Gus Islah: The Challenger of Wahhabism from Madura

These days, hardly anyone is as audacious as Gus Islah in challenging the Wahhabism-Salafism movement or intolerance, extremism, radicalism, and terrorism in the name of religion. Typically, despite disagreement, the moderate majority remain silent, forming a silent majority. But now, a bold challenger has emerged from the Salt Island, Madura.

His name is Islah Bahrawi, better known as Gus Islah. This stout man was born in Bangkalan, Madura, on April 21, 1971, to the couple H Bahrawi Qorib and Hj Faizah Zayyadi. Gus Islah started his basic education at SDN Kranggan Timur, Galis Subdistrict, Bangkalan, in 1977. He later continued to SMPN 1 Blega and then to SMAN 2 Bangkalan. During his high school years, Gus Islah began his religious studies at the Pondok Pesantren Syaikhona Muhammad Kholil, Demangan.

From a young age, Gus Islah was mainly raised by his grandfather, a religious leader in Madura. Gus Islah’s grandfather was a contemporary of Kiai Asad Syamsul Arifin from Situbondo, East Java. Gus Islah lived with his grandfather because his parents had to move to Jakarta for safety reasons, as they were targeted by authorities for actively campaigning for the United Development Party (PPP). In those days, affiliating with any group other than Golkar was considered a threat to those in power.

After graduating from high school in 1989, Gus Islah joined his parents in Jakarta. Despite coming from a less fortunate family who made their living selling scrap iron, Gus Islah was determined to go to college. In the capital, Gus Islah studied English Literature at the University of Nasional (Unas). To keep his studies going, Gus Islah worked part-time. At that time, he worked as a journalist for Suara Pembaharuan for 2.5 years. In addition, he also established an exhibition contractor company with a friend.

After graduating from college, in 1997 Gus Islah married Musdalifah and continued his business. Unfortunately, his business was affected by the monetary crisis, and he was caught up in debt amounting to about IDR 400 million. Gus Islah finally decided to go to the United States to find work. He traveled to the US as part of a student program to facilitate visa acquisition.

Initially, because his visa was for studying, Gus Islah tried to find an educational institution to study in Virginia. However, at the intended institution, there was no record of Islah Bahrawi. He then moved to New York, hoping to survive even though he knew no one. But everything was beyond his expectations. For seven months in New York, Gus Islah was homeless and could only sleep on the streets. When hungry, he had to scavenge for leftover food behind restaurants.

Finally, to survive, Gus Islah worked in a restaurant as a dishwasher. After earning enough money, he chose to move to California to live with his relatives. To extend his visa, Gus Islah sought an educational institution, and was able to enter the Zaytuna Institute, which at that time only had nine students. Following the Twin Towers bombing in 2021, his visa was not extended, forcing Gus Islah to return to his homeland in 2004.

His hardships in the US did not deter Gus Islah from delving into a variety of disciplines. At least, during his stay in the US, Gus Islah had read about 2000 books, particularly in the fields of philosophy, Islamic philosophy, and Islamic history. The books he read ranged from classic Arabic texts written by early Muslim scholars to modern English publications written by non-Muslim scholars.

Unfortunately, when he was back in Indonesia, Gus Islah encountered legal issues and was imprisoned for 22 months. Apparently, while in prison, Gus Islah became even more passionate about reading. During his incarceration, Gus Islah read another 2000 books, including non-Islamic philosophy books.

With such a diverse and rich literature, after being released from prison, Gus Islah began to write his thoughts, ideas, and concepts through social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Additionally, he made videos about the unrest caused by radicalism and an overview of terrorism from 2000-2009, which he uploaded on his social media accounts. His writings and videos were based on his experiences studying radicalism and terrorism in several conflict countries, such as Africa, India, and Pakistan.

Gus Islah also wrote books, among them “Human Rights in Nurcholish Madjid’s Perspective” and “Intolerance and Radicalism, the Trojan Horse of Politics and Religion”. Because of his writings, Gus Islah was sought after by the Indonesian Police’s Special Anti-Terror Detachment 88. Gus Islah was asked to write more to counteract the movements of extremism, radicalism, and terrorism. Eventually, Gus Islah was appointed as an expert in Preventing Radicalism, Extremism, and Terrorism at the Indonesian Police Headquarters.

In recent years, Gus Islah, who is also the Director of the Moderate Islam Network, has rarely been at home with his family. He spends more time on the streets, visiting various regions across Indonesia to instill the understanding that the teachings spread by the Wahabi-Salafi group are misleading and full of lies.

Sometimes you’ll see Gus Islah speaking passionately in front of high school students in a certain area. Other times, he is seen presenting in front of police or government officials. Often, Gus Islah speaks loudly in front of diverse community groups, or on television.

Everywhere, at any time, Gus Islah is always loudly proclaiming that the caliphate system, touted as a system created by Allah or based on the command of God and His Prophet, is sheer deception. According to him, there is no post-prophetic caliphate system, and Prophet Muhammad did not leave a fixed government system.

“All this is nothing but a trick created by the Khawarij group and continued by the Wahabi-Salafi group to fight for power in the name of religion. Wahabi-Salafi followers who don’t believe, I challenge you to debate to prove its truth,” this is a statement often declared by Gus Islah on various occasions.

Based on classical literature and books written by early Muslim scholars, Gus Islah affirms that during the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the system in place was a council system (shura)—a part of modern democracy. This system already existed in Roman times, known as the res publica romana. Then, in the era of the Muawiyah Dynasty Caliphate, the system in place was a mamluk or kingdom system. This system also existed hundreds of years before Islam was born, known as absolute monarchy. Likewise, during the Abbasid Dynasty Caliphate, the ahlul halli wal aqdi system was applied, which had been implemented in Byzantium long before Islam.

So, in Gus Islah’s view, the caliphate is nothing more than a political power struggle on the back of religion. The movement of extremism, radicalism, and terrorism that has become a transnational ideology promoting this caliphate system, according to Gus Islah, must be resisted because it threatens the unity of the Indonesian nation.

“Let’s fight against their movement,” this call is often yelled by him in various places, as often as he receives threats of persecution and murder. He claims to have dedicated his life to opposing and challenging the movement supported by Wahabi-Salafi groups.