Sufism on the Silver Screen

Indonesian Innovations in Islamic Televangelism

Bibliographic Data

ID19546198
AuthorsJulia Day Howell (Griffith University, corresponding author), Julia Howell
Year2008
Volume2
Issue2
Pages225
Publication date2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJOURNAL OF INDONESIAN ISLAM (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1978-6301 • E-ISSN: 2355-6994
PublisherState Islamic University (UIN) of Sunan Ampel (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15642/jiis.2008.2.2.225-239
OpenAlexW2041197481
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited1

As a carrier of Islam’s esoteric tradition, Sufism would seem to be an unlikely candidate for promoting Islamic piety in the popular mass media in Muslim majority societies of the twenty-first century. It is thus remarkable that several of the most sensationally popular of Indonesia’s new breed of televangelists have promoted Islam by modelling ‘Sufistik’ forms of intensified piety. This article examines the electronically-mediated mass predication programs of two of Indonesia’s best known televangelists, Abdullah Gymnastiar and M. Arifin Ilham. Both are recognised by the viewing public as ‘Sufistik’ . The article identifies the elements of the Sufi tradition upon which the preachers draw. It also examines how those elements can be projected effectively on television to convey the intense spiritual intimacy with God which Muslims seek through Sufi devotions

Indonesian · Islam · Mass media · Piety · Political science · Sociology · Sufism · Theology · Asian Studies and History · Islamic Finance and Communication · Islamic Studies and Radicalism · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies

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