Identity Representation and Conflict Prevention in Community Mosques of Malang Raya, East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The phenomena of identity representations in mosques are strongly related to certain socio-political dynamics. Multiple strategies may be employed to represent the specific aims of the patrons. One aim is to prevent the possibility of conflicts in the community mosques in Malang Raya, East Java. Socio-political issues among Islamic groups in the region include the struggle for mosques’ authority by a certain group deemed “hard-liners”. To explore the variety of communities’ responses to this issue through their mosque architecture, fieldwork research was conducted through documentation and semi-structured interview. One of the findings was various strategies of identity construction were helpful to the mosque community. These ranged from expressing group identity through explicit and implicit elements, to suppressing group identity by eliminating, negotiating, and even camouflaging significant elements of mosques. The different strategies are related to each mosque’s resilience to the external and internal dynamics. In spite of the different ways to represent identity, there is a mutual concern to prevent conflicts and to create a more peaceful religious environment.