Negotiating Muslim Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia: Integration and Conflict in Islamic Law
Abstract
Conflict can emerge from marriage involving parties of a different faith. However, interfaith marriage may also expose negotiation to secure the union. Although interfaith marriage is normatively restricted in Islamic law, it does occur. This study departs from the normative discourse of Islamic law and the empirical research of Muslim family law. It uses the theory of law, conflict, and integration to analyse the textual debates and practice of interfaith marriage in Lombok, Indonesia. This study reveals the patterns of Muslim interreligious marriage and the conversion that applies. The first pattern shows that non-Muslim partners convert to Islam before the marriage can be concluded. The second pattern involves Muslims who leave Islam to marry their non-Muslim partner. The third pattern suggests that each couple adheres to a different belief during the marriage even though the marriage contract was performed according to Islamic law. From the perspective of Islamic law, in the sense of sharia and Muslim family code, the first pattern is the most ideal because it follows these Islamic legal normativities. Although all practices have the potential for family and social integration, the second pattern is the most susceptible to conflict.
Keywords: interfaith marriage, conflict, integration, Islamic law
References
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Aini, Noryamin, “Interreligious Marriage from Socio-Historical Perspectives”, Brigham Young University Law Review, no. 3, 2008, pp. 669-706.
Aini, Noryamin, Ariane Utomo and Peter McDonald, “Interreligious Marriage in Indonesia”, Journal of Religion and Demography, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019, pp. 189-214.
Alfitri, “Bureaucratizing Fatwa in Indonesia: The Council of Indonesian Ulama and its Quasi Legislative Power” Ulumuna, vol. 24, no. 2, 2020, pp. 367-397.
Amri, Aulil, “Perkawinan Beda Agama Menurut Hukum Positif dan Hukum Islam”, Media Syariah: Wahana Kajian Hukum Islam dan Pranata Sosial, vol. 22, no. 1 (2020): pp. 48-64.
An-Naim, Abdullahi A., Islamic Family Law in a Changing Global World: A Global Resource Book, London and New York: Zed Books, 2002.
Anshor, Maria Ulfa dan Martin L. Sinaga, Perkawinan Beda Agama: Perspektif Perempuan dan Pluralisme, Jakarta: Kapal Perempuan 2004.
Anwar, M. Zainal, “Sharia Expression in Contemporary Indonesia: An Expansion from Politics to Economic, Ulumuna vol. 22, no. 1, 2018, pp. 77-95.
Berger, Maurits S. (ed.), Applying Sharia in the West: Facts, Fears, and the Future of Islamic Rules on Family Relations in the West, Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2013.
Buisson, Johanna Marie, “Interfaith Marriage for Muslim Women: This Day are Things Good, and Pure Made Lawful unto You”, Crosscurrents, vol. 66, no. 4, 2016, pp. 430-449.
Cahya, Nur, “Perkawinan Beda Agama dalam Perspektif Hukum Islam”, Jurnal Hukum Islam, vol. 18, no. 2, 2018, pp. 141-156.
Dieth, Eric, Integration by Cooperation: A Constructivist Social Theory and a Theory of the State and the Law, Dordrecht: Springer, 2012.
Handriyanto, Budi, Perkawinan Beda Agama dalam Syariat Islam, Jakarta: Khairul Bayan, 2003.
Hasan, Muhammad Kamal, Modernisasi Indonesia: Respon Cendikiawan Muslim, terj. Ahmad Thaha, Jakarta: Lingkaran Studi Indonesia, 1987.
Jones, Gavin W., Chee Heng Leng and Maznah Mohamad, Muslim-Non-Muslim Marriage: Political and Cultural Contestation in Southeast Asia, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009.
Kharlie, Ahmad Tholabi, Fathudin, and Windy Triana, “Reforming Islamic Marriage Bureaucracy in Indonesia: Approaches and Impacts, Al-Jamiah: Journal of Islamic Studies, vol. 59, no. 2, 2021, pp. 255-286.
Koschorke, Judith, “Legal Pluralism in Indonesia: The Case of Interfaith Marriage Involving Muslims,” in Legal Pluralism in Muslim Contexts, edited by Norbert Oberauer, Yvonne Prief and Ulrike Qubaja, Leiden: Brill, 2019, pp. 199-231.
Leeman, Alex B., “Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions”, Indiana Law Journal, vol. 84, issue 2, 2009, pp. 743-771.
Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Himpunan Keputusan dan Fatwa Ulama Indonesia, Jakarta: Sekretariat Majelis Ulama Indonesia Masjid Istiqlal, 1995.
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba, Marriage on Trial: A Study of Islamic Family Law, London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000.
Mudzhar, Muhammad Atho, Membaca Gelombang Ijtihad antara Tradisi dan Liberasi, Yogyakarta: Titian Ilahi Press, 1997.
Mulia, Siti Musdah ‘Promoting Gender Equity through Interreligious Marriage: Empowering Indonesian Women”, in Muslim-non-Muslim Marriage: Political and Cultural Contestation in Southeast Asia, edited by Gavin W. Jones, Chee Heng Leng and Maznah Mohamad, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009, pp. 255-282.
Mulia, Siti Musdah and Mark R. Cammack, “Toward a Just Marriage Law: Empowering Indonesian Women through a Counter of Legal Draft to the Compilation of Islamic Law”, in Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia: Ideas and Institutions edited by R. Michael Feener and Mark E. Cammack, Cambridge, MA: Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School, 2007, pp. 128-145.
Mulia, Siti Musdah, Muslimah Reformis: Perempuan Pembaharu Keagaam, Bandung: Mizan, 2005.
Nasir, Mohamad Abdun, “Religion, Law and Identity: Contending Authorities on Interfaith Marriage in Lombok, Indonesia”, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 31, issue 2, 2020, pp. 131-150.
Otto, Jan Michiel, “Sharia and National Law in Indonesia” in Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present edited by Jan Michiel Otto, Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2010, pp. 433-490.
Possamai, Adam, James T. Richardson and Bryan S. Turner (eds.), The Sociology of Sharia: Case Studies from around the World, Dordrecht: Springer, 2015.
Seo, Myengko, “Falling in Love and Changing Gods: Inter-Religious Marriage and Marriage Conversion in Java, Indonesia”, Indonesia and the Malay World, vol. 41, issue 119, 2013, pp. 76-96.
Shaleh, Abdul Mun’im, Hukum Manusia sebagai Hukum Tuhan: Berfikir Induktif Menemukan Hakikat Hukum Model Qawa’id Fiqhiyah, Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 2009.
Sirry, Mun’im A. (ed.), Fiqh Lintas Agama: Membangun Masyarakat Inklusif-Pluralis, Jakarta: Paramadina, 2004.
Soewondo, Nani, “The Indonesian Marriage Law and its Implementing Regulation”, Archipel, vol. 13, 1977, pp. 283-294.
Suhasti, Ermi, Siti Djazimah and Hartini, “Polemics on Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia between Rules and Practice”, Al-Jamiah: Journal of Islamic Studies, vol. 56, no. 2, 2018, pp. 376-394.
Summa, Muhammad Amin, Kawin Beda Agama di Indonesia: Telaah Syariah dan Qanuniyah, Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2015.
Syamhudi, Hasyim, Satu Atap Beda Agama: Pendekatan Sosiologi Dakwah di Kalangan Masyarakat Muslim Tionghoa, Yogyakarta: Pustaka Ilmu, 2013.
Syihab, M. Quraisy, Wawasan al-Qur’an, Bandung: Mizan, 2004.
Turk, Austin, “Law as a Weapon in Social Control”, Social Problem, vol. 23, Issue 3, 1976, pp. 276-291.
Welchman, Lynn, Women and Family Laws in Arab States: A Comparative Overview of Textual Development and Advocacy, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2007.
Yanggo, Huzaimah Tahido, Masail Fiqhiyah: Kajian Hukum Islam Kontemporer, Bandung: Angkasa, 2005.
Yusuf, Muhammad, “Pendekatan al-Maslahah al-Mursalah dalam Fatwa MUI tentang Pernikahan Beda Agama”, Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 99-108
Zada, Khamami, “Arus Utama Perdebatan Hukum Perkawinan Beda Agama”, Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 39-46.
Published
2022-12-27
How to Cite
Nasir, M. (2022). Negotiating Muslim Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia: Integration and Conflict in Islamic Law. Mazahib, 21(2), 155-186. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v21i2.5436
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2022 Mohamad Abdun Nasir
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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