https://mail.ulumuna.or.id/index.php/ujis <p>Ulumuna (P-ISSN: 1411-3457; E-ISSN: 2775-2453) is a reputable, peer-reviewed journal in Islamic studies published biannually by the State Islamic University (UIN) Mataram since 1997. The journal serves as a scholarly platform for the dissemination of high-quality, original research articles—both library-based and field-based—addressing diverse and critical issues within the field of Islamic studies. All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure academic integrity and excellence.<br>In 2022, Ulumuna was reaccredited by the Director General of Strengthening Research and Development, Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia. As stipulated in Director’s Decree No. 105/E/KPT/2022, this accreditation remains valid until 2027. Since July 20, 2022, Ulumuna has been indexed in Scopus, reflecting its growing international visibility and scholarly impact.<br>Ulumuna has been a Crossref member since 2015; accordingly, all articles published in the journal are assigned a permanent and unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI), ensuring long-term accessibility and citation reliability.</p> Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram en-US Ulumuna 2355-7648 <div id="pkp_content_main" class="pkp_structure_main" role="main">&nbsp;</div> https://mail.ulumuna.or.id/index.php/ujis/article/view/2005 <p>This study examines how a Sundanese Muslim scholar, Raden Haji Muhammad Nuh of Cianjur (1879–1966), employed the Chinese term <em>tapekong</em>, referring to the deity Tua Pek Kong venerated in Chinese temples, as an antithetical reference to Islamic monotheism (<em>taw</em><em>ḥīd</em>) in his Sundanese Pegon translation and commentary (<em>shar</em><em>ḥ</em>) of the <em>‘Aqīdat al-</em><em>ʿawām</em>, a foundational creedal poem by Aḥmad al-Marzūqī (d. 1846). The central question is: Why did the translator choose a Chinese religious referent, rather than other non-Islamic traditions, to concretize <em>shirk</em> (polytheism), the theological antithesis of <em>taw</em><em>ḥīd</em>? Drawing on philological analysis of the manuscript and the scholarly framework of Islamic vernacularization, this study argues that the use of <em>tapekong</em> constitutes a deliberate act of theological localization. It transformed <em>taw</em><em>ḥīd</em> from an abstract doctrinal category into a socially embedded marker of communal identity, reflecting the multicultural milieu of the twentieth-century Sundanese community, particularly the Priangan region, where Chinese temples (<em>kelenteng</em>) represented the most visible form of religious alterity. This finding contributes to the study of Islamic theology in Southeast Asia by demonstrating how vernacular translations actively shape, not merely transmit, theological understanding through culturally situated rhetorical strategies.</p> Muhammad Nida’ Fadlan Ilham Nurwansah Copyright (c) 2026 Ulumuna http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 2026-06-09 2026-06-09 30 1 1 29 10.20414/ujis.v30i1.2005