Genealogy of Madurese Islamic Philosophy: Toward a Local-Global Epistemology of Islamic Education

Abstract

This study examines the genealogy of Madurese Islamic philosophy as an epistemological foundation for local-global Islamic education. It addresses the marginalization of local Islamic epistemologies within global Islamic studies, where Southeast Asian Muslim traditions are often treated as cultural variants rather than autonomous systems of knowledge. Using a qualitative genealogical-epistemological orientation, this study traces how Madurese Islamic knowledge is historically formed through maritime Islamization, pesantren networks, kiai authority, kitab-based learning, local rituals, oral traditions, and communal religious experience. The findings reveal that Madurese Islamic philosophy is structured through the synthesis of Shāfi‘ī jurisprudence, Ash‘arī theology, and Sufistic spirituality. This triadic structure produces a distinctive epistemology in which textual authority, moral discipline, spiritual experience, and local wisdom mutually reinforce one another. The study argues that Madurese Islam should not be reduced to folklore or ritual culture, but repositioned as a living epistemic tradition. Its contribution lies in offering a contextual, moderate, relational, and culturally rooted model of Islamic education with broader global relevance.