Ahmad Tohari (born 13 June 1948) is an Indonesian author.
Early life
Ahmad Tohari was born in the village of Tinggarjaya, Jatilawang,
Banyumas, the fourth of twelve children. Although Tohari's parents were both
from farming backgrounds, his father had received an education and, while
employed as director of the regional office for the Ministry of Religious
Affairs, was responsible for the establishment of the pesantren in Tinggarjaya.
Tohari's father has been described as a "progressive intellectual"
and under his guidance Tohari developed a deep understanding of Indonesian
politics and a strong sense of social and environmental responsibility. Tohari
has described himself as a mischievous child who often visited a neighboring
abangan village (one that practices a less orthodox version of the Islamic
faith). This experience, plus his mother's tolerance, gave Tohari the
opportunity to experience lifestyles different to his own. His mother maintained
good relations with a ronggeng dancer from a neighboring village, and it was
this that later provided Tohari with the background for the Ronggeng Dukuh
Paruk trilogy. Although Tohari's education in the pesantren developed by his
parents left him with deep religious convictions, as an adult his progressive
interpretation of Indonesian Islam has been criticized by some as being out of
step with the status quo. Tohari has described himself as a "progressive
religious intellectual" whose aim is to nurture a modern Islam that honors
Indonesia's diverse indigenous culture and traditions while following the
teaching of the Koran. Tohari's formal education ended with high school in
Purwokerto. He explored several faculties of economics, social and political
studies and medicine, but did not graduate from any of them. Tohari didn't
initially plan to become a novelist, preferring instead to study medicine at
the school of medicine of the Jakarta Islamic Hospital Foundation, but was
forced to leave for economic reasons.
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