Bulukumba 19

The district of Bulukumba is located in the southern part of Sulawesi Island, about 153 km from Makassar, the capital city of South Sulawesi province. The district of

Bulukumba consists of 10 sub-districts (kecamatan), namely: Ujung Bulu, Gangking,

Kindang, Ujung Loe, Bontobahari, Bontotiro, Herlang, Kajang, Bulukumpa and Rilau

Ale. It has 126 villages (desa/kelurahan). The district has the motto ‘Bulukumba

Berlayar’ (‘Bulukumba sails’), but Berlayar is an acronym of ‘Bersih Lingkungan, Alam yang Ramah’ (clean environment, nature-friendly). The vision of the district

government is ‘mewujudkan Bulukumba sebagai Pusat Pelayanan di Bagian selatan

Sulawesi Selatan yang bertumpu pada kekuatan lokal dan bernafaskan keagamaan’ (‘develop Bulukumba as a Service Centre in the southern part of South Sulawesi, which is based on local strengths and religiosity’).

20 _{Regional secretary (sekertaris daerah) is the highest administrative position in kabupaten after Bupati.} However, the Bupati is the senior political position.

The population of Bulukumba in 2006 was 383,870, with 182,551 males and 201,319 females. The Bulukumba district population has a majority of Bugis and Makassar. Therefore, the languages used in everyday life are Bugis and Konjo with a Makassar dialect. Islam is the religion professed by nearly all of the population (99.75 per cent), whereas the Christian population is divided into Protestant (0.13 per cent) and Catholic (0.06 per cent), and Hindu (0.01 per cent) and Buddhism (0.05 per cent) comprise the other religions or beliefs (Kabupaten Bulumba dalam angka 2007; (Kamil & Bamualim 2007a).

There have been an increasing number of places of worship for Muslims, from 534 mosques in 2000 to 591 in 2006; however, this district has only one worship place for other religions (a church for Christians) (Kabupaten Bulukumba dalam angka 2007). The DPRD had 35 members at the 2004 election, with only one female member from the Golkar Party, and there were 40 members after the 2009 election. The largest party in the DPRD was Golkar in all of the post-Suharto elections, with PAN and Partai Demokrat having four seats each in 2009 (Arum, the head of KPU in Bulukumba, interviewed 6 June 2008).

Although there are not many Islamic scholars and Islamic students (Ulama’ dan

santri) in Bulukumba, religious culture strongly influences the lives of the Bulukumba people. This is because, historically, Bulukumba is one of the regions

where the expansion of Islamic teaching (pengembangan syiar Islam) in South

Sulawesi occurred. In the seventeenth century, Syeh Maulana Khatib Bungsu, who had the title Dato’ Tiro, arrived in South Sulawesi with his two friends, Khatib Makmur (commonly known as Dato ri Bandang) and Khatib Sulaiman (sometimes known as Dato Patimang), who were from Sumatra. They were students of Sunan Giri from Gresik, East Java. In the 1600s, Dato Tiro arrived in Bulukumba and disseminated Islamic teachings. He converted the king of Tiro Launru Daeng (known as Karaeng Ambibia), his family and his community. Since then, Islam has been widely practised in Bulukumba, so that Islamic teaching is deeply rooted among its people (Andis 2004).

In Bulukumba, there are two influential Islamic Organisations: NU and Muhammadiyah. These two organisations have large followings at the grass roots and

in the political elite. For instance, the chairman of MUI in Bulukumba is the chairman

of NU. In the implementation of Perda Sharia in Bulukumba, in contrast with the

central leadership of both organisations in Jakarta, the leaders of these two organisations in Bulukumba are actively involved in initiating and proclaiming the

application of Perda Syaiah (Kamil & Bamualim 2007a).

These two organisations also have influential universities in Bulukumba. NU has the Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam (STAI: Islamic College of Teachers) Al-Ghazali, which trains religious teachers and preachers in remote Bulukumba, while Muhammadiyah has the Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (STKIP: College of Teacher Training and Education), which trains teachers in the district. There will be a detailed discussion of NU and Muhammadiyah in Chapter 5, in the section ‘identifying the

supporter of Perda Sharia’.

1.6.2.1 Perda Sharia in Bulukumba

The idea to implement Sharia Islam in Bulukumba was strongly supported by the

Komite Persiapan Penegakan Syariat Islam (KPPSI: Preparatory Committee for the Implementation of Islamic Sharia), which was established in South Sulawesi on 21 October 2000. However, the KPPSI does not say that it supports the establishment of an Islamic State in Indonesia, which was the objective of Darul Islam (DI), led by the father of its own chairman, Azis Kahar Muzakkar. The KPPSI disassociates itself from DI’s military campaign, but identifies itself with the broader religious objective of the DI, which is to implement Sharia through regulations. There will be a further examination of KPPSI in Chapter 5.

Perda Sharia, which is commonly known as ‘Perda keagamaan’ in Bulukumba, was initiated by Andi Patabai Pabokori, who became the bupati for two periods: 1995– 2000 and 2000–2005. The idea had its origins long before he became the Bupati

(Andis 2004). In 1994, when he was the regional secretary (sekertaris daerah) of

kabupaten Bulukumba, he was involved in the revitalisation21 of the program of

Badan Koordinasi Pemuda Remaja Masjid Indonesia (BKPRMI: Coordinating Board for Indonesian MosqueYouth ). He strongly supported any activities related to Islam

and religiosity. Since then, there have been an increase in activities related to Islam, such as the of religious teaching, especially studies of Quran, for both children and

adults such as in Taman Kanak-kanak Quran (TKA) and Taman Pendidikan Quran

(TPA). In 1996, one year after he was elected as Bupati, Bulukumba held a Porseni

Remaja Masjid (Sports and Arts Competition for the Mosque Youth) in South Sulawesi for the first time. Due to his achievement as The Best Coach and Advisor of

The youth Mosque at the National Level (Pengayom Terbaik Pembina Remaja Masjid

Tingkat National), Patabai was awarded a Peniti Emas (golden pin) from the Indonesian president in 1997 (Kamil and Mualim 2007; Mahrus Andis 2005). Since then, he has become an enthusiastic supporter of Islamic activities. In 1995, several

years before Bulukumba implemented Perda Sharia, the district implemented a Crash

Program Keagamaan22to enhance the religiosity of the community.