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Vol. 32 No. 1 (2026): Jurnal Al Qalam

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Submitted
Aug 28, 2025
Published
Jun 18, 2026

Copyright (c) 2026 Muhamad Hilmi, Deden Sumpena, Mohammad Dindin Hamam Sidik

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FROM INDIVIDUAL RITUAL TO COLLECTIVE EMPOWERMENT: COMMUNITY-BASED ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH LOCAL RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN TASIKMALAYA, INDONESIA

https://doi.org/10.31969/alq.v32i1.1761
Deden Sumpena
Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University Bandung, Bandung , Indonesia
Muhamad Hilmi Pauzian
Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia
Mohammad Dindin Hamam Sidik
Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Brunei Darussala, Brunei Darussalam

Corresponding Author(s) : Deden Sumpena

dedensumpena@uinsgd.ac.id

Al-Qalam, Vol. 32 No. 1 (2026): Jurnal Al Qalam

Abstract

Contemporary Islamic community development discourse has largely emphasized top-down financial
instruments such as zakat, waqf, and Islamic microfinance, while giving limited attention to endogenous
cultural mechanisms. Although Indonesian scholarship has documented the coexistence of Islam and
local tradition, these traditions have rarely been theorized as replicable models of community
development. This study examines the Sa-uyunan Muharam tradition in Sukakerta Village, Tasikmalaya,
Indonesia, focusing on how a locally initiated ritual transformation generates social capital, facilitates
non-formal Islamic education, and preserves Sundanese cultural heritage as a model of communitybased
Islamic
development.
This
study
employed
a
qualitative
ethnographic
design.
Data
were
collected


through


participatory observation, semi-structured interviews with fifteen purposively selected
informants, and document analysis during Muharam 1447 H. Thematic analysis was conducted using
Siddiqui’s Islamic social development theory, Putnam’s social capital framework, and Woodward’s
concept of Living Islam. The findings show that the tradition’s six-stage ritual sequence simultaneously
generates bonding, bridging, and linking social capital across familial, communal, and intergenerational
dimensions. Universal Islamic values such as ukhuwah, ta‘awun, takaful, and tazkiah are expressed
through Sundanese cultural idioms without theological dilution, reflecting functional acculturation. The
tradition also functions as experiential non-formal Islamic education. This study proposes a four-element
model of tradition-based Islamic community empowerment: deliberative multi-institutional initiation,
progressive ritual sequencing, intergenerational integration, and balanced theological-cultural
legitimacy. The study contributes to Islamic community development theory by demonstrating that a
single ritual tradition can simultaneously operationalize all three dimensions of social capital.

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