The Psychological Construct of Islamic Moderation Based on Tafsir Ulul Albab : A Comparative Study of Indonesia and Syria in Responding to Social Polarization

Nurzahara Sihombing; M. Agung Rahmadi; Helsa Nasution; Luthfiah Mawar; Romaito Nasution; Milna Sari

doi:10.57213/caloryjournal.v3i3.792

Authors

Nurzahara Sihombing SD Negeri 107396 Paluh Merbau
M. Agung Rahmadi Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Helsa Nasution Universitas Negeri Padang
Luthfiah Mawar Universitas Sumatera Utara
Romaito Nasution Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara
Milna Sari Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.57213/caloryjournal.v3i3.792

Keywords:

Comparative Study, Construct Validation, Islamic Moderation, Social Polarization, Tafsir Ulul Albab

Abstract

This study aims to affirm the construct validity of Islamic moderation based on the tafsir of Ulul Albab through an empirical comparison between Indonesia and Syria in responding to the social polarization that divides contemporary societies. Through a comprehensive meta-analysis of 847 journal articles indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO published between 2015 and 2024, the researchers examined data from 15,428 Indonesian respondents and 12,736 Syrian respondents, integrating cross-cultural quantitative findings within a rigorous statistical framework. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated model fit (χ²/df = 2.184; CFI = 0.947; TLI = 0.932; RMSEA = 0.041), while convergent validity indicated an AVE of 0.563 in Indonesia and 0.589 in Syria, with composite reliability values of 0.891 and 0.876 respectively, underscoring the internal consistency of the instrument. Cross-national invariance testing revealed statistically significant differences (Δχ² = 47.23; p < 0.001), with the mean score of Islamic moderation in Indonesia (M = 4.12; SD = 0.67) surpassing that of Syria (M = 3.84; SD = 0.78), indicating that distinctive sociohistorical contexts influence the implementation of moderative values. Furthermore, Islamic moderation functioned as a partial mediator of the relationship between religious literacy and social tolerance (β = 0.342; p < 0.001 for Indonesia; β = 0.287; p < 0.001 for Syria), thereby enriching Pargament's (2011) findings on religious coping and Durrheim et al.'s (2016) work on intergroup prejudice. The findings reveal that Islamic moderation encompasses cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions that are theoretically distinct from generic notions of tolerance, affirming the importance of the Ulul Albab approach in addressing socio-religious tensions. Lastly, the novelty of this research lies in the development of a tailored instrument that synthesizes values derived from the tafsir of Ulul Albab, going beyond conventional tolerance scales and offering a more nuanced assessment of the moderative capacity of Muslims in both countries.

References

Abd-El-Fattah, S. M. "Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications and Programming." Journal of Applied Quantitative Methods 5, no. 2 (2010): 365–368.

Abu Raiya, H., K. I. Pargament, A. Mahoney, and C. Stein. "A Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness: Development and Evidence for Reliability and Validity." The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 18, no. 4 (2008): 291–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508610802229270.

Abushouk, A. I. "Globalization and Muslim Identity Challenges and Prospects." Muslim World 96, no. 3 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.2006.00139.x.

Agung, I. M. "Psikologi Amanah: Konsep, Pengukuran, dan Tantangan." Buletin Psikologi 29, no. 2 (2021): 187-203. https://doi.org/10.22146/buletinpsikologi.49008.

Allport, G. W., and J. M. Ross. "Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 5, no. 4 (1967): 432. https://doi.org/10.1037/-h0021212.

Asy'ari, M. "Menyelami Makna Moderasi Beragama Di Indonesia: Kritik Dan Refleksi Atas Praktik Keberagamaan Kontemporer." Jurnal Ilmiah Spiritualis: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam Dan Tasawuf 7, no. 2 (2021): 205-226.

Bakir, M., and K. Othman. "Wasatiyyah (Islamic Moderation)." Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 7, no. 1 (2017): 13–30. https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.71.02.

Baltes, P. B., and U. M. Staudinger. "Wisdom: A Metaheuristic (Pragmatic) to Orchestrate Mind and Virtue toward Excellence." American Psychologist 55, no. 1 (2000): 122. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.122.

Brodeur, P. C. "Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia." The Muslim World 92, no. 1/2 (2002): 216.

Bronfenbrenner, U. "Toward an Experimental Ecology of Human Development." American Psychologist 32, no. 7 (1977): 513. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513.

Brown, T. A., and M. T. Moore. "Confirmatory Factor Analysis." Handbook of Structural Equation Modeling 361 (2012): 379.

Busyro, B., A. H. Ananda, and T. S. Adlan. "Moderasi Islam (Wasathiyyah) Di Tengah Pluralisme Agama Indonesia." Jurnal Fuaduna: Jurnal Kajian Keagamaan dan Kemasyarakatan 3, no. 1 (2019): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.30983/fuaduna.v3i1.1152.

Cheung, G. W., and R. B. Rensvold. "Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance." Structural Equation Modeling 9, no. 2 (2002): 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5.

Curtis, K. A., and L. R. Olson. "Identification with Religion: Cross‐National Evidence from a Social Psychological Perspective." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 58, no. 4 (2019): 790–812. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12634.

Dimitrov, D. M. Statistical Methods for Validation of Assessment Scale Data in Counseling and Related Fields. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

Driver, M. J., and T. J. Mock. "Human Information Processing, Decision Style Theory, and Accounting Information Systems." The Accounting Review 50, no. 3 (1975): 490-508.

Durrheim, K., M. Quayle, and J. Dixon. "The Struggle for the Nature of 'Prejudice': 'Prejudice' Expression as Identity Performance." Political Psychology 37, no. 1 (2016): 17–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12310.

Esposito, J. L., and D. Mogahed. "Who Will Speak for Islam?" World Policy Journal 25, no. 3 (2008): 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1162/wopj.2008.25.3.47.

Faul, F., E. Erdfelder, A. G. Lang, and A. Buchner. "G* Power 3: A Flexible Statistical Power Analysis Program for the Social, Behavioral, and Biomedical Sciences." Behavior Research Methods 39, no. 2 (2007): 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146.

Field, A. Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics. Sage Publications Limited, 2024.

Furqan, M., I. Hajar, and S. Mahmud. "Typology Study of Ulul Albab as Ideal Human Character in Islam (Psychological Analysis of Human Thinking Activities in the Qur'an)." Analisis: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 23, no. 2 (2023): 287-310.

Ghorbani, N., P. J. Watson, A. F. Ghramaleki, R. J. Morris, and R. W. Hood Jr. "Muslim Attitudes towards Religion Scale: Factors, Validity and Complexity of Relationships with Mental Health in Iran." Mental Health, Religion & Culture 3, no. 2 (2000): 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/713685603.

Hair, J. F. "Multivariate Data Analysis: An Overview." International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science (2011): 904-907. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_395.

Halik, A., A. Khumairo, and U. Yawisah. "The Instrument Construction for Students' Religious Moderation: Psychometric Analysis." ENLIGHTEN: Jurnal Bimbingan Konseling Islam 5, no. 2 (2022): 80-94. https://doi.org/10.32505/enlighten.v5i2.4895.

Hunsberger, B., M. Pratt, and S. M. Pancer. "Adolescent Identity Formation: Religious Exploration and Commitment." Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research 1, no. 4 (2001): 365–386. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532706XID0104_04.

Husain, K. M. Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition, 306–308, 1983.

Ibrahim, H. "The Principle of Wasaṭiyyah (Moderation) and the Social Concept of Islam: Countering Extremism in Religion." Al-Itqan: Journal of Islamic Sciences and Comparative Studies 2, no. 1 (2018): 39–48.

Islamy, A. "Pendidikan Islam Multikultural Dalam Indikator Moderasi Beragama Di Indonesia." Jurnal Analisa Pemikiran Insaan Cendikia 5, no. 1 (2022): 48-61. https://doi.-org/10.54583/apic.vol5.no1.87.

Jöreskog, K. G., and D. Sörbom. LISREL 9.20 for Windows [Computer software]. Skokie, IL: Scientific Software International, 2015.

Khalid, S., and N. Mehmood. "Development and Validation of Social Tolerance Scale." Journal of Educational Sciences & Research, no. 2 (2016).

Krochik, M., and J. T. Jost. "Ideological Conflict and Polarization: A Social Psychological Perspective." Intergroup Conflicts and Their Resolution: Social Psychological Perspective (2011): 145–174.

Makruf, J. "Moderasi Beragama dalam Pandangan Antropologi." MODERASI BERAGAMA (2021): 109.

Meade, A. W., E. C. Johnson, and P. W. Braddy. "Power and Sensitivity of Alternative Fit Indices in Tests of Measurement Invariance." Journal of Applied Psychology 93, no. 3 (2008): 568. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.568.

Mertler, C. A., R. A. Vannatta, and K. N. LaVenia. Advanced and Multivariate Statistical Methods: Practical Application and Interpretation. Routledge, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003047223.

Moscovici, S., and M. Zavalloni. "The Group as a Polarizer of Attitudes." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 12, no. 2 (1969): 125. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0027568.

Mufid, F. "Pendekatan Filsafat Hermeneutika dalam Penafsiran Al-Quran: Transformasi Global Tafsir al-Quran." ULUL ALBAB Jurnal Studi Islam 12, no. 1 (2011): 31-49.

Myers, D. G., and H. Lamm. "The Group Polarization Phenomenon." Psychological Bulletin 83, no. 4 (1976): 602. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.83.4.602.

Nadeem, M., M. Anwar, and Z. Pervaiz. "Polarisation, Institutional Quality, and Social Cohesion: Evidence in Worldwide Scenario." International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics 13, no. 3 (2023): 256–269. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJCEE.2023.132137.

Nidhom, K. "Pandangan Al-QurAn Dan As-Sunnah Tentang Wasatiyyah (Moderasi) Serta Implementasinya Terhadap Hukum Islam." AT-TAISIR: Journal of Indonesian Tafsir Studies 2, no. 2 (2021): 67-86. https://doi.org/10.51875/attaisir.v2i2.90.

Pargament, K. I. Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred. Guilford Press, 2011.

Pargament, K. I., and A. Mahoney. "Theory: 'Sacred Matters: Sanctification as a Vital Topic for the Psychology of Religion'." The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 15, no. 3 (2005): 179–198. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327582ijpr1503_1.

Pargament, K. I., B. W. Smith, H. G. Koenig, and L. Perez. "Patterns of Positive and Negative Religious Coping with Major Life Stressors." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (1998): 710–724. https://doi.org/10.2307/1388152.

Pierret, T. Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni Ulama from Coup to Revolution (Vol. 41). Cambridge University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139207720.

Preacher, K. J., and A. F. Hayes. "Asymptotic and Resampling Strategies for Assessing and Comparing Indirect Effects in Multiple Mediator Models." Behavior Research Methods 40, no. 3 (2008): 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879.

Rosseel, Y. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling." Journal of Statistical Software 48 (2012): 1–36. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v048.i02.

Sherif, M., and University of Oklahoma Institute of Group Relations. Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment (Vol. 10, pp. 150–198). Norman, OK: University Book Exchange, 1961.

Skerrett, A. "Religious Literacies in a Secular Literacy Classroom." Reading Research Quarterly 49, no. 2 (2014): 233–250. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.65.

Snell, A., M. Zuckerman, and B. M. Le. "Does Religious Priming Induce Greater Prejudice? A Meta-Analytic Review." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 50, no. 3 (2024): 423–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221135956.

Soetjipto, H. P. "Aplikasi Meta-Analisis dalam Pengujian Validitas Aitem." Buletin Psikologi 3, no. 2 (1995): 20-28.

Tabri, N., and C. M. Elliott. "Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling." Canadian Graduate Journal of Sociology and Criminology 1, no. 1 (2012): 59–60. https://-doi.org/10.15353/cgjsc.v1i1.3787.

Tedeschi, R. G., and L. G. Calhoun. "'Post-traumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence'." Psychological Inquiry 15, no. 1 (2004): 1–18. https://doi.org/-10.1207/s15327965pli1501_01.

Vandenberg, R. J., and C. E. Lance. "A Review and Synthesis of the Measurement Invariance Literature: Suggestions, Practices, and Recommendations for Organizational Research." Organizational Research Methods 3, no. 1 (2000): 4–70. https://doi.org/-10.1177/109442810031002.

Wahdaniyah, S. A., Z. N. Ruhillah, R. A. Irawan, and A. Ghofur. "Moderasi Beragama Sebagai Deradikalisasi Dalam Beragama." Jurnal Studi Multidisipliner 8, no. 12 (2024).

Watkins, L. "The Cross‐Cultural Appropriateness of Survey‐Based Value (s) Research: A Review of Methodological Issues and Suggestion of Alternative Methodology." International Marketing Review 27, no. 6 (2010): 694–716. https://doi.org/10.1108/0265133101-1088290.

Widaman, K. F., E. Ferrer, and R. D. Conger. "Factorial Invariance within Longitudinal Structural Equation Models: Measuring the Same Construct across Time." Child Development Perspectives 4, no. 1 (2010): 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2009.00110.x.

Widodo, P., and K. Karnawati. "Moderasi Agama Dan Pemahaman Radikalisme Di Indonesia." PASCA: Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Agama Kristen 15, no. 2 (2019): 9-14. https://doi.org/10.46494/psc.v15i2.61.

Wink, P., and M. Dillon. "Spiritual Development across the Adult Life Course: Findings from a Longitudinal Study." Journal of Adult Development 9 (2002): 79–94. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013833419122.

Worthington Jr, E. L., N. G. Wade, T. L. Hight, J. S. Ripley, M. E. McCullough, J. W. Berry, ... and L. O'Connor. "The Religious Commitment Inventory--10: Development, Refinement, and Validation of a Brief Scale for Research and Counseling." Journal of Counseling Psychology 50, no. 1 (2003): 84. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.50.-1.84.

Zahraa, M. "Unique Islamic Law Methodology and the Validity of Modern Legal and Social Science Research Methods for Islamic Research." Arab LQ 18 (2003): 215. https://doi.org/10.1163/0268055032342758.