Artikel

Default Cover for POPULAR KYAI AND NEW AUTHORITIES: A CASE STUDY OF KYAI ABDULLAH SAM
Volume 25, Issue 2 (2025)
POPULAR KYAI AND NEW AUTHORITIES: A CASE STUDY OF KYAI ABDULLAH SAM
Affiliation Details
  • Ngainun Naim: IAIN Tulungagung
  • Cecep Soleh Kurniawan: Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali Brunei Darussalam
, Pages: 331-355 , DOI: 10.22373/jiif.v25i2.20757

Abstract

Kyai play a considerably essential role in the life of Indonesian Muslim population, not only related to religious matters, but also pertaining to social, cultural, economic, and political aspects. This central position is highly correlated with the distinctive authority possessed by a kyai. Religious authority is dynamic and serves as a complex field of contestation. There has been an increasingly competitive contestation of religious authority, involving individuals and organizations subsequent to the fall of the New Order, which widely opens the room of democracy and leads to unrestricted political contestation for anyone to gain new authority. This article aims to delineate the road to fame of Kyai Abdullah Sam, as one of the most influential figures of kyai, and his strategy in building authority. This research was conducted using qualitative and a phenomenological approach. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation to be further analyzed according to the method developed by Miles and Huberman. It was revealed that Kyai Abdullah Sam gained popularity through various social activities and intensive use of social media. Apart from the fact that Kyai Abdullah Sam neither inherits the “royal blood” of eminent kyai and is neither supported with adequate social capital, he has managed to establish strong religious authority in traditional Muslim societies by building distinctive pesantren, empowering the surrounding community through his da’wah (proselytizing), and making the best use of arts and cultural channels, social media, friendship, and scientific forums at various universities as the platform for promoting the self. This paper contributes to the development of a new perspective on traditional religious authority.

96

TOTAL VIEWS

70

DOWNLOADS

ALTMETRICS

References

Abdulbaki, Louay. “Democratisation in Indonesia: From Transition to Consolidation.” Asian Journal of Political Science 16, no. 2 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1080/02185370802204099.

Afriansyah, Anggi. “Konstruksi, Kontestasi, Fragmentasi, Dan Pluralisasi Otoritas Keagamaan Indonesia Kontemporer.” Studia Islamika 28, no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.36712/sdi.v28i1.20514.

Akmaliah, Wahyudi. “The Demise of Moderate Islam: New Media, Contestation, and Reclaiming Religious Authorities.” Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies 10, no. 1 (2020): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v10i1.1-24.

Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “Aligning the Sunna and the Jama`a : Religious Authority and Islamic Social Formation in Contemporary Central Java, Indonesia.” Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences 78, no. 1-A(E) (2017).

Al-Makassary, Ridwan. “Transnationalism and Transnational Islam in Indonesia With Special Emphasis on Papua.” International Journal of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies, 2019. https://doi.org/10.32795/ijiis.vol2.iss2.2019.450.

Arifianto, Alexander R. “Rising Islamism and the Struggle for Islamic Authority in Post-Reformasi Indonesia.” TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia 8, no. 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2019.10.

Arifuddin, Arifuddin. “DAKWAH THROUGH INTERNET: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ISLAMIC PREACHERS IN INDONESIA.” Ar-Raniry, International Journal of Islamic Studies, 2016. https://doi.org/10.20859/jar.v3i1.80.

Azizah, N., Yusrina, J. A., Nugraini, E. D., & Zulfa, L. N. (2025). “Humanizing Humans” in Inclusive Pesantren: The Role of Peer Support in Promoting Self-Efficacy and Independence. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(2), 987–1020. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i2.1876

Azra, Azyumardi, Kees van Dijk, and Nico J.G. Kaptein. Varieties of Religious Authority: Changes and Chall. in 20th Century Indonesian Islam. Varieties of Religious Authority: Changes and Chall. in 20th Century Indonesian Islam, 2010.

Benvenuti, Martina, Agata Błachnio, Aneta Małgorzata Przepiorka, Vesela Miroslavova Daskalova, and Elvis Mazzoni. “Factors Related to Phone Snubbing Behavior in Emerging Adults,” 2019. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-9412-3.ch007.

Bois, Cora Du. : “: The Religion of Java . Clifford Geertz.” American Anthropologist 63, no. 3 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1961.63.3.02a00220.

Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice. London: Cambridge University Press, 1977.

Bruinessen, Mart van, Moch Nur Ichwan, Ahmad Najib Burhani, Mujiburrahman, and Muhammad Wildan. Conservative Turn. Islam Indonesia Dalam Ancaman Fundamentalisme. Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814414579-006.

Bruinessen, Martin V A N. “Martin van Bruinessen.” edited by Wolfgang Marschall, 1996th ed., 646–49. Berne: University of Berne, 1996.

Bruinessen, Martin Van. “What Happened to the Smiling Face of Indonesian Islam ? Muslim Intellectualism and the Conservative Turn in Post-Suharto Indonesia.” RSIS Working Paper, no. January (2011).

Bruinessen, Martin van. Kitab Kuning, Pesantren Dan Tarekat. 1st ed. Yogyakarta: Gading, 2015.

Burhani, Ahmad Najib. “7. Plural Islam and Contestation of Religious Authority in Indonesia.” In Islam in Southeast Asia, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814818001-009.

Cahyono, Heru. “Arah Perkembangan Demokrasi Di Perdesaan Pasca Orde Baru.” Jurnal Masyarakat Indonesia (MI) 38, no. 2 (2012).

Campbell, Heidi A. When Religion Meets New Media. When Religion Meets New Media, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203695371.

Ch, Mufidah. “PesantRen Rakyat: Perhelatan Tradisi Kolaboratif Kaum Abangan Dengan Kaum Santri Pinggiran Di Desa Sumberpucung Kabupaten Malang Jawa Timur.” El-HARAKAH (TERAKREDITASI), 2012. https://doi.org/10.18860/el.v0i0.2194.

Cheong, Pauline Hope. “Tweet the Message? Religious Authority and Social Media Innovation.” Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 3, no. 3 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1163/21659214-90000059.

Choiri, M., & Ardyansyah, F. (2024). The Politics of Waqf Practice in Pesantren Kyai Families in Bangkalan Madura, Indonesia. El-Usrah, 7(1), 272–293. https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v7i1.22186

Damopolii, M., Shabir, M. U., & Burga, M. A. (2023). The Phenomenon of Punishment at Pesantren in South Sulawesi: An Islamic Law and Islamic Education Approaches. Samarah, 7(3), 1643–1660. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v7i3.18207

Dhofer, Zamakhsyari. “Tradisi Pesantren: Studi Pandangan Hidup Kiai Dan Visinya Mengenai Masa Depan Indonesia.” (Jakarta: LP3ES), 2011.

Dhofier, Zamakhsyari. Tradisi Pesantren, Cet. VI, Jakarta: LP3ES, 2011.

Fealy, Greg. “Consuming Islam: Commodified Religion and Aspirational Pietism in Contemporary Indonesia.” In Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789812308528-006.

Hadiz, Vedi R. “Indonesian Political Islam: Capitalist Development and the Legacies of the Cold War.” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 30, no. 1 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341103000101.

Halimatussa’diyah, Iim. “Beragama Di Dunia Maya : Media Sosial Dan Pandangan Keagamaan Di Indonesia.” Merit Report Indonesia 1, no. 1 (2020): 15.

Hefni, Harjani. “Makna Dan Aktualisasi Dakwah Islam Rahmatan Lil‘Alamin Di Indonesia.” Ilmu Dakwah: Academic Journal for Homiletic Studies, 2017. https://doi.org/10.15575/idajhs.v11i1.1438.

Hidayatullah, Syarif. “THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE ISLAMIC TRADITIONALISM: A CASE STUDY OF THE NAHDATUL ULAMA.” Prosiding the 4th International Conference on Indonesian Studies: “Unity, Diversity, and Future” 4, no. Globalization (2012).

Hidayaturrahman, Mohammad, and Sudarman Sudarman. “Kiai and Political Relations Reconciling Politics and Religion in Indonesia.” Al-Tahrir: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 18, no. 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.21154/altahrir.v18i2.1384.

Hilmy, Masdar. “QUO-VADIS ISLAM MODERAT INDONESIA? Menimbang Kembali Modernisme Nahdlatul Ulama Dan Muhammadiyah.” MIQOT: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman 36, no. 2 (2012). https://doi.org/10.30821/miqot.v36i2.127.

Hui, Jennifer Yang. “The Internet in Indonesia: Development and Impact of Radical Websites.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1080/10576100903400605.

IKEDA, Akimitsu. “Armando Salvatore ^|^amp; Dale F. Eickelman (Eds.), Public Islam and the Common Good.” Orient 40, no. 0 (2005). https://doi.org/10.5356/orient.40.191.

Jazuli, Imam. “Trend Ngaji Online Dan Ambyarnya Kharisma Kiai NU, Sudah Saatnya Move On!” tribunnews.com, 2020.

Kim, Hyung-Jun. “Praxis and Religious Authority in Islam: The Case of Ahmad Dahlan, Founder of Muhammadiyah.” Studia Islamika 17, no. 1 (2010). https://doi.org/10.15408/sdi.v17i1.468.

Kingsley, Jeremy J. “Redrawing Lines of Religious Authority in Lombok, Indonesia.” Asian Journal of Social Science, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-04205010.

Latief, Hilman, and Haedar Nashir. “Local Dynamics and Global Engagements of the Islamic Modernist Movement in Contemporary Indonesia: The Case of Muhammadiyah (2000-2020).” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 39, no. 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420910514.

Liddle, R. William. “The Islamic Turn in Indonesia: A Political Explanation.” The Journal of Asian Studies 55, no. 3 (1996). https://doi.org/10.2307/2646448.

Lukens Bull, Ronald Alan. “A Peaceful Jihad: Javanese Islamic Education and Religious Identity Construction.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 1997. https://doi.org/10.16953/deusbed.74839.

Lukens-Bull, Ronald A. “Teaching Morality: Javanese Islamic Education in a Globalizing Era.” Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, 2017. https://doi.org/10.5617/jais.4554.

Ma’arif, M. A., Rokhman, M., Fatikh, M. A., Kartiko, A., Ahmadi, & Hasan, M. S. (2025). Kiai’s Leadership Strategies in Strengthening Religious Moderation in Islamic Boarding Schools. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(1), 23–48. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1168

Manger, Leif. “Muslim Diversity: Local Islam in Global Contexts.” In Muslim Diversity: Local Islam in Global Contexts, 2013.

Masud, Muhammad, Armando Salvatore, and Martin van Bruinessen. Islam and Modernity: Key Issues and Debates. Islam and Modernity: Key Issues and Debates, 2009.

Millie, Julian. “The Situated Listener as Problem: ‘Modern’ and ‘Traditional’ Subjects in Muslim Indonesia.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 16, no. 3 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877912474536.

Misdah, M., Soemantri, A. I., Syahbudi, S., & Wajdi, M. B. N. (2025). Navigating Modernity and Tradition: Strategic Practices in Islamic Schools at the West Kalimantan-Malaysia Border. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(2), 1021–1048. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i2.2040

Mokalu, Benedicta Joselin. “Prostitusi Dan Kemiskinan (Lokalisasi Desa Sumberpucung Kabupaten Malang).” Logos Spectrum 9, no. 2 (2014): 148–52.

Muliono, Slamet, Andi Suwarko, and Zaky Ismail Ismail. “Gerakan Salafi Dan Deradikalisasi Islam Di Indonesia.” Religió: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama 9, no. 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.15642/religio.v9i2.1207.

Munir, Akhmad. “Power and Authority Di Pondok Pesantren: Potret Kepemimpinan Kiai Dalam Lingkungan Multikultural.” JIEMAN: Journal of Islamic Educational Management 1, no. 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.35719/jieman.v1i1.11.

Mushodiq, Muhamad Agus. “PERILAKU PATOLOGIS PADA KISAH NABI MUSA DAN ‘ABD DALAM ALQURAN: Telaah Epistemologi Al-Jâbirî Dan Semiotika Peirce.” ULUL ALBAB Jurnal Studi Islam, 2018. https://doi.org/10.18860/ua.v19i1.4816.

Navickas, K. “Radical Spaces: Venues of Popular Politics in London, 1790-c.1845, by Christina Parolin.” The English Historical Review 128, no. 532 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/cet041.

Noor, Haula. “Dinamika Otoritas Keagamaan Di Indonesia.” JURNAL INDO-ISLAMIKA 2, no. 2 (2012). https://doi.org/10.15408/idi.v2i2.1188.

Nurish, Amanah. “SANTRI AND ABANGAN AFTER A HALF CENTURY OF CLIFFORD GEERTZ.” Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura 21, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v21i2.5829.

Nuroniyah, W. (2023). Gender Discourses within Pesantren in Cirebon: Understanding the Typologies of Kyais’ Interpretations of the Concept of Qawwam. Samarah, 7(2), 875–896. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v7i2.15689

Nurtawab, Ervan. “Widiyanto, Asfa: Religious Authority and the Prospects for Religious Pluralism in Indonesia . The Role of Tradi- Tionalist Muslim Scholars.” Anthropos 112, no. 2 (2017). https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2017-2-716.

Online, Admin NU. “‘Gus Miftah Kisahkan Sebuah Ujian Bagi Umat Yang Tak Rukun’, 2019,.” https://www.nu.or.id/post/read/114373/gus-miftah-kisahkan-sebuah-ujian-bagi-umat-yang-tak-rukun, 2020.

Portmann, John. Celebrity Morals and the Loss of Religious Authority. Celebrity Morals and the Loss of Religious Authority, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429273469.

Pramono, Didi. “The Authority of Kyai Toward the Santri: A Review of Gender Construction at Pondok Pesantren.” KOMUNITAS: International Journal of Indonesian Society and Culture 10, no. 1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.15294/komunitas.v10i1.8142.

Pribadi, Yanwar. “Religious Networks in Madura Pesantren, Nahdlatul Ulama and Kiai as the Core of Santri Culture.” Al-Jami’ah 51, no. 1 (2014). https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2013.511.1-32.

Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri. “Pesantren Online: Pergeseran Otoritas Keagamaan Di Dunia Maya.” Living Islam II (2019): 169–87.

Rosowulan, T., Hasyim, A. F., Sholikhun, M., Purwanto, P., Djamil, A., In’amuzahiddin, M., & Wijaya, R. (2025). Pesantren’s Knowledge Identity Crisis in the Digital Era. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(1), 49–76. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1287

Roy, Olivier. “The Failure of Political Islam Revisited.” In Pathways to Contemporary Islam, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvv417f6.11.

Rusydiyah, Evi Fatimatur, Halimatus Sa’diyah, and Masykurotin Azizah. “The Millennial Kiais: Contemporary Indonesian Dakwah Activism Trough Social Media.” Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman, 2020.

Salik, Mohamad. “Conserving Moderate Islam in Indonesia: An Analysis of Muwafiq’s Speech on Online Media.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 13, no. 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2019.13.2.373-394.

Silahuddin, Saiful, S., Ikhwan, M., Zulfikar, T., & Hendra, S. H. (2025). Looking Inside Traditional Islamic Schools: Concerns and Prospects of Learning Culture. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1179

Solahudin, Dindin, and Moch Fakhruroji. “Internet and Islamic Learning Practices in Indonesia: Social Media, Religious Populism, and Religious Authority.” Religions 11, no. 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11010019.

Suaedy, Ahmad. “GERAKAN MUSLIM PROGRESIF PASCA REJIM SUHARTO DI INDONESIA.” TOLERANSI: Media Ilmiah Komunikasi Umat Beragama 10, no. 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.24014/trs.v10i2.7081.

Suherdiana, D, and E Muhaemin. “The Da’wah of Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah in Social Media of Facebook.” Ilmu Dakwah: Academic Journal …, 2018.

Suswanta, Suswanta. “Reconsidering the Stigma of Political Opportunism Among the Kiai: A Critique of the Modernist Perspective.” PCD Journal 6, no. 1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.22146/pcd.36149.

Syarif, Zainuddin. “Pergeseran Perilaku Politik Kiai Dan Santri Di Pamekasan Madura.” Al-Tahrir: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 16, no. 2 (2016). https://doi.org/10.21154/al-tahrir.v16i2.500.

Tabrani ZA., Idris, S., Yusoff, M. N., Siswanto, R., & Murziqin, R. (2023b). Strategy on boarding school development: between trend and performance analysis. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 6(2), 2023013. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2023013

Turner, Bryan S. “Religious Authority and The New Media.” Teory Culture Society 24, no. 2 (2007): 117–34.

Zaman, Muhammad Qasim. The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change. The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change, 2010. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.40-5188.

Zulkifli, Zulkifli. “THE ULAMA IN INDONESIA: Between Religious Authority and Symbolic Power.” MIQOT: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman 37, no. 1 (2013). https://doi.org/10.30821/miqot.v37i1.79.

Author Biography

Ngainun Naim, IAIN Tulungagung