THE CHALLENGES OF HINDU BALINESE’S MODIFICATION TO THE PRACTICE OF ZIKR RITUAL

Abstract

The issue of religious spiritual groups (Islam) in Indonesia rarely encounters the relation with non-Muslim contexts in the way how they perform religious ritual. Conversely, the Wahidiyah Foundation as Islamic organization representing Sufism, opens to non-Muslim without any requirement for conversion when practicing zikr ritual toward the formula of shalawat wahidiyah. This research examines the cases of Hindu Balinese performing zikr without violating their Hindu’s identity. It links to the question on how Hindu Balinese modify zikr toward shalawat wahidiyah performance in the way they adapt it according to their own belief and why the emergence of tension occurs between a minority group of Hindu Balinese and internal community of Muslims within the Wahidiyah Foundation in local level of Bali during the practice of zikr ritual. By using ethnographical approach, process of collecting data is conducted in six regencies of Bali. This article uses Bell’s ritual perspectives as the basic assumptions and tendencies in thinking about ritual activities in broader context. This research tries to counter the prejudice of religious conversion through the interpretation of other religious teachings in ritual activity representing a universalistic idea in Indonesia context.