PART I Reading Comprehension

Center for the Study of Islam

Within the context of Islamic discourse, Indonesian Muslims face two delicate problems. These problems are mainly related to Indonesia’s international relationship with both Muslims and non-Muslim societies. Although Indonesia constitutes the largest Muslim community in the world, its people are hardly taken into account as “real” Islamic community by their fellow Muslims, especially Muslims in the Middle East. The position of Indonesian Muslims in Islamic atlas is peripheral, not only geographically but also politically. However, non-Muslim societies, especially those in the Western hemisphere, include Indonesians as part of the Islamic community, which spreads from Northwest Africa to Southeast Asia.

Akbar S. Ahmed, a Muslim anthropologist, classifies Indonesian Muslims as a peripheral Muslim community. He is of the opinion that Indonesians are hardly involved in specific movements which are the main agenda for most Islamic communities. The issue of Islamic revival, for example, which is manifested in the idea of an Islamic state or the Islamization of knowledge, is not attractive to Indonesians. In fact, this idea, which is driven by the spirit of returning to the golden age of Islam, is very influential among Muslims in other areas. As a result, the distinctive nature of Indonesian Islam discourages the Muslim world from taking Indonesians into account as one of the representative Muslim communities.

Arguably, such an opinion is misleading. The majority of Indonesians, however, are Muslims. They confess, practice, and are proud of Islam. In the historical course of Indonesia, Islam has become a uniting force as well as a common identity for most of its citizens. Only there has been cultural accommodation, which is natural, as Indonesian Islam takes distinctive form to that in the Middle East or Iran. Therefore, the problem is not likely to lie in the religious differences but rather in socio-political orientations.

A. Answer the following questions based on the text.

1. What are the two delicate problems that Indonesians face?

2. What reason does Akbar S. Ahmed give to classify Indonesian Muslims as a peripheral Muslim community?

3. What is the manifestation of Islamic revival?

4. What discourages the Muslim world from considering Indonesia as one of the representative Muslim communities?

5. In Indonesian history, Islam has played two positive roles for its citizens. What are they?

B. Decide whether each of these statements is true or false.

1. Indonesia has the biggest number of Muslims in the world.

2. The fellow Muslims consider Indonesia a part of the Islamic community, while non-Muslims do not.

3. According to Akbar S. Ahmed, Indonesian Muslims are active in the movement of Islamic revival.

4. The idea of an Islamic state or the Islamization of knowledge is popular among Muslims in areas other than Indonesia.

5. The difference between the form of Islam in Indonesia and that in the Middle East is more in socio-political orientations.

C. Find the words or phrases these pronouns refer to.

1. its (line 4)

2. those (line 8)

3. he (line 12)

4. this idea (line 16)

5. they (line 22)


PART II Structure (Simple Present Tense and Present Continuous
Tense)

A. Make the negative and interrogative forms of these sentences.

Example:

(+) John and Mary are not in class.

(-) They are not in class.

(?) Are they in class?

1. Mr. Sholeh is busy.

2. My friends and I go shopping every weekend.

3. Lisa always has breakfast at home.

4. The doctor arrives at 6 a.m.

5. The two boys are sleeping now.

B. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verb (i.e. Simple Present Tense or Present Continuous Tense).

example:

1. He (be) ….. a teacher. He (teach) ….. English. He (teach) ….. right now.

(He is a teacher. He teaches English. He is teaching right now.)

2. She (not, live) ….. in Malang. She (live) ….. in Magelang.

(She doesn’t live in Malang. She lives in Magelang.)

1. I can’t afford that ring. It (cost) ….. too much.

2. Look. It (begin) ….. to rain. Unfortunately, I (not, bring) ….. an umbrella with me. Tom is lucky. He (wear) ….. a raincoat.

3. I (not, have) ….. a raincoat. I (wear) ….. a waterproof hat on rainy days.

4. Dennis (fix) ….. the roof today, and he (need) ….. some help.

5. Right now I (look) ….. at Janet. She (look) ….. angry. I wonder what’s the matter.