Acceptance of the existence of salafi in the development of da’wah in Riau Islamic Malay society

Abstract

Salafi da’wah has recently spread rapidly to various regions in Indonesia. The presence of salafi da’wah in various regions does not often lead to conflict as a result of the da’wah method used. Unlike the case in Riau, especially Pekanbaru, in the last decade salafi da’wah has gained a place in the hearts of the people so that it has experienced a rapid increase. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that led to the acceptance of salafi da’wah in Pekanbaru society. This paper uses a qualitative method based on a series of interviews with 15 informants. Informants were selected based on the purpose of this paper. This study found that the acceptance of the salafi manḥaj in Pekanbaru society was caused by internal factors and external factors. Internal factors consist of salafi da’wah which aims to carry out Islamic teachings in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah, and the profile of salafi ustadz (Islamic scholar or preacher) who carry out da’wah. Meanwhile, external factors consist of Islamic values contained in Islamic Malay culture and the character of the Islamic Malay society which is open to differences. The form of salafism da’wah that accelerated the development of this manḥaj was in establishing mosques as Quran study centers, establishing Islamic educational institutions, and developing economic activity through herbal sales centers and ṭibbun nabawi. This study cannot make generalizations; therefore, it is recommended that a comparative study be conducted with other regions that have the same character.