To the ignorant and the uneducated, they think that we are part of them. The uneducated indians and Arabs usually have this mindset. There isn't any of their culture practiced here. Religion wise, Hindu Buddhism and islam gets to get assimilated into the Indonesian culture, not the other way around.
What Muslim practice in Indonesia is similar with what Muslim practice in Pakistan. I dont get what you mean with Islam get assimilated into Indonesian culture ?? What culture ?? The things that is told by our elder ?? If it is not fit with Islam we should trow away. Please dont get offended with what
@eldarlmari said previously, maybe he dont have any religion or worshiping another human (Confusicius). Muslim in Indonesia takes pride with Islam and love our prophet Muhammad which is an Arab. Following Islam doesnt mean that we follow Arab culture. Arab culture that dont fit with Islam should be thrown away as well. Islam is Islam. It comes from God directly through an Arab (Muhammad).
I think you are a part of people who advocate Islam Nusantara. Islam Nusantara itself is still Islam that is also practiced in Pakistan,Bangladesh, and else where. I dont see any different from "pure" Islam in term of its practice. And many have express their rejection on Islam Nusantara labelling, including in Nahdatul Ulama (NU) who advocate it in the first time. I hope the term Islam Nusantara is not used anymore. Islam is Islam. Period. We want a pure Islam.
We even have a second largest Muslim organization with 29 million members whose work primarily go into purifying Islam in Indonesia. Yup, it is Muhammadiyah.
Muhammadiyah (
Arabic: محمدية, followers of
Muhammad. full name:
Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major
Islamic non-governmental organization in
Indonesia.
[1] The organization was founded in 1912 by
Ahmad Dahlan in the city of
Yogyakarta as a reformist socioreligious movement, advocating
ijtihad - individual interpretation of Qur'an and sunnah, as opposed to
taqlid - the acceptance of the traditional interpretations propounded by the ulama.
[2] Since its establishment, Muhammadiyah has adopted a reformist platform mixing religious and secular education,
[3] primarily as a way to promote the upward mobility of Muslims toward a 'modern' community and
to purify Indonesian Islam of local syncretic practices.
[3]
This is maybe what you called as being assimilated into our culture ??
Kebaya. Women traditional dress. From this:
turn into this : Kebaya Hijab/Syar'i
Hindu were practiced differently here and is 180 degree different than what they practiced elsewhere. In ancient times, we merged both religion of Hindu and Buddha, forming hinddu-buddist which practiced by the sriwijayas and majapahits.
What ? Majapahit is Hindu and Srivijayas is Buddhist, nothing hybrid. I also learn somewhere that ancient Indonesian buddhist is a pure form of Buddhist.