This is bad! Islamic books NU and Muhammadiyah are less interested in millennials

“The contents are shocking! It turns out that the literature available for millennial generations, not from NU and Muhammadiyah, is even more serious, NU and Muhammadiyah books are less desirable, “said a commentary accompanying the video and read by ambassador.co, Wednesday (2/5/2018).

The short video is very interesting. Starting with the story of Budi, the millennial generation. “Budi, used to be a band boy. But, now, he has moved. Budi diligently participates in studies and reads Islamic books. His friends said that Budi is now different, far from his friends, now Budi is leaving music because (music) is haram according to him, ”reads the initial narrative.

Then what book did you read (Budi), what literature shaped the Islamic thought of the millennial generation? Postgraduate researchers at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta went to 16 major cities in Indonesia. From Bogor, Bandung, Solo, Yogyakarta itself, Surabaya Jember, Banjarmasin, Palu, Makassar, etc. to see what literature the Millennial generation refers to.

“The research was conducted by means of surveys, observations, FCD and interviews involving high school, vocational, and MA (Madrasah Aliyah) students as well as both public and private university students,” he explained.

The result? First, even though the development of communication technology is very massive, books still have a major influence on Islamic understanding of the millennial generation. Second, from research in the field, the literature in the public that is widely available is not from mainstream groups such as NU and Muhamamdiyah.

Third, Islamic literature that is commonly found is popular Islamism literature, tarbawi books, salafi, and tahriri. “Also found jihadi literature, although not in large numbers,” he added.

Political Islamic literature, still in the description of the video, mostly contains light themes, such as practical guidance, occasionally inserted with ideological messages. Tarbawi books that incorporate the Muslim Brotherhood (IM) ideology, have succeeded in establishing widespread roots among students and university students, in line with the tarbiyah movement on public campuses that has occurred since 1990.

The earliest features of tarbiyah literature, he explained, were translations of the ideological works of the Muslim Brotherhood. Currently these books are only read by tarbiyah senior activists who are known to be very keen in marketing the concept of the caliphate. While the younger generation, beginners, prefer literature that is more popular.

Meanwhile, the salafi literature concentrates more on the purification of monotheism and individual morality. One of the most popular is the book by Aidh al Qarni. More classical salafi literature, such as those written by contemporary salafi authorities, is also widely circulated. While the tahriri literature is very keen to present the concept of the caliphate.

“The work of a tahriri figure like Felix Siauw has been quite successful in the market, even though this work is closer to the category of popular Islamism. Meanwhile, serious ideological books by the founders of Hizbut Tahrir (Taqiyuddin An Nabhani and Abdul Qadim Zaltum) are not so widely spread, “he explained.

Among the best-selling jihadi books that emerged were Abdullah Azzam’s ‘Tarbiyah Jihadiyah’, and ‘Jihad Our Way’ by Abdul Baqi Ramdhun. Respectively published Jazera and Era Intermedia which are both solo based.

Popular Islamism literature has succeeded in taking the millennial generation’s day, because of its crispy contents and trendy packaging. He has been so preoccupied with popular fiction and comics made with short narratives in simple, non-patronizing language. Besides that, it is still equipped with an interesting illustration.

“While the jihadi literature seems to be failing on a market basis, the distribution of this jihadi category book is only limited to Solo, Bogor, Yogyakarta and several other cities. However, these books are circulating in special circles, even some books are used as references by perpetrators of terror acts, “he explained.

This study also found a parallel relationship between the development of Islamic literature in a city and the development of Islamic studies in that city. Solo, for example, has become a city that has many publishers and is actively producing literature on Islamism and jihadism in Indonesia. Then followed by Yogyakarta, Jakarta and Bogor.

Although literature is not the only factor, literature provides an important contribution that shapes people’s religious attitudes such as the mortality of the millennial generation, like Budi.

“The face of Indonesian Islam is shaped by our religious understanding which is more or less shaped by the styles of the literature in circulation. Literature that promotes a peaceful Islamic narrative, it is hoped that its presence will be more massive and creative so that it can form a more peaceful face of Islam, “he advised while emphasizing that the roles of writers, ulama, community leaders and mainstream mass organizations such as NU and Muhammadiyah are becoming more relevant and awaited.

Has Been Released

Actually the results of this research have been released a long time ago, however, it is not as exciting as it is now. Postgraduate UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta in collaboration with Puspidep, PPIM UIN Jakarta, Convey Indonesia and ISNU have disseminated the research results “Islamic Literature Millennial Generation”, at Grand Mercure Yogyakarta, Tuesday (30/1).

At that time, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Cooperation, Dr. H Wayono, M.Ag, hoped that this research could change mainstream Islam into Islam that is blessed for all people.

“It turns out that reading if it is infused has a significant influence on readers’ beliefs, especially for the Millennial generation whose sources of knowledge are no longer from teachers or lecturers but from various literatures,” said Waryono.

Likewise, the Director of Postgraduate Program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Prof. Noorhaidi, SAg, MA, MPhil, PhD, explained that the research found a parallel relationship between the growth of Islamic literature production in a city and the development of the Islamist movement in that city. “Solo is the city that has produced the most publishers that are active in producing Islamist literature, followed by Yogyakarta, Jakarta and Bogor,” said Noorhaidi.

However, this explanation has not yet hit the heart of the problem, because it has “forgotten” the position of NU and Muhammadiyah as the mainstream of Indonesian Islam. This time, the two mass organizations must take responsibility for the sake of Indonesian Islam, a peaceful Islam. (mky)