and M.
Yusuf Al-Qardhawy.
AoSosio-Kultural Aceh Tentang Kepemimpinan Perempuan Dalam Pandangan Abuya Profesor Muhibuddin Waly,Au Arus Jurnal Sosial Dan Humaniora 4, no.
2 (August 2.
: 1044Ae51, https://doi.
org/10.
57250/ajsh.
Amiruddin.
AoPemikiran Filsafat Pendidikan Azman Ismail,Au Jurnal Kalam 6, no.
: 1Ae22.
20 Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad.
AoMemahami Kebangkitan Alumni AlAzhar,Au Serambinews.
March https://aceh.
com/2018/03/05/memahami-kebangkitan-alumni-alazhar.
21 Gautam Bhan et al.
Cities Rethought: A New Urban Disposition (Polity Press, 22 Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman.
The Social Construction of Reality (Penguin Books, 1.
23 Michel Foucault.
Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 23 (Pantheon Books, 1.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A issue of religious authority, in which mastering religious knowledge enables a person to exert power over individuals who are religiously oriented.
In such a context, we argue, the media is important both as the new site of religious learning and as a new means to broaden the reach of religious authority.
This paper begins with a brief history of the Azharites in Aceh, especially about actors, networks, and institutions, with an emphasis on the 2000s.
It is followed by the description of new sites of Religious learning in which the Azharites actively engaged, such as organizations, advanced reading communities, mosques, coffee shops, and mass and social media, and the implications they have had on the .
e-)shaping of Islamic knowledge and and ends with the concluding remarks.
The Azharites of Banda Aceh: Actors.
Networks and Institutions William Roff noted that following the conquest of the Hejaz in 1924 by the Wahabi ruler, many students from Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, came to Cairo to further their religious education, particularly at Al-Azhar University.
24 Moreover.
Cairo attracted many students with nationalism and political Roff quoted a statement by a Malay student.
AoIn Mecca one could study religion only.
in Cairo, politics as well.
Au25 However, in the second part of the 1960s.
Roff mentioned nothing about Aceh students in Cairo from the 1920s, although he did mention students from Padang.
Bukittinggi.
Java.
Kuala Lumpur, and Penang.
Among the early Acehnese students of Al-Azhar University during the Dutch colonial time was M.
Nur el-Ibrahimy .
he sonin-law of Tgk.
Daud Beureueh, the leader of the Darul Islam movement, which revolted against Jakarta in the 1950s and early 1960.
from 1930 to 1935.
26 He also studied at the DAr al-AoUlm.
According to Alfian, the Aceh War was a condition that drove the Roff.
AoIndonesian and Malay Students in Cairo in the 1920Aos.
Au Roff.
26 AoTgkAu is an abbreviation for AoTeungkuAu, a title of respect used for traditional religious leaders or scholars in Aceh.
Alfian.
AoThe Ulama in Acehnese Society: A Preliminary Observation,Au Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science 3, no.
1 (February 1.
, https://w.
org/stable/24489966.
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Acehnese to study outside Aceh because most of their schools were destroyed by the Dutch.
They sent their children to study in Minangkabau (West Sumatr.
Java, or Egypt.
27 Following Indonesian independence, several Acehnese students studied at Al-Azhar.
In the 1960s, there were Tgk.
Muhammad Ali Bin Muhammad Irsyad (Abu Tepin Ray.
,28 Tgk.
Muhibuddin Waly, and Tgk.
Mawardi Waly, the last two were the sons of Tgk.
Muhammad Muda Waly.
29 Muhibuddin Waly became the first Acehnese to earn a doctorate from al-Azhar University in 1969 at the age of 33.
Among those studied at Al-Azhar University in the 1970s were Tgk.
Ilyas Daud.
Tgk.
Abdul Qadir Umar Usman Al-Khalidi and Muslim Ibrahim.
Ilyas Daud taught at Al-Muslim University in Bireuen.
Aceh, whereas Abdul Qadir taught in Brunei Darussalam for over 15 years.
After earning a doctorate in comparative Islamic law from a school in 1984.
Muslim Ibrahim became a lecturer and professor at UIN Ar-Raniry and the chairman of the Ulama Consultative Council (MPU Ace.
for almost 20 years.
In the 1980s, notable figures included Azman Ismail and Tgk.
Bukhari Husni.
Azman Ismail received a doctorate in Arabic in 1991, became a professor at Al-Raniry State Islamic University, and served as the Grand Imam of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque from 2003 to the present.
Tgk.
Bukhari Husni did not finish his studies at Al-Azhar.
In the 1990s, several Acehnese students pursued their studies at al-Azhar, including Musthafa Alfian.
Al Husaini M.
Daud.
AoThe Implication of Abu Teupin RayaAos Thoughtin Transforming Islamic Education in Aceh,Au Journal of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Societies (July 134Ae58, https://doi.
org/10.
30821/JCIMS.
V5I1.
Nurkhalis Mukhtar El-Sakandary.
AoSyekh Haji Usman Maqam: Ulama Aceh Lulusan Saulatiah Dan Darul Ulum Makkah Ranah Pertalian Adat Dan Syarak,Au Https://Tarbiyahislamiyah.
Id/Syekh-Haji-Usman-Maqam-Ulama-Aceh-LulusanSaulatiah-Dan-Darul-Ulum-Makkah/, 2021.
29 On Syaikh Muda Waly, see Sehat Ihsan Shadiqin et al.
AoMuda Waly AlKhalidi .
: Pesantren.
Tariqah, and Politics of Religious Authority in Aceh,Au Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura 25, no.
1 (February 2.
: 67Ae93, https://doi.
org/10.
22373/JIIF.
V25I1.
30 Interview with Teungku Habibi Wali.
Banda Aceh.
May 23, 2023.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Thaib.
Masykur Abdullah.
Mutiara Fahmi.
Ahmad Faisal.
Israr Hirdayadi, and Salman Abd.
Muthalib and M.
IdharsyahAiwere the former chairpersons of the Acehnese Student Association (Keluarga Mahasiswa Ace.
in Cairo for different periods.
In early 2002, they established an organization called alUrwatul Wutsqa, named after the magazine published by Jamal alDin al-Afghani and Muhammad AoAbduh in Paris, led by Azman Ismail.
The name reflected the organization's reformist orientation.
However, this organization was not active, except for organizing travel for the Hajj pilgrimage.
In 2003, the Azharites established Noor el-Azhar, led by M.
Idharsyah.
31 The first activity was preparing Acehnese students to pursue studies at Al-Azhar University, with a focus on learning the Arabic language.
Nevertheless.
Noor el-Azhar also did not last long.
After the 2004 tsunami, it was discontinued.
After the Helsinki MoU, which signifies the end of the conflict between GAM and Jakarta in 2005 .
alled the post-conflict perio.
, the Azharites established a more inclusive organization called Ikatan Keluarga Alumni Timur Tengah (Middle East Alumni AssociationAiIKAT), founded in Banda Aceh on July 1, 2007.
However, unlike the previous organizations.
IKAT is not exclusively for Azharites, but also for other graduates from universities in Western Asia and North Africa (WANA).
33 Despite this new orientation.
IKAT acts as part of the Indonesian branch of the international organization of Al-Azhar graduates.
Organisasi Internasional Alumni Al-Azhar (OIAA) .
l-Munaeeamah alAlamiyyah Li-Khirrji al-AzhAr, translated in English as the World Association for al-Azhar GraduatesAiWAAG).
34 IKAT is 31 Interview with Israr, one of the founders of Noor el-Azhar.
Banda Aceh.
September 23, 2023.
32 Interview with Idhzharsyah, former chairman of Noor el-Azhar.
Banda Aceh.
October 2, 2023, and Suhayli, the first secretary general of IKAT.
Banda Aceh.
September 23, 2023.
33 The term Western Asia and North Africa (WANA) is used here, instead of the Middle East, due to the latterAos Eurocentric nature, unless it is part of the organizationAos WANA, https://wanainstitute.
org/en/why-wana 34 See: https://waag-azhar.
org/en/ Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 258 Ulumuna.
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considered Aceh's branch of the OIAA.
The board members of IKAT are inaugurated by the chairperson of the Indonesian OIAA/WAAG or the central OIAA/WAAG.
Despite the inclusive term AoMiddle EastAu, not all WANA alumni join IKAT.
Some non-Al-Azhar alumni are reluctant to join IKAT, partly due to differing theological orientations, such as those from Salafi-oriented universities in Medina and Yemen.
Theologically.
IKAT develops Al-AzharAos Wasaism and leans towards the AshAoarite theological understanding, while also accepting some standard religious practices that, in SalafiAos view, contradict the prophetic traditions .
and the practices of the Salaf Alih .
he first generation of Isla.
36 Other non-Al-Azhar graduates join it, but are not as active, such as those from Hadramaut universities.
37 Some Moroccan.
Sudanese, and Tunisian alumni are also graduates of Al-Azhar, where they pursued their undergraduate studies.
Urban Learning of Islamic Knowledge and Wasaism Aceh has been the home of Sunnism, even though there were traces of ShiAoism in the past.
39 In Aceh.
ShafiAoism has been the dominant legal school, superseding the other three legal schools (Hanafism.
Malikism, and Hanbalis.
and AshAoarism has been the dominant theological school, surpassing Maturidism, let alone MuAotazilism and Salafi-Wahhabism.
The tasawuf of Imam al- For instance.
Dr.
Muhammad Zainul Majdi .
nown as Tuan Guru BajangAiTGB), the chairperson of Indonesian OIAA from 2017, inaugurated the IKAT board members .
This was also the case with the previous inauguration of the IKAT board members.
In 2023.
IKAT board members .
were inaugurated by Dr.
Usamah Sayyid al-Azhari.
See:
https://lintasgayo.
co/2020/01/06/tgb-lantik-pengurus-ikatan-alumni-timurtengah-ikat-aceh-periode-2019-2022/ https://w.
id/kategori/nusantara/738000/pengurus-ikat-acehperiode-2023-2026-resmi-dilantik.
accessed February 3, 2025.
36 Interview with one of Saudi alumni.
Banda Aceh.
October 15, 2023.
37 Interveiw with Habib Haris Al-Aidrus, alumnus of Dar al-Mustafa.
Hadramaut.
October 15, 2023.
38 Interview with Fadhil Rahmi.
Banda Aceh.
September 23, 2023.
39 Ali Hasjmy.
Syiah Dan Ahlussunnah Saling Rebut Pengaruh Dan Kekuasaan Sejak Awal Sejarah Islam Di Kepulauan Nusantara (Bina Ilmu, 1.
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Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Ghazali and Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili have been the dominant Sufi schools.
The Azharites are generally ShafiAoite-AshAoarite followers, but, as we will see, they struggle to reshape madhhab-based Islamic knowledge using Wasaism in various urban religious learning sites, mainly organizations, advanced reading communities, mosques, coffee shops, and mass and social media.
Organization IKAT is at the same time a site of learning Islamic knowledge, not only for its members, but also for Muslims in general.
However, regarding the reshaping of religious knowledge organizationally, we will focus here on two main programs, mainly in the form of ualaqahs: shariAoah literacy and Madhyafah IKAT.
ShariAoah Literacy IKAT has an organizational program called AoshariAoah literacyAu.
The shariAoah literacy comprises six trainings: QurAoan recitation improvement .
ausn al-QurA.
, corpse care .
, inheritance .
awArit.
, prayer leadership guidance .
imbingan imam shala.
, family fiqh, and womenAos fiqhAiapart from the first .
hich is QurAoanic studie.
, the rest are fiqh.
They consider that the Banda Aceh Muslims have problems with their knowledge of fiqh.
some places.
IKAT has cooperated with the ShariAoa Office to support the AoShariAoa Village DevelopmentAu (Pembinaan Kampung Syaria.
, also known as Saweu Gampong .
roselytization in village.
, where training sessions on Islamic knowledge, including tausn al-QurAn, tajhz, and mawArith, have been held.
It began in 2019, in the AoshariAoa villageAu Wonosari in Tamiang .
rom 9-10 April 2.
In the context of the fiqh of mawArith, the Azharites are concerned with the local practice of Aopatah titiAu .
broken bridg.
, 40 M.
Hasbi Amiruddin and Firdaus M.
Yunus.
Aswaja Dan Wahabi Di Aceh (LSAMA, 2.
41 IKAT Gelar Pembinaan Kampung Syariat di Aceh Tamiang.
Kabar Birieun, 10 April 2019.
https://kabarbireuen.
com/ikat-gelar-pembinaan-kampungsyariat-di-aceh-tamiang/ Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 260 Ulumuna.
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an Acehnese customary inheritance law .
, which refers to a condition where grandchildren do not receive a share of the inheritance from their grandfather or grandmother because their parents .
hildren of the testato.
have died before the testator.
The Azharites criticize that this practice has no sound basis in ShafiAoism and suggest giving the grandchild some of the property voluntarily based on the Qur'an .
l-Nisa 4:.
42 Moreover, article 185 of the Compilation of Islamic Law (Kompilasi Hukum IslamAi KHI), which considers the grandchildren as the Aosubstitute heirsAu, is based on the waiyyah wAjibah .
inding wil.
The other issue is related to the fiqh of tajhz, especially the customary bathing of the deceased, which contains some local practices, such as .
menstruating women are prohibited from washing the body of the deceased.
uncovering the body of the .
using specific prayers .
uA) which are not taught by the Prophet Muhammad.
However, they do not problematize the use of lime and some local flowers as fragrances mixed in the 44 However, in both cases, the Azharites do not contradict the ShafiAoite fiqh, although they do contravene local custom.
Madhyafah IKAT Another important religious learning organized by IKAT is the so-called AoMadhyafah IKATAy .
Madhyafa.
, which was initiated during the Covid-19 pandemic,45 which was carried out Madhyafah was named after a learning site for studying the books of turath .
raditional Islamic knowledg.
around the AlAzhar Mosque in Egypt.
Madhyafah was established in Aceh as a platform focusing on the study of the turath, primarily Shafi'i and 42 AoBut if at the time of division other .
on-inheritin.
relatives, or orphans or poor, are present, feed them out of the .
, and speak to them words of kindness and justice.
Au (Q.
al-Nisa 4: .
43 Interview with Sarinah Aini.
July 2, 2023.
See also: AoIstilah AoPatah TitiAo di Ilmu Faraid - Tgk.
Gamal Achyar.
Lc.
SH.
August 14, 2021, https://w.
com/live/PNyKNtMHQuo?si=LkNw7Vl5utOxAn-q 44 Interview with Sarinah Aini.
July 2, 2023.
45 It was initiated by Nurmarini Abdurrahman, the head of the WomenAos Division, and the members of the DaAowah Division.
It has its Instagram, separated from IKATAos, https://w.
com/madhyafah_ikat/ Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Ash'ari schools, in 2019.
Since December 2021, it has been held 46 In addition to studying the book.
Madhyafah also organizes various other Islamic activities, such as night prayers and dawn prayers, and invites national figures, including Ustadh Abdul Somad and Ustadh Hannan Attaki, both of whom are AlAzhar alumniAithe latter originally from Aceh.
Additionally.
Madhyafah also conducts special religious learning sessions and short sermons .
during the month of Ramadan to enrich the Islamic knowledge of the congregation.
One of the other important Madhyafah activities is talaqq .
aceto-face reading of a particular religious boo.
by the preacher who has sanad .
hain of transmissio.
going back to the author of the studied book.
It is free of charge and open to the public.
The first talaqq began with the books of AshAoarite belief .
, beginning with al-Khardah al-Bahiyyah by Sheikh Ahmad ad-Dardir, followed by LumA al-Adillah f QawAid al-Aqdah by Imam Juwayni, and then Al-LumA by Imam Abu Hasan al-AsyAoary.
47 In the fields of jurisprudence .
and principles of jurisprudence .
l al-fiq.
, some Shafi'i books are read: Syarah al-WaraqAt .
y Imam Mahall.
and Al-Yaqt al-Nafs .
y ImAm Aumad bin Umar Ash-ShAi.
the field of uadth, there is still one book read so far, namely Matan Al-Arban .
y Muhyi al-Dn YauyA al-Nawa.
In Arabic grammar and literary works, some books are read: Al-Tuufah alSaniyyah bi-Syarui al-Ajurumiyah .
y Muuyi al-Dn Abd al-ami.
Qar an-NadA wa Ball al-SudA and Sharu BAnat SuAd Qasdah Kaab bin Zuhayr .
oth by Ibnu HishAm al-AnsA.
, and MzAn al-Dhahab f inAi Shiri al-Arab .
y Sayyid Aumad al-HAshi.
All the above fiqh, hadith, and language scholars are ShafiAoites.
In 2023, the Madhyafah was institutionally transferred from the Da'wah Section to the Education Section of IKAT, led by Husni Nazir.
Since then.
Madhyafah has not only managed the reading of 46 AoMadhyafah IKAT Mulai Kembali Talaqq Syarah Qathrunnada,Au December 7, 2021.
https://w.
org/madhyafah-ikat-mulai-kembalitalaqq-syarah-qathrunnada/.
accessed February 4, 2025.
47 AoIKAT Adakan Pengajian Tauhid.
Untuk Bentengi Aqidah Masyarakat Aceh Sesuai Dengan Aswaja,Au SerambiNews.
July https://aceh.
com/2020/07/08/ikat-adakan-pengajian-tauhiduntuk-bentengi-aqidah-masyarakat-aceh-sesuai-dengan-aswaja Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 262 Ulumuna.
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religious books but also discussed Islam in general thematically and organized international seminars by inviting scholars from both Indonesia, as mentioned earlier, and abroad, especially from the WANA regions, such as Shaykh Usamah Sayyid al-Azhari.
Shaykh SaAoid Faudah.
Shaykh Anas Syarfawi.
Shaykh MarAoi Hasan Rashid, and Shaykh Hisham KamilAiall are ShafiAotes and AshAoarites.
Advanced Reading Communities An advanced reading community refers to an informal learning community whose primary activity is reading a particular book and discussing it in depth.
It is an elite reading circle that aims to provide its members with advanced Islamic knowledge, utilizing specialized references.
Some limited learning communities are established by Al-Azhar alumni, such as Majlis Al-YasaAo and Majlis Muwafaqat.
Majlis Al-YasaAo The so-called Majlis Al-YasaAo is an unnamed advanced reading community established by Prof.
Al-YasaAo Abubakar in 2018.
label it AoMajlis Al-YasaAoAu to facilitate analysis and reference to AlYasaAo as its central figure.
Some senior Al-Azhar alumni have joined this community, including Khairul Badri.
Sarinah Aini.
Fitriadi.
Mujtahid.
Mursalin Basyah.
Ivan Aulia.
Syahminan.
Mujaddid.
Cut Endang.
Kuntari, and Husni Mukhtar.
48 Al-YasaAo is a member of Muhammadiyah, a modernist Muslim organization, and claims to be following the tajdd .
method, rather than madhhabi and Salafi, but not anti-madhhab.
Majlis Al-YasaAo contains two important focuses of Islamic knowledge: ul al-fiqh and uadth.
He not only introduced ul alfiqh from classical scholars but also contemporary ones, such as Shaykh Mustafa Zarqa, a Syrian Hanafite scholar.
He also introduced comparative madhhab and encouraged the members to read philosophy, particularly the philosophy of knowledge, to develop a critical and systematic thought framework.
For this Interview with Sarinah Aini.
July 2, 2023.
Interview with Prof.
Al-YasaAo Abubakar.
Banda Aceh.
July 7, 2023.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A purpose.
Al-YasaAo introduced Amin AbdullahAos book Islamic Studies dalam Paradigma Integrasi-interkoneksi and Fakhruddin FaizAos Metode Berfilsafat.
Moreover, he also encouraged the members to read sociology and anthropology.
To him, these sciences can support fiqh and ul al-fiqh in making legal decisions relevant to the contemporary world.
Apart from ul al-fiqh, this community also studied uadth, especially those with relevance to Islamic law .
, which is widely practiced but sometimes controversial in society, such as prayers .
The study used a comparative madhab approach and critically examined all relevant uadths.
By doing so, the differences concerning prayers can be adequately explained.
However, this reading community was unable to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Majlis Muwafaqat The second advanced reading community is Majlis Muwafaqat, which several IKAT members with interests in Islamic knowledge, including Khairul Badri.
Mursalin Basyah.
Mujtahid.
Ahmad Syukran, and Munawar Rizki, initiated.
This community is formed to revive the scientific tradition and strengthen Islamic 51 Although they are ShafiAoites, they named the forum after Al-MuwAfaqAt, a work written by the Malikite scholar Ab IsuAq al-ShAib .
0-1388 AD), and used it as their primary The use of this Malikite book reflects the openness of the community's members.
They read Muwafaqat for several reasons.
First, its scope is broad, which is suitable for advanced readers.
Second, the language style is much easier to understand than in other, more classical books.
Third.
Al-ShAibAos reasoning is engaging because he employs a comparative analysis of various views on fiqh.
Fourth.
Al-ShAib indirectly teaches readers how to solve problems based on his own opinion and that of others.
Finally.
Al-Muwafaqat is commonly quoted by scholars in Interview with Prof.
Al-YasaAo Abubakar.
Banda Aceh.
July 7, 2023.
Interview with Mujtahid, coordinator of Majlis Muwafaqat.
Banda Aceh.
July 8, 2023.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 264 Ulumuna.
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contemporary Islamic law studies, particularly in maqAid During the Covid-19 pandemic.
Majlis Muwafaqat also organized a Tuesday Night online discussion, in which Ibn AshrAos MaqAid al-Sharah was read.
Ibn Ashr is a modern Tunisian Milikite scholar.
However, the Majlis Muwafaqat depends heavily on the Mujtahid, who is responsible for organizing it.
The Majlis's activity was inactive when he pursued his doctoral degree in Yogyakarta .
, except during his return visits during the Covid-19 pandemic and semester breaks.
However, the Majlis Muwafaqat still exists today despite its elitist There are other reading communities, such as Beut Mahalli and Ngaji Ilmu Kalam .
eut and ngaji mean "reading" or "studying").
Beut Mahalli was founded in Banda Aceh on October 6, 2018, by Tgk.
Ayyub Bardan.
There were around 10 members, who were mainly Azharites.
Beut Mahalli started when they were at Al-Azhar and were part of the activities of the Egyptian Aceh Student Family (KMA).
Beut Mahalli studied Ibn AshrAos MaqAid al-Sharah (Malikit.
54 Established in 2018.
Ngaji Ilmu Kalam read Jawhar al-Tawud, an AshAoarite book, at Ngoh Ya coffee Its members are mostly Azharis .
specially those who graduated from the Ushuluddin facult.
, such as Khalid Mudassir.
Mursalim Basa, and Fitra Ramadani.
However, these last two learning communities did not survive after the pandemic.
The above reading communities used Hanafite (Majlis AlYasaA.
and Malikite (Majlis Muwafaqat and Beut Mahall.
as their primary references, and developed a comparative approach for studying fiqh.
However, they were not interested in studying theology, except for Ngaji Ilmu Kalam, which utilized AshAoarite references in its theological studies.
Interview with Ustadh Mursalin Basyah.
Banda Aceh, 5 August 2023.
Interview with Munawar Riski.
Banda Aceh.
August 5, 2023.
54 Interview with Mursalin Basyah.
Banda Aceh, 5 August 2023 Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Mosques According to governmental records in 2023,55 There are 106 mosques in Banda Aceh, and some of them have active religious learning activities, in which Al-Azhar alumni have taken important roles, as we will see below.
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, located in Banda Aceh, was founded in 1612 during the reign of Sultan Iskandar Muda .
56 It has become one of the important tourist destinations in Banda Aceh.
For many decades, this mosque was dominated by modernist scholars, until 2013 when the traditionalist dayah scholars, who are ShafiAoite madhhabists, forced the adoption of a strict ShafiAoite way of prayers and devotion.
As the grand mosque of Aceh, it serves not only as a center of worship but also as a hub for religious learning and social It has formal educational institutions, ranging from elementary (Ibtidaiya.
to senior high (Aliya.
schools, known as DarussyariAoah, as well as non-formal learning institutions, such as Al-QurAoan education for children and religious learning for Muslims, particularly in the form of pengajian or wide ualaqah .
eligious learning circle.
Some Azharites have contributed to the religious learning activities in the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.
Besides serving as the grand imam .
Prof.
Azman Ismail is a regular preacher who teaches tafsr (QurAoanic exegesi.
He also writes tafsr Baiturrahman .
Some other Azharites are also regular preachers who teach various fields of Islamic knowledge.
Tamlikha Hasan, for instance, has taught akhlAq (Islamic ethic.
and tafsr since 2007.
For tafsr he uses some references written by ShafiAoite scholars, such as Tafsr Ibn Kathr .
y Ibn Kath.
Tafsr alJalAlayn .
y JalAl al-Dn al-Mauall and JalAl al-Dn al-Suy.
, https://bandaacehkota.
id/agama Junus Djamil.
Tawarich Raja-Raja Keradjaan Atjeh (Iskandar Muda, 1.
https://w.
id/nasional/ulama-dayah-hendaki-masjidbaiturrahman-aceh-terapkan-aswaja-oVWzi Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 266 Ulumuna.
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MafAtiu Al-Ghayb .
y Fakhr al-Dn al-RA.
Safwat al-TafAsir and Tafsr AyAt al-AhkAm .
oth by Muuammad Al al-Sab.
, as well as a book written by a Hanafite scholar.
Al-Tafsr Al-Wajz .
y Wahbah Zuhay.
He also teaches Ulm al-QurAn (Quranic science.
and QawAid al-Tafsr .
rinciples of interpretatio.
using Al-ItqAn f Ulm al-QurAn .
y JalAl al-Dn al-Su.
Al-MufradAt .
y RAghib al-AsfahA.
, and Ul al-Tafsr wa QawAiduhu .
y KhAlid Abd al-RaumAn Al-A.
Aiwhile the first is a ShafiAoite scholar, the last two are non-madhhabi scholars with the strong elements of ShafiAoism and Salafism respectively.
Mursalin Basyah teaches both theology and sufism.
59 For theology, he uses two AshAoarite books.
Tuufat al-Murd alA Jawhar al-Tawud .
y Burhanuddin al-Baij.
and Kubra al-YaqniyyAt alKawniyyah .
y Sad RamasAn al-B), and an academic book.
AlAqdah al-IslAmiyyah .
y Mustafa Sad al-KhAn and Muuyi al-Dn Mus.
For Sufism, he uses Al-ikam .
y Ibn AAillAh alSakanda.
and its commentary.
IqAe al-Humam f Sharu al-ikam .
y Ibn Ajba.
Aiboth of which follow the Shadhiliyah Sufi order and the Malikite school in fiqh.
Gamal Achyar teaches fiqh of inheritance .
awArith or Aoilm alfarAAoi.
He consulted some books, including Matan al-Rahbiyyah .
y Ab AbdullAh al-asan al-Rau.
and AukAm al-MawArith .
y Muuammad AhA Ab AlA)Aiboth are Shafi'i booksAiand the AlAzhar MawArith textbook.
He has been teaching it since 2016.
Every Sunday morning, after the subh prayer.
Edi Saputra teaches Srah using two references: Fiqh Srah .
y Shaykh Ramadan alBut.
, a Syrian Shafi'i-Ash'ari scholar, and Al-Rauq al-Makhtm .
y afiyurraumAn al-MubArakf.
, an Indian Hanafi-Salafi scholar.
Although the Azharites primarily use Shafi'i-Ash'ari references, they also introduce other sources.
Oman Al-Makmur Mosque Oman Al-Makmur Mosque is located in Bandar Baru village, which was built in 1979.
Ideologically, it is closely aligned with Interview with Tamlikha Hasan.
Banda Aceh.
November 28, 2023.
WhatsApp communication with Mursalin Basyah.
February 7, 2025.
60 Interview with Gamal Achyar.
Banda Aceh.
November 30, 2023.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Muhammadiyah, particularly its Salafi wing.
61 It is the most important mosque in Banda Aceh after the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.
It was reconstructed after the earthquake and Tsunami on December 26, 2004, with full financial support from the Government of Oman, and was completed in 2008.
It is now one of the religious tourism sites in Banda Aceh.
In 2019, there was an incident in which the pengajian inviting a Salafi ustadh.
Firanda Adirja, was attacked by a dayah-based community, namely the Aswaja group.
A similar case happened in 2020 during the pengajian of another Salafi ustadh.
Farhan Abu Furaihan.
63 Due to this conflict, the local government intervened temporarily in managing the mosque.
Following these cases, the mosque management body attempted to moderate itself by inviting non-Salafi scholars, including Azharites.
However, the latter had already been involved in this mosqueAos activity long Some Azharites teach uadth, srah, fiqh, and theology in this Prof.
Al-YasaAo Abu Bakar teaches uadth but without using a particular book.
In his preaching, he relates uadth to common problems in Aceh and tends to employ a critical reading of uadths, accepting only auu .
and uasan .
Unlike most ShafiAoites, he rejects daAof .
Mizaj Iskandar teaches Srah using ZAd al-MaAd f Hadyi Khayr al-IbAd .
y Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya.
Mukhlis Hasballah teaches fiqh using IukAm al-AukAm Sharu Umdat al-AukAm .
y Ibn Daqq al-I.
While Ibn Daqq al-Id followed ShafiAoism and Malikism.
Ibn alQayyim followed Hanbalism.
Ajidar Matsyah teaches contemporary social fiqh by observing daily life through a comparative approach, although he prefers the ShafiAoite perspective most of the time.
Amri Fatmi teaches Islamic theology thematically, focusing on current issues, primarily from an 61 Interview with Mauliza Akbar, imam and board member of Oman Mosque.
October 19, 2023.
62 See Mesjidomanalmakmur.
63 AoImam Masjid soal Kisruh Pembubaran Pengajian di Masjid Oman.
Aceh,Au January 28, 2020, https://kumparan.
com/acehkini/imam-masjid-soal-kisruhpembubaran-pengajian-di-masjid-oman-aceh-1sjMkb0wyu9 Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 268 Ulumuna.
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AshAoarite perspective.
Therefore.
Oman Al-Makmur Mosque tends to be non-madhhabi.
Baitusshalihin Mosque Baitusshalihin Mosque, located in Ulee Kareng.
Banda Aceh, was built in 1980.
It can accommodate a congregation of around 5000 people.
This mosque is home to several educational institutions, including a kindergarten, non-formal education programs for learning the Qur'an .
imilar to kuttAb in the Arab worl.
, a junior high school for memorizing .
the Qur'an, and an Islamic boarding school for memorizing the Qur'an (Pesantren Tahfiz al-Qur'a.
, all of which operate under the name Baitusshalihin.
It also features a religious learning forum .
ajlis taAoli.
for women and regular religious sessions for the general congregation members.
For the Religious learning forum, every Sunday morning, after dawn prayer, three Azharites teach.
Prof.
Al Yasa Abu Bakar teaches srah .
of the Prophet, but does not use any particular book explicitly.
However, it seems that he uses alTirmidhiAos ShamaAoil as a reference.
Mizaj Iskandar teaches comparative fiqh using Shaykh Wahbah Zuhayl's book.
Al-Fiqh alIslAm wa Adillatuhu, on Wednesday evenings .
During the 2023 interview, he stated that he had read the book up to volume four.
65 He used ZulayliAos book, despite the latter being a Hanafite scholar, due to his comparative approach to fiqh.
Meanwhile.
Ihsan Tabarak teaches tausn al-QurAn every Saturday morning after the dawn prayer.
Other Mosques There are other mosques where Azharites make significant contributions to teaching Islamic knowledge.
At the Haji Keuchiek 64 Syukri Syamaun.
AoAnalisis Proses Interaksi Antara DaAoi Dan MadAou Pada Pengajian Mesjid Baitushsalihin Ulee Kareng Banda Aceh,Au Jurnal Peurawi 2, no.
(August 2.
, https://doi.
org/10.
22373/jp.
65 Interview with Mizaj Iskandar.
July 4, 2023.
66 Ao5 Kajian Rutin di Masjid Baitusshalihin Ulee Kareng Banda Aceh,Au https://witness.
co/article/detail/1480/5-kajian-rutin-di-masjidbaitusshalihin-ulee-kareng-banda-aceh.
accessed 1 November 2023.
Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Leumik Mosque (Lamseupeun.
Mursalin Basyah teaches AshAoarite theology using Tuufah al-Murd Sharu Jawhar al-Tawud.
Gamal Achyar teaches fiqh of inheritance .
awArit.
Masrul Aidi teaches Shafite fiqh using IAnat al-Alibn .
y Ab Bakar ShaA alDimy.
The latter also teaches ShafiAoite fiqh using a similar book at some other mosques, such as Subulussalam (Punge Blan.
Nurul Huda (Peunyeura.
, al-Fitrah (Jasdam Neus.
, and al-Falah (Neus.
Mizaj Iskandar teaches uadth at three mosques: Al-AAola.
AlBadar, and Hasyimiyah Mosques.
Tamlikha Hasan teaches tafsr at Baiturrahmah (Kerama.
and al-Abrar (Lamdingi.
Mosques.
Khairul Rafiqi and Mursalin Basyah teach Islam thematically at some mosques, such as Darul Makmur.
SyuhadaAo.
Baitul Musyahadah.
Punge Juroeng, and Lingke Mosques.
Some other Azharites teach Tausn al-QurAn, such as Khairul Rafiqi at some mosquesAiBabussalam (Lam Ujon.
Baitul Azhar (Cot Ir.
Darul Falah (Pineun.
Abdurrauf (Blang O.
, and Miftahul Jannah Mosques (Punge Ujon.
Mujtahid at Baitul Alam Mosque (Kuta Ala.
Fazlul Ridha, the head of the IKAT Tausn Team, at AsShadaqah Mosque.
and Muhajirul Fadhli at Al-Muhajirin (Ruko.
and Al-Furqan (Beuraw.
Mosques.
In short, the Azharites have hegemonized the Banda Aceh mosques in teaching Islamic knowledge and navigating it towards moderation (Wasais.
Coffee Shops Drinking coffee has been part of Acehnese culture, and coffee shops have been part of Acehnese public life in the post-conflict periodAialthough it can be traced back to the Military Operation Area (Daerah Operasi Militer/DOM) period .
67 Several coffee shops open in the early morning because many people drink coffee soon after performing the dawn prayer in mosques.
Many people go to coffee shops twice or more a day.
Many coffee shops are open until late at night.
Antara.
AoTracing AcehAos enduring coffee shop culture,Au September 19, https://en.
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The coffee shops (Warung Kopi.
Kedai Kop.
are not only a place for enjoying coffee but also for socializing and organizing informal One of the meetings is a religious learning gathering.
The Majlis Muwafaqat organizes its meetings, reading the Malikite text al-MuwAfaqAt, in the AoChek YukeAu coffee shop.
One of Majlis MuwafaqatAos meetings was included in a documentary video AoCoffee Shops and Civilization.
Au68 The Ngaji Ilmu Kalam reading community read the Ash'arite text.
Jawhar al-Tawud, in the AoNgoh YaAu coffee shop.
Mursalin Basyah teaches srah in the AoAndalusiaAu coffee shop by reading al-ButiAos Fiqh al-Srah al-Nabawiyah.
mentioned earlier.
Al-Buti is a Syrian ShafiAoite-AshAoarite scholar who graduated from al-Azhar.
Mass and Social Media The Azharites also utilize mass media, including radio, newspapers, and social media platforms such as YouTube.
Instagram.
Facebook, and Twitter, to convey Islamic knowledge.
In the case of mass media, there are two important radio stations:
the government-run Radio Republika Indonesia (RRI) and mosque-based radio.
RRI of Banda Aceh has several network stations, namely RRI Pro 1 .
or informative and educational program.
RRI Pro 2 .
or entertainment programs targeting teenagers and young peopl.
RRI Pro 3 .
or national broadcast.
, and RRI Pro 4 .
or local broadcast.
During Ramadan 2025.
IKAT cooperates with the RRI in disseminating the fiqh of Ramadan through the AoDialog RamadanAu program, broadcast on Pro 1, 2, and 4 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.
69 The cooperation has continued since then through programs called AoDialog Kajian IslamiAu (Islamic Learning Dialo.
, held every Friday from 10:00 to 11:00 am .
n RRI Pro .
, and AoSie Reuboh", also held every Friday from 11:00 to 12:00 pm .
n RRI Pro .
All of these programs are broadcast on RRI's YouTube channel.
70 Most of IKATAos preachers participating in these radio programs are Azhatites.
https://w.
com/watch?v=XuZNvdqElkk AoRRI - IKAT Cetuskan Program Ramadhan Untuk Publik,Au January 25, https://rri.
id/ramadan/1279763/rri-ikat-cetuskan-program-ramadhanuntuk-publik 70 https://w.
com/@rribandaaceh Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Second, the mosque-based radio station.
Radio Baiturrahman FM, which was established in 1973.
71 Being part of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, it initially aimed to broadcast religious teachings held at the mosque after Maghrib and Down During its development, this radio also broadcasts programs such as daAowah, music, news, religious consultations, family consultations, and talk show programs.
Several Azharites contribute to the Islamic knowledge programs of this radio station.
Acehnese newspapers, such as Serambi Indonesia, are another important medium for the Azharites to communicate their views on Islamic knowledge to the Acehnese people.
Prof.
Muslim Ibrahim also had a special column in the daily Serambi Indonesia called Konsultasi Agama Islam (Islamic Consultatio.
for years.
Although he seemed to be adopting Abduh's reform in the early 2000s, he later moved to Wasaism.
Some other Azharites write religious articles.
Serambi Indonesia is also available online with a similar Wasaist perspective.
In the context of social media, there are three types of media in which Azharites have been engaged.
First is personal media, which most Azharites use to communicate with the broader Muslim community.
However, only some managed their media professionally, such as Masrul Aidi.
Amri Fatmi, and Nurkhalis Mukhtar.
Most of these personal media contain not only the daAowah activities of the owners but also texts, memes, and short videos containing Islamic knowledge.
Second, organization-based media, such as IKAT TV.
Managed by IKAT, it was created on February 7, 2017.
It has broadcast 336 videos and has 8.
4K subscribers .
s of February 8.
Although it is named "TV," it is not television in the conventional sense.
it is like other YouTube-based channels.
From the "About" section, we know that this channel has a preaching mission and is not Aomonetized," meaning that it is created not for economic purposes.
Thematically, it publishes topics related to Islamic issues, including theology .
, devotion .
bAda.
, inheritance, and various aspects of general Islamic knowledge.
https://baiturrahmanfm.
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Third, mosque-based social media.
Several mosques in Banda Aceh have their own social media accounts.
The Baiturrahman Grand Mosque has a social media presence, which includes Tilvaz Baiturrahman on YouTube.
Instagram.
Facebook, and X .
ormerly Twitte.
Tilvas Baiturrahman contains 125 videos, from January 29, 2019, to March 21, 2023, and has not been updated since then.
Other mosques with active social media presence include the Oman al-Makmur Mosque and Haji Keuchik Leumiek.
Starting on July 7, 2020.
YouTube's "Masjid Oman al-Makmur" channel has broadcast 785 videos and has 2,211 subscribers .
s of May 18, 72 Whereas "Masjid Haji Keuchik Leumiek" YouTube started in December 2020, and has broadcast 565 videos and has 11.
s of May 18, 2.
73 Most of the videos on both channels are live broadcasts of religious learning held by these Some Azharites have participated in the above mass and social media, such as Al-YasaAo Abubakar.
Ajidar Matsyah.
Mizaj Iskandar.
Amri Fatmi.
Fadhil Rahmi.
Gamal Akhyar.
Mubashshirullah.
Masrul Aidi.
Mukhlish Hasballah.
Fitra Ramadhani.
Sarina Aini, and Zakiah ZaininAithe last two are women scholars.
Through the media, they have introduced Wasaist approach to Islamic knowledge and madhhabism.
Conclusion The urban sites of Banda Aceh discussed in this articleAi organization, advanced reading communities, mosques, coffee shops, and mass and social mediaAiare epistemic spaces, rather than merely material ones, in which Islamic religious knowledge is constructed, taught, and studied or consumed in line with social, political, and technological changes.
These sites become alternative knowledge institutions outside the madrasah, dayah, and Islamic university tradition, in which classical Islamic texts are re-read and re-interpreted through comparative and contextual frameworks.
Moreover, the Azharites .
e-)shape Islamic knowledge and learning by transforming urban organization, reading https://w.
com/@masjidomanalmakmur https://w.
com/@MASJIDHAJIKEUCHIKLEUMIEK Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A communities, coffee shops, and media into platforms for Islamic discursive practices, rather than merely secular spaces, and, in the case of mosques, into ritual-only spaces.
Despite this, the classical ways of religious learning are not erased but reformed.
They contributed to the development of public learning of classical Islamic knowledge, such as tafsr and sciences of the QurAoan .
ncluding tajwid and tausn al-QurA.
, uadth, fiqh, and ul al-fiqh, aqdah, srah, and mawArith, in more systematic and informal ways.
They also introduce the traditional way of learning through talaqq, which is common in Egypt and dayah, to urban Muslims as well.
this way, the talaqq method is not only enjoyed by students of dayah now.
One can attend a mosque that offers the talaqq method and receive an ijAzah .
for learning a particular Islamic In the Foucauldian sense, the Azharites have reshaped Islamic knowledge by treating it not merely as a purely spiritual or divine domain, but also as a discursive field shaped by historical contingencies, religious authorities .
oth official and societa.
, institutional power, and the disciplinary mechanisms of state shariAoatization.
In this way, they problematize the hegemonic AotruthAu of Islam offered by the provincial state authority, dayahbased ulama, and transnational Islamism, by introducing Wasaism in their re-reading of Islamic knowledge.
The reshaping processes include the dynamic process of refinement, adjustment, tension and negotiation.
The relative success of such reshaping is closely tied to the issue of religious authority, which is built on the mastery of various fields of Islamic knowledge and the Arabic language, on the one hand, and the image of Al-Azhar as an international Islamic learning center, on the other.
In this context, mass and social media are important new sites of religious learning and new means to expand the reach of religious In terms of madhhabism, the Azharites do not confront the mainstream ShafiAoism-AshAoarism school of thought in Aceh, but introduce the Al-Azhar way of Wasaism.
The Azharites read both ShafiAoite-AshAoarite and non-ShafiAoite-AshAoarite texts in contextual, comparative, and rhetorically more systematic ways.
Using comparative perspectives when reading madhhabi books is a Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 274 Ulumuna.
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common strategy employed by the Azharites.
In fiqh, as we have seen above, they introduce several books belonging to the Hanafite.
Hanbalite, and Malikite madhhabs.
This method represents a significant development in the context of Aceh, as most dayah-based ulama adhere strictly to the Shafi'i school of In theology, they are followers of AshAoarism, like most Al-Azhar scholars, but they use advanced commentaries.
Although some religious books studied in a dayah are used, they introduce several other advanced religious books that are not commonly read in public religious learning.
Some Azharites also teach Sufism .
by reading Abu Hamid al-GhazaliAos Ihya' Ulum al-Din and Bidayat al-Hidayah, as well as Ibn 'Ata'illah's Hikam, which are considered acceptable texts that combine shariAoah and spiritual quests.
They contextually interpret these Sufi texts, based on the urban context of Banda Aceh.
Most Acehnese Azharites do not refer to Salafi books, like those written by Ibn Taymiyyah.
Muuammad bin Abd alWahhAb.
Ibn Uthaymin.
Nair al-Dn al-AlbAn, and Rab bin HAd al-Madkhal.
This means that they position themselves as non-Salafi.
Taking such a position also means that they align themselves with the mainstream dayah-based Islamic thought in Aceh, which ShafiAoism-AshAoarism rather than Salafi-Wahhabism Apart from that, the Azharites, especially in the post-conflict period, do not refer to reformist books written by JalAl al-Dn al-AfghAn.
Muuammad Abduh (Grand Mufti of Egyp.
, and Muuammad Rashd RisA .
ditor of Egyptian reformist journal al-Mana.
, who are rejected by the dayah community, because they are associated with modernist Salafism.
However, as mentioned earlier, "light purification" is introduced, similar to the cases of tajhz and mawArith.
Ibn al-QayyimAos ZAd al-MaAoAd is also used, although the author is Hanbalite-Salafi.
However, the light purification and the use of Ibn al-QayyimAos book are still in the framework of ShafiAoism-AshAoarism.
Unlike Ibn Taymiyyah.
Ibn alQayyim is accepted by certain dayah circles due to his acceptance of Sufism.
After all, although they identify themselves as ShafiAoiteAshAoarite followers, like most dayah-based ulama and Acehnese Muslims in general, and use mostly ShafiAoite-AshAoarite books, the Copyright A 2025_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Moch Nur Ichwan et al.
Reshaping Islamic Knowledge A Azharites have paved the way to the democratization and reform of Islamic knowledge and learning in the urban society of Banda Aceh in particular, and in the Aceh province in general, by introducing the Wasaist approach to Islam.
In this way, they introduce more moderate ShafiAoism-AshAoarism and differentiate themselves from the strict-madhhabism, held by dayah-based ulama, on the one hand, and anti-madhhab-ism, promoted by puritanical Salafi-Wahabism and radical Islamism on the other They have promoted the triple synthesis of ShafiAoism.
AshAoarism, and Wasaism.
Acknowledgments:
We want to express our gratitude to the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) of Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga.
Yogyakarta, for funding the research that led to the writing of this article (Rector Decree No.
8, the year This article is part of a research collaboration between UIN Sunan Kalijaga and UIN Ar-Raniry.
Banda Aceh.
We also extend our heartfelt thanks to all informants whose valuable insights and contributions were essential to this study.
However, we are responsible for the shortages that may be found in this article.
References