Abbreviations and Glossary
- Abanga nnominal Muslim
- Aliran stream or faction of ideologically oriented groups.
- Bai‘a to take an oath for allegiance (in tarekat, sufi orders, to practise the ritual)
- Baraka blessing
- Bathin spiritual world
- Bid‘a a type of heresy
- Da‘wa preaching
- Dhikr recollection of God
- Fatwa religious advice
- Fiqh Islamic jurisprudence
- Golkar Golongan Karya (political organisation)
- GUPPI Gabungan Usaha Perbaikan Pendidikan Islam (Joint Effort for the Development of
Islamic Education)
- Hadith the second source of Islam after the Qur'an
- Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
- Haram religiously prohibited
- Ijaza irshad an authority to lead the tarekat
- Ijma‘ consensus
- Ijtihad the exercise of independent judgement
- Imam prayer leader. In the tarekat, the person who leads the ritual.
- Istighatha dhikr activities in the tarekat
- Kabupaten regency
- Kafir infidel
- Karama a quality possessed by a holy man which can bestow baraka
- Kecamatan district
- Khalifa deputy or assistant of the murshid in the tarekat
- Kiai religious leader, higher ‘ulama
- Kualat being cursed
- Khurafat a type of heresy
- LDII Lembaga Dakwah Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Council for Islamic Preaching)
- Madhhab school of law in Islam
- Madrasa Islamic school
- Masjumi Majlis Sjuro Muslimin Indonesia (the Consultative Council for Indonesian Muslims)
- MIAI Majlis Islam A‘la Indonesia (the High Indonesian Islamic Council)
- MUI Majlis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Council of Ulama)
- Mu‘tabarah legitimate
- Mujahada tarekat ritual
- Muhammadiyah a more modern Islamic Organisation
- Murshid lit, a person who guides (spiritual teacher)
- NU Nahdlatul Ulama (Islamic organisation)
- Nyai a title for the wife of a kiai
- Pesantren Islamic educational institution
- PDI Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (Indonesian Democratic Party)
- PKI Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesian Communist Party)
- Pondok dormitory, pesantren
- PPP Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (United Development Party)
- Qur'an Muslim holy book
- Santri lit. means a pupil of the pesantren
- Slametan Javanese traditional ritual
- Shari‘a the Law of Islam
- Silsila lit. means a chain
- Shahada the profession of faith
- Shirk idolatry, polytheism
- Sholawat a prayer for the Prophet Muhammad
- Tarekat sufi order, tariqa
- Tasawwuf the mysticism of Islam
- TPA Taman Pendidikan Al-Qur'an (Qur'anic Education for Kindergarten)
- ‘Ulama lit. scholar, erudite (religious leader)
- Ustadh lit. teacher
- Umma Islamic society
- Wajb religiously obligatory
- Waqf endowment
- Wird litany
- Ziyara visit, pilgrimage to a holy place