Pesanteren has been significance institution in Indonesia since long time ago in serving religious education for Muslim. Its help in keeping and drawing Islam in the heart of society since early comes until now. No one doubts that Islam will not be a majority in Indonesia without the system of education which is capable to transform Islamic teaching to the society in changing world.
Many research has been done by scholar, especially western, to see the uniqueness the pesantren. They are Clifford Geertz, Hiroko Hirikosi, Kenneth Or, Martin van Bruinessen, Doffier etc. The focus of study many about the system of education, system of Kiai kinship and its patronage, the life of santri, the curriculum, the relationship among pesantren, society around and state, etc.
Almost all scholars believe that pesantren was genuinely unique system of education developed by Muslim in Indonesia. There is no similar system like pesantren in other continent. Such scholar argues that it have similar to monastery in Christianity or concept “mandala” in Buddhist and Hindus in India. The first was rejected by Geertz who sees that pesantren and monastery completely different. Pesantren is not for educated minister or monk, everyone can join the system and leave it if one wish. He said: “A pesantren is only superficially like a monastery, for the santris are not monks; they have made no vows. They come to the pesantren when they wish, and they leave it when they wish.” Whereas, seminary took one to be monk or minister and one cannot leave without church permission.
The most important figures in pesantren were Kiai. Kiai is leader and figure of pesantern who trough him pesantren exist. In early establishment, pesantren is always private project of Kiai. He builds pondok and at the time santri came. Almost all policy in the pesantren, both spiritual matter and wordly matter is Kiai responsibility. The centrality of Kiai in some extent is similar with Hinduism and Buddhism mandala where monk is very center in teaching and giving role for the follower. Djajadiningrat writes how santri and Kiai relation in pesantren, "…unlimited obedience to the Kiai, a regulated life, equality and brotherhood among the pupils are laws that are maintained unchanged by the Kiais.”
Geertz says that each kijaji had run his own pesantren in his own way, and had competed with other kijajis for reputation as a learned scholar, powerful curer, or adept mystic. Pesantern is capital for Kiai in spreading influence. Bigger pesantern, have many santries, and have big “pondok” or dormitory could escape the position Kiai as great Kiai. Between one pesantern to other today was actually in competing in getting respect of people and getting much follower. It is because some Kiai also compete in political practice which maybe did not happened in early pesantren development.
In process of education, especially traditional pesantren, usually Kiai did not take paid to santri. Education held by free, even santri who came to study and he did not have any capital to life in pesantren can work, like be servant of Kiai home, to survive. Education approach is not held by material, but moral or akhlaq. Santri required being humble in worldly matter and focusing for a while to study. Because the life of santri depends on Kiai the relationship between Kiai and santri was formed as leader and follower. Santri should respect for Kiai because he/she is teacher and he/she also respect to the life of santri in pesantren. The relationship even link by the Barakah, or blessing concepts where devotion to Kiai also means in getting good Kiai’s bless.
The aim of pesantren is da’wa to spread Islam. Da’wa is Islamic obligation for whole Muslim. Pesantren is effective way for dakwa, for that ways alumna of pesantren usually establish new pesatren where he/she back to the village. The new pesantren will be link of old pesantren. The relationship will be in system because one pesantren relates to others. This linkage can be political and social strange which effective in leading society toward every problem of life.
As effect of the linkage many Kiai was fortunate in pursuing political matter. Because of last service of Kiai the link can easily support if some Kiai want to be member of legislative for example. In the other hand, the role of Kiai also can be effective ways in extending government program to the society. Geertz say about cultural broker of Kiai because the fact that Kiai is broker of the society to change habbit and culture of society to be better. Probably Geertz right that Kiai stand guard over the crucial junctures of synapses of relationships which connect the local system to the larger.[]

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Education is not merely process in itself, but process coming from the social interaction between society members in accordance with social changing and social development. Prominent leader like Muhammad Iqbal ad Deweys propose concept of education as social institution which means education is part and of social system. Education will lose its meaning if it was not a social process and sponsored by society. They assume that one cannot grow and develop as personalities if they do not get education trough the social environment.
It seems that education as propose by Iqbal and Dewey is like response to answer every problem arising from the outside and inside society. It can be understood because the process of education is not static process, whereas social condition changes every time. Hence, design of education should come from and to the society where they are alive, rather than for other subject. The consequence is the system and model will be varied, there is no single policy to be admitted. Society should determine what they need and what they did not as result of education.
However, Iqbal and Dewey come from different tradition. While Iqbal is Islamic reformer in Pakistan, in the other hand Dewey is American philosopher. Iqbal system for me is like critic to Islamic traditional system which tends to far from social condition faced by society, especially Muslim life. Traditional system only learns Islamic doctrine and fiqh, not educated student newest knowledge resulted by science inquiry. That makes Islam fate because did not master science needed by society to develop their life. Additionally, as far as I know, Dewey is pragmatism philosopher. His approach well knows as experimental. In this ways, education will be better if have good values for the society. In one hand, experiencing in education is more important rather than conceptualizing.
One point that also important is about the philosophical of life. If education is derived from society, it means should use philosophical view of that society. The philosophical life includes religious teaching inside. So, the education system will not only different, but also unique each other. There is no problem what the content of education is, but the more important is it can be instrument to humanize human.
The role of social process in other sense can be interpreted as minimal control of state. Formal education manages and maintenances by society. Thus, this concept not to be contrasted with education held in home, like home schooling, because that is also alternative education over fallacy of state in holding high quality education as society need.
I think, what they propose is reasonable. Education will be better if social context and philosophical life accommodated in system. Society will not only passive actor, but also active in giving opinion and suggestion for the education roles. Thus, student and society is in dynamic relationship, in the other hand teacher also not superhuman over student and society. They are same to learn from the society and its development.
Although society is center of education, is not means the society life is ideology, like communism ideology. Stressing to the society needs just for building awareness that education is nothing if far away from society life. Although private knowledge and morality important, it also will be nothing if cannot be implemented in the society. []

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Islam is system of believe and system of knowledge. Islamic knowledge derived from Islamic faith in which God as center of action and devotion. There is no other source beside god, all knowledge come from god. it means human did not produce of knowledge, but reproduce knowledge which comes trough revelation process.
Qur’an and prophet said have important role in education. Those are source of knowledge and legitimization of truth. As like other religious education, doctrinization cannot be diminished from it, but it not means all contents of Islamic teaching are doctrine. It is common problem which also happens in Christianity. Student will be placed as follower of teacher in process of learning in which learning seem running in one cycle process. Doctrine, because it content is truth, presented as something higher than human. Truth many figured as God, because it come from God. As long as knowledge come from god, everything come from human is not truly truth if there is no correlation or correspondence to the religious text.
Superiority of doctrine in religion sometimes leads us to diminishing reason as other faculty to get truth. Whereas, god creates and placed reason in human being is not just for fun without any purposes. Human is co-creator, thus in the sense of knowledge human also create new knowledge. If god source of knowledge for all beings in the universe, minimally human can produce knowledge for human race.
In this ways Islam support development of logic, social and natural science as we saw in medieval eras. Farid Alatas (Islamic education and multiculturalism: 10) said, “In islam all knowledge comes from god. Muslim had never recognized the division of knowledge into religious and secular. All knowledge comes from god, but such knowledge is either about god (as in theology, for example) or about God’s creation (as studied by the various rational sciences).” All knowledge should be integrated as human knowledge which refers to human understanding of religious knowledge and science knowledge.
In my mind, basically all knowledge is good, not truth. If god is source of good, all human knowledge also should come from Him. Knowledge is good for establishing human capacity and awareness of being human. Trough knowledge, civilization, technology, and social harmony can be produced. Truth of god is the ultimate, but truth in perspective of human as receiver of that truth is always various. It is difficult to determine that the truth will be the good, or vice versa. Religion give clear role of what is truth, but it not means without human interpretation. Good is always good for people who belief that good is truth.
Islam emphasize character building in education appropriates with the social and religious condition. Building good character in social life means establish “akhlaq” in term of islam, where human should respect to other human being as they respect to God. Farid Alatas states: “..Knowledge and education is not merely as the acquisition of information or the capacity for explanation and analysis but also connect this process to the nature of god and reality and a human ethic of responsibility.” Benevolence character is first requisite in Muhammad prophet teaching.
Insistence to human and ethic responsibility should be underlined for some reason. First, many formal education in the time did not emphasis to the character building of human being, but to fulfill such market demand. Second, Good character and responsibility is prerequisite in building better understanding and harmony for people. If knowledge just learns for knowledge there is no other benefit except development of that knowledge. Whereas, if knowledge developed for such higher aims it will give others benefit socially and religiously, eg. More religious and wiser in doing social action.[]

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There is no democracy without freedom and responsibility. If democracy is body, freedom and responsibility is heart. Body without heart is nothing. There is no life, hence there is no benefit. Indonesia as sovereign country has freedom after free from Dutch colonialism eras. This sound god, but it not means automatically when state frees all society free from the problem of life. Freedom still should be part of struggle, because many citizens still have no fulfilling freedom in his/her life arenas.
Ignas Kleden talks that freedom is privilege of human being, other living being have no their real freedom because they are bounded to nature. They cannot decide what they want, because they are limited by powers beyond nature. The life of animal is always same from beginning; it bases one instinct without intellect. There is no ability for animal to build civilization like human. However, human life without freedom is alike animal life. They bounded by nature and system and they hard to move forward because have no ability to do that. Poor people or weak class usually has no right of freedom of economic, education, and health of his/her life. State still tends to give priority to high class and little respect to poor people. Hence, poor people have no responsibility and freedom to determine his/her owns ways without state guarantee to get his/her freedom right.
Freedom in education should be underlined; however it is impossible to build a good society and democratic country without good education. People should be free to get access of knowledge and develop his/her interesting point in supporting his/her life. Education is not for some class, but for all citizens. Both wealth and poor should responsible each other and lets other to get education as well. Wealth people should help the poor, and state should gives guarantee by clear policy that there is no unjust treatment for all citizens in getting basic education.
Learning from Paulo Freire and Romo Mangun about relationship between state and education will be seen that state still have many intervention in establish what kind of output in the society to support regime or to show superiority of state over society by giving fixed curriculum or inappropriate curriculum to support democratic culture. When state does to much intervention to the practice of education is also not good, states needs by society is just to make sure that people have just and guarantee to get education not to limited how education process is.
Ignas state that freedom is instrument to implement self determination. People can choose his/her self as subject of everything he/she involved with. He/she are responsible for him/herself without any intervention of others. What he/she feels good and important for his/her life is that what he/she chooses. Yet, everybody have self determination, thus in this sense one freedom not means diminish other freedom. Whereas to make sure that everyone can be free to voice what they want as implementation of the right of human which inherently free since he/she born, but dominant power or cultural condition become people constraint to realize the individual self determination.[]

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There are many education system used by state refer to traditional system which is unproductive to produce creativity and skill of student. In addition, student is given material to improve cognitive knowledge rather than emotional, religious, morality, and applicative knowledge. This system closes to regime of state to keep an authority by regulating people to follow such policy which is will secure regime position. This kind will appear in indoctrination or military style to disseminate dominant ideology or belief.
From two reading of Aziz Talbani and YB. Mangun I see that the character of education happening in Pakistan and Indonesia is closely same. Education is kind of doctrinarian where those student here given many stuff to be memorized. Student did not come to study from feeling like or dislike, but from list that system created to follow by everyone. Talbani underlines how madrasa reproduce and establish specific doctrine of power. Islamization has important role both for regime of Pakistani state and for fundamentalist group to keep domination among society by state ideology and religious education to create regime of truth. In the other hand, Mangun wijaya saw that Indonesian education also have nothing to call freedom education because state has important role to produce education system as like military system by commanding student to follow such rule and material which is given or driven by state. Student has little bit space to develop the knowledge in which he like or knowledge that it accordance with the social problem of life. This kind of education is alike happen in colonialist eras, but of course more fatal and ironic when it happens in freedom society such as happen today.
Aziz Talbani saw how the Pakistani regime initiates Islamization to control Islamic people in obedience to regime and ulama. Madrasa depend financially to regime and fundamentalist Muslim uses it to keep Islamic ideology against colonialist by depend from modern science. In Pakistan, state has strong role to manage and design form of education, especially for madrasa which has strong connection to regime. Madrasa role is, not rarely happens, to produce close obedience of student to islam and regime. Additionally, the Curriculum of madrassa stresses on listening teacher, who is active in transmission of knowledge, while student is passive. Mangun wijaya has same impression of education system in Indonesia which is tend unjust for citizen and weak in curriculum. He saw that practices of education in Indonesia still in influenced by colonialist system. Regime of state control and manage how the system should be implemented. Product of state is much more contra productive with the social condition and social capacity as people in free country. Inhabitants have nothing free to determine what they need to be studied and how they will reach it. State makes standard and system to make student clever, but the result it is stupid. For that ways he critic states curriculum of 1972, 1984, and 1994 which in his view was cannot help for escaping people to be truly man.
I don’t know whether Talbani is education leader in Pakistan or just common scholar who writes Pakistan condition for science development reasons. It seems he just give exploration of how madrassa deals with state and modernity without any solution how to solve that problem. That was difficult to change system in Pakistani that since early establishment commits to build religious state based on religious doctrine as well. One important point from his works perhaps could arise new awareness of education practitioner in Pakistan to reorganize new concept of education as well as people need accordance with their life in his little community and global community. Islamization of knowledge as many scholar popularized perhaps emergence new hope that Islamic education will escape muslim community to new development word that advance in science and technology as like religion development teaching.
It is different with mangun wijaya as I know. He is catholic priest, educator, and famous leader. He has many work heritages to Indonesian education by promoting and initiating alternative school contrary with the states system. His critic’s to system of state which tend to diminish poor and weak people and unclear aims and lost orientation of curriculum drives him to open SDKE Mangunan. He makes and develop curriculum based on human nature as free people. Mangun belief that education should depart from joyful situation where student can be part of knowledge conversation to talk and criticize the content of stuff material. In this ways, student not only became an “object”, but also became a “subject.” Just as student, in same time teacher become subject and friend accompanying student to get more awareness and experience of material teaching. His key concept “belajar sejati” drives student to make out and develop all student aptitude to be fully human. However, mangun concept is framed by freedom inspired by religiosity without diminishing contextual frame. Hence the process of education will be dynamic, democratic, and decentralized because of everyone have an opportunity to develop their want as they are.
Talbani and Romo Mangun arise me new awareness as muslim and as Indonesian. As muslim I gets my religious education in madrassa and musholla. Perhaps, talbani calls madrassa to say religious school and formal school in Pakistan because the word “madrassa” driven from Arabic language in which dominant language there. In indenesia is little different, is it madrassa same as with pesantren or equal to “religious school” held by religious department affairs, like Madrassa Tsyanawiyah, Madrassah Aliyah, and even Islamic University. The system like talbani says similar to system implemented or used by pesantern, whereas in madrassa also still have element of teacher oppression but not quite more. Probably, Romo Mangun true because since education centralized on teacher on command system, student difficult to know what is really want and seek in joining school except follow the role offered. Poor class will be difficult to access good quality of education, in addition it will lack of creativity because system just obliged to follow such rule and avoid others. I am as indoensian and educated in madrassa experiences how trouble of bringing individual issues into conversation. Even, I judged as rebellion and syncretistic when is propose the need of pluralistic view in truth of religion to the fundamentalist group in my university. So, what..[]

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Transformative education has become new discourse of education after Brazilian philosopher, Freire, succeed in presenting new kind of method and approach for universal education. The discourse challenge traditional ways of education by humanistic and transformative model as well as adopted by liberation theology movement in Latin America.
The significance of this discourse for development country, in some extent also for modern countries, is rise new awareness of important of knowledge to arise skill and knowledge to compete in getting better opportunity of live. Education basically is transformation of knowledge from one people to another and from one book to reader. There is mutual reposes between first party to second in broadening sense of knowledge, perception, and emotion.
The kind of movement is social transformation which focus to the society and it issues. The transformation usually is participatorist, because engage people to joint in the program. In the other hand this movement also pluralist both in ideology and or areas of fellowship. Other important aspect of social transformation is it link to dominant ideology, and state policy, and international ideology or belief. Ideology is barrier and supporter of transformation of education which depend on the context of the social movement. The ideology of justice, human right, and democracy perhaps support the idea of transformation, whereas radicalism is barrier of its liberation of opposite ideology.
Transformation of knowledge covers system of belief, methodical process, understanding of the text and context, These are should support each others in line of transformation of getting better and appropriate knowledge from people to people in democratic situation.
Understanding of the text and context is most important to bring the knowledge and issues come from text of the holy, book, and other resources to the context of people live. This is the hermeneutical understanding of the reality seeing the real is not something happens without of hard process in line of cycling. To be honest, the idea of transformation completely can come from text to context, because all of them strengthen each other.
This relationship is not merely assimilative, but also pluralist; this discourse asks people to ask other in dialogue to find the common language of religious conversation and social conversation too. The goal of transformative education is how people share what they really mastered and what they did not to build of accumulation of knowledge. However, it’s not only accumulation of theoretical knowledge, but also practical. Thus, people can get real benefit of the knowledge to the corresponded reality.
Transformative learning will be effective if someone who contributes into the discourse can identify problem kindly by naming, acting, and reflecting. Object of transformation usually gap of cultural development, lower quality education, etc. transformation as the ways obliged to act in the field to transform knowledge and idea. Reflecting reflects about name and act done previously, both by same group or others. Thus, transformative learning is continual process. []

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Paulo Freire is hero in liberation project of education. His book “pedagogy of the oppressed” inspired many people to look at their system held at school, university, even family. He come from brilliant analyze kind of system education, ideology, person, and people in linkage. Traditional system tends to reproduce knowledge in dichotomical ways like knowledge for some class, etc.
He found the complex thing making education is fail to build human as their ability and character appropriates with their potentiality and to answer the problem happens in social reality. That is educator or teacher goes an oppressor by coercing student to follow and to belief whatever the teacher says without why. In the other hand student will be the oppressed one because they are under influence of system. Student has no freedom to say and to present their ideas if the system developed uses dichotomy of power. In this position student is very week, while teacher and institution is very strong. In addition, Student just placed as object of knowledge, while teacher placed as source of knowledge which in some extent cannot be debated.
He critics “banking system” which believed common term in traditional system to says student just a consumer and all thing withdraw from the bank. The bank system keeps the need of student to knowledge. There is no dialogue to produce new understanding of people refer to their social condition and basic experiences. Banking system is not democratic system, where all people in the “public knowledge” can participated to show the idea of mind and to reject inappropriate knowledge for their life. This concept is target of Freire critics, it is impossible to build human accordance with their humanity without the person is being a subject of knowledge.
Dichotomy of knowledge, duality of group between oppressed and oppressor, and bank system are some interesting spotlight in theory of education development. Traditional system believes that education is merely process of transferring knowledge from teacher to student. Teacher is the supreme because they are know many things, whereas student and also school service is the vernacular. Social status of teacher is highest member where all students should and obligated to follow the ways of teacher. Discussion is strange in this system, because discussion is alike an attempts to breaks the teacher roles in the class.
Freire project is how to build new perspective of learning. Learning is not one direction from teacher to student, but mutual process. Student is also subject of knowledge who has experience and conclusion to determine something is true or wrong, or good or worse. Student should have right to answer as well as right to ask. There is no superior position and coercing people, whereas all have a right and duty to determine their mine without boundary of dominant word view of belief. Freedom and democracy are the key concept to build this model. The poor one as likes the rich one is legal to have normal education. Education is universal right, so all people are free to access. []

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