Community-Based Islamic Education through Local Traditions: Internalising Religious Values in the Tong Gentong Practice during Maulid Nabi

This study examines the Tong Gentong tradition performed during the Maulid Nabi commemoration in Pohsangit Leres Village, Probolinggo Regency, and conceptualises it as a form of community-based Islamic education embedded in local culture. The purpose of this study is to analyse how Islamic educational values are internalised through culturally organised social practices and to explain the pedagogical mechanisms that operate beyond formal educational institutions. Methodologically, this research employs an interpretive qualitative approach with an ethnographic case study design. Data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with community leaders, religious figures, women, youth, and actively involved residents, and were complemented by field documentation. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns of value transmission and communal learning processes. The findings indicate that Tong Gentong functions as a living pedagogical system in which values such as sincerity (ikhlas), generosity, gratitude, brotherhood (ukhuwah), and mutual cooperation (ta‘awun) are internalised through exemplary conduct, habituation, and intergenerational participation rather than through formal instruction. The tradition creates a shared moral space where religious teachings are enacted through collective practices, enabling sustainable character formation within everyday community life. The novelty of this study lies in reframing local traditions not merely as cultural or religious expressions but as structured and sustainable informal Islamic educational mechanisms. This study contributes to the scholarship of Islamic education by expanding the conceptual scope of education beyond school-based settings and by offering an empirically grounded model of community-based moral learning that integrates faith, culture, and social solidarity.