WOMEN, ISLAM AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY: EXAMINING THE RELIGIOUS ETHICS OF MUSLIM BUSINESS WOMEN IN INDONESIA

FARIHATUL QAMARIYAH, Dr. M. Iqbal Ahnaf

2016 | Tesis | S2 Agama dan Lintas Budaya

INTISARI Isu tentang meningkatnya kesalehan publik di era setelah Soeharto berhubungan dengan munculnya pebisnis religious yang menggabungkan kinerja ekonomi dan agama. Menyadari partisipasi wanita Muslim Indonesia sebagai aktor pendiri perusahaan swasta dan bekerja di perusahaan bisnis di era reformasi, penelitian ini meniliti interaksi antara kinerja ekonomi dan agama melalui investigasi etika dan tradisi keagamaan di antara pebisnis wanita sholihah. Penulis meniliti tujuh wanita pebisnis Muslimah sebagai subyek yang menegoisasikan persepsi agama dan budaya dari peran jender mereka dalam masyarakat dengan mengacu pada pergerakan kesalehan dalam istilah subyektifitas dan agensi wanita yang dipaparkan oleh Saba Mahmood. Selain itu, penelitian ini juga berfokus pada isu perushaan bisnis spiritual atau bisnis berbagasis keimanan yang diwujudkan oleh konsep perusahaan spiritual dan organisasi pekerja spiritual. Dengan kata lain, selama berwirausaha, wanita pebisnis Muslimah mentransformasikan perusahaan sekuler konvensional mereka menjadi perusahaan yang berdasarkan spiritual untuk alasan etika dan agama. Dengan memanfaatkan kerangka teori Max Weber, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui relevansi perbekalan agama yang mendorong semangat kapitalis dan orientasinya. Penelitian ini dilakukan selama sembilan minggu melalui kerja lapangan di kota dan daerah perkotaan Indonesia seperti Jakarta, Purworejo dan Yogyakarta. Peneliti juga melakukan sesi wawancara kisah hidup dan observasi partisipatif dengan perusahaan bisnis dari tujuh wanita pebisnis Muslimah termasuk biografi pribadi dan pengalaman hidup mereka. Terdapat tiga pertanyaan dari penelitian ini: (1) Bagaimana wanita pebisnis Muslimah Indonesia membangun agama dalam kehidupan pribadi dan publik mereka dalam masyarakat patriarki, (2) Bagaimana wanita pebisnis Muslimah menunjukkan kesalehan dan rasa religiusitas mereka dalam aktifitas ekonomi termasuk pelaksanaan etika Islam dan agama dalam praktek bisnis mereka, (3) Etika keagamaan dari Max Weber yang memenuhi syarat pengalaman wanita pebisnis Muslimah dalam aktifitas ekonomi. Temuan penelitian mendokumentasikan karakter religious dari nama - nama ritual bisnis, peluncuran produk, desain dan pemilihan serta lingkungan kerja yang terinspirasi dari sumber - sumber dan tradisi Islam. Secara signifikan, produk-produk yang mereka jual juga mencerminkan dasar-dasar spiritual dan moral. Selain itu, desain spiritual dari perusahaan berperan dalam hal penyeleksian karyawan, pelatihan, dan kepentingan, yang mana kesemuanya menggabungkan aspek-aspek praktik Islam. Penelitian ini menunjukkan peran yang kuat dari agama, sebagaimana dibuktikan dalam kisah para wanita pebisnis Muslimah, dalam fungsinya sebagai sistem pendukung yang dapat meningkatkan kesejahteraan ekonomi dan kehidupan.

ABSTRACT The issue of increased public piety in post - Soeharto era signals to the emergence of pious business actors who combine religion and economic performance. Recognizing Indonesian Muslim women participation as the actors founding private company and working in business enterprise in the reformation era, this research examines the intersection between religion and economic performance through the investigation of religious ethic and tradition among devout businesswomen. I observed seven Muslim business women as subjects who negotiate a religious and cultural perception of their gendered role in society by referring to the idea of piety movement in terms of women subjectivity and agency suggested by Saba Mahmood. In addition, this research also focuses on the issue of spiritual business enterprise or faith - based business manifested by the concept of spiritual company and organization of spiritual labor. In other words, during the entrepreneurial journey, Muslim business women transform their conventional secular company into spiritual based -operation for religious and ethical reason. By utilizing the general framework of Max Weber, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, this research seeks to figure out a relevance of religious provisions that encourages a capitalistic spirit and orientation. This research undertook nine weeks of fieldwork in city and urban area of Indonesia such as Jakarta, Purworejo and Yogyakarta. I also conducted life story interview sessions and participatory observation with the seven Muslim business women's business enterprises including their personal biography and life experience. There are three questions of this research: (1) How the Indonesian Muslim business women construct religion in their private and public life within a patriarchal society, (2) How the Muslim business women demonstrate their piety and the sense of religiosity in economic activity including the implementation of the Islamic ethics in their business practice, (3) Max Weber's ethic of capitalism which qualifies the Muslim business women's experiences in economic activity. The findings document the religious character of official and ritual business names, the product launch, design and selection as well as the workplace environment as inspired by Islamic sources and traditions. Significantly, the products that they sell also reflect spiritual and moral underpinnings. Moreover, the spiritual design of company plays a role in employee screening, training, and benefit, which all incorporate aspects of Islamic practice. This research demonstrates the strong role of religion, as evidenced in the Muslim business women's narratives, in functioning as a support system that can greatly enhance the economic and life prosperity through an interpretation of business profit as a worldly enrichment and eternal investment.

Kata Kunci : Muslim Business Women, Islam, Business, and Spiritual Company.