The Construction of Religious Education Ideology and the Representation of Power in Wisran Hadi’s Play Perguruan: A Deconstructive Study
Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia 
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Deconstruction, Ideological Construction, Indonesian Drama, Religious Education, Representation of Power, Wisran Hadi
Abstract
Background. Narratives of the Padri War in Minangkabau have generally framed the conflict as a binary struggle between religious reformists and adherents of customary law (adat). Wisran Hadi’s play Perguruan places a religious school at the heart of this conflict, yet it has not been examined in terms of ideological construction and power.
Purpose. This study aims (1) to explain how the ideology of religious education is constructed in Perguruan, (2) to identify the forms of power it represents, and (3) to show how the text destabilizes the binary oppositions between adat, religion, and power.
Method. This qualitative study combines Derridean deconstruction with hermeneutic interpretation. The data comprise nine dialogue units from the 1981 edition of the play, recorded on coded data cards and supplemented by a confirmatory interview with the playwright’s heir. The analysis proceeded in four stages: identifying binary oppositions, reversing hierarchies, tracing aporias, and suspending meaning.
Results. The ideology is constructed through two modes: a “hard” mode that legitimizes repressive acts such as burning the adat hall, and a “soft” mode that operates through counsel, deferral, and appeals to reasonableness. The hard mode appears as direct violence, whereas the soft mode appears as persuasive power with the potential to become symbolic violence. The oppositions of religion/adat, teacher/student, and truth/deception prove unstable, since both camps claim a “truth” sustained by power, as the text itself concedes: “their positions will be the same; only the language differs.”
Conclusion. Perguruan dismantles the logic by which institutions of religious education become arenas for producing truth and power. The study contributes to deconstructive scholarship on Indonesian drama and invites religious educators to reflect on the dangers of exclusive truth claims.
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