John Bowen ethnography, Muslims through Discourse, takes a deep look at the Islam Religion in the Gayo highlands located in Indonesia. Although he desires to investigate the social structure and history, through his field work he examines the local forms of Islam. Bowen constructs two categories to define the ideologies of Islam represented, which are traditionalist (stemming from rural communities) and modernist (rooted in urban society). Each have distinctive histories that influence and shape their values. Through analyzing the Gayo people’s debates about religious practices, he highlights the importance of religious discourse and language instead of emphasizing Geertz dramaturgical theory. Bowen uses the theoretical framework of discourse…show more content… Exploring the importance of different ideologies is highly Weberian in light of the fact that Weber focused on the rationalization of religion and its connection to societal ethic. The same is within the Gayo highlands where religious beliefs created distinctive practices. The traditionalist and modernist rationalize Islam, whereas, the Qur’an and hadith provide the universal set of norms (Bowman 1993: 321). As highlighted by Bowman; the form of rationalization differs with each school of thought. Traditionalists followed the coherent rationalization, while modernists adhered to modern rationalization. Their economic practices are examples of this rationalization. In particular, becoming a trader, although conflicting with the traditionalist sect, was supported and ethical to the modern view of Islam. Modernists emphasized the individual being accountable to God and the occupation itself was reflective of the prophet Muhammad (Bowen 1993: 34). Also they esteemed it as an altruistic act due to the trader’s support of religious activities and educational endowments. From this ethic, modernists dichotomized the religious and economic relationship into what is and is not proper. Ultimately, Bowen shows that both schools of thought represent Weber’s theory of culture in that the Qur’an not only helped create their religious…show more content… The way that the Gayo strongly believed in their position of carrying out religious activities and spiritual rituals exhibit the nature of habitus. Bowen develops this through the Gayo exorcism practice, which is logic rooted in Islamic ideas, but exudes the social and cultural concern of the villagers (Bowen 1993: 171). The same is true for some practices that the Gayo people performed that are not scripturally supported by Islam, such as kenduris (ritual meals) for the prophet Muhammad’s birthday, death commemorations, and grave sites. These sorts of practices were ingrained in the individuals and stemmed from tradition. From the perspective of the traditionalist, certain acts may be practiced as long as the individual has the proper intent (Bowen 1993: 71). Proper intent is a trait within the religious habitus that every actor must have in both the traditionalist and modernist groups. In addition, as Bowman points out, these religious beliefs or habiti have maintained useful within different fields. For the traditionalist, their habitus is acted out in the fields of the village and local discourse, while the modernist are located in public discourse and education. The functioning of each habitus developed from their embodied histories in the Gayo
