REORIENTATION OF DAKWAH PARADIGM From Subjective-Normative to Objective-History•

Preface
That one of ironical fact in this moment, in one side dakwah activities were acted intensively and extensively everywhere, but in the other side degradation of Indonesian moral –moslem majority-- be happened everywhere too. As long as we know, there were dakwah with many kind and type from majelis dzikir (dzikir forum) until majelis ta’lim (Islamic learning forum) in Indonesia. But impossible to be denied, if high number of crime and moral badness happened in Indonesia. As Islamic institution for muslim community development, dakwah must be responsible for the ironical fact. What was wrong in the dakwah so it’s failure.

Dakwah : Phenomenology perspective
Phenomenology perspective is the scientific method which to try to understand to the phenomena in the foundamental and essentials level. In the phenomenology perspective the reality of dakwah consist of two part; the first, essentials of dakwah. It’s the foundamental reality. Based on it, the body of dakwah in the empirical level be constructed. Beside that, the character of dakwah essentials is not contaminated by particulars and historycal reality. The second, dakwah empirical level. In this level dakwah as the form. It’s historically, particularly, and plurally.
The essential dakwah consist of faith, assumption, and orientation of dakwah. All of the element above were could paradigm of dakwah. In phenomenology perspektif, what was happened in dakwah empirical reality depends on essential dakwah.

Dakwah : Empirical level
A lot of moslem understand to dakwah as tabligh un sich – lecture activity only, so the main course of dakwah is just for lecturing of Islam. The main orientation of dakwah messages are eschatology problem, halal and haram (law) problem. Dakwah was oriented to community development is very limited.
In the phenomenology perspective, the fact of dakwah based on normative- subjective paradigm. Normative-subjective paradigm is a system of faith and assumption, which convinced that script and religious symbol as single-trust. By this paradigm, the past histories fact is script, it’s not many interpretation out side of the script for historical fact. As result, all follower of this paradigm give more orientation to the past than to the future.
In the level of scientific, the normative-subjective paradigm influence to construction of dakwah theories. In the epistimological level, the deductive-rationality used more than inductive-rationality. As result, the scientific discovery in dakwah science is very limited. A lot of dakwah books writed by normative paradigm followers.
In the level of practice, dakwah was understood as the ritual action only, which be actualized traditionaly. Dakwah doesn’t need action professionally, and reality planning. Dakwah ultimate goal is happyness in world and here after. That is not measurable. Dakwah action did not actualized by program plan, so dakwah community can’t evaluate dakwah action. It’s not based on empirical social reality, so dakwah action are not real. In the short, dakwah is acted
traditionally, contradiction with modern method.

Solution
By looking at the main problem of dakwah, we must do reorientation of dakwah paradigm. It’s the intelectual project. I hope academic community of dakwah become pioneer for doing that intelectual project. Normative-subjective paradigm must be changed with objective-history paradigm. What is the meaning of objective-history paradigm? It’s system of faith or assumption which convinced that the thrust come from both, the scripture and social-cultural back-ground. Both of them can be differed each ather but can’t be separated.
In Fazlurahman thought, the main message of Islam consists of two part. They are ideal-moral message and legal-formal message. Legal-formal message is different from ideal-moral massage, becouse the legal-formal message contains of historical load. Therefore, formal-legal is historically, and ideal-moral is universally. By Fazlurrahman perspective, we must take ideal-moral message to be realized in social-cultural reality today. If we take legal-formal message to day meant back to the past. It’s impossible. If we use normative-subjective paradigm, it’s same as we take legal-formal message of Islam.
When the first paradigm recommended us to construct dakwah-theories building with rationally-normativelly, so the second paradigm recommended us to construct dakwah theories building with rationally and objectivelly. By this this way, we will able to act scientific research in dakwah regions. It’s mean, there will be many scientific discoveries in dakwah. There will be many new theories. In this level, dakwah academic will get new spirit and new dynamics.
Dakwah in empirical level, the second perspective emphasize to empirically planning before dakwah action. In this moment, social mapping is very important for dakwah.
This way, we will be succesfull to realiz dakwah as agent of social change. Dakwah will make solution of social problem. And at last, dakwah as rahmatan lil ‘alamin will be realized.
Wallahu a’lam bishawab