Indonesia, Islam, and Literature: Phenomenal Popularity of Sastra Islami

Abstract

The goals of this paper are determined by the relevance of Islam in the light of modern Indonesian culture. For the first time in Russian oriental studies, an attempt has been made to determine the specifics of some literary texts that Indonesians call Muslim (literally “Islamic”) literature or sastra islami, which has been in demand for the local book market for two decades. The demand for this literature comes from the “observing” Muslim public of Indonesia, and is quite easily explained by the long period of neglecting the role of Islam in the sociopolitical life of the country. After the fall of the Suharto regime (since 1998), Islam gradually transformed from a marginalized subculture to its mainstream status, slowly displacing the liberal pro-feminist cluster of sastra wangi literature which was on top of its popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Along with the strengthening of religious discourse, “new classic” works of certain engaged authors help the self-identification of some Indonesian youth (this is especially noticeable among the female audience) through the Muslim metanarrative. The phenomenon of sastra islami is widespread, and its commercial success is confirmed not only by the circulation of numerous re-releases, but also by box-office film adaptations. The main sources for this paper are two novels by the popular Indonesian writer Habiburrahman El Shirazy, also known as Kang Abik (“Verses of Love”, 2004 and “Land of Love”, 2005), the novel used as an additional source is “The Sinking of the ‘Van der Wijk’” (1938) by Haji Abdullah Malik Karim Amrullah, also known as Hamka (an abbreviation of his full name). Significant novels of these authors became “new classic” examples of Muslim modification of mass literature. In its core these books unfold fascinating stories about young Indonesians in outstanding circumstances, according to main plot structure all the good heroes who follow the path of Islam are rewarded, and the unrighteous ones are punished. Constant retelling of the al-Quran
and the Hadiths by the characters of the novels helps to popularize the sacred texts for the common reader. Film adaptations provide proselytizing activity — attracting new audiences and involving them in the world of Islam. The main conclusion of this paper is that sastra islami is both a phenomenon of Indonesian pop-culture and strong element of the cultural identity of Muslim Indonesians, since the principle of adab literature “entertaining means
teaching” dates back to the times of the entry of Islam into the world of Nusantara and since the very same times of adaptions of the traditional Arabic and Persian texts. 

Keywords:

Indonesian literature, Muslim literature, Mass literature, sastra islami