Becoming Better Muslims

David Kloos is a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden.

List of Illustrations ixPreface and Acknowledgments xiNote on Spelling, Transliteration, and Italicization xviiMap of Aceh xixIntroduction: Inner Islam and the Problem of Acehnese Exceptionalism 1A Narrative of Violence and Piety 2Religious Agency and Ethical Improvement: An Interactive Approach 6Ordinary Ethics, Moral Failure, and the Sense of a Life Unfolding 10Islam in Aceh as a Subject of Study 14Fieldwork 17Organization of the Book 231 History and the Imagining of Pious Aceh 26Reconfigurations of Authority 28Islam and the Imperial War 33Belief and Practice in a Society in Flux 38Islamic Activism 44Violence and the Transformation of the Public Sphere 48Conclusion 512 The Limits of Normative Islam 53Occupation, Revolution, Rebellion 56Exemplars of Reform 60The Limits of Normative Islam 63Villages in the New Order 67 The Lheueh Dispute 71Conclusion 753 Village Society and the Problem of Moral Authority 77Beyond the Politics of Violence and Grief 78A Crisis of Solidarity 82Generation and the Perception of Moral Authority 88The Theft from the Dayah 92"My Father Is a Good Man but Too Stubborn" 97Village Politics and the Reconceptualization of Local Leadership 100Conclusion 1034 Islamic Scripturalism and Everyday Life after the Disaster 105Routines and Debates in a Tsunami-Affected Neighborhood 107A Lost Zeal for Business 111Heaven Lies under Mother's Feet 115Money, Piety, and Senses of Community 118Age, Life Phase, and the Inward Turn 123Conclusion 1295 Becoming Better Muslims: Sinning, Repentance, Improvement 131Sinning, Shari'a, and the Moral Pressures of the Postwar, Post-tsunami Moment 132Early Life Discipline, Older Age Consciousness: The Repentance of Rahmat 137The Responsibilities of Yani 143Aris, Indra, and the Morality of Failure and Success 148The Knowledge of Sins: Competing Models of Ethical Improvement? 153Conclusion 158Conclusion 159Notes 171Glossary and Abbreviations 185References 191Index 207