Islam, Sufism, and Character Education in Indonesia History

The history of Indonesia shows that Islam is in a diversity of patterns of religious development and doctrine. This diversity is in line with Indonesian society, which includes a number of ethnicities and cultures. One of the most widespread Islamic patterns in this country is Sufism, the Islamic aspect which emphasizes the inner aspects of Sufi doctrine and ideology. So, the widespread of the Sufism influence in this country, it can be assumed that Sufism not only plays a role in Islamization, but also very instrumental for the character development of the nation. Therefore, this paper by using the historical method and qualitative approaches, focuses on the development of Islamic and Sufism, especially seen from its role in character education. The findings show that based on historical and socio-cultural perspectives, Sufism-characterized Islam is relevant to the belief character of the Indonesian/Malay Archipelago, but the process of Islamization by the Sufis has indeed played a role in transforming a polytheistic belief system into monotheistic religions, although the religious characteristics of Muslim societies tend to be syncretic. The development of Sufism in “tarekat” (Sufi order) has a role to do character education oriented to the spiritual and moral development of society, even religious orthodoxy. The religious-social strength of each “tarekat” can build a functioning solidarity for the social movements. The contribution of Sufism to character building will always be needed through the re-actualization of the teachings of Sufism and the “tarekat” practice, especially in the context of the fulfillment of spirituality as well as the improvement of the morality of society in facing the challenges of the times. KEY WORDS : Islam; Sufism; Sufi Orders; Character Education; Indonesian/Malay Archipelago. About the Author: Prof. Dr. Dudung Abdurahman is a Lecturer at the Faculty Adab and Humanities UIN ( Universitas Islam Negeri or State Islamic University) Sunan Kalijaga, Jalan Marsda Adisucipto, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. For academic interests, the author is able to be contacted via e-mail at: durahman.uin@gmail.com Suggested Citation: Abdurahman, Dudung. (2018). “Islam, Sufism, and Character Education in Indonesia History” in TAWARIKH: I nternational J ournal for H istorical S tudies , Volume 9(2), April, pp.159-176. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press owned by ASPENSI, ISSN 2085-0980. A rticle Timeline : Accepted (February 15, 2018); Revised (March 11, 2018); and Published (April 30, 2018).