This article discusses the efforts of intreprating local Islam manuscripts of Minangkabau, particularly the order of Syattariyah in Minangkabau. The manuscripts are culturally important since they are related to the daily religious needs of the disciples of the order of Syattariyah in Minangkabau. This is related to the beliefs that to know about the guru, to posses the book, or to listen to the stories about the ulema, the guru of the order of Syattariyah are essential. The ideolgical

more »

... ideolgical perspectives is influenced by the surau teaching system based on the doctrines and books of the teachers. By means of social context analyses of the texts, it is found that one way to reflect the disciples' respect for the guru(-s) has been done through writing the biography of the respective teachers and understanding their teaching. Because the guru is considered holy man, his story cannot be written in Latin texts, otherwise it will be considered blasphemy or harâm.