Hi, salaam. Here is Ulil Abshar Abdalla. I am Muslim scholar, writer, blogger, and a bit of an amateurish reciter of the Quran.

My training is in Islamic law, philosophy and history. My latest publication in Indonesian language is a book on methods of Quranic studies. I am based in Jakarta and working full-time for Freedom Institute, a Jakarta-based think tank. I am also a co-founder of Liberal Islam Network. 

I developed a love for Quranic recitation since earlier on when I was student in madrasa in Indonesia, called "pesantren". Here I am experimenting with Quranic recitation in Javanese style. I picked up a strong influence of Javanese style from my upbringing in a Javanese family. Quranic recitation is a strong tradition in Muslim society all over the world. There are many styles of recitation that obviously shows local influence. Of course, Quranic recitation done by Saudi or Egyptian reciters is the most popular one. However, there are many other styles developed by Muslim from various cultural backgrounds, of which Turkish style stands out for me as a unique style.

As far as I know, there is no recording of Quranic recitation based on Javanese style. The most popular recitation in Indonesia is certainly that which comes from Saudi, particularly Syeikh Abdurrahman al-Sudeis, the grand imam of Holy Land's Mosque in Mecca. When I was a young boy in madrasa, the recitation of Syeikh Mahmud al-Husari from Egypt made a wide currency among Muslim in my village, but its popularity dwindles lately, overtaken by recitations from Saudi Arabia, a situation that in fact I don't like. It seems that more and more people turn, listen to and follow Saudi recitation, allowing the homogenization of "tilawah" (Quranic recitation). 

I think, Quran is such an "open scripture" that allows itself to be recited in various ways and styles as long as the basic rule is upheld, namely the rule of recitation as put down in a science called "tajwid" (literally means "making something better or more beautiful"). Various styles of recitation shows the diversity in Islamic society and culture, something that should be appreciated.

The Javanese style I adopt here in my recitation is strongly influenced by "macapat", a certain way of reciting Javanese poems/verses developed in middle classical era in the Javanese literary history. Macapat literally means "reading the fate and destiny of a person". There are at least 12 popular styles of macapat, and each represents various psychological and mental types of human being. It is interesting to note that each style of recitation is not just a recitation as such, but rather a recitation that correlates with human psychology.

This experimentation, I hope, is a contribution to the rich tradition of Quranic recitation that began centuries ago and remains very strong in Muslim communities all over the world, including Indonesia. I grew up in madrasa/pesantren milieu to a strong practice of recitation of the Quran in various styles.

Apart from recording of Quranic recitation, I put out here some comments on social and political issues, particularly issues that are of concern to Muslim, in Indonesia and abroad alike. For many years I have been engaged in intellectual activism in Indonesia to promote liberal and progressive point of view in the interpretation of Islamic primary texts, particularly Quran and the sunnah. My comment is mostly in Indonesia and certainly influenced very much by my intellectual aspiration as liberal Muslim.

Enjoy my recording in Javanese style. Any inputs are welcome and appreciated!

zaqien is following