POPULAR KYAI AND NEW AUTHORITIES: A CASE STUDY OF KYAI ABDULLAH SAM

Kyai play a considerably essential role in the life of Indonesian Muslim population, not only related to religious matters, but also pertaining to social, cultural, economic, and political aspects. This central position is highly correlated with the distinctive authority possessed by a kyai. Religious authority is dynamic and serves as a complex field of contestation. There has been an increasingly competitive contestation of religious authority, involving individuals and organizations subsequent to the fall of the New Order, which widely opens the room of democracy and leads to unrestricted political contestation for anyone to gain new authority. This article aims to delineate the road to fame of Kyai Abdullah Sam, as one of the most influential figures of kyai, and his strategy in building authority. This research was conducted using qualitative and a phenomenological approach. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation to be further analyzed according to the method developed by Miles and Huberman. It was revealed that Kyai Abdullah Sam gained popularity through various social activities and intensive use of social media. Apart from the fact that Kyai Abdullah Sam neither inherits the “royal blood” of eminent kyai and is neither supported with adequate social capital, he has managed to establish strong religious authority in traditional Muslim societies by building distinctive pesantren, empowering the surrounding community through his da’wah (proselytizing), and making the best use of arts and cultural channels, social media, friendship, and scientific forums at various universities as the platform for promoting the self. This paper contributes to the development of a new perspective on traditional religious authority.