TheAbangan areJavanese people who areMuslims and practice a much moresyncretic version ofIslam than the more orthodoxsantri.[1] The term, apparently derived from theJavanese language word for red,abang, was first developed byClifford Geertz, but the meaning has since shifted.Abangan are more inclined to follow a local system of beliefs calledadat andKebatinan than pureSharia (Islamic law). Their belief system integratesHinduism,Buddhism andanimism. However, some scholars hold that what has classically been viewed as Indonesian variance from Islam is often a part of that faith in other countries. For example,Martin van Bruinessen notes similarity betweenadat and historical practice among Muslims inEgypt as described by Edward Lane.
Many Abangans were supporters of theCommunist Party of Indonesia (PKI),[2][3][4] and their interests were thus supported by the PKI.[5] They subsequently made up most of the people who were slaughtered in the anti-CommunistIndonesian mass killings of 1965–66.[6][7] Abangans were targeted for attacks by Ansor, the youth wing ofNahdlatul Ulama and the Santri with help from the Indonesian Army.[8][9] To avoid being classified as atheists and communists, Abangan Muslims were forced by the Indonesian government to convert to Hinduism andChristianity in the aftermath of the slaughter.[10][11][12][13]
