The Abangan are
Javanese people who are
Muslims and practice a much more
syncretic version of
Islam than the more orthodox
santri.[1] The term, apparently derived from the
Javanese language word for red, abang, was first developed by
Clifford Geertz, but the meaning has since shifted. Abangan are more inclined to follow a local system of beliefs called
adat and
Kebatinan than pure
Sharia (
Islamic law). Their belief system integrates
Hinduism,
Buddhism and
animism. 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 between adat and historical practice among Muslims in
Egypt as described by Edward Lane.
Many Abangans were supporters of the
Communist 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-Communist
Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66.[6][7] Abangans were targeted for attacks by Ansor, the youth wing of
Nahdlatul Ulama and the Santri with help from the Indonesian Army.[8][9] To avoid being classified as atheist and communists, Abangan Muslims were forced by the Indonesian government to convert to Hinduism and
Christianity in the aftermath of the slaughter.[10][11][12][13]