Anne K.Rasmussen - The Arab Musical Aesthetic in Indonesian Islam

Jul 7, 2026

Islamic musical arts in Indonesia mirror and project contemporary identity politics in a densely populated Muslim society. Recited Qur’an serves as a central vehicle for Arab musical aesthetics, accompanied by a spectrum of Indonesian sacred musics tied to ritual performance. These include Arabic-language tawashih, Islamic Malay songs, qasidah, Western-influenced a cappella, and gamelan dakwah. Across democratic reform and development, expressions of global and local identity are staged through “seni musik Islam.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

Abstract

Arab musical aesthetics and Qur’an recitation

Genres and sacred musical practices

Historical transmission and global Islamic system

Political patronage and Refor masi era

The Arab Musical Aesthetic in Indonesian Islam Author(s):Anne K.Rasmussen Source:The World of Music,Vol.47,No.1,Musical Reverberation from the Encounter of Local and Global Belief Systems(2005),pp.65-89 Published by:VWB-Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung Stable URL:https://www.jstor.org/stable/41699623 Accessed:23-10-201908:24 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars,researchers,and students discover,use,and build upon a widerange of content in a trusted digital archive.We use information technology and tools to increase productivity andfacilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR,please contact support@jstor.org. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms &Conditions of Use,available athttps://about.jstor.org/terms VWB-Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access to The World of Music The Arab Musical Aesthetic in Indonesian Islam Anne K.Rasmussen # Abstract Islamic musical arts in Indonesia both reflect and project contemporary identity poli-tics in the world's most populous Muslim country.The recited Qur'an is the major ve-hicle for Arab musical aesthetics in Indonesia.A range of Indonesian sacred musicsmay be identified related to this very musical,ritual performance.Including Arabic-language tawashih,a popular Islamic Malay song genre,the qasidah,the Western-in-fluenced akapela,and gamelan dakwah.As Indonesia negotiates its way through theprocess of democratic reform and development(pembagunan),expressions of reli-gious and cultural identity,whether global or local,traditional or modern,are playedout and performed through Islamic musical arts,or what Indonesians refer to as"senimusik Islam." In September of 1999I shifted uncomfortably on the hard cement floor of the aula orgreat hall of an Islamic boarding school called Pondok Pesantren Al-Falah located inthe chilly mountains of West Java.The long program,attended by about 500 maleand female santri (the school's students)and all of the religious leaders in the regionand their families,was in honor of a Saudi Arabian Sheikh who was visiting the area.The formal part of the evening was comprised of speeches and sermons and featuredthe school's star reciters who “read”passages of the Qur'an in the practiced,musi-cally elaborate mujawwad style.To my complete surprise,the end of the solemn pro-gram of speeches and Quranic recitations was indicated by the broadcast of theheavy,funky Arab rhythm maqsum that came blasting over the loud speakers.Al-though the eight measures of heavily resonant,synthesized “dum,dum,(rest)tak,dum(rest),tak(rest)"could have introduced a dramatic instrumental piece by the fa-mous Egyptian composer Muhammad‘Abd al-Wahhab or even a belly dancer in anynightclub cabaret from New York to Dubai,it was the opening for the Arabic song"Thola‘al-Badru‘Alayna"recorded by the religious singing group Al-Falah,a groupof young men based at the Pesantren,on their newly released commercial cassette.The cassette of religious music blared on while we all lined up for food;the formalpart of the evening had clearly ended. Arabic songs like this one as well as the musical aesthetics and techniques of theArab world have come to Indonesia across a variety of routes over the past 500 years. Although the original context may be characterized as the transfer of one local music(that of Arab,particularly Yemeni traders)to another locale(coastal settlements ofthe Indonesian archipelago),Arab Islamic singing can also be seen as the global orinternational musical system of Islam.In this article I examine the way in which theprestige of “the Arab sound”has been bolstered by the patronage of government in-stitutions,particularly during the last part of former president Suharto's New Order(Ordre Baru),and how this governmental patronage of religious arts is being compli-mented by re-emergent local traditions and music during the ong

FAQs

What role does Qur’an recitation play in Arab musical aesthetics in Indonesia?

Recited Qur’an is the major vehicle for Arab musical aesthetics in Indonesia, shaping how musical ritual and performance circulate.

Which Indonesian Islamic sacred music forms are associated with Arab musical aesthetics?

The text lists Arabic-language tawashih, Islamic Malay songs, qasidah, Western-influenced a cappella, and gamelan dakwah.

How do political eras and reform affect Islamic musical arts?

Government patronage of religious arts, especially during the New Order, is complemented by re-emergent local traditions, while the Reformasi era enables performances of global and local identity through Islamic musical arts.

Jul 7, 2026

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