FASTABIQ AL-KHAIRᾹT: ISLAMIC CONGREGATION AND EVERYDAY COMPETITION AMONG PURITAN AND TRADITIONALISTS MUSLIM IN ACEH

This paper explores the contestation between Puritanism and traditionalism in Muslim communities focused on case studies on the East Coast of Aceh by groups in urban religious recitation. The article addressing to the subject so far concludes that fundamentalism and traditionalism are two theological forces that are constantly in conflict with each other. This paper seeks to demonstrate that while interactions between the two groups are affected by doctrinal disputes, the two cultures are fairly effective in managing diversity, such that disparities in religious beliefs do not result in group tension and mass abuse. The data used in this research were collected through participatory evaluation, in-depth interviews and literature studies. Finally, this paper shows that the Acehnese people’s ability to care for tolerance, although it seems clear that the practical tolerance practiced by the people who are the subjects of this research has been redefined and contextualized in line with the situation of a community dominated by traditionalist Muslim groups.

diverse ethnicities, races, and faiths. 3 In Soejatmoko's opinion, knowledge of religious diversity will add appreciation to any religious conviction that the meaning of reality is transcendent through opening oneself up to the beliefs of others. This is the beginning point for the development of tolerance and modesty. 4 However, on the other hand, the emergence of religious plurality in urban communities is very vulnerable to the emergence of differences and conflict between religions or their fellow. This religious diversity becomes an important note by the researcher, looking at the socio-religious conditions that experience turmoil in each of its movements over time.
Socio-religious turmoil tends to arise in cities, where a higher level of community plurality exists. It happens because all communities consider religion to be a complementary system in answering the needs of urban communities.
Many recent events have occurred in urban communities in Aceh, and it has been shown that there are socio-religious upheavals in urban communities, particularly in some cities on the east coast of Aceh. The last event was the destruction (burning) of the Mosque of Muhammadiyah in Bireun district. 5 Other incidents in the last several years; the assassination and burning of the Teungku Ayyub reciting community group in July. 6 The fight for Mimbar of Baiturrahman Masjid Raya (the Great Mosque), since it is perceived as another college. 7 They were closing the Islamic Salafi boarding school in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar. 8 Debating and closing the Pesantren in Bayeun, East Aceh. And the closing of the Tamiang Sufism Recitation Community. There are also such incidents that have not yet been made official, but it spread like fire in the husk-just waiting for the moment to be destroyed. Some of the causes listed above cannot be distinguished from the prevalence of recitation groups in urban communities along the Aceh coast. These reciting communities were then divided into three groups, including the traditionalist, progressive and puritan or Salaf communities. The three groups then performed a recitation at many mosques in the area, the members of whom were mosque worshipers. The emergence of these modernist and Nevertheless, with the advent of the puritan and progressive reciting groups embodied by Ustādz, who came from the Middle East, this may be attributed to contestation between the two reciting groups in the fight for the congregation. 9 Interestingly, the recitation participants (followers) were primarily young people. It seems to reinforce people's views in urban areas, particularly the experiences of young people who are deprived of spiritual values.
Julia Day Howell and other figures commented on social (urban) interest topics. They said that modern culture at a substantial individualistic stage, isolated community from higher stuff, contributed to severe drought and thirst. 10 Ismail F. Alatas, University of Indonesia Lecturer, stated that religious rituals in cities that reflect logical facets of faith are deficient in moral and experiential dimensions. 11 Several scholars have studied the conflict between Traditionalist Muslims and Puritan Muslims in socio-religious studies. For example, Wahyudi Amaliah studied the fall of moderate Islam in the face of the rise of a new religious authority from the Wahhabi community. 12 Ahmad Najib Burhani also noticed a contestation between liberal Muslims and puritan Muslims regarding the divine (religious) power. 13 Zuly Qadir considered that the variety of the Islamic culture in Indonesia has several groups, including modernist, revivalist, traditionalist, but at the same time radical, neo-traditionalist, and mainstream (popular) Islam. 14 Nur Hidayat Wakhid Udin highlighted the contestation between fundamentalist Muslims vis-à-vis Liberal Muslims in the struggle for socio-religious meaning in Indonesia. 15 In the meantime, this study focuses on the phenomena of contestation between 9 Firdaus M. Yunus and M. Hasbi Amiruddin, "Tension Between Schools of Thought: Aswaja and Wahabi in Aceh," Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura 21, no. 2 (2021): 183-97. 10 Rubaidi traditionalist recitation groups and puritan recitation groups experiencing the creation on the eastern coast of Aceh. The researcher would extensively analyze the conflict between conventional (traditionalist) recitation groups and puritan recitation groups focused on the contestation of Islamic articulations in everyday life and the actions of the two recitation groups by citing the facts as a critical issue.
In addition, the tension between traditionalist, modern, and puritan recitation communities is not like those articles that suggest that fundamentalism and traditionalism are two theological forces that are often in confrontation with each other. This paper enhances Muhammad Ansor Etal's earlier writings. Furthermore, it studied the contestation between Puritan and Muslim traditionalists in Aceh Tamiang, 16 which shows the dynamics of the relationship between the two entities. Through this study, the researchers want to demonstrate that the relationship between the traditionalist recitation group and the Puritan recitation group is tinged with the doctrinal conflict. Furthermore, the two groups are relatively good at managing diversity, such that differences through religious beliefs do not contribute to political strife and mass violence. For instance, the traditionalist recitation group argues that the Puritan recitation group belongs to the Wahabi sect.
In contrast, the Puritan recitation group considers that what Tengku (Kiai) conveyed by the traditionalist recitation group, namely the Qur'ān and Ḥadiṡ, does not have a solid basis. 17 This contestation happens only at the elite level of each recitation (Kiai or ustādz) and does not affect the congregation of the two recitation groups. It is because the most recitation congregations, including the traditionalist recitation group and the Puritan recitation group, attend all the recitations that are conducted. 18 This study is based on the field research, which, thorough documentation, participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and spent three months for data collection. The data were taken from the in-depth interviews with the Tengku (read: Kiai), who gave the lecture to the recitation community, the traditionalists, modernists, and Salafis, The Mosque Prosperity Board (BKM), which conducted the recitation. Moreover, the congregation took part in the recitation group. The researcher also held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) of the recitation of the congregation in the East Coastal part of Aceh to complement this data. 16 Muhammad Ansor, Yaser Amri, and Ismail Fahami Arrauf, "Piety on Contestation: Ethnography on Puritan and Traditionalist Muslim in Aceh Tamiang," Alqalam: Jurnal Kajian Keislaman 31, no. 2 (2014): 305-33, https://doi.org/10.32678/alqalam.v31i2.567. 17 Interview with Sanusi, the recitation congregation traditionalist of Langsa, September 22, 2018. 18 Interview with Farid, the recitation congregation of Langsa, September 24, 2018. By using Emile Durkheim's framework on Forming Social Solidarity theory, 19 this article will demonstrate that the contestation between Traditionalist recitation groups and Puritan recitation groups in Islamic recitation, which has a dual role: one side is a source of social conflict, but the other side plays a role in the creation process. Social unity of society with regard to their Islamic heritage. Furthermore, the contestation between these three entities will be studied using the theory of culture's in Between by Hommi K. Bhabha. 20 According to Bhabha, cultural identities are established primarily from the product of two or more distinct identities, but negotiations are conducted across processes of social conflict. 21 There are no clear limitations on the diversity of ethnic differences in society. Nonetheless, conservative (traditionalist), modernist, and puritan recitation groups in Aceh accuse religious values in other cultures. At the same time, however, they practice what the Bhabha terms mimicry: a means of imitating one another. This article will thus demonstrate a contestation between traditionalist, modernist and puritan recitation groups, but, at the same time, it will give the new definition of the recitation group model that is the result of the identity dialog among the three groups. This article will be divided into six sections: an overview, the image of urban recitation communities in East Aceh, the paradigm of the urban research community in East Aceh, the emergence of fundamentalism, and the problem inside urban recitation groups, the management of urban recitation groups. The discussion then continues with the assumptions and theoretical implications of the research findings.

The Paradigm of Urban Recitation Groups in East Aceh
The term paradigm was first introduced by American physicist Thomas Samuel Kuhn

a. Traditional Paradigm
The term "tradition" in the etymological perspective is always identified with sunnah, which means "the path traveled, praised or not" (al-sīrah ḥasanah kānat aw qabīḥah  Hence the recitation group is frequently performed by Dayah. Ulama still uses the Yellow Book as reference material and continues oddly and rigidly. Stiff because what they taught was precisely the same as what the Dayah teacher received when he was studying in the Dayah at that time. Eventually, the language he used Acehnese language. This is understandable because at the boarding or dayah, according to Zamakhsyai Dhofier, there is a transmission chain called sanad and the sanad has a pattern, or in the term Kamaruzzaman BA, the meugure tradition has indeed become a life-breath for the Acehnese.

b. Modern Paradigm
Many of East Aceh's recitation groups have adopted a new method to produce their recitation themes. According to Azyumardi Azra, the modern education system is reflected in the establishment of the madrasa, which adopted classical systems and a curriculum that was never introduced in previous Islamic boarding schools. 33 Ronald A. Lukens-Bull added that modern systems in Islamic education fill the needs of modern society and prevent moral degradation from the emergence of modernity and globalization. 34  Da'wah. The reformists appear to be more conservative in women's clothing than traditionalists who are already modest in advocating long-sleeved and more flowing (rather than fitted) tunics, long skirts, and wider headscarves. The modernists tend to be less tolerant than traditionalists when their tradition veers into the religious field. For example; giving some food for the person (ancestor) who has died as their old tradition, creating new ideas on religious education, redefining religion more objectively, easily transmissible, clearly distinguishable from local customs, and more inclined to make law from the Qur'ān and Ḥadīṡ than the ulama's opinion. 35 This modern paradigm can be seen in the recitation conducted by Ustādz Tabri, Lc, and Ustādz Awwaluzikri, MA. The presentation uses several methods, including lecture, question, and answer methods, and the explanation tends to be open. Many kinds of research written by scholars, clerics, or Tengku of modern circles or graduates from the Middle East prefer to use methods accessible to urban societies as they are more readily accepted and logical.

c. Salafi Paradigm
When we talk of the word Salafi, we certainly mean an Islamic movement that is intolerant, rigid, even reactionary. 36 Whereas according to Muhammad' Abid al-Jabiri and Fahmi Jad'an, the word Salaf is used as a systematic thought for any step that makes the Qur'ān and Ḥadīṡ. Two Muslim writers, Jurj Tharabishi and 'Aziz al-Azmah, used the word 'salafism' to refer to an anti-modernist, reformist current of thought or group. 37 The word Salaf itself is literally taken from the root word sa-la-fa which means to precede. The term Salaf itself is described as the first three generations of Muslims, made up of relatives, tabi 'in, and tabi' al-tabi'in, also identified with al-Salaf al-sālih (righteous predecessors  (reasoning), human will, and intellect. Salafi followers believe that with this mindset, the prejudices of human subjectivity can be easily eliminated to recognize one reality about the commands of Allah and believe that Islam accepts only a legal interpretation and does not recognize Islamic pluralism. 39 According to Asep Muhamad Iqbal, the existence of Salafis in Indonesia around the mid-1980s. 40 Some signs such as the presence of their people wearing Arab clothing, Arabicstyle ties or headgear or white cap, long trousers above their knees, and carrying beards may define this trend. Meanwhile, their women wear the Arab women's clothing, usually black or brown and loose, and a face-covered veil. 41 The existence of Salafism can be seen from the Salafist societies that appear to be closed, which are formed separately from the urban society in general. They are determined to create an alternative society, different from the current model of society or the Western model, by reviving and implementing the pure sunnah established by the prophet and holy Salaf as an attempt to be an ideal and pure Muslim. To achieve this goal, Salafists have a solid commitment for da'wah activities to re-Islamize the Muslim community by forming halaqāh (religious study groups) and dawra (religious training) to teach them about "true Islam. "They believe that Muslims who aspire to the Syarī'a as the only valid law can only be realized employing an evolutionary process involving 'cleansing' (tasyfīyah) from actions and un-Islamic thoughts and 'education' (Tarbīyah) about true Islam. 42

The Image of Urban Recitation Communities in East Aceh
The religious life of East Aceh's people today, including Langsa city and Aceh Tamiang Regency, is probably very diverse. Concerning the existence of the Ta'līm and Dhikr assemblies or the routine reciting groups mentioned above, this paper follows the pattern adopted by Syarifuddin Jurdi when photographing the Islamic Social Movement in Indonesia.
He sees several Islamic social movements in Indonesia, namely traditionalist, modernist, puritan, and Islamic Left or Islamic Left groups. 43 In the same way, the researcher finds that the recitation groups in East Aceh are divided into three main groups, namely traditional, 39 Krismono, 180. modern, and Salafi recitation groups. This grouping is loose and open to questioning, repairing (reducing or adding) following the phenomenon of recitation groups in East Aceh.   The study group of Aceh Tamiang City Community (KPK) is also known as a modern recitation group. Ustādz Dedy Suriansyah, M. Ag led this study group. He is a member of the representative house of Aceh Tamiang from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). In the KPK recitation group, participants are from criminals. According to Ustādz Dedy Suriansah, M.
Ag, inviting thugs to transform their behaviors will take much patience, since at first, the thugs are not unusual to mock. Nevertheless, thanks to its perseverance, the Aceh Tamiang study Committee (KPK) is now gradually gathering.
The recitation group, which has a Salafi paradigm, is the recitation Salafi group. This recitation group has the theme " Langsa Mengaji". This Salafi recitation group was formed as the Islamic Syari'a Service of Langsa prohibited the research activities, 50 the LDII still exist and takes place in Gampong Geudubang Jawa, Langsa.

The Arise of Fundamentalism and Contestation in Urban Recitation Groups
Before discussing the recitation group's fundamentalist attitude in East Aceh, it is better to understand fundamentalist diversity itself. The religious model of fundamentalism puts everything in God's name with a set of laws contained in the holy book. More fundamentally, fundamentalist attitudes reflect mistrust of logical abilities and emphasize the emotional dimensions more, question human beings to solve ultimate problems and entrust themselves to the divine agency. 51 Amin Abdullah said what attracted attention to the phenomenon of diversity and needed to be studied further was when the model or form of human diversity (religiousness) was divided and represented in the formal forum of theology, or a particular religion (as well as an absolute faith, understanding or group). Then, the container demands only the truth which possesses is the highest and the best. This phenomenon is a claim to truth, which naturally implies the creation of a particularistic, exclusive, and sometimes intolerant way of thought. 52 Langsa and Tamiang are where fundamentalist beliefs and attitudes develop in the largest recitation room to remote villages. The fundamentalism described here by the researchers is not the fundamentalist attitude described by Amin Abdullah, which is particularistic, exclusive, and often intolerant. However, fundamentalism here is an attitude that assumes what they understand is the right thing and judges what others think is not valid, yet respects the opinions of others. Many recitation groups share this fundamentalist mindset, not just the Dayah recitation group, and the modern recitation group also has such a fundamentalist mindset, and the recitation group we identify as salafi, as well as other recitation groupings.

a. Dayah Recitation Group
The Dayah recitation community is the oldest in Aceh. It is not unusual for researchers to study Aceh, both insider and outsider who admire Dayah as the oldest educational  Whether known or not, there is a colorful fundamentalist character in Dayah education. It is instilled in their students. The charismatic teachers, ustādz, teungku, abu, abuya, and scholars teach them to pray, grow a sense of admiration, love, and fundamentalism, and fully believe every word and every idea conveyed. There is no other truth but the sincerity of their teachers-that the wrongs they have accomplished are always correct in front of their students. 53 In this case, the traditional recitation group, the Dayah recitation group, has listed many phrases against the modern recitation group whose stand comes from alumni from the Middle East as evidence of the assumption that groups other than the group are incorrect.
For example, some of those phrases are:

1) Lc is Lost Control
In Langsa and Tamiang, several of the recitation groups are led by Ustādz, whose last name 'Lc'. This suggests that the Middle East alumni culture offers many colors in recitation groups. However, the Dayah recitation group reacted differently to the presence of this Not only underestimating someone's scholarship from a specific recitation category but also instilling with a single truth, an attitude of religious fundamentalism which is madhhabiyah in nature. This fundamentalist attitude is usually demonstrated by some community members who follow the recitation group of Dayah, who view this non-Dayah recitation group as a mere compliment. As Dahri, the Dayah recitation group, put it, they prefer to attend the Dayah recitation, since the Dayah recitation group is purer than others. 54

2) Fiqh is Tauhid, Tauhid is Fiqh
The madhhab of Syafi'i is the most suitable school for learning faith through prayer. If it does not apply to the Syafi'i madhhab as expressed in recitation by ustādz or teungku, therefore it is misunderstood and refused. The dayah recitation group has no other research or 53 Interview with Mulizar, Dayah recitation congregation in Langsa City, October 6, 2019. 54 Interview with Dahri, Ustadz / Tengku Gampong in Langsa City , September 6, 2019. analysis in certain schools in thinking. Knowing the school of thought analysis for the Imam syafi'i is like learning tauhid in understanding Aqidah. Furthermore, the dayah recitation group does not like asking while they have different schools. It is good to create madhhab distinctions, so anyone has to decide or exaggerate his amaliah's response to the Imam Shafi'i.
However, some citizens in Langsa decline to worship other than Imam Syafi'i. He has noticed that anyone will enter the paradise, according to his confession. In urban communities, there are differences between Dayah scholars and Middle East alumni ustādz in the treatment of fiqh (Islamic Law). In essence, Dayah scholars, as well as ustādz from the Middle East, use the views of the madhhab to solve problems in society, for example, Ustādz However, the modern recitation community continues to use the Qur'ān and the Sunna as the basis in their thought. This condition does not mean that they condemn or oppose the leaders of the madhhab and other imams who succeeded them, but they feel that the fatwas and views of these imams and everyone else should be continuously scrutinized. 55

3) Widening the involvement of the Wahabi Issues
The Dayah recitation group is not pleasant if it does not offend the Wahabi. The Wahabi in question is a Salafi recitation group that has begun to color many recitations and educational institutions in Langsa and Tamiang. It is not only offending but insulting, mocking, rebuking every idea, thought, and form of worship they practice.
The Dayah ulama discussed the Wahabi issue in the recitation forum only to criticize the Wahabi group, not to provoke. Dayah ulama primarily discussed these doctrinal differences to avoid communal conflicts between traditional and Salafi groups. This was demonstrated by Dayah scholars, even though they criticized them, and they still emphasized that people respect these differences, not to act harshly and harshly with Wahabi groups. Even when one of the rejected the accusation. This fact proves that although Dayah ulama is quite strict in rejecting Wahabism, they can share and make friends with modern recitation groups in their daily lives.
They criticize, but they keep boundaries; they respect different groups.

b. Modern Recitation Group
This modern recitation group is very egalitarian. It is not unusual for the recitation to be followed simultaneously by fathers and mothers. However, there are particular groups for male or female recitation. The recitation is the same as other recitation groups. According to the time, there is the recitation of tafsir, Fiqh, Hadiṡ, al-Qur'ān and thematic recitation.
This group recitation is often faced with questions or answers previously received by congregations during the recitation of other recitation groups, especially the dayah recitation group. The congregation often gets satisfaction with various alternative answers and in-depth studies of various schools of thought. This indicates that the ustādz, who led the recitation, has not grown and cultivated the nature and attitude of fundamentalism. However, as previously, the congregation tends to overdo it.

c. Salafi Recitation Group
The Salafi recitation group in Langsa town is a recent recitation community, possibly in the last ten years. This recitation is beginning to emerge as they wear the traditional Muslim Salafi group, so the Salafi khawarij community was renamed. However, this Salafi community continues to participate in the growth of educational institutions. There are two well-known educational institutions which they found in Langsa: 1) SDIT Lukmanul Hakim, and 2) Balee Beut Quran (BBQ).

Managing Diversity of Urban Recitation Groups
According to John R. Bowen, the difference between the recitation groups between the traditional, modern, and puritan recitation groups does not guarantee that each recitation group remains in its exclusive territory. 56 In other words, the conflict between the traditional recitation group and the modern and Salafi recitation group does not always end with a lose or win relationship. However, a third possible way is adaptation, mimicry, and synthesis values between the three opposing views. Mimicry or reciprocal imitation often leads to a new understanding of diversity. It is a new synthesis of two opposing religious understandings that would not have emerged without competition. The social process that Homi K. Bhabha calls mimicry, in turn, gave birth to the theory of "culture's in-between." 57 A synthetic tradition is the product of negotiations between traditional and puritan recitation groups.
Traditional, modern, and puritan recitation groups frequently participate in public discussion about topics of common concern. Each group seeks to provide its own beliefs and practices with interpretations and arguments. The differences between these two opinions often present a new synthesis in urban societal diversity.  traditional and Salafi communities. Dayah Ustādz's support of Wahabi's indictment of nondayah ustādz or alumni from the Middle East is proof that the rivalry between the recitation community in Est Aceh has arisen as what Bhabha named 'mimicry'. 66 That is to say, the emergence of a third culture makes them respect one another and foster friendship in their daily lives. While they condemn each other, they still have frontiers and support various communities.
Likewise, conflicts in fiqh (Islamic law) issues do not imply they are undergoing conflict. The difference lies not in the substance of the fiqh but in the necessity of Fiqh itself.
The Dayah recitation groups adhere strictly to the principles of the Syafi'i Madhhab, whereas the modern recitation groups tend to use the al-Qur'ān and the Sunna as their sources of thought. In contrast, the modern recitation groups tend to use the al-Qur'ān and sunnah as their sources of thought and use the views of the madhhab at a critical level.
The recitation groups spread across East Aceh, namely Langsa town and Aceh, do not spread the values of hostility in social life. People of the two cities are in a very dynamic and not tense space in daily life. Even over time, the recitation groups continue to grow.
Researchers also saw the familiarity of this city community in general recitation. For example, the Regional Government (Regional Government) of Tamiang Regency invited Ustādz Abdul Somad and Langsa; the Municipal Government was most recently invited Habib Smit; joint actions, for example, demonstrations demanding that Ahok be imprisoned, prosecuting tauhid flag burners, many other examples of responding to other social and togetherness issues.
During public recitation, presentations like the one above always look stunning and help each other empathy, even though it varies in the recitation community.

C. CONCLUSION
The above description indicates a breakneck growth in spiritual piety in East Aceh.
The phenomenon strengthens Martin Van Bruinessen's and Julia D Howel's views. According to Bruinessen, the diversity of the urban Islamic community has been something thriving in the form of moral piety and consciousness change. Azyumardi Azra also sees the most prominent symptoms and phenomena of contemporary religion in urban Indonesia, notably the 'religious awakening' and revitalization expressed in an increase in religious zeal and enthusiasm.
The spiritual piety of urban communities in East Aceh marked by the proliferation of 66 Bhabha, "Culture's In-Between," 54. The three recitation groups then both looked for the stage of the Muslim community in the Langsa City and Aceh Tamiang mosques, and there was a dispute between them. Some of the tensions between them have been the advent of new religious authorities, namely non-Dayah religious teachers or alumni from the Middle East whom the urban community has accepted. The emergence of this new authority has more or less disturbed the establishment of religious authority, long in the hands of clerics of Dayah. The dichotomy between Sunni and Wahabi has also become a contest within the urban community in East Aceh for contestation among Islamic recitation groups.
The Dayah recitation group alleged that what the non-Dayah ustādz conveyed was no longer pure and mixed with an understanding of the Wahabi. The accusations made by the Wahabi became more apparent when directed at Salafi groups; even these Salafi groups were very closed and radical. In addition, the emergence of the diversity of contestation, negotiation, and tolerance among the urban community recitation group in East Aceh reinforces the theories developed before. Some of these areas expressed by Homi K Bhabha that antagonistic social diversity will lead to negotiations and reconciliation for points of commonality and mutual adjustment.
In the end, the three recitation groups mediated and preserved harmony among them.
However, it was evident that the harmony practiced by the recitation community was redefined and contextualized in line with the situation of a society dominated by the traditionalist group.