Negotiated Legal Pluralism in Adat-Based Family Dispute Resolution: Islamic Law, Malay Custom, and Family Resilience in Lingga Regency
Abstract
Family disputes in Muslim societies unfold through interactions among state law, Islamic law, and customary practices. However, limited attention has been given to how these normative orders are negotiated in everyday family dispute resolution and how such processes relate to family resilience. This article examines adat (custom)-based family dispute resolution within the Malay community of Lingga Regency, Indonesia, focusing on the interaction among Islamic law, Malay customary practices, and community authority. This qualitative study employs a socio-legal approach and was conducted from April to September 2025 in five villages in Lingga Regency, involving 20 purposively selected informants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and document analysis, and analyzed through the perspectives of legal pluralism and social integration. The findings demonstrate that family dispute resolution in the Malay community of Lingga Regency operates through a layered mechanism comprising family, customary, religious, and institutional mediation by the Lembaga Adat Melayu. Islamic law and adat do not operate as separate or competing systems; rather, Islamic norms are interpreted, translated, and negotiated through customary practices that possess cultural legitimacy. This article argues that this process represents negotiated legal pluralism, in which customary and religious authorities exercise complementary forms of social and moral authority. Adat-based mediation can contribute to relational restoration, responsibility, trust, and social cohesion as dimensions of family resilience, but these contributions remain conditional upon the protection of family members’ rights and continued access to state legal institutions.
[Sengketa keluarga dalam masyarakat Muslim berlangsung dalam interaksi antara hukum negara, norma Islam, dan praktik adat, tetapi kajian mengenai bagaimana berbagai tatanan normatif tersebut dinegosiasikan dalam penyelesaian sengketa keluarga sehari-hari serta kaitannya dengan ketahanan keluarga masih terbatas. Artikel ini menganalisis penyelesaian sengketa keluarga berbasis adat dalam masyarakat Melayu di Kabupaten Lingga, Indonesia, dengan berfokus pada interaksi antara hukum Islam, praktik adat Melayu, dan otoritas komunitas. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif sosio-legal yang dilaksanakan pada April-September 2025 di lima desa di Kabupaten Lingga dengan melibatkan 20 informan yang dipilih secara purposif. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara semi-terstruktur, observasi non-partisipatif, dan analisis dokumen, kemudian dianalisis menggunakan perspektif pluralisme hukum dan integrasi sosial. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penyelesaian sengketa dalam masyarakat Melayu di Kabupaten Lingga berlangsung melalui mekanisme berlapis yang mencakup mediasi keluarga, mediasi adat, mediasi keagamaan, dan mediasi kelembagaan oleh Lembaga Adat Melayu. Hukum Islam dan adat tidak beroperasi sebagai sistem yang terpisah atau saling berkompetisi, melainkan norma-norma Islam ditafsirkan, diterjemahkan, dan dinegosiasikan melalui praktik adat yang memiliki legitimasi kultural. Artikel ini berargumen bahwa proses tersebut merepresentasikan pluralisme hukum yang dinegosiasikan, di mana otoritas adat dan keagamaan menjalankan bentuk otoritas sosial dan moral yang saling melengkapi. Mediasi berbasis adat dapat berkontribusi terhadap pemulihan relasi, tanggung jawab, kepercayaan, dan kohesi sosial sebagai dimensi ketahanan keluarga, tetapi kontribusi tersebut bersifat kondisional dan tetap bergantung pada perlindungan hak anggota keluarga serta akses yang berkelanjutan terhadap institusi hukum negara.]
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maulana Yusuf, Asrizal, Sayuti, Saadan Man, Fharkhan Luthfi

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