Acknowledgements
The process of making this into a book has been challenging. This book is based upon my doctoral dissertation at Leiden University. Behind me, different layers of people have helped me in numerous ways. Let me simply describe what my promotors have done for me. Prof. Dr. Adriaan Bedner has given me intensive and passionate supervision and has contributed significantly to the finalisation of this book. Prof. Dr. Léon Buskens has provided me with theoretical frameworks on the scholarly discourse about Shariʿa, law and society.
Research of this book could not have been possible without the support of the 5000 Doktor Scholarship of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. I would like to convey my sincere thanks to the Ministry that had provided me with generous funds and the kind assistance and relevant support for this academic journey. I would like to express my gratitude to the family law group discussion at Van Vollenhoven Institute. The conversations have enriched me with insightful ideas on questions and relevant issues of doing family law. The members of this group, Al Farabi, Dr. Annelien Bouland, Dr. Arfiansyah, Dr. Hoko Hori, Judith van Uden, Mies Grijns, Nada Heddane, and Dr. Nadia Sonneveld, have carefully read and given important remarks on my chapters.
I am indebted to Dr. Margreet van Till, the coordinator of exchange programmes in the faculty of Humanities, Leiden University, for her assistance. I am grateful to my colleagues at LIAS and KITLV, Dr. Ade Jaya Suryani, Adrian Perkasa, Aminudin Siregar, Dr. Grace Leksana, Dr. Nor Ismah, Dr. Taufiq Hanafi, Dr. Syahril Sidik, and Dr. Yanwar Pribadi for the friendship and mutual supports. I would also like to thank colleagues in Berlin: Dr. Syaifuddin Zuhri, Dr. Zacky Khairul Umam, Dr. Dyah Wirastri, Dr. Stijn van Huis and Dr. Dominik Müller for their invaluable inputs. I wish to thank scholars, namely Prof. Dr. Nico Kaptein, Dr. David Kloos, Dr. Ward Berenschot, Dr. Upik Djalins, and Prof. Dr. Henk Schulte Nordholt for their inputs during my presentation in KITLV. A number of colleagues in PCINU Belanda deserve my sincere gratitude for having provided emotional and communal support, mainly KH. Nur Hasyim Subadi, KH. Hambali Maʾsum, KH. Ahmad Nafʾan Sulhan, KH. Budi Santoso, Dr. Fachrizal Afandi, Dr. Fahrizal Yusuf Affandi, Muhammad Asʾad, Yus Boersma, Dr. Ibnu Fikri, M. Shohibuddin, Dr. Yance Arizona and Ahmad Afnan Anshori. I also wish to thank my friends in Al-Hikmah mosque in The Hague, namely H. Bahrul Munif and Nana Supriatna for their valuable support.
I would like to express my gratitude to professors and colleagues in UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta from whom I have obtained moral support. My apologies if I may not be able to name all of you, but let me try to thank a few people personally. The rector, Prof. Dr. Mudofir, the ex-dean of Sharīʿa faculty, Dr. M. Usman, the current dean, Dr. Ismail Yahya, Dr. Lukman Fauroni, Dr. Zainul Abas, Dr. Fauzi Muharram, Sulhani Hermawan, Dr. Sidik and some others are influential in my intellectual development. I would also like to thank my colleagues in the postgraduate program at UIN Yogyakarta. In addition, I would like to thank Rosemary Robson for proofreading my manuscript.
In the field, I would like to convey my greatest gratitude to my acquaintances and friends in Pasuruan. Pak Rudy, Mas Subadar, and Mas Hamzah always welcomed me when I did fieldwork in the office of KUA. I wish to particularly thank Dewi and Khoirul for their help to interview people about their marriage experiences. I wish to acknowledge the help of people in Sumbersari, among others Nisa, Ahmad, Iin, Alfi, Saiful and Gus Jaʾfar, who provided me with a nice place to stay at his Pesantren Miftahul Falah. My key informants, namely Umi Hanik, Haji Misbahul, Haji Hamim, Gus Rokib, Kyai Ghofur, and Ustadz Syukron have been essential in supporting me with a wealth of information for my study. I am also grateful to some NGO activists and organisations in Bangil, namely Mas Faizin, Cak Lutfi, Mbak Arofah and Mas Sihab in STAPA Centre and Cak Ali Sadikin in OBH YRPP. They have made my fieldwork livelier.
Finally, on a personal note, I wish to thank all members of my family for their tremendous encouragement to finish my study. My most profound appreciation is devoted to my parents, H.M. Hasibun and Hj. Maisyaroh, my brother and sister, my parents-in-law, the late M. Nasiruddin and Sulastri. Finally, this book is dedicated to my greatest inspirations and love: my wife, Ivo Latifah and our beloved daughters, Neva and Queena, who have always been the sources of patience, joy and encouragement.
Some chapters of this book have been previously published elsewhere. An earlier version of Chapter 4 was published as ‘Actors and Norms in an Islamic Marriage: A Study of Madura Community in Rural Eastern East Java,’ Journal of Indonesian Islam 13 (2) (2019): 297–325. A slightly different version of Chapter 5 appeared as ‘Registering Muslim Marriages: Penghulu, Modin, and the Struggles for Influence,’ al-Jamiʿah: Journal of Islamic Studies 57 (2) (2019): 397–424.
Map of East Java, modified from CartoGIS ANU
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