Markets of Faith : Jakartan Da 'wa and Islamic Gentrification
' There exists more sadah in Indonesia than anywhere in the world, including the number of sadah existing in the Hadhramaut...' (Interview with Habib Abdel Rahman al-Aydrous, Condet, Jakarta, June 2002). Sayyed/sadah (pi.) Habib/habaib (pi.), Descendants of the Prophet.
Introduction
Looking at an Islamic center in Kwitang, Jakarta and the place of certain persons with Hadramaut origins we will see the importance of these people in religion and politics and the new da 'wah styles amongst newly gentrified Jakartans. For contrast we will look at an Irshadi non-sayyedah Arab. In Egypt there has been a flowering of ' Islamic salons ' among the middle class and there is now an equivalent phenomena in Jakarta, one which we could call ' Islamic chic ' . I borrow this term from students of Turkey who observed similar developments there. Jenny White uses the term ' Islamic chic' in describing the new tendencies as Islamizing tendencies became
1. This paper resulted from a year fellowship at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden where I was invited to work on the project for the Dissemination of Religious Authority. The generous scholarship of the Institute has allowed me to spend five months in Jakarta during 2002. 1 wish to thank Claudine Salmon, Martin van Bruinessen, Nico Kaptein, Patrick Haenni for reviewing thoroughly this paper and Wim Stokhof for his support and the intensive discussions which guided me in my research. I was hosted by Pak Ali Shihab's and Nono Makarim's family in Jakarta, this research would not have been possible without them. I would also like to thank Farida al-Habsyi for her hospitality (and for having opened herself to me). The interviews were conducted in Arabic, English and Indonesian in Jakarta. The reader will notice that many Arabic words have intruded the text. They have been used by
Archipel 67, Paris, 2004, pp. 173-202
