MOHAMMAD IN ARCHIPELAGO: SPATIALIZING SPIRITUALITY IN MAJELIS SHALAWAT SYUBBANUL MUSLIMIN IN KALIKAJAR PROBOLINGGO

Abstract

Using Mohammad in Archipelago as a metaphor of the postmodern religious landscape, this article argues
that Mohammad, a prophet of Muslim born in Mecca Saudi Arabia, has undoubtedly become a consumer
item in shalawat council (Majelis Shalawat) practiced in many areas of Indonesia, including Probolinggo.
This new religious phenomenon has been reproduced in line with the emergence of blurred negotiation
between the profane and the sacred, and by the fact that religion is always posed in social life and in business
life, shalawat practice also depends itself on the meaning and process making, or the certain socio-cultural
context. This study sets the Majelis Shalawat Syubbanul Muslimin, located at Probolinggo, in relation
with the ways they reproduced its penetration of religion vis-a-vis market economy. It also portrays how
Syubbanul Muslimin produced a spatial order of certain followers since they have successfully practiced
modes and techniques of production, consumption, and structuration of their own spiritual market.
Additionally, it also contributes to the construction of charisma they have shaped by using the economic
political discourse of media.