Islam Nusantara in antropological prespective studies

Lately, Islam Nusantara (Local Islam) becomes popular discourse in Indonesia because of pro and contra between Islam Moderat (modern Islam) and Islam Fundamentalis (fundamental Islam). So that, this issue becomes an interesting point to be studied further by presenting anthropological study for the analyzer. Talking about Islam Nusantara means talking about religious and cultural studies. Although both religion and culture possess different pattern and territory, but we cannot put those studies separated each other by only using one of the field study. This is because religion is needed in culturaly life to give an ethical awareness so that cultural values become more valuable and ideal. Religion meanwhile also needs culture as a medium so that it can exist in human life. This is because religion can only be realized concretely in cultural life of the people. Human, being born, lived and died, always seeks a purpose. The searching of the purpose is meant everything for the people, the same as finding meal for living and place for staying. Because in the real life, the meaning of life means our longing to the al mighty and it constitutes human eternal necessity. To find the purpose of life, human will always be longing to the al mighty. It is a proof that any culture in the world needs the existence of the al mighty as a reflection toward human consciousness of the divine. Looking at this phenomenon, islam nusantara is a crucial matter for being studied by using anthropological theory. The chosen approach is because the practice of Islam Nusantara is identic with local culture (java-Hindu) and its presence has been widely used. Besides, genetically Islam as religion derived from Middle East (Arabic) so that this is what differentiate between Islam Arab (Arabic Islam) and Islam Nusantara. Field studies show that the practice of Islam Nusantara constitutes an acculturation product of Islam and local culture but not in contrast with Islamic values (syar’i). Here is an anthropological studies distinguish between local Islam (Islam Nusantara) and Islam sinkretis (syncretic Islam)