A NEW MODEL FOR ISLAMIC EDUCATION FINANCING : THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRANSNATIONAL ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENT IN INDONESIA

Funding mechanism has long been a crucial issue for Indonesian Islamic educational institutions. Muslims in these institutions bear costs ranging from very little, such as in homegrown Qur’anic memorization schools, to very much, such as in private ‘international’ Islamic schools. Through active involvement, literature review, and in-depth interviews, this paper investigates the phenomenon of Islamic dormitories run by the transnational, Turkish-headquartered, Islamic movement United Islamic Cultural Centres of Indonesia (UICCI). It was found that UICCI provides ‘luxurious’ facilities, generous treatment of students and staff, and mutually symbiotic relationship with the people of the region in which its dormitories reside. This paper concludes that UICCI has managed to provide a new model for Islamic educational financing, one that balances institutional survival and excellence with implementation of social, national, and global responsibility, involving all stakeholders responsible for educational financing: state, students, parents, and philantrophists.