Ijtihad : Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam dan Kemanusiaan

Customary Negotiation and Islamic Environmental Law: Human-Nature Relations in the Batak Angkola Community, South Tapanuli, Indonesia

2026-04-22T08:58:31+00:00

This research analyses the negotiation between Batak Angkola customary norms and Islamic environmental law in shaping human-nature relationships in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia. This research addresses the limited scholarship on how traditional values and Islamic teachings shape community-based environmental governance. The research employs a qualitative approach, drawing on phenomenological and ethnographic methods. Data were obtained through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with traditional leaders, religious leaders, and communities, and document analysis. The data were then analyzed thematically through the lens of Fiqh al-Bī'ah and Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstruction. This research shows that environmental conservation is achieved through the integration of Islamic values, such as khalīfah fī al-arḍ, amānah, the obligation to preserve the environment, and the prohibition of fasād fī al-arḍ, into the Batak Angkola customary system. The integration results in environmental governance through the protection of customary areas, community-based natural resource management, customary rituals, and environmental conflict resolution processes. The human-nature relationship is understood as reciprocal, placing humans as an integral part of the ecosystem and making them responsible for maintaining its balance. This research concludes that negotiations between customary law and Fiqh al-Bi’ah produce an ecological governance model that is adaptive, sustainable, and socially and religiously legitimate. Its novelty lies in formulating a normative negotiation model between social and religious legitimacy through Fiqh al-Bī'ah, explaining the construction of human–nature relationships to strengthen environmental governance based on local wisdom in Indonesia.

Religious Conversion in Minangkabau People: An Analysis of Islamic and Customary Law Perspectives in Indonesia

2026-03-03T07:57:09+00:00

This research aimed to examine the tensions between Islamic and Minangkabau customary law in relation to contemporary people in Indonesia who converted to Christianity, despite the long-standing historical identity as a predominantly Muslim community deeply rooted in Islamic traditions and cultural values. Specifically, three questions were addressed, namely 1) the interaction of Islamic and Minangkabau customary law, 2) the factors influencing religious conversion from Islam to Christianity among contemporary Minangkabau people, and 3) the challenges experienced by converts in the relationships with family members, local communities, and the broader social structure. A case study approach was adopted using a qualitative design grounded in the socio-anthropology of religion based on in-depth interviews with eight key informants. Furthermore, this research provided a broader understanding of a complex and often contested phenomenon. The results showed that the social lives of Minangkabau converts from Islam to Christianity were characterized by adaptability and tolerance. Most converts continued to maintain positive relationships with families, local communities, and customary institutions, in contrast to the widespread assumption that religious conversion transformed social attitudes and disrupted communal relationships. However, these people were not completely detached from Islamic values and cultural dispositions before accepting Christianity. The theoretical contribution of this research is in the attempt to bridge the relationship between agency and social structure in explaining religious conversion. In Minangkabau context, religious conversion constitutes a socio-legal event that challenges the normative relationship between Islamic and customary law, reporting the ongoing negotiation between personal religious agency and collective cultural obligations.

Faith-Based Humanitarian Diplomacy for Palestine: A Siyāsah Khārijiyyah Perspective

2026-04-22T08:43:31+00:00

This research examines how Indonesian civil society organizations—Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, together with the non-governmental organization Komite Nasional Rakyat Palestina (KNRP; National Committee for Palestinian People)—engage in humanitarian diplomacy in support of the Palestinian people’s struggle. Using an empirical qualitative approach based on interviews and document analysis, it examines these organizations’ roles in fundraising and the distribution of officially licensed public funds. The results show similarities in fundraising orientation and strategy, but differences in aid-distribution approaches shaped by networks, access, and licensing. Ideological factors play an important role in building public trust in humanitarian fund management. From the perspective of siyāsah khārijiyyah, the humanitarian activities undertaken by these organizations represent a form of people-centered diplomacy that complements Indonesia’s official foreign policy toward Palestine. Their initiatives embody Islamic legal and ethical principles, including justice (al-’adl), mutual assistance (ta’āwun), human dignity (karāmah al-insān), and the protection of human life (hifz al-nafs). More broadly, faith-based humanitarian diplomacy functions not only as a mechanism for delivering humanitarian assistance but also as an expression of Islamic engagement in foreign affairs, grounded in moral responsibility and global solidarity. Accordingly, this research contributes theoretically to the study of humanitarian diplomacy, Islamic civil society, and siyāsah khārijiyyah, demonstrating how religious values are translated into transnational humanitarian action for Palestine.

Harmonizing faith and tradition: the acculturation of customary and Islamic law within the Tengger community of Indonesia

2026-02-24T07:53:45+00:00

This research examines the dynamics of the acculturation of Islamic law within the Walagara marriage tradition among the Tengger community in Wonokitri Village, Pasuruan, Indonesia—a practice that reflects the complex interplay between customary obligations and religious observance. The Tengger community is known for steadfastly upholding ancestral traditions amid a landscape of religious pluralism. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, data were collected through participatory observation in Wonokitri Village, Pasuruan, Indonesia; document analysis; and in-depth interviews with ten key informants, including traditional leaders, local ulama, or Islamic religious scholars, and practitioners of the tradition—all of whom serve as custodians of cultural and religious values. The research findings reveal that the observance of Walagara is an absolute obligation for the entire Tengger community, including those who are Muslim; failure to observe this ritual results in social sanctions such as ostracism and the invalidation of a marriage under customary law, even if it is valid under religious law (akad). This serves as evidence that legal pluralism is strongly realized, where customary law holds authority that coexists alongside Islamic law, creating a space where social and religious legitimacy are mutually dependent. Despite the potential for theological friction, the Muslim Tengger community negotiates their religious identity while continuing to preserve their traditions. Interpreting Walagara not as a deviation from faith (‘aqīdah), but rather as a form of respect for ancestors that has undergone a harmonization of values, this research affirms that customary law and Islamic sharia in Tengger are not in a mutually exclusive relationship, but rather form a legal hybridity through strategies of cultural adaptation. This research enriches the global body of literature on legal pluralism and cultural studies, illustrating how indigenous communities negotiate religious orthodoxy and cultural heritage to construct a harmonious, layered legal identity.

Testing the Justice of Maslahah: A Critique of the Makassar Religious Court’s Ruling in a Waqf Dispute

2026-07-30T03:30:15+00:00

Disputes over waqf land between heirs and the waqf donor highlight a crucial juncture in the relationship between formal legality and the principle of public interest in the management of waqf in Indonesia. This research aims to examine the legal considerations of the Makassar Religious Court in resolving waqf disputes, assess the principle of justice based on public interest, and analyse the implications of the court’s decisions for the parties involved. This study employed a qualitative method, using a case-based and conceptual approach through content analysis of the Makassar Religious Court’s rulings, applying the concept of maslahah-based justice. The study shows that the panel of judges prioritized legal certainty and tended to overlook the values of maslahah-based justice and the essential purposes of waqf. The implementation of these rulings reveals a tension between legal certainty and the social benefits of waqf, which serves as a form of ongoing charitable deeds (amal jariyah). These findings indicate that social benefits, the role of the waqf donor, and the status of the waqf are still insufficiently considered in decision-making. This research highlights the importance of a maslahah-based justice paradigm in legal deliberations, ensuring that the purpose of waqf transcends mere legal act and becomes an instrument of social empowerment and the sustainability of ongoing charitable deeds. This research proposes a maslahah-based justice paradigm as a model for resolving global Islamic legal disputes that can mediate the conflict between legal formalism in waqf and the protection of the civil rights of vulnerable groups.

Local Wisdom and Nahdlatul Ulama Kiai's Ijtihād on Interfaith Inheritance: Lessons from Malang, Indonesia

2026-07-02T04:26:00+00:00

Inheritance disputes within multireligious families in Indonesia reflect the tension between religious legal regimes and the plural social realities of everyday life. When formal law fails to provide adequate solutions, the ijtihād of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) kiai and Javanese-Islamic cultural values emerge as informal mechanisms for mitigating conflict. This research examines how the socio-religious authority of NU kiai and the Javanese value of harmony are mobilized in reconstructing inheritance distribution involving non-Muslim heirs in Wagir and Polehan, Malang, Indonesia. Employing a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with kiai and community members, complemented by participant observation and document analysis. The analysis applies the frameworks of legal pluralism, maqāṣid al-syarīʿah, and legal culture. The findings reveal that NU kiai function as legal intermediaries bridging state law, Islamic jurisprudence, and local norms. They practice contextual ijtihād through the instruments of grant, wasiat wajibah (compulsory bequest), and socially engineered maṣlaḥah-based arrangements to prevent open conflict. Javanese cultural values emphasizing harmony (rukun), deliberation (musyawarah), and empathy (tepa selira) serve as social capital in the mediation process. This article contributes to the literature on legal pluralism by demonstrating the integration of social ijtihād and local cultural values as a model for mitigating interfaith inheritance disputes, while also offering implications for value-based policy design in multicultural societies.

Mixed Marriage Without Agreements In Indonesia’s Bawean-Gresik Muslim Community: A Legal Pluralism Perspective

2026-04-22T08:56:29+00:00

This research examines mixed marriages without agreements in Indonesia’s Bawean-Gresik Muslim Community. A mixed marriage refers to a marriage between an Indonesian citizen and a foreign national under Article 57 of the Indonesian Marriage Law, while a marriage agreement is a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement governing marital property. Although legally recognised, many mixed marriages are conducted without such agreements, reflecting the interaction of religious authority, legal consciousness, and legal pluralism. This research employs an empirical socio-legal approach informed by Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, legal consciousness theory, and legal pluralism. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with mixed-marriage couples, kiai, village officials, and community leaders, supported by Indonesian marriage legislation, the Compilation of Islamic Law, and Constitutional Court Decision No. 69/PUU-XIII/2015. Data were analysed using thematic-interpretative analysis. This study shows that the legitimacy of mixed marriages is primarily shaped by the symbolic authority of kiai, who consider marriages religiously valid despite the absence of marriage agreements. This authority reinforces public legal consciousness and collective acceptance of the practice. Rather than merely reflecting non-compliance with state law, the practice represents normative negotiation among Islamic law, local culture, and state law. This research contributes to socio-legal scholarship by explaining how religious authority mediates legal compliance within plural legal systems.