Synergizing Local Culture and Religious Values for Inclusive Human Resource Development: Evidence From Muslim-Majority Organizations in Southeast Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59373/drs.v4i3.150Keywords:
Local Culture, Religious Values, Inclusive Human Resource Development, Nahdlatul Ulama, MuhammadiyahAbstract
Religious organizations in Southeast Asia face increasing challenges in preserving local cultural and religious identities while developing human resources capable of responding to globalization, digital transformation, and growing demands for organizational inclusivity. Although cultural and religious values are widely recognized in human resource management research, they are often treated as contextual factors rather than as core resources shaping organizational practices. This study aims to identify and analyze the cultural-religious values underlying human resource development in Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, examine how these values are operationalized in inclusive practices, and develop a conceptual framework of value synergy for inclusive human resource development. This research employed a qualitative comparative case study involving twenty-eight purposively selected participants, including organizational leaders, higher education administrators, cadre development managers, and members of both organizations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and limited participant observation and analyzed using thematic within-case and cross-case strategies. The findings reveal two distinct models of value-based human resource development. NU develops a relational-spiritual model grounded in Aswaja, sanad, tasamuh, tawazun, and ukhuwah. In contrast, Muhammadiyah applies a formal, structured model based on tajdid, amanah, ‘adl, ihsan, and rahmatan lil ‘alamin. Both models promote inclusivity through different mechanisms, although NU faces potential network exclusivity and Muhammadiyah experiences tensions related to performance pressure. The study implies that cultural and religious values can function as strategic organizational resources when systematically translated into inclusive human resource development practices, contributing to sustainable organizational capability.
Downloads
References
Abusharif, I. N. (2024). Religious Knowledge Production and Digital Affordances. Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies, 9(1), 108–114. https://doi.org/10.2979/jims.00030
Alaska, Y. A., Aldawas, A. D., Aljerian, N. A., Memish, Z. A., & Suner, S. (2017). The impact of crowd control measures on the occurrence of stampedes during Mass Gatherings: The Hajj experience. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 15, 67–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.09.002
Al-Zaidi, A., Ali, M. Q., & Jabbel, S. J. (2025). Islamic Da’wah and Artificial Intelligence: Relationship and Utilization. In A. Abdelgawad, A. A. Hameed, & A. Jamil (Eds), Intelligent Systems, Blockchain, and Communication Technologies (Vol. 1697, pp. 274–286). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-09562-6_20
Amalia, E. R. (2026). Religious Pluralism in Indonesia’s National Curriculum: A Critical Review of Interfaith Religious Education. Attaqwa: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan Islam, 22(2), 162–178. https://doi.org/10.54069/attaqwa.v22i2.1169
Andriani, Z. Z. D., & Fadly, A. M. H. (2025). Issuing the Locality in English Textbooks Produced by Indonesian Islamic Institution. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 8(2), 432–446. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v8i2.10
Anggraini, N., Setyarini, S., Nurfaidah, S., Musaldin, L. O., & Mauliani, S. (2025). "This isn’t Just about Me!”: A Collaborative Autoethnographic Inquiry into EFL Learners’ Social Awareness Construction. Al-TA’DIB: Jurnal Kajian Ilmu Kependidikan, 115–127. https://doi.org/10.31332/atdbwv18i2.11679
Anilon, B. J., Sairin, S., Abdulkarim, K. A., Widigdo, M. S. A., & Suud, F. M. (2026). Academic Commitment of Muslim Filipino Students in an Islamic Boarding School: A Phenomenological Study at Islamic Boarding School. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 9(1), 227–245. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v9i1.302
Arizona, K., Rokhmat, J., Ramdani, A., Gunawan, G., & Sukarso, A. (2025). Integrating Islamic Values and Local Wisdom into Science Education: Enhancing Character Development in Higher Education. Ulumuna, 29(1), 398–428. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v29i1.1308
Arodha, D., Panorama, M., Syawaludin, M., & Musari, K. (2025). Can Muslim Communities Empower through Ethnic-based? A Case Study in Indonesia. International Journal of Islamic Khazanah, 15(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.15575/ijik.v15i1.48990
Asongu, S. A., Nwachukwu, J. C., & Pyke, C. (2019). The Comparative Economics of ICT, Environmental Degradation and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Social Indicators Research, 143(3), 1271–1297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2009-x
Asrori, M., Asy’arie, B. F., Akhirudin, Yusup Sofian, G., Syakir Hidayat, A. F., Suja, A., & Roibin. (2025). Islamic educational and cultural values in Indonesian puppetry art: A systematic literature review. Cogent Education, 12(1), 2490445. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2490445
Awan, M. I., Shamim, A., & Ahn, J. (2021). Implementing ‘cleanliness is half of faith’ in re-designing tourists, experiences and salvaging the hotel industry in Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 12(3), 543–557. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-08-2020-0229
Azra, A. (2004). The origins of Islamic reformism in Southeast Asia. University of Hawai’i Press.
Baas, J., Schotten, M., Plume, A., Côté, G., & Karimi, R. (2020). Scopus as a curated, high-quality bibliometric data source for academic research in quantitative science studies. Quantitative Science Studies, 1(1), 377–386. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00019
Badrudin, B., Hidayat, S. T., Marlina, Y., Samrin, S., Nurochim, N., & Wijaya, C. (2025). Islamic Esoteric Education in Internalizing Cultural Values of Kampung Keputihan in the Modern Era. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(2), 1049–1070. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i2.1677
Beatty, A. (1999). Varieties of Javanese religion. Cambridge University Press.
Beck, E. L., Roger PielkeJr,Silke. (2010). A Democracy Paradox in Studies of Science and Technology—Eva Lövbrand, Roger Pielke, Silke Beck, 2011. Science, Technology, & Human Values. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0162243910366154
Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697–712.
Binti Saaidun, N. S. N., & Ibrahim, M. B. M. (2025). The transformation of da’wah in the digital era: An analysis of social media usage trends among the audience. Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law and Practice, 21(4), 136–147.
Bowen, J. R. (2003). Islam, law, and equality in Indonesia. Cambridge University Press.
Budiyono, H., Suroso, & Priyanto. (2024). The implementation of learning writing and development of character values of high school students. Cakrawala Pendidikan, 43(3), 694–710. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v43i3.59966
Campbell, H. A. (2020). Digital Creatives and the Rethinking of Religious Authority. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003045625
Campbell, H. A., & Evolvi, G. (2020). Contextualizing current digital religion research on emerging technologies. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(1), 5–17.
Fealy, G., & White, S. (2008). Expressing Islam: Religious life and politics in Indonesia. ISEAS Publishing.
Geertz, C. (1960). The religion of Java. University of Chicago Press.
Godal, M. M., Idris, A. R. ,. Yani, Z. ,. Murtadlo, M. ,. Munawiroh, M. ,. Ta’rif, T. ,. Saepudin, J. ,. Junaedi, E. ,., & Bahri, S. (2026). A thematic and bibliometric analysis of trends and future directions in da’wah research. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2026.2620838
Hamdan, M. N., Post, M. J., Ramli, M. A., & Mustafa, A. R. (2018). Cultured Meat in Islamic Perspective. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(6), 2193–2206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0403-3
Haruna, S. M. (2025). Sectarianism and Fragmentation in the Muslim World: A Qur’anic and Hadith Perspective on the Causes, Consequences, and Path to Unity. Dirasah International Journal of Islamic Studies, 3(1), 42–63. https://doi.org/10.59373/drs.v3i1.49
Hasanah, M., & Husna, N. (2025). Islamic Educations and Moral Development: Teachers Approaches in Shapping Students Character. Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2(2), 82–98. https://doi.org/10.59373/jelin.v2i2.120
Hefner, R. W. (2000). Civil Islam: Muslims and democratization in Indonesia. Princeton University Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2011). Shari’a politics: Islamic law and society in the modern world. Indiana University Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2023). Islam and Citizenship in Indonesia: Democracy and the Quest for an Inclusive Public Ethics. Taylor & Francis.
Huda, Z. Z., Yamtinah, S., & Shidiq, A. S. (2025). Content Validity of Three-Tier Multiple Choice Virtual Reality-Based Assessment with Embedded Ethno-SSI Concepts on Acid-Base Topics. Online Learning In Educational Research (OLER), 5(1), 173–188. https://doi.org/10.58524/oler.v5i1.665
Humaidy, M. A. A., Afifullah, A., Harisah, H., Acim, S. A., & Ariwidodo, E. (2025). Pesantren and Politics: Fostering Civil Society-Oriented Political Consciousness in a Muslim Society. Ulumuna, 29(1), 339–364. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v29i1.976
Ibtasam, S., Razaq, L., Ayub, M., Webster, J. R., Ahmed, S. I., & Anderson, R. (2019). ‘My cousin bought the phone for me. I never go to mobile shops.’: The Role of Family in Women’s Technological Inclusion in Islamic Culture. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359148
Irsyad, M. R. (2025). Migration, Colonialism, And Social Identity: Mandailing Ethnic Group in Indonesia and Malaysia Since the 19th Century. Journal of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Societies, 9(1), 55–84. https://doi.org/10.30821/jcims.v9i1.23903
Iwan Setiawan, A., Zaenal Abidin, Y., Rustandi, R., Sarbini, A., & Aziz, R. (2026). Transforming Religious Education Through Inclusivity: How Indonesian Pesantren Cultivate Moderate Islamic Values and Da’wah Practices. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 9(1), 70–92. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v9i1.406
Jamal, M., Wulandari, T., Nurhayati, N., & Irnawati, I. (2025). From Ritual to Consensus: Local Traditions as Mechanisms of Interfaith Harmony in Toraja, Indonesia. Religious: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama Dan Lintas Budaya, 9(1), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.15575/rjsalb.v9i1.30358
Juwaini, J., Rijal, S., Ahmad, A. B. @, Desky, H., Tamtowi, M., Mawardi, M., & Safira, C. S. (2025). Ibn Miskawaih’s Ethical Philosophy and Its Relevance to Moral Education in Indonesian Secondary Schools. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(1), 695–720. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1648
Kerim, S., Kurmanaliyev, M., & Ongarov, Y. (2025). Social Networks as a Tool for Islamic Preaching. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 15(1), 44–58. https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.151.03
Kholil, A., Amrin, A., & Zuardi, M. (2026). Harmonization of Muslim and Christian Communities: Synergy of Customary and Local Wisdom-Based Economics in the Donggo Community of NTB. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 9(2), 603–619. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v9i2.383
Laffan, M. (2011). The making of Indonesian Islam. Princeton University Press.
Makhrian, A., Mat, N. H., & Noh, C. H. C. (2025). Instagram based da’wah and worship engagement among followers of @myquranbest. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 8(6), 2026347. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2026347
Martanti, F., Nurkaenah, N., & Sholikhin, S. (2026). Strengthening the character of cooperation through ethnomathematical understanding in the traditional game Rangku Alu. Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 3(1), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.59373/jelin.v3i1.275
Mathew, R., & Tholath, D. I. (2023). Prosumerism and commercialisation of religion. Journal of Dharma, 48(2), 269–288.
Moberg, M., & Sjö, S. (2024). Researching religion, digital media, and young adults in international perspective. In Handbook of Children and Youth Studies (pp. 913–927). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8606-4_134
Mufrihah, A., Yudha, E. S., Supriatna, M., Ahman, A., & Nurihsan, J. (2025). Rasch Model Analysis of Santri Reverence Morals Scale. Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.25217/0020258548700
Muhtar, F., Nasir, M. A., Sudarsono, & Nordin, H. (2025). Interfaith Educational Collaboration Enhances Cultural Adaptation in Lombok and Bali. Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam, 22(1), 22–42. https://doi.org/10.14421/jpai.v22i1.10627
Mujiharto, S. M., Murtiningsih, S., & Trisakti, S. B. (2025). Ethical Fragmentation and Public Moral Reasoning: Teachers, Religious Pluralism, and Kantian Evaluation in Indonesia. Religious: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama Dan Lintas Budaya, 9(3), 311–328. https://doi.org/10.15575/rjsalb.v9i3.47898
Munif, M., Idris, As. R., Yani, Z., Murtadlo, M., Munawiroh, M., Ta’rif, T., Saepudin, J., Junaedi, E., & Bahri, S. (2026). A thematic and bibliometric analysis of trends and future directions in da’wah research. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 13(1), 2620838. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2026.2620838
Mutale, B., & Mayanja, E. K. (2026). A systematic review of agricultural finance channels in developing countries: Towards an integrated agricultural investment ecosystem. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 12(1), 2687211. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2026.2687211
Nadler, C. (2015). Deterritorializing disciplinarity. Cultural Studies <-> Critical Methodologies, 15(2), 145–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708614563789
Niman, E. M. (2025). Embedding local culture in social studies: Pathways to strengthen social-emotional learning in primary education. Frontiers in Education, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1655528
Nisa, E. F. (2018). Social media and the birth of an Islamic social movement: ODOJ in contemporary Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 46(134), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2017.1416758
Owusu, M., Mensah, E., Fiagbe, F. K., Slippe, D. P., Adjei-Fianko, D., Asante, E. F., & Nyamekye, E. (2025). Investigating the influence of morality on higher education students’ inclusive support for visually impaired students. Discover Global Society, 3(1), 167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00309-y
Pabbajah, M., Jubba, H., Abdullah, I., Pabbajah, M. T. H., & Juhansar. (2021). From the scriptural to the virtual: Indonesian engineering students responses to the digitalization of Islamic education. Teaching Theology & Religion, 24(2), 122–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/teth.12581
Permanasari, J., Afriana, A., & Fitriani, A. (2016). Project based learning integrated to stem to enhance elementary school students’ scientific literacy. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 5(2), 261–267. https://doi.org/10.15294/jpii.v5i2.5493
Permani, R. (2011). The presence of religious organisations, religious attendance and earnings: Evidence from Indonesia. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(3), 247–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2011.01.006
Pribadi, Y. (2013). Religious networks in Madura: Pesantren, Nahdlatul Ulama, and kiai as the core of santri culture. Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 51(1), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2013.511.1-32
PUTRI, F. K., NOVEN, H. J., NURCAHYATI, M., Irfan, A., SEPTIASARI, A., Batoro, J., & SETYAWAN, A. D. (2022). Review: Local wisdom of the Tengger Tribe, East Java, Indonesia in environmental conservation. Asian Journal of Ethnobiology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjethnobiol/y050103
Raya, M. K. F. (2025). Digital Islam: New space for authority and religious commodification among Islamic preachers in contemporary Indonesia. Contemporary Islam, 19(1), 161–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-024-00570-z
Ricklefs, M. C. (2007). Polarising Javanese society. NUS Press.
Ricklefs, M. C. (2012). Islamisation and its opponents in Java. NUS Press.
Rohmatulloh, D. M., As’ad, M., & Malayati, R. M. (2022). Gus Baha, Santri Gayeng, And The Rise Of Traditionalist Preachers On Social Media. Journal Of Indonesian Islam, 16(2), 303. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2022.16.2.303-325
Rozanita, T. P., Usman, M. U. K., & Azzukhrufi, J. R. (2026). Dialectics of Indonesian Culture and Malaysian Local Wisdom: Multicultural Learning Strategies at Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur. Attaqwa: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan Islam, 22(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.54069/attaqwa.v22i1.1115
Salim, A. (2008). Challenging the secular state: The Islamization of law in modern Indonesia. University of Hawai’i Press.
Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (2010). The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Setiawan, M. R., Anirah, A., & Nasrul, N. (2026). The Direction of Islamic Education Transformation from the Perspective of Millennial Teachers. Attadrib: Jurnal Pendidikan …. https://jurnal.insida.ac.id/index.php/attadrib/article/view/1203
Shamshad, S., Ayub, M. F., Mahmood, K., Kumari, S., Chaudhry, S. A., & Chen, C.-M. (2022). An enhanced scheme for mutual authentication for healthcare services. Digital Communications and Networks, 8(2), 150–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcan.2021.07.002
Sikumbang, A. T., Dalimunthe, M. A., Kholil, S., & Nasution, N. F. (2023). Digital Da’wah Indonesia Ulema in the Discourse of Theology. Pharos Journal of Theology, (105(1)). https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.1051
Stan, M. R., & Minelli, E. A. (2022). Change through the lenses of institutional logics: A systematic literature network analysis. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10902-7_11
Strozzi, F., Colicchia, C., Creazza, A., & Noè, C. (2017). Literature review on the ‘Smart Factory’ concept using bibliometric tools. International Journal of Production Research, 55(22), 6572–6591. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2017.1326643
Sule, M. M., & Sulaiman, Y. (2021). Enhancing da’wah and spread of knowledge via social media platforms. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 9(1), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v9i1.549
Supriadi, & Purwanto, M. R. (2019). Religious learning with social media and its implication for understanding religion. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, 8(6s3), 352–354. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijeat.F1056.0986S319
Tanjung, M., & Irsyad, M. R. (2026). The Strategy of Covert Resistance by Indigenous Intellectuals in Response to Colonial Educational Hegemony in Indonesia. Journal of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Societies, 10(1), 222–249. https://doi.org/10.30821/jcims.v10i1.29461
Wahid, S. H., & Abdulloh, S. (2026). Digital Islamic authority: A revolutionary shift or mere hype? A systematic review. SN Social Sciences, 6. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:285298466
Whyte, S. A. (2022). Islamic religious authority in cyberspace: A qualitative study of Muslim religious actors in Australia. Religions, 13(1), 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13010069
Woodward, M. (2011). Java, Indonesia and Islam. Springer.
Zaenuri, L. A. (2025). Reconseptualising da’wa: A study of tuan gurus’ perceptions and motivations in adopting digital da’wa. Journal of Indonesian Islam, 19(1), 92–116. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2025.19.1.92-116
Zaid, B., Fedtke, J., Shin, D. D., El Kadoussi, A., & Ibahrine, M. (2022). Digital Islam and Muslim Millennials: How Social Media Influencers Reimagine Religious Authority and Islamic Practices. Religions, 13(4), 335. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040335
Zaman, M. Q., & Hefner, R. W. (2010). Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education. 1–296.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ahmad Zarkasyi, Shakila Kausar, Ramil Abbasov
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Dirasah International Journal of Islamic Studies by Perkumpulan Dosen Tarbiyah Islam Indonesia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at.
