The Murmur

Glossary 
Note: Arabic derived words are spelt according to the
conventions of Indonesian spelling where there are loan words in
widespread Indonesian useage or are components of traditional
Indonesian Islamic phraseology.

ABG (Asal Bukan Gus Dur; literally,'Anyone But Gus Dur'):
 term popular prior to the 1994 Congress referring to those
 within NU and the government who were opposed to
 Abdurrahman Wahid continuing as general chairman of NU.

ABRI (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia): the Indonesian
 Armed Forces.

adat: customary law.

ahlul halli wal aqdi (literally,'those who solve and bind'):
 council or commission of respected leaders with powers to
 advise or decide on important matters.

ahlus sunnah wal-jama'ah (literally, followers of the example
 of the Prophet and the [majority of the community): a term
 generally used by Sunni Muslims to distinguish themselves
 from the Shia and other minority groups. Indonesian
 traditionalists, however, often employ the phrase to affirm
 their own orthodoxy and thereby, differentiate themselves
 from modernist Muslims.

amar ma 'ruf nahi munkar (enjoining good and preventing evil).
 An obligation for all Muslims and a frequently cited principle
 in decision-making.

Ansor: NU's young men's organisation founded in 1934.

asas tunggal (sole foundation): usually used in reference to 11
  government program in the mid-1980s to have Pancasila
  adopted as the sole ideological foundation of all social and
  religious organisations.

bedug: A large drum used in pesantren to signal praver time.

Cipete Group: commonly used term in the mid- 1980s referring
 to the supporters of Idham Chalid. Named after the district
 Jakarta where he resided.

Darul Islam ('Abode of Islam'): technical term referring to a
  territory containing a majority of Muslims. Also the name
  an Islamic rebellion in West Java in the late 1940s and 1950s

DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or People's Representative
 Council): National parliament.

DPR-GR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat-Gotong Royong or Gotong
 Royong parliament). Parliament installed by Sukarno in June
 1960.

fardlu 'ain: individual or personal obligation.

fatwa: decision on Islamic law.

fiqh: Islamic jurisprudence. The science dealing with the
  observance of ritual, religious obligations and social
  behaviour. A pre-eminant science within traditionalist
  learning.

Forum Demokrasi (Democracy Forum): discussion group of
 about 45 intellectuals and activists established in March 1991
 under the chairmanship of Abdurrahman Wahid.

fuqaha: experts in Islamic jurisprudence.

Gestapu (Gerakan September Tiga Puluh or Thirtieth of
 September Movement): Movement which launched the failed
 coup attempt on 30 September 1965.

ghasab: jurisprudential term referring to the illegal
 appropriation of another person's property or rights.

Golkar (Golongan Karya or Functional Groups): The Soeharto
 government's electoral vehicle. It has dominated every
 election in the New Order period.

hadis, hadith: traditions or reports of the sayings and deeds of
 the Prophet.

haj: pilgrimage to Mecca.

halqah: study circle, discussion group.

ICMI (Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslimin Indonesia or Association
 of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals): government-sponsored
 association founded in December 1990 under the leadership of
 Dr B. J. Habibie.

ijma: consensus, particularly among religious authorities on
 matters of Islamic law.

ijtihad: reasoning, interpretation. In Islamic jurisprudence, it
 refers to individual interpretation of the law rather than
 accepting the consensus of earlier scholars (taklid).

Izzul Islam wal Muslimin: the glory of Islam and its adherents.

Jakarta Charter: proposed preamble to the 1945 Constitution
 which called on Muslirns to practise the laws of Islam.

jamiah diniyah: religious organisation.

jihad (literally, 'to strive'): can be used in a spiritual sense or
refer to a physical struggle or Holy war

kafir: unbeliever, non-Muslim.

KAMI (Kesatuan Aksi Mahasiswa Indonesia or United Action
  Indonesian Students): organisation formed following the
  coup attempt which campaigned for the banning of the PKI
  and the removal of President Sukarno.

KAP-Gestapu (Komando Aksi Pengganyangan Gestapu or Crush
Gestapu Action Command): anti-communist organisation
up on 4 October 1965 by Subchan and Harry Tjan Silalahi.

katib: secretary

khaul: a traditional commemoration ceremony for the dead.

khittah: charter, strategy, programme.

Khittah 1926 (Charter of 1926): reform programme based on
  restoring the principles set out by NU's founders in 1925.

kiai: Islamic teacher, scholar and leader.

kitab kuning: literally 'yellow books' (a reference to the colour
of the pages). Classical scholarly texts, for the most part.
commentaries on the Qur'an and Islamic law.

Komite Hijaz (Hijaz Committee): A committee established by
 traditionalist Muslims in 1926 to organise a delegation to
 Saudi leader, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud.

KPPNU (Koordinasi Pusat Pengurus NU. Central NU
  Coordinating Board): a rival board established by Abu Hasan
  in late December 1994.

LMI (Liga Muslimin Indonesia or Indonesian Muslim League): a
 federation of Islamic organisations founded in August 1952
 the main components of which were NU, PSIT and Perti.

madrasah: school college. Usualiy referring to an educational
institution which has graded classes, a formal syllabus and
examination system.

mafsadah (literally, 'harm' or 'injury'): in Islamic jurisprudence
 a concept regarding the avoidance of public harm or
 disadvantage.

Majlis 24 (Council of 24): twenty-four member forum of
 reform-minded NU leaders, activists and intellectuals
 established in mid-l983.

Majlis Syuro: Religious Advisory Council of Masyumi.

maslahah (literally, benefit or utility). In Islamic jurisprudence,
 a concept regarding the pursuit of public interest or welfare.

Masyumi: modernist-dominated Islamic political party of the
late 1940s and 1950s. from which NU seceded in 1952.
Banned by Sukarno in 1960.

mazhab: school of law. In Sunni islam there are four schools:
 Hanafi, Maliki, Syafi'i and Hanbali.

MIAI (Majlisul Islamil a'laa Indonesia or Indonesian Supreme
 Islamic Council): federation of Islamic organisations
 established in 1937.

MLB (muktamar luar biasa or extraordinary congress).

Modernism: reform movement within Islam that commenced in
 the late nineteenth century advocating ijtihad, the adoption
 of modern technology and the purification of the faith from
 cultural accretions that gave rise to religious syncretism.

Muhammadiyah: the largest modernist Islamic organisation in
  Indonesia.

MPR(S) (Majlis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (Sementara) or
 (Provisional) People's Consultative Assembly). National
 Congress which elects the president and sets the broad poi-
 guidelines of the state.

muktamar (congress): NU National Congress, the highest
  decision-making authority within the organisation.

munas (musyawarah nasional or national consultation): in an
  NU context, it refers to the national conference of NU ulama
  held mid-way between the five-yearly congresses.

Muslimat NU: NU's women's organisation founded in 1946.
musyawarah: consultation

Nahdlatul Tujar (Revival of the Traders): short-lived trading
  cooperative founded by Wahab Chasbullah and Hasjim Asj'ari
  in 1918.

Nahdlatul Ulama (Revival of the Religious Scholars):
  traditionalist Islamic organisation founded in 1926.

Nahdlatul Wathan (Revival of the Homeland): an Islamic college
  founded by Wahab Chasbullah and Mas Mansur in Surabaya in
  1916. Later developed into a network of colleges across Java.

Nasakom (Nasionalis-Agama-Komunis or Nationalist-Religious
  and Communists). Sukarno's policy to unite the three mail
  streams of national politics.

Pancasila: the five principles of the Indonesian state ideology
 They are belief in God, humanitarianism, nationalism,
 democracy, and socialjustice.

PBNU (Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama): Central NU board
 which comprises the Syuriah and Tanfidziah.

PDI (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia or Indonesian Democratic
 Party): amalgamation of nationalist and Christian parties.

pembaruan: reform, renewal.

pencak silat: traditional martial arts.

Perti (Persatuan Tarbiyah Islam): a small traditionalist party
 based in West Sumatra.

pesantren: (literally 'place of the santri or Muslim students').
  Traditional Islamic schools under the leadership of a kiai.

PKI (Partai Komunis Indonesia or Indonesian Communist
 Party).

PMII (Pergerakan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia or Indonesian
 Muslim Students Movement): NU's tertiary students'
 organisation formed in 1960.

PMPI (Pemuda Mahasiswa dan Pelajar Islam): association of
 Islamic youth and student organisations active in the late
 1960s.

PNI (Partai Nasionalis Indonesia or Indonesian Nationalist
 Party): the main nationalist party during the Sukarno era.

PPP (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan or United Development
 Party): Islamic party formed in 1973 by the forced
 amalgamation of NU, MI, Perti and PSII.

PRRI (Pemeritah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia or
  Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia).
  Regional government established in West Sumatra in 1957.

PSI (Partai Sosialis indonesia or Indonesian Socialist Party.

PSII (Partai Serikat Islam Indonesia or Indonesian Islamic
  Party).

qawai'd al-fiqh: the principles or rules of Islamic jurisprudence.

rais am: chairman of Central Syuriah; effectively president-
  general of NU.

Rapat Akbar (Mass Rally). the term used for NU's 66th
  anniversary celebration on 1 March 1992, held at Senayan,
  Jakarta.

santri: student at a traditional Islamic school; devout Muslim

Shumubu: National Religious Affairs Office under the Japanese
  administration.

SI (Sarekat Islam or Islamic Association): the first mass Islamic
  organisation in the Netherlands Indies. Established in 1912

Situbondo Group: reform group within NU during the early to
  mid-1980s under the leadership of KH As'ad Syamsul Arifin
  Named after the location of his pesantren.

suksesi ('succession'): popular term during the late 1980s and
  early 1990s referring to the Presidential succession and the
  issue of political transition.

sunnah precedents set by the Prophet Muhammad for believers
  to follow as recorded in the Qur'an and hadis.

syari'ah: Islamic law.

syekh haj: hajj agent.

Syuriah: Supreme Religious Council of NU, usually comprising
 ulama

syu'un ijtima'iyyah: 'matters of` social concern'.

tahlilan: recitation of the creed la ilaha illa'allah (there is no god
 but Allah).

Tanfidziah: Executive board of NU.

taqlid, taklid: adherence to the teachings and prescriptions of
 Sunni law schools and ulama.

tarekat: Islamic mystical orders.

tasawuf, tasawwuf: Islamic mysticism.

Taswirul Afkar (Constellation of Thoughts): discussion group
 formed in 1918 by Wahab Chasbullah.

tawassuth: central position or middle path; moderation.

Tim Tujuh (Team of Seven): committee established in 1983 to
 formulate detailed recommendations on the restoration of the
 khittah.

Traditionalist: Muslims who adhere to the teachings of one of
 the four Sunni schools of law (mazhab) and are also inclined
 towards syncretic devotional practices.

ulama: religious scholar.

ukhuwwah islamiyah: Islamic brotherhood.

Umat (community, people, nation) Most often used to refer to
 the community of Muslims.

usul al-fiqh: the 'roots or sources' of Islamic jurisprudence.

wali: protege of God, saint, holy man.

Waliyul amri dlaruri bissyaukah (Interim holder of full power):
 litle bcstowed on President Sukarno at the 1954 national
 ulama conference

zakat: obligatory alms payments. One of the five pillars of Islam.