The enduring mission of Moses : Indonesian Muslim and Christian Representation of a Jewish Prophet

Abstract

This dissertation concentrates discusses the reception and interpretation of Moses among Muslims and Christians in modern Indonesia. The first five chapter are devoted to Muslim interpretations. Much attention is given to the five main Indonesian commentaries on the Qur’ān, namely Zainal Arifin Abbas' Tasir Al-Quränul (1930s), Hasbi ash-Shidieqqy’s tafsir an-Nuur (from the 1960s), Hamka’s Tafsir al-Azhar (1964-1966), the Departemen Agama RI’s Al-Quraan dan Tafsirnya (early 1970s), and finally Muhammad Quraish Shihab’s Tafsir al-Mishbah (about 2000). Zainal Arifin Abbas (1912-1979) wrote in a time when the North Sumatran economy was booming in the 1920s and also to a lesser degree in the 1930s. The material is divided in the stories of Moses in Egypte and in the desert. A special chapter is devoted to the mysterious figure of Khidr, a teacher of Moses. Much attention is given to the specific interpretation of the five commentators. Also the modern Indonesian conditions are sketched, against the mostly Arab sources for these commentators. We selected for this study as well the two major stories of the prophets, Qisasul Anbiya, one in Malay and one in Javanese. In Malay, the Qisas was printed as lithography in the early 20th century. In Javanese, we focus on the Javanese manuscript edited by Kramadiwirya, published in Betawi in 1859. Both texts received reprints and renewed academic attention during the last decades. Then we give ample attention to the presentation of Moses in modern books for children and especially in illustrated books and comics. Chapter six of this dissertation, we represent and analyze Christian interpretations of the figure of Moses in church hymns, creeds, writings of theologians, but also books for children and comics. Moses is an inspiring but also ambiguous figure in Christianity and Islam. In academic and devotional discussion this Jewish prophet is definitely less prominent than Jesus and Muhammad. But the great Jewish prophet is not fully overshadowed by his successors. The later leaders and prophets have not annihilated the significance of the figure of Moses as a symbol of faith. Moses is not eclipsed by Muhammad or Jesus. He is still the great founder of Israel’s faith. Attempts to reduce him are extremely unconvincing. In our conclusion we propose a complementary approach for Muslim-Christian dialogue, not concentrating on the figure of Abraham (the so-called Abrahamic religions) and also evading the difficult common figure of Jesus, but concentrating on Moses as an important source of inspiration for both Christians and Muslims.