The Construction of Island Islamic Traditions: A Phenomenological Study of the Prophet's Birthday Tradition Sacredness on Bawean Island
Saniri Saniri, Ainul Yakin, Siti Amaliati
International Journal of Islamic Thought and Humanities September 15, 2025 DOI: 10.54298/ijith.v4i2.605 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Residents of Bawean Island, Indonesia, including religious leaders, cultural figures, Maulid committee members, the general public, and the younger generation, selected purposively |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Construction Maulid tradition Sacrality Bawean island |
| Key findings | Argues that the sacredness of the Maulid tradition on Bawean is constructed as a space for strengthening faith, social solidarity, and cultural inheritance, and that the tradition represents a harmonious 'archipelagic Islam' that is Islamic in values, local in expression, and sacred in spiritual experience. |
Abstract
The tradition of the Prophet's Birthday on Bawean Island embodies the intersection of Islamic values and local culture, shaping the distinctive religious practices of the island's people. This tradition is a religious celebration and a means of preserving cultural identity. This study formulates two main questions: (1) How is the sacred construction of the Prophet's Birthday tradition in Bawean formed through the interaction of Islam and local culture? Moreover, (2) How do people across generations interpret this tradition? The study used a qualitative approach with Husserl's phenomenology to explore the community's religious experiences. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation in the form of archives, prayers, and photographs of the procession. Informants were selected purposively, including religious leaders, cultural figures, the Maulid committee, the general public, and the younger generation. Data analysis used phenomenological stages: bracketing, intuiting, analyzing, and describing. The findings indicate that the sacredness of the Maulid in Bawean is understood as a space for strengthening faith, social solidarity, and cultural inheritance. This tradition represents a harmonious construction of archipelagic Islam: Islamic in its values, local in its expression, and sacred in the spiritual experience of its people.
Comparable studies
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