THE CONCEPT OF RUSYANFIKR AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TO CREATE THE REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTER FOR SANTRIS IN THE PESANTREN

Abstract

This article aims to explain Ali Shari'ati's concept about rusyanfikr. It is an idea that through pesantren a Kiai should be able to produce revolutionary Muslim intellectuals and he is supposed to be on the side of the oppressed ummah. This is possible because there is a patronage relation between a Kiai and his santris in which a Kiai has hegemony over the mindset of his santris. With strong patronage it is expected that a Kiai can encourage santris to become rusyanfikrs, that is, those who can find the truth in their community. Using the concept of rusyanfikr, it is expected that there is a new paradigm of how an intellectual should truly behave. As a central figure in the society, a Kiai has the same characteristics with a rusyanfikr, that is, someone who is born and grow in his'society’ so that a Kiai can no longer ignore the problems of his ummah.