The Bases for the Formation and Growth of Shīʼism from the Past to the Present in Indonesia

This article seeks to examine the contexts of Shiite growth from the past to the present. The author has studied and researched mainly this issue in the field and by analysing his findings in this country, he has proved the major effects of the Islamic Revolution of Iran on it.

The vast country of Indonesia is the largest country in the Islamic world today. It has long been an example of interfaith and inter-religious co-existence. Indonesia, the world’s largest Archipelagic state, is located in Southeast Asia with more than seventeen thousand small and large islands with an approximate area of 1.595.958,56 km (Musavi Bojnurdi 2001: X/346). And, after independence, it was called “Indonesia”. Jakarta, is the capital of the country, which was originally a small port city, but now has an area of 670 square kilometers, and a population of nine million people and is one of Indonesia’s most important economic centres. Although the island of Java makes up only seven percent of the country’s territory, it alone accounts for about 60 percent of the country’s population (Musavi Bojnurdi, ibid.). The population of Indonesia, according to the statistics of July of the year 2020 is 267.026.366 people.

The official religions in this country are: Islam, Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. 86.1% of Indonesians are Muslims and the rest are followers of other religions. Most of the Muslims in this country are Sunni – and in jurisprudence, followers of Shafi’i jurisprudence and Ash’arites in their beliefs, Ash’arites are the same. At least, two million Muslims in this country are Shiites, all of whom are considered Imami Shiites.

The special climatic territorial and spiritual characteristics of the people of this region have caused led to the coexistence of different religious tribes.  This is confirmed by the many relics and Shiite culture and rituals that exist within the Indonesian people’s culture. The Shiites, who came to this country with the arrival of Islam in this country, in the past were able to go as far as ruling over some parts of Indonesia. It is true.

Shiites went through various periods in this country in the past. Nowadays, the growth of Shiites is mainly the result of the last forty years, i.e. the period after the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and the Islamic Revolution has had amazing effects on the Indonesian people. The reception of the works of prominent personalities of the Islamic Revolution among the people, the growth of rationalism in the social and cultural spheres, and the great desire of the educated people of this country to know Iran and the Islamic Revolution are examples of these effects. It is important to know the basic contexts fundamental grounds related to the growth of Shiism in Indonesia, especially after the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The present study explores the contexts of Shiite growth and expansion in Indonesia.

Bibliographic Information

Title:  The Bases for the Formation and Growth of Shīʼism from the Past to the Present in Indonesia

Author(s): Mohammad Jawad Asadi

Published in: Kom, 2021, vol. X (3).

Language: English

Length: 20 pages

The Bases for the Formation and Growth

of Shīʼism from the Past to the Present in Indonesia