Islam Nusantara
Islam Nusantara or Indonesian (Islamic) model is a term used to refer to the empirical form of Islam that was developed in the Nusantara (Indonesian archipelago). This term was introduced and promoted by the Indonesian Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in 2015, as an alternative for the interpretation and representation of global Islam that is currently dominated by Arabization—i.e. Saudi Wahhabism. According to NU, the roots of Islam in the archipelago can be traced back to at least the 16th century, as a result of interaction, contextualization, indigenization, interpretation and vernacularization of universal Islamic values, according to socio-cultural reality of Indonesia. Islam Nusantara is defined as an interpretation of Islam that takes into account local Indonesian customs in forming its fiqh. In June 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo openly expressed his support for Islam Nusantara, which in his view is the moderate form of Islam compatible to Indonesian cultural values. History The spread of Islam in Indonesia was a slow, gradual and relatively peaceful process. One theory suggests it arrived directly from Arabia before the 9th century, while another credits Sufi merchants and preachers for bringing Islam to Indonesian islands in the 12th or 13th century either from Gujarat in India or directly from the Middle East. By the 16th century, Islam began to supplant Hinduism and Buddhism as the major faith in the archipelago. The traditional Islam in Indonesia mainly belongs to the Sunni branch, taught by revered clerics called kyai in pesantren boarding school, especially in Java. Some aspects of traditional Islam in Indonesia has incorporated local culture and customs. Early practices of Indonesian Islam were more or less influenced by Sufism and existing local spiritualism. Several traditions, such as revering and recognizing the authority of kyai, honoring prominent Islamic figures such as the Wali Songo, and also taking part in Islamic traditions such as ziarah kubur (tomb pilgrimage), tahlilan (selamatan ceremony to send the spirit of deceased one to the afterworld), and maulid nabi (commemorating the prophet Muhammad's birthday) including Javanese sekaten ceremony, were observed diligently by traditionalist Muslims in Indonesia. However, after the incoming of Modernist Salafism followed by Wahhabism from Arabia, the scriptural Islamic puritans denounced those traditions as shirk or bid'ah, deprecated as a form of syncretism that corrupted the purity of Islam. This condition has led to the ongoing religious dispute, uneasy coexistence and somewhat a spiritual rivalry, between traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama and modernist puritan Muhammadiyah. Examining the destruction of the war-torn Middle East; the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Arab Spring, the Iraq War and the Syrian War, Indonesian moderate Islamic scholars noticed that some of these conflicts were having religious aspects, especially the problem of Islamic radicalism and extremism. Indonesia also has suffered several terrorist attacks that were launched by jihadist Islamist group such as Jamaah Islamiyah's attacks on Bali. The ultra conservative doctrine of Salafi and Wahhabi adhered and promoted by the state of Saudi Arabia has dominated the global discourse of Islam for decades. The wary sentiments were aggravated further by the