Negotiating Islamic Law in a Plural Society

Religious Moderation and Madhhab Diversity among Muslims in Bali

Abstract

This study examines how Islamic law is negotiated within a religiously plural society through the interplay of religious moderation, local cultural norms, and madhhab-based legal reasoning among Muslims in Bali. Focusing on Denpasar City, Bali, the study was conducted from January to June 2025 using a qualitative socio-legal approach. Data were collected from 40 purposively selected informants, comprising 10 Islamic scholars, 20 Muslim community members, 5 interfaith or community leaders, and 5 other relevant informants. Data collection involved participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, followed by thematic analysis through coding, categorisation, interpretation, and triangulation. The findings demonstrate that religious moderation operates through contextual accommodation of Islamic practices without compromising fundamental Islamic legal principles, particularly among Muslims living in predominantly Hindu neighbourhoods. Islamic legal considerations are negotiated alongside local norms of social coexistence, while madhhab-based reasoning is applied flexibly to address local social and interreligious practices. Islamic scholars and community members draw on established fiqh principles, including maṣlaḥah and ʿurf, to distinguish immutable religious doctrines from practices that permit contextual accommodation. Rather than functioning merely as a state policy or sociocultural ideal, religious moderation emerges as a process of legal and social negotiation shaped by Islamic jurisprudence, communal interaction, and Balinese local wisdom. The study contributes to comparative madhhab scholarship and Islamic legal pluralism by demonstrating how Islamic legal reasoning is contextualised within a religiously plural environment, while identifying exclusive interpretations and limited interreligious legal literacy as continuing challenges to sustainable coexistence.