ASH’ARITE THEOLOGY IN INSTITUTES OF ISLAMIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA

This research discusses the Ash’arite school and its influences in the Islamic Institute of Higher Education, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The aims of this study is to identify the paradigm of the Islamic Institute of Higher Education in South Sulawesi, the concept of Ash’arite school as the most school belief and as the school which has the largest number of the Muslims in the Islamic world, its existence and influences in the Islamic Institute of Higher Education in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. This study has been conducted by both literature and fieldwork study. The datas have been gathered by he various methods such as sociological and historical analysis, content analysis, comparative study, synthesis approach and inductive and deductive approach. There are 300 respondents, consist of 100 lecturers and 200 students have been used as the subjects of the research. Results of the study indicates that the Ash’arite school is inclusive, realistic, pragmatic and has a positive attitude toward the advancement of science and technology. As a result, the Ash’arite school has a strong influence in Islamic Institute of Higher Education, Sulawesi Indonesia. In practice of their school, academic society of Institute of Islamic Higher Education of South Sulawesi have spirit and high ethos of work. So, viewing Ash’arite school as fatalism, and determinism was unproven view. In future, Ash’arite school would be considered as an alternative theology and as a reference for Muslim theology movement. This is due to the school esteems one’s intellectual capability (aqal) as a gift from God and Ash’arite is very respect and hold high naqal capacity as the actual Guidance of God (Ilahi)