NEGOSIASI IDENTITAS KEISLAMAN MUALAF: PERSPEKTIF LIVING RELIGION DI MASJID LAUTZE 2 BANDUNG

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the experiences of converts (mualaf) in living their lives as Muslims through the perspective of lived religion. The research employs a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design conducted at Masjid Lautze 2 Bandung. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation involving eight converts as well as community mentors. In contrast to conventional conversion studies that emphasize the internalization of religious teachings, this study adopts the framework of everyday religion, which views converts as active agents who creatively negotiate their religious identities in everyday life.
The findings show that the experience of becoming Muslim does not occur solely through formal religious instruction at the mosque, but also through daily practices involving the body, emotions, and social relationships. The converts actively select, interpret, and combine Islamic teachings with their previous life experiences in a process that can be understood as religious bricolage. Religious practices such as performing the prayer (shalat), learning to read the Qur’an, and observing fasting are not merely ritual obligations but embodied experiences that shape new forms of religious consciousness. Moreover, the community at Masjid Lautze functions as a space of shared religious authority where religious meanings are produced through interaction, dialogue, and collective negotiation.
This study concludes that the process of becoming Muslim represents a form of religious practice that is continuously negotiated in everyday life. These findings contribute to the study of religious conversion by demonstrating that the religious identity of converts is formed through the dynamic interaction between personal experience, embodied practices, and community relationships.

Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis pengalaman mualaf dalam menjalani kehidupan sebagai Muslim melalui perspektif lived religion. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan desain fenomenologis di Masjid Lautze 2 Bandung. Data diperoleh melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi partisipatif, dan dokumentasi terhadap delapan mualaf serta pembina komunitas. Berbeda dari pendekatan konversi yang menekankan proses internalisasi ajaran, penelitian ini menggunakan kerangka everyday religion yang melihat mualaf sebagai agen aktif yang secara kreatif menegosiasikan identitas keagamaannya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengalaman menjadi Muslim tidak hanya berlangsung melalui proses pembinaan formal di masjid, tetapi juga melalui praktik keseharian yang melibatkan tubuh, emosi, dan relasi sosial. Para mualaf secara aktif memilih, menafsirkan, serta menggabungkan ajaran Islam dengan pengalaman hidup mereka sebelumnya dalam proses yang dapat dipahami sebagai religious bricolage. Praktik ibadah seperti shalat, belajar membaca Al-Qur’an, serta menjalankan puasa bukan hanya kewajiban ritual, tetapi pengalaman embodied yang membentuk kesadaran religius baru. Selain itu, komunitas Masjid Lautze berfungsi sebagai ruang shared religious authority di mana makna keberagamaan diproduksi melalui interaksi, dialog, dan negosiasi bersama.
Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa proses menjadi Muslim merupakan praktik keberagamaan yang terus dinegosiasikan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Temuan ini memperkaya kajian konversi agama dengan menunjukkan bahwa identitas religius mualaf terbentuk melalui interaksi dinamis antara pengalaman personal, praktik tubuh, dan relasi komunitas.