The Idea of Progress: Meaning and Implications of Islam Berkemajuan in Muhammadiyah

Abstract

Muhammadiyah is an Islamic religious organization founded in 1912 that has survived for more than a century in Indonesia. The survival and dynamic development of Muhammadiyah has inspired exploratory studies revealing the concomitant factors behind the proliferation of Muhammadiyah, one of which is the idea of Islam Berkemajuan (progressive Islam). This study relies mostly on the official documents and individual works published before and after the coinage of the terminology in the early 2000s. This study approaches the subject by systematically and critically constructing the historical and theological perspectives. This research shows that Islam Berkemajuan finds its roots in progressivice Islamic discourse among Muslim intellectuals and activists in early twentieth-century Indonesia. The idea of progress then serves as an intellectual response to social, political, and economic plight of Indonesians under Dutch colonial rule. In addition, the idea of progress is also particularly found in the discourse among inner circles of Muhammadiyah to advance the position of Muslims. Islam Berkemajuan was founded on theological grounds. In this, the teaching of Ahmad Dahlan on surah al-‘Ashr and surah al-Ma’un has become a strong inspiration behind Muhammadiyah’s commitment to using religious and rational understanding in teaching and action, developing education, health services, economic development, empowerment, philanthropy, and humanitarian action