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THE MUHAMMADIYAH MOVEMENT IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY . INDONESIA:

A Socio-Religious Study

by Achmad J ainuri

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and

Research, McGill University, Montreal, in Partial fulfillmellt of the requirements

of the degree of Master of Arts

Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University

Montreal

March, 1992

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ABSTRACT

Author Achmad Jainuri

Title of thesis: The Mu~ammadIyah Movement in Twentieth-Century

Indon8sia: A Socio-Religious Study

Department Islarnic Studies, McGill University

Degree Master of Arts

This thesis deals with the socio-religious role of the

Mu~ammadlyah movement from 1912 to 1990. The study

analyzes the fundamental ideology of the movement, and its

implementation in the religious and social 1ife of the

Indonesians. Its religious outlook illustrates its

character as a purifying movement which is devoted to

performing religious practice (-ibàdah) based on the

authentic sources. At the same time it aiso provides ideas

which enable the movement to enc()Urage moral reform and

yet which are adaptable to contemporary conditions. The

ideas manifest thcmselves in the form of various rellgious

activities of dakwah: (propagation), and a great number of

educational institutions and social endeavors. The

importance of the Mu~ammadïyah movement lies in its

significant contribution in bringing about. profound

changes in the religious, social, and educational aspects

of the Indonesian Muslim's life .

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Auteur

1 1 RESUME

Achmad Jainuri Titre de la thèse Le mouvement Huhammadi~ah en Indonésie élU

vingtikme si~cl~: une etude socio-rcliqi0use Etudes islamiques, Université McGil1 Ma1trise es Arts

, Departement Dip16me

l.J'étude du role socio-religieux du mouvement

Mu~ammadiyah, de 19] 2 a 1990, est le cette thèse. CeU.c

étude est une analyse de l'idéologie fondamentale ùe cc

mouvement, ,.

de meme que sur son implantation dans la vie

religieuse et sociale des Indonésiens. Le point de vue

religieux permet de dégager ces caracteristiques en tant

que mouvement de purification. Ce point se veut donc comme

/ 1 etant une volonte d' accomplissemen t de la pra tique

religieuse ('ibâda~) en fonction des sources authentiques.

Par le fait m~me, il fournit une ideologie qui est capable

d'encourager la responsabilité individuelle, et ce, dans

le bu:: .j'obtenir des rèformes morales et de 9~nèrer une

idéologie 1 adaptee aux conditions contemporaines. Cette

idéolgie se manifeste dans diverses formes d'activites

religieuses de dakwah --- (propag ation) , et dans un grand

nombre d'institutions d'enseignement et d'activjtén

sociales. L'importance du mouvement MuI:ammadiyah repose

sur sa contribution considérable \ a faire na1trc de

profonds changements dans les domaines religieux, sociaux

et éducatifs de la vie des musulmans indonésiens.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1 would Iike tn express my gratitude to Prof. Charles J. Adams,

Director of the McGill-lndonesia lAIN Development Project, and Prof.

Uner A. Turgay, Dircctor of the Institutc of Islamic Stud ;CS, McGill

University, who gave me the opportunity to study at the Institu,\~. l wouid

a180 like to express my sincere gratitude to my academic advisor ,md thesis

supervisor, Prof. Sajida S. Alvi, for her advice in dctcrmining the. ultimt1te

direction and scope of this thcsis. Thanks arc also due to Prof. Nl,l"cholish

Madjid for his supervision while my supervisor was on sabbatic Icavc, and to

Prof. Andrew Rippin who kindly gave of his valuable time to read this \ hesis.

Thanks arc also due to the Canadian International Developmcnt Agency

(CIDA) for the award of a JcIlowship to study at McGiIl University. For her

hclp il1 this regard 1 would like to express my gratefulness to Dr. Rebecca B.

Aiken, thc Project Coordinator, for her sincerity and patience in helping me

to rcalize this goal. To 10anna Gacek and L.Jri Novak, also of the McGill-

1 ndoncsia Project, thanks for their help in facilitating my stay in Montreal.

1 would also like Lo acknowledge the help of Mr. Adam Gacek, the

Ilead of the Institute's library and aIl of his staff, especially Ms. Salwa

Fcrahian, who assisted me in finding material and Mr. Steve Milier who

paticntly cdited my English. To aIl members of f/Persatuan Mahasiswa

lndonesia Kanada, Montreal" (Canadian Indonesian Studcnt Association,

Montreal), ovcr which 1 presidcd for the period 1991-1992, many thanks for

thcir moral support, thcrcby cnablinging me to finish the M.A. program on

time.

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In Indonc~ia, my dccpcst gratitude is exprcssed to Mr. I\lunawir

Sjadzali, the prescnt rv~inister of Rcligiolls At1airs, who gave me the chance

to study in Canada; to Mr. Bisri Affandi, Rector lA IN Sun;lJ~ Ampel

Surabaya, who gave me permission to \cave my acath:mic duties at the

Institute; and to Mr. Haedar Nashir, a Member of Dcpartlllcllt ('adrc,

Central Leadership of the Mul~ammadiyah, who assisted Ille hy colkcting

valuable sources for this thesis. '1'0 tho~;e who arc not mentiol1ed hy nallle. 1

wish to express my sincerc thanks for ail their contributions. Without such

aid, this work could hardly have been completed.

Last but not least, 1 am indebted to my lovcly wire who has al ways given

me moral support, and to my two daughtcrs, Tina and Ida, who with their

love, encouraged me to complete this work.

Montreal, March 1992

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. • • • • • • • • • iv

SPELLING AND TRANSLI'rERATION. • . . . . • vi

INTRODUCTION. 1

Chapter

1. THE FOUNDATION OF THE MUHAMMADIYAH MOVEMENT •••••• 5 . 1. Kiyai Hâji Ahmad DahUin: His Life and Activities 2. The Establisnment and Growth of the Movement

II. THE FUNDAMENTAL IDEOLOGY OF THE MUHAMMADIYAH MOVEMENT • • • • • • • • • • • • 35 . 1. The Basic Religious Out look 2. The Modern Ideas of the Movement

III.THE MUHAMMADIYAH MOVEMENT IN ITS SOëIO-RELIGIOUS CONTEXT . • • • • • • . • • • • • 67

1. Regeneration of "Pure Islam" 2. Muhammadiyah's Efforts in Social

anà Educational Fields 3. Responses to the Mu~ammadiyah Movement

CONCLUSION.

GLOSSARY •• . . . . . . . . . " . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY •• . . . . . . . .

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SPELLING AND TRANSLITERATION

In translitcration of the I\rabic namcs and tcrms in this thesis 1 have

used the transliteration scherne employcd al the InstÏlute of Islamic Studies,

McGill University. The lndonesian nurnes and term~ arc writtt'Il hascd on the

ncw lndonesian spelling us cd sincc 1972. IIowcvcr, certain namcs of pcrsons

and places written in the old spclling will still appcar, espccially in quotation,

Sorne ex amples of the differcnces betweell the old and the ncw Indonesian

spclling: ch, dj, j, sj, tj beeorne rcspcctivcly: kh, j, y, sy, c.

The diffcrenccs in translitcration from Arahie tn 1 ~nglish and Indoncsian

are:

Arabie English Indonesian Arabie English III dOIlI.'Sltlfl

L'.:....J th ts if d dll/dl

C h h 1D t th

.) \' dh dz ,D z zh /1

~ sh sy é (,

cl s sh ~

Since this thesis has been typed using a word-proccssor, thcrc arc several

technical areas which could not be mechanically resolvcd. The 'ayn has heen

represented by reversed apostrophe Ç). The hamza is denoted hy the

apostrophe (').

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INTRODUCTION

Islam in Indonesia is still in the prol:CSS of change from heterodoxy to

orlhodoxy. It is a process which increasingly directs the individu:tl to seek

the application of [sIam in daily life bascd on the teachings of the Qur/an and

the sunna of the Prophet Mu~ammad. This process manifèsts itself in

modern Islamic movernents that have been vigorously disseminating religious

idcology and have brought abou:' profound changes in social, cultural,

cconomic and political aspects of t!le Indonesian Muslims' life.

Thesc modern Islamic movements play significant role in accelerating the

process of change in Indonesia. Among them, the Mu~ammadiyah

movcmcnt has grown as the most representative. !ts role in disseminating

modern lslamic thought and improving the social, economic and poli tic al life

of Muslims in Indonesia has been of deep interest to many lndonesian anJ

foreign scholars. 1'0 cite sorne studies in English: Mu'ti 'Ali provider, a

useful bibliographical introduction to the study of the history of the

Mu~ammadiyah movement from 1912-1956.1 Alfian, who stresS'èS the

political aspect, assesscs its cvaluation and analyses the actual meaning of

this movement in Indonesian polities during the first thirty years of its

existence.2 Peacock, who uses a historical and ethnographie approaeh in his

l'Abdul Mu/ti 'Ali,"The Muhammadijah Movement: A Bibliographical Introduction". Unpublished MA thesis (Montreal: Institute of Islamic Studics, McGill University, 1957).

,., - Alfian, Muhammadiyah: The PoUtical Behavior of A Muslim Modernist

Organizatioh Under Dutch Colonialism (Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada University Press, 1989).

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research, focuses on the history, biography 01 the toundLT of the 1110Yl'l11l'llt.

aI.d rcligious tnlÎning, Dar al-Arqam, 01 the Mu!~(unmadiyah yOllth 11\

Yogyakarta.3 Nakamura describes his case study of thl' Mul.lal11Il1<lthyah

devcloprnent in Kotagcdc, a special region in Yo~yak,\rta, by di~l'\I~~ing ils

implication for socio-economic aspect 01 the live...; 01 the pCl)pk III thi~

town.4 Idris discusscs the biogr<!phy of Kiyai I.Iüjî i\1.lInad }),t1.1Ian as Hw

founding father of the M ul!ammadiyah movcmcnt. 5 This thl'si~ also propo~\"s

to study the Mul!ammadiyah movcrnent. But unlIke the ahove-n1l'ntlolled

works, it analyzes the socio-rcligio'Js as weIl as modernistic aspects 01 the

Mul!ammadiyah movcmcllt lrom 1<)]2-1990. 't'his study l'Àal1lllle~ thl~

movcmcnt as a rdiginus rcform movement and as an agl'nt 01 social change.

This thesis comprises threc chapters. The first charter i~ tJividcd in two

parts. Part one deals wilh the life ami activitic~, 01 the IOllnder 01 the

Mu~ammadiyah movcment, Kiyai l,Iâjî AI!rnad Dal!lfLn, in the broad weia!

and political contcxt of the pcriod; and part two focuscs on the c<lrly years 01

the Mu~ammadiyah movcment, which cou Id be called its formative perim\.

This formative period was cntircly taken up in ercating the ncccssary

infrastructure for its futur\:: devclopment and progrc~s.

The second chapter conCCIlÎ.rates on the idcology of the M ul!ammadiyah

movement. As a rcligious reform movernent, il sets its rcligious oUllook in

3 James L Peacock, Puri/ying the Faith: The Muhammadlyah Movement III Indonesian Islam, (California: The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, 1978).

4 Mitsuo Nakamura, The Crescent Arises Over the Banyan Tree: A Study of the Muhammûdiyah Movement in a Centrul Javanese Towll, (Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada University Press, 1983)

5 Muhammady Idris, "Kiyai IIâjî Ahmad Dahlfm: His li!c and Thoughts". Unpublished MA thcsis (Montreal: The fnstitutc 01 blamic Studics, McGiII University, 1975)

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the ha:-.ic 1 undarncntals of Islam as presenled in the Qur/an and thc sunna of

the Prophel. /\t the sarne time, howevcr, it opens the gate lor pl0dern

interprctations 01 the contents of the two basic sources, providcd, that such

interpretation~ an: made by those who arc knowlcdgeable on the sc matters.

This is meant to present a more dynamic vicw of Islam so that it can always

mecl the demallds of the changing world.

The third charter mOI c 1 ully centers on an analysis of the application of

its basic rcligious out\ook as weil as its modern ideas in ils various activities.

The Mul.lammadiyah rnovemeHt aims at puritying IslaJT1 of corrupting

intlucllces and prac1iccs. It trics to bring back the raith into a form of purity,

as it was taught and practiced by the Prophet Mul}ammad and the four

Caliphs :d'ter him. 1 ts eHorts in carrying out this rcligious role range l'rom its

own type 01 dakh'alz (religiou~ propagation) in the form of tabl1glz (religious

propagation).

In social fields, the Mul~ammadiyah movcmcnt aIms at modernizing the

Indonesian Muslim community in order to lift it up from its backwardness to

a place of rcspectability in the modern world. To achieve that purpose the

movcmcnt seeks to improve Muslim education by introducing new mcthods

and systems, and initiating works in social welfare such as those in the fields

of hcalth and the care of orphans. What was accomplishcd by this

movcment, cspccially in the sodal and educational fields, received a positive

rcsponsc l'rom the Muslim community. Even those who opposed the religious

outlook of the movement, eventually becamc familiar with ils social and

educational institutions. Many of thcm visit the Mu~ammadiyah hospitals,

clinics and orphanages, and scnd thcir childrcn to the Mu~arnmadiyah

schools. Through such activities, the movemcnt has been able to penetrate

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the Indonesian community and has gained the position of the largest and l)L'st

organized Muslin' modernist movement in the country. Due to this SllCCCSS,

the movement appears to have become one of the important clements in the

pmcess of socio-rcligious change in 1I1dono"ia.

On the basis of the socio-religious inl1uenccs of the M ul.wl11madiyah

movernent this thesîs propose~: thal the proccss 01 lslamie change in

lndoncsia should not be rcgardcd mcrcly as a mattel 01 challge in the

religious outlook, l'rom heterodoxy 10 orthodoxy, hut rather as a fundamental

change in ideological orientation, l'rom traditionalism to l11odcrni:-m, within

the Muslim community in Indoncsia. Furthcrrnore, the changes !lot only

occur in the religious aspects bul covn the social <Iml cdueational dimenSIons

as weil. ln sum, th~s study traces the histoncal dcvclopmcnt 01 the

characteristics of the Mul:ammadiyah movcment as il modern socio-rc1iglOu:­

movement.

The d(!~d for this study come l'rom both the pnmary and the secondary

sources. The primmy sources include the matcrials publishcd hy the

Mu~ammadiyah office or, and writtcn by the t'ounder and those ollicially

involved in this organization. The sccondary sources arc dcnvcd 1 rom

materials from other authors bearing directly on tilt; Mul.lalllll1adiyah

movement. Sorne other bibliographie rcfcrenccs, though not dircctly relevant

to the subject but useful for the study of lndoncsia, arc includcd in thc

aHached bibliography.

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CHAPTER 1

THE FOUNDATION OF THE MUHAMMADIYAH MOVEMENT . 1. Kiyai J:laji A~mad Da~lan: His Lire and Activities

The significance of the Mu~ammadiyah movement in the development of

the modern Islamic movement in Indoncsia cannot be separated from the

role of Kiyai I,Iajî AI~mad Dal~lan. Sorne of his efforts contributed greatly

towards preparing the establishment of the Mu~ammadiyah. This chapter

attempts to reconstruct the role of Kiyai 1:Iàjî A~rnad Da~làn as th0 founder

of the movement by relating hirn to the society in which he was born and

brought up, his education and intellectual development, and his activities in

the socio-religious sphere. The reconstruction focuses on the period before

the Mul~ammadiyah was establishcd. Although he himself left hardly any

written document about his life and his ideas, there do exist sorne brief

articles and books, as wcB as a few anecdotes, about hirn and his teachings

writtcn by many others. And the discussion is based on these sources.

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Kiyai I:Iâjî AJ.unad Da~ân1 was born in 1868 in Kaurnan, Yogyakarta

(Ccntral Java). He was born into a well-respected religious family, and was

brought up in a rcligious milieu. His father, Kiyai J:Iajî Abü Bakr, son of

Kiyai l.Iajî Sulaiman, was a Kha~îb (Friday sermon giver) of the Sultanate

Mosque of Yogyakarta. His motller, Siti Aminah or Nyai J:Iàjî Abü Bakr,

1 His namc as a child and before going to Mecca was Muhammad Darwis. But aftcr pcrforming thc hàjj, he adopted the name of I-Hijî Ahmad Dahlan. Tt used to be customary for the Indonesians to éhange ·their nanics aftCl" pcrforming the hajj. Howcver this custom has bccn abandoned by most of the young Indonèsian Hâjîs who have gone to Mecca after the Indoncsian Indcpendcnce. Sec 'Abdul Mu'ti 'Alî, "The Muhamrnadijah Movcment: A Bibliographical Introduction". Unpublished M.A. Thesis (Montreal: Institutc of Islamic Studics, McGill Umversity, 1957), 38.

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was the daughter of Kiyai I}aji Ibrahim, a Pellg/llIlli Kt'.mlt1l11ll1l of the

Sultanate of Yogyakarta, son of Kiyai I}ajî I,Iasan.2 Throllgh his parents's

lineage, he belonged to a very distinguished and respcct.thle family of

y ogyakarta. The tiUes of Kiyai'J and l-fiiji4 bcstowcd on his familics showcd

that they were very different from the common memhers 01 the M llslim

community, rcligiously and socially. They \Vere also people who occupied

high positions in the Sultanate bureaucracy. His father was a Kha!ÎI} d the

Sultanate Mosque of Yogyakarta, a position he inherited later. Ilis maternaI

grandfather was a Penghulll Kesultanlln of the Sultanate of Y ogyakarta.

Like most of the Javanese children from religious ramilies al that time,

AI?mad Da~Uin did not go to a government school. Ile was a victim of the

Colonial government education policy which did not allow him to rcceive

modern education. The Dutch Colonial (Jovernment schools were not

provided to natives who were not of the aristocratie c1ass such as Ahmad

2 Solichin Salam completed Kiyai I-li.ï.jî Ahmad Dahlan's genealogy, l'rom his father's lineage, by quoting from . Eyang' 'Abdul Rahman's gencalogy book which said that Ahmad DahIan was son ot I-Hïji Abü Bakr, son of Kiyai Hajî Muhammad Sulaiman son of Kiyai Murtada, son or Kiyai lIyas, son of Demang Jurang Juru Kapindo, son of Demang Jurang Demang Juru Sapisan, son of MauIana Sulaiman Ki Ageng Gribig (Jatinom), son of Maulana Ainul Yaqin, son of Maulana Ishaq, son of Malllana Malik Ibrahim Waliyullah. Solichin Salam, "Riwayat K.II. Ahmad Dahlün" Muhammadijah Setengah Abad. (Jakarta: Departernen Penerangan R.I., 1962), 146.

3 In Javanese Muslim community, a Kiyai wa~ a figure who had a respectable Islamic knowledge, and with whom people al ways consulted.

4 Hlijj, one of the pillars of Islam, has the same position as som,~ other pious deeds in Islamic teachings. In the social lire of the Javanese Muslim community, the tiUe HliJï is apprcciatcd not only as a religious symbol but also respected as a symbol of the social status. It is llnderstandable sincc the duty of hlijj is not performed with religious spirit and physical ahility but with an' enough amount of money as weIl. Those who make the pilgrimage to Mecca have to be able to afford not only' the cost ot thcir travel to l\1ecca but al80 the living cost of their famllies Idt at home. Therefore, l'rom th1s view, a l-!lljï, generally, has a good financial position.

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Dal.llan, but rather to the European or Christian natives so as to fulfill the

nced for lower lcvel native officials,5 who were recruited from the

aristocratie families (priyayi).6

AI~mad Dal.llan acquircd a traditional Islamic education.7 He received his

clcmentary education l'rom his father. Then he continued studying tafs1r

(Our'anie cxcgcsis), ~adîlh (tradition of the Prophet), fiqh (Islamic law),

and Arabie under the guidance of certain 'ulam a in Y ogyakarta and its

surroundings.8 He also studied '[Imu '1 falak (astronomy) from Kiyai J:Iâjî

Dahlûn of Semarang (Central Java),and Shaikh Muhammad Jamîl Jambek of . . Bukit Tinggi (West ~ umatra).9 After obtaining his basic religious education

and with the financial support of his older sister, Nyai l:Iajî ~alel~,10 he went

to Mecca in 1890 at the age of 22, and stayed there for one year. Around

1903, he again visited Mecca,11 stayed theTe for two years and studied under

5 Amry Vandenboseh, The Dutch East lndies: lts Government, Problems, and Polilies (Berkeley, L.A.: University of California Press, 1942), 198-99.

6 Ibid, 199-200; see also C.L.M. Penders, "Colonial Education Policy and Practice in lndonesia: 1900-1942/1. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis (Brisbane: Australian National University, 1968), 22; Paul W. van der VeUT, Education and Social Change in Coloniallndonesia (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, Southeast Asia Program, 1969), 1-2.

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A more typical Islamic institution for an elementary religious training was the langgar. It was a kind of small mosque provided for the purpose by a pious Muslim, Kiyai, where chiJdren were instructed in the l'udimentaries of Islam. It can still bc found today in almost every lndonesian village. Pcndcrs, "Colonial Education Policy", 2.

Djamawi Hadikusuma, Dari Jamaluddin AI-Afghani Sampai K.H. Ahmad Da~lan (Y ogyakarta: Pcrsatuan, n.d.), -: t. .

9 For more information on his teachers, see Salam, K.H. Ahmad Dahlan: Tjita-tjita dan Padjuangannja (Djakarta: Depot' Pengadjaran Muhammadijah, 1962), 7; Yünus Salam, Riwayiit Hidup K.H.A. Dahlan :Amal dan Perdjutlngannja (Djakarta: Department of Education' of MulYlmmadijah, 1968), 8 .

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the guidance of Shaikh Al~mad Kha!ib. 12 In Mecca he dccpcl1cd his

knowledge of tafsir, tawhld, fiqh, tll.~awwllf, ~zadîth, al-falak and somc other

Islamic subjccts. 13 Arnong the works which had the rnost intlucnc\..' on him al

this timc was the tafsir al-Manar of Mul~arnmad 'Abduh.14

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After his father died in 1896, Kiyai I~ujî AI~mad Dal}lun was appointcd

to be a Kha!ib of the Sultanatc Mosque 15 to replace his father. 16 and

became known as Khatîb Amin.17 There were sorne other Klllltih at the . . Sultanate Mosquc who wcre obIigcd, among their other tasks, to give

sermons during Friday congrcgational praycr. As a Sultanate official (a/nU

dalem), rcspomiblc for religious practiccs, he saw some odd traditions which

he felt should he eliminated. Because of this, he tricd to discuss the issue 01

the incorrect qiblah (direction towards the Ka'bah) of the Sultanak Mosquc

10 Mu'ti 'Ali mentioned that among Ahmad DahHin's sistcrs and brothers were: Nyai Kctibharum, Nyai Muhs~n or Nyài Nür, Nyai 1 Iajî Saleh, Nyai Abdurrahman, Nyai Hujî Muliammad Fakih, and Basir. 'Mu'ti 'Ali, "The Mu~amrriadijah Move'ment ", 28. n. 2.

11 It was believed that his second travel to Meeca was after a clash of vicws with the Kepala Penghu/u over the issue of qiblah. Nakamura quoted Rinkes' report that Ahmad Dahlan was sent to Mceea to study the subjeet at the expense of the Sultan who wanted at the same time to put him in a peaceful exile until the situation cool cd off. Mitsuo Nakamura, The Crescent Arises Over the Banyan Tree: A SUilly of the Muhammadiyah Movement in Central Javanese Town (Yogyakart.l: Gadjah Mada University Press, 1983), 45-46, n. 1.

12 Deliar Noer, The Modemist Muslim Movement in Indonr.\ia IlJOO-IlJ42 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1973), 74; Shaikh Ahmad KhatÎh originally came from Minangkabau (West Sumatra). Ile livcd in Mcéca and married a Kurdish girl. He was well-known for his knowlcdgc of falak, fiqh and usül ül-fiqh; and he wrotc numcrous books in Arabie and Malay. Although he was a traditîonal 'alim, he allowed his studcnts to benefit from sorne modcrnists 'ulama's thoughts. Most of his ~tudcnts were from Indonesia including Dr. IHïji 'Abdul KarÎm Amrullah, one 01 the pioneers of modernists in Minan~kabau, and Kiyaî lIasyim Asy'arî, the founder of the Nahdhatul 'Ulamâ. IIamka, Ayahku: Rill'uju( Hillup Dr. 'Abdul Karîm Amrullah dan Perdjuangan Kaum Agama (Djakarta:

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with sorne other Khatïb. He hoped that they would agree with him to change

it to one which faced towards the right directioll. But they did not respond to

A~mad Da~Hin's idea. Perhaps they thought that such a problem was under

the jurisdiction of Kiyai I:Hijî Kamaluddiningrat, the Kepala Penghu/u (the

Head Pcnghulu), thcir employer and that he should be approached on the

matter.

Bcing confident that the qiblah of the Sultanate Mosque in Y ogyakarta

was wrong, one night he and his students changed its qib,'rjh by drawing lines

in the mosque, so that the faithful might direct their prayers rightly in the

direction of the Ka'bah, as it should be. This action angered Kiyai I:Iajî

Kamaluddiningrat, and A~mad Dal}Uin's action was condemned as a

mistake. ΠFrom that time onwards the relations between the Kepala

Penghulu, and Ahmad Dal}lan, werc not harmonious. Their relationship

Widjaja, 1950), 60; Another source mentioned that besides Shaikh Ahmad Khatîb, arnong bis teachers in Mecca were Shaikh Muhammad Sliatta, and 'Kiyai Mahfudh. Mu'ti 'Ali "The Muharnmadijah",' 38-39, note 6. .

13 Salam, K.H. A~mad Da~liin, 6.

14 Hadikusuma, Dari Jamaluddin, 75; he also completed his course of study by reading such works as: Kitlib al-tawhïd, Tafsir Juz 'Amma, Al­Isliim waal-Nasrliniyah ma'a al-'Ilm wa-al-Madaniyah, Shubuhlit al­Naslirli (aB by Shaikh Muhammad 'Abduh); Kimb fi al-Bid'ah, Kitlib al­TawaSSlll wa-al-Wasilah (by Ibn Taymîyah); Kitlib Izhlir al-Haqq (by Rahmat Allah al-Hindi); Kitiib al-Hadith (by various 'Ulama' of the Hanbalî school); Kitlib Dli'irat al-Ma'lirif (by Farîd Wajdi);and Kitlib Ranz al·'Ulüm. Solichin Salam, Muhammadijah dan Kebangunan Islam di Indonesia (Djakarta: N.V. Mega, 1965), 43-44.

15 There werc thrce mosques in the Sultanate of Y ogyakarta. Two of thern were the Great mosques located on the west of alun-alun lor (north field) and Kcben mosque located on the west of Kraton's west gate. Another one was callcd Pasepen located inside the K raton. This one was specificd for the Kraton's family. Abuseri Dimyati and Aburisman, Islam di Kraton Yogyakarta (Y ogyakarta : Institut Agama Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, 1984), 10-11, 29.

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became worse when AI~mad Da~lün renovated his OWI1 lallgg{/1' dlHl changed

its qiblah to the right one. This, once again, made the Kepa/a Pellgllll/II

angry, and he cv~ntually ordered that Al.lmad Dal~lân's lallggar hl.: destroyed.

Another incident arosc over the detcrmination or the 'Id lll~FItr. Al mil'

time,19 therc was a differencc betwœn AI;mad Dal.llün's a:-.tronol1lkal

calculation and the other Yogyakarta 'lilama /s cakulations. AI.lmad ))al~I,\l1's

calculation determincd thal the '1d al-Fi~r must he cckbrakd the fol1owing

day of the end of Ramadan. But the othcr 'Illamâ' of YogyakarLa persisted

in their dccision that the celebration should faIl two days later. ('onsidering

the importance of the issue, on the last I1ight of Ramll~liitl 1\1.1I11<1d ()a~ll;ln

went to the palace of the Sul!âli to tell him that according Lo his caklllalion

the 'Id al-Fitr must be celebratcd the following day, Alter consulting the

other 'ulama', the Sul!an with thcir agreement, acccpted AI!mad 1 )al~lilll's

opinion.20 AI;mad Dahlün aiso attractcd attention in this rcriod by giving

16 It had become a tradition, when one of the Sultanate otficials (alu/i Kraton) was dead, his older son would be appointcd to mplace him. Asrofi, Kiyai Ha]ï Ahmad Dahlan Pemikiran dan Kepemurlpinunnya (Yogyakarta: Yogyakarta Offset;!983), 24.

17 He was recognized as a scholar by other Kiyais at that lime. Bceause of bis sincerity and devotion he was ealled Khatlh Amin (the sincere or honest preacher). Noer, The Modernist Muslim', 74.

18 First, he wa~ considered as changing the tradition that was lol\owcd by their ancestors. Second, the Great Mosque (the Sultanate Mosquc) was under the control of the Sultan, and, on the rcligious matters, he had handed over to the Penghu/il (RcligÎous judgc). If Kiyai IIfljî Ahmad Dahlân had broken the authority of Penghulll, it meant he ïlad bioken the' authority of the Sultan. Besides that, as a Sultanate ott ieial (ahdi dalem) , he had acted without consulting with his boss. Mustafa Kamal Pasha, Chusnan Yusuf, and A. Rasyad Shaleh, Mlllwmmadl)'ah SehaRai Gerakan Islam (Yogyakarta: Persatuan, 1975), 19. .

19 None of the sources which diseusscd this issue gave an \~xact date whcn it happened.

20 Mu/ti 'Ali, "The Mul;ammadijah", 32.

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penRajian (public religious instruction) to Muslim women outside thcir

houses. AIthough public opinion of the Muslims at that time indicated that

wornen should always stay ai home, nevertheless AI}mad Dal}lan had a

diffcrent opinion. According to to him, women, like men, were allowed to go

out to stuùy.21

These actions of Ahmad Dal}làn might be interprcted as the first steps

towards his rcligious revolution, as protests against the wide extent of

incorrect and heterodox practices and beliefs among the Indonesian

Muslims.22 These were signs of the birth of liberalization of religious thought

,and furtherrnore were the proofs of the beginning of the brcakdown of

monocultural rcligious thought into a more variegated one. Alfian states that

AI.lInad DaI.1Uin had made himself a controversial young religious functionary

of the Sultanate Mosquc vis-a-vis the long-established traditionalist Kraton

'ulama'. His action was an indication of his intellectual capability to exercise

indcpcndcnt thinking about his relïgion and the condition of the Muslim

community. Likc a truc pragmatist, A~mad Da~làn would do wItat he

thought was right, not through writing about it in philosophical, theoretical

and persuasive treatises, but simply by directly and personally doing i1.23

A~mad Dal}làn's education al background and personality were very

helpful in realizing his ideas of reform. What is more important is bis

courage in bringing about what he thought was right which had been justified

by cvcnts, although he received criticism from many people. He received a

21 I1adikusuma, Dari Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, 75.

22 Mu'ti 'Ali, "The Mu~ammadijah", 32.

23 Alfian, Muhammadiyah: The PoUtical Behal'ior of A Muslim Modernist OrRaniZlltioil Vnder Dutch ColonillUsm (Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press, 1989), 147-48.

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threatcning lcttcr when he went tn Banyuwangi (East Java) 10 give pt'Ilga)/illl

(public religious instruction), but he disrcgardcd thal Ihrcat.24 1 le had il

good relationship with nearly ;111 class~~s of people, from commOI1 people hl

the Kiyai, the priya,vi (aristocï~i~y), ~hc nnhlemcn 01 the Sultanate. and l'Yen

with the Christian pricsts.25 1 lis meetings with the ('hristian priests were for

the purposc of rcligious dialogue, although tlwy sometimes hecame heatl'd

debatcs. Su ch situations were unavoidable bccause the discussions dealt with

the truth of each rcligious mission.

It seems that A~mad Dal~lan did not de pend on his post as a KIl{l~i/J of

the Sultanate Mosque to finance his family lire. In fact, he was Cl prospcrous

batik merchant who had business cO l111ections in the various cities and towns

in Java and Sumatra. He visited hu~iness ccnkrs :-.uch as Surahaya (East

Java), Jakarta (West Java), and Medan (North Sumatra). llis husiness travel

gave him a great opportunity to make acquaintancc with 'ulamû' and Muslim

entrepreneurs outside Yogyakarta, and to discuss the religious prohlcms and

the condition of the lndonesian Muslims.26 His efforts at mccting '1IlanJtî'

along his batik trade routes was very bc"cficial to the dcvelopmcnt of his

ideas.

It should be noted that A~mad Dal:li.in's familial background, a

decendant of the Kraton 'ulama' families who had served the Sultân as his

religious functionaries, made it easier for him to live among the middle class

24 The letter threatened to kill Ahmad DahIan if he did not cancel his travel to Banyuwangi. It happcncd arter the' Muhammadiyah was cstahlishcd. Hadikusuma, Dari lamaluddin Al-Afghani, 79.

25 Salam mentioncd that Ahmad Dahlün met several 01 both Catholic and Protestant priests. See Salam, "Riwajat K.I 1. AI:mad Dal:lân", 24H-250.

26 ibid, 145; lladikusuma, Dari lamaluddin Al-Afghani, 75.

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01 Yogyanm'lc societies and the burcauerats of the Sultanate and to

communicate wilh such people on a wider seale. He married Nyai Walidah27

whose father was also a penghu/u. So much so that when a group of

noblemen cstablishcd the Budi Vtomo (Noble Endeavor) in 1908, he had no

difficulty in joining this organization. In fact, he was able to deliver his

religious ideas among ils membcrs l~asily. And whcn he established the

Mu~ammadiyah, his supporters wcre also from this class.

III

ln 1909 AI!mad Dal.llan joincd the Budi Vtom028 with the expectation

that his contacts with the Budi Vtomo membcrs, who were predominantly

teaehers at the govcrnmental schools or were government officiaIs, would

cnable him to give religious instruction on his rdormist ideas in the schools.

1 le also chcrished the hope that the tcachers themselvcs who had followed

his lectures would pass on the contents of his talks to their own pupils.29

AI!mad Dal!Um's lectures proved to be very successful and gained the

support of severai members of Rudi Vtomo who lived in the Santri quarters

27 She was known as Nyai Ahmad Dahlan. She ae ..:ompanied him until he died. This marri age resultëd in six 'children, they were: lohanah, Hàjî Siradj DahHin, Siti Busyro, Siti Aisyah, Siti Zuhrah, and Irfan Dahlan. The last was rnentioned to study at the Ahmadiyah school in India' and thcn joincd in Qadiyani Ahmadiyah movèment. He did not return to Indonesia, but stayed in Bangkok until he dicd. See A.K. Pringgodigdo, Sejarah Pergerakan Rakyat Indonesia (Jakarta: Dian Rakyat, 1977), 95; Salam, K.H. A~mad Da~liin, 7.

28 Bmii Vtomo was a nationalist organization that was established by a group of scholars on May 20, 1908, and promoted by Dr. Wahldin Sudirohusodo and Dr. Sutorno. It was the fust organization among the Indoncsians which was composed in modern form based on the purpose of increasing the awarencss of nationalism and education. See N agazumi Akira, The Dah'n of Indonesian Nationalism: The Early Years of the Budi Vtomo, 1908-1918 (Tokyo: Institute of Developing Economies, 1972).

29 Noer, The Modemist Mlislim, 75.

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of Yogyakarta.30 I\mong his fervent supporters wcre none other than the

second secretary of the Rudi UtO!1l0 at that time, Raden Sosrosugondo, a

teacher at the KH'eekschool 111 Yogyakarta. and Mas Radji.:H I\hmad

Dahliin's supporters in the Budi Utomo went so far as to suggcst that he

open a school which should be hettcr organil.cd and hacked by an

organization of a permanent characler than the traditional Pé'.\lIntrt'll, which

often had to be closed down following the <.!cath of the KlylÛ (the l'ounder)

concerncd.32 Thc school was indecd set up and became the center of

Mul}ammadiyah activity arter this organization was cstahlished in I<JI '2. The

intercst which buth the Budi UtOnlO and the Mul}al11l1ladiyah took in the

issue ot education made them Ilatural allies in the carly years. It was not

sLrprising that as thc Mul~ammadiyah grew as an inde pendent organization, it

maintained close contact with the Bmil UtOt1lo. ft is likc1y that It was the

personal tics bctween AI~mad Dal}Ian and the local Budi UtOI1W membcrs 01

Yogyakarta which brought him into doser contact with that organizatiol1 than

others.

Al}mad Da~làn was also rccognized as the member of al-Jam'1yat a/­

Khair1yah (Association for the Good) around 1910.33 I\lthough he was a

30 Their names, according to Deliar Noer, were 1 Hijî Sudjak, IIajî Fachruddin, Hüjî Tamim, Hüjî llisjam, IIüjî Sjarkawi and llâjî 'Abdulgani -latcr they wére aIl promincnt members of . the Muhammadiyah. Ibid, n. 128; Nagazumi J\kira, The Dawn of Indonesian Nationalisnl, 73.

31 Sosrosugondo placed great importance on providing religious education for 8chool children. He expresscd his persona] view that schools should offer at 1east one hour of religious instruction pcr-weck. The religion he had in mind was Islam, which he felt "had bccome the need of the wholc nation". At the same time, he was carcful 10 add that he did nol teel thal this would conflict with the "ncutral education" for which Budi Utomo had stood from the bcginning. Ibid, 74.

32 Nocr, The Modermst Muslim, 75.

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passive mcmber 01 the organization, he thought that such an organization

could serve as an important instrument for obtaining information on

devclopments in the Muslirn world. 11 was a reasonable conclusion since the

al-Jam'îya( al-Khairîyah was the tirst Muslim organization in Indonesia which

had good relations with the Muslim world in the Middle East.

The organization dcvoted itself to the establishment of a school and to

the sending of several youths to Turkey to pursue advanced study. It a]so

invited tcachers l'rom Arab countries to teach at its schools. These tcachers

had bec orne acquainted with ml.)dern ideas, and some of them regarded

themsclvcs as followers of 'Abduh.34 It seems that through his connections

with this group of teachers, notably with Shaikh AI}mad al-Surkati,35 AI}mad

J)al~lan developcd a greatcr familianty with the works of Muslim modernists

t'rom the Middle East, notably Egypt.36

Whcn Sarekat Islam37 was foundcd in late 1911 in Solo, Ahmad DahHin . .

33 The organization was open to every Muslim without discrimination as to his origin, but the majority of its members were Arabs. Ibid, 58, n.76.

34 Ibid, 59-60.

35 Shaikh Ahmad al-Surkati was a Sudancse by his origin. He was one of the tcachc'rs who was invited by al-Jamlyat al-Khairîyah. He quit the al­Jam'îyat al-Khairîyah and established al-Irshlid movement in 1913. For more detail information about him, see Bisri Affandi,"Shaikh Ahmad AI­Surkati: His Role in A]-lrshiid Movcment in Java in the Early Twentieth Century". Un}?ublished M.A. Thcsis (Montreal: Institute of Islarnic Studies, MCGl11 University, 1976).

36 Alt1an, ft,l11hammadivah, 149. . .

37 In 1911, a batik merchant, Hiijî Samanhudi, founded an organization called Sarekat Dagang Islam' (Islamic Commercial League) in Solo , Central Java, with the original purpose of protecting the interests of native batik merchants from increasmg competition by Chincse traders. With a much broader purpose th an that of protecting commercial intercsts of the natives, in 1912, the organization was recognized by dropping the commercial portion of its name and simply bccame Sarekat Islam, and its leadership was transferrcd into the hand of Raden 'Umar

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joined it, and devclored a close rdationship with its leaders. 1 lis action was

irnitated by the rnembers of the Mul.lammadiyah when Sllrt'kar Islam reached

Yogyakarta in 1913. In 1916 AI!mad Dal.1Hin's appointmcnt as a Rdigiolls

Advisor of the Sarekat Islam's Central Board togcther with l,lajî Ilisjam

Zaini of Solo, and I,Iâjî Sadzili of Sampang, Madura (during Ils tirst National

Congress in Bandung) retlectcd his involvemcnt in the Illovement ilnd his

influence over its rncmbership. In 1918, he becarne the sole advisor 01 the

Sarekat Islam as weIl as one ot its threc rcligious advisors; and in 1<J19 he

was again appointcd to the sarne position.38

IV

In our assessment of AI!mad Dal!lan as a socio-rcligious rdormer, it

should be noted that he was a prominent tigure in the Islamic mOYeml'nt in

Indonesia. As a modernist, he hat! many ideas. lhlt the way Ill' eÀpn.'~st'd

those ide as was ditfcrent l'rom that of 'i\bduh and Ridü. Ahmad 1 )tlhlan (Iid .. . not depcnd on publishing writtcn works as thcy did. Nlithcr wa'~ he lIke

A~rnad al-Surkati, the founder of AI-Irshüd, and Ahmad Ilasan, the

prominent leader of Persatltan Islam, who used the printed won.1 ln cxplain

their ideas. Neverthclcss, AI!mad Da~li.in's respom,es regarding the condition

of the Musiim community werc clearly manifested in his actions. As nolet! hy

Aifian, A~rnad DaI}Hln was a pragmatist and was not bound to systematic

ideas or tcachings; thercfore, if one were to try to discover sorne consistency

in his beliefs and action~ one would be very disappointcd. Ilis travds, hi!'>

Said Tjokroaminoto. Ibul, 42-43; for more detail about Sarekat J.\lan7, see Anton Timur Jaylani, "The Sarckat Islam Movement: lts Contribution to Indoncsian NationaIisrn". Unpuhlishcd M.A. Thesis(Montrcal: Institutc of Islamic Studics, McGill Univcr~ity, 1<J59).

38 Alfian, Mu~ammadiyah, 159.

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reading:-., and his connections with a variety of people l'rom ditferent rcligious

ba<-kgrounds as weil as with those in his own laith, eventually developed him

into a truc pragmatist who was libcral in his approach to Islam, accepting

everything which he thought was beneficial, provided that it was not in

contradidion to Islamic teachings.39

1 lis respollse to the growing corruption of religious life was to persuade

Muslims to go back to genuine Islamic teachings. On the issue of the

stagnation of Islamic thought, he on the one hand called for Muslims to

avoid laqlîd huta (blind imitation), and, on the other, promoted the revival

01 the spirit of Ijtihüd.40 His first effort was to reawaken the conviction in

the lives 01 Muslims to work towards the purification of religious teachings

that wcre derivcd rrom the Qur/an and sunna. Thus, Ahmad Dahllin tried to . . rcbuild tawhld as the foundation of Muslim lite.

ln the domain of social life, he pioneered the establishment of hospitals,

orphanages and other social institutions through which he endeavored to

lighten the sOèial burdens of the Muslim community. In the field of Muslim

education he cstablished cducational institutions which taught secular and

rcligious sciences together, and encouraged the inclusion of religious subjects

in the secular schools' curricula. Such efforts were believed to have nroduced

Muslims who have equilibrium betwccn faith and knowledge, between

religious science and secular scicnce.41 He thought that the effort to teach

religious subjects at the sccular schools was very important.

39 Ihid, 150.

40 Amir llamnlh Wirjosukarto, Pembaharllan Pendidikan dan Pengadjaran Islam Jang Diselenggarakan Oleh Pergllruan Muhammadijah (Yogyakarta: Pembaharuan Pcndidikan/Pengadjaran Islam, 1962), 46.

41 Ihù/, 50-51.

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AI~mad Dal~lan devoted his entire time to his movemellt. Ile organii'èd

study groups for children, old people, women, intd1cctua!s. etc., till the last

days of his life. lie died on thc Fcbruary 23rl.1, 1923 al the age or 55 altcr

having been able 10 lay down the principles according to whieh 1hl:

Mu~ammadiyah should he run.42

The efforts which wcrc pioneered hy J\1!mad nal~lfln reccived a gond

response from the lndonesian community. The Indonesian gOVl'rnment, lor

examplc, through Presidential dccision No. 657, dated December 27, ll)() 1,

declarcd AI~mad Dal.llan a national patriot.43 Th~ decisi/)n was bascd on the

consideration that Al~mad Dal~lân had pioneen~d the awakcnillg or

lndonesian Muslims; he had promoted tne social and cdllcational ill~titutions

which wcrc to be very important to the !:lcvelopn1l'nt 01 1 ndollcsian Jill:; and

in founding the woman organization, Alsyiyah, he had dClllonslralL'd hi~ bdil'l

in woman's equality to man in thc social and edllcational 1 ields. 44

2.The Establishment and Growth of the MlI~amrnadiyah Movcrncnt

The establishment of the Mul~ammadiyah coineidcd with the rise of the

lndonesian Nationalist movcment. In such circumstances the clJorts or Kiyai

I:Iâjî A~mad Dal~lan wcre considcrcd important conlr ihlltÎons to the

establishment of thc Mul;ummudiyah. 1 le appearcd 1.0 have jtH.lg\:d his

society carefully, and uscd that understanding to crcate a widc vari~ty 01

42 Mu'ti "Alî, "Thc Mu~ammadijah Movement", 36.

43 Makin Lama Makin Tjinta: Muhammadijah Setenl?ah Ahad (Djakarta: Departemen Pene rang an R.I., 1962), 153-154.

44 Djarnawi lIadikusuma, Mmahari-matalzari Mllhllmmlldlyalz (Yogyakarla: Pcrsatuan, n.d.), 10. .

19

programs and activities. In building the foundation of the movernent, he

forrncd a significant nurnber of cadres. These he hoped would becorne the

core of the rnovement and help him in carrying out the mission of the

organization and continue it afterwards.

ln the carly twenticth century, the Indonesian National movements had

crystallized in the form of organizations, such as Budi Utomo (1908), Sarekat

Islam (1911). These were the first modern Indonesian organizations based

on definite constitutions, and were composed by permanent boards,

rnembers, purposes and programs of work. People realized that these

organizations were effective tool in their struggle to mobilize the spirit of

nationalism to help thern escape the grip of colonialism. Therefore,

stirnulatcd by the spirit of nationalism and ms dcsire to know more about

organizational rnethods, Al}mad Dal}Ian first joined the Rudi Utomo , and

the Sarekat Islam, where he was active and occupied high administrative

positions. His involvernent in these organizations, however, was not separate

from his religious mission of proselytizing Islam among the middle class and,

especially, in the midst of the Dutch-educated Indonesians belonging to the

Blldi V/omo. Through these organizations he delivered bis modern religious

ideas. Thereupon, he felt that it was important to build an organization to

support and disseminate his beliefs. His desire to establish an institution of

permanent character was eagerly supported by his pupils and several Rudi

Utomo mernbers. It was al80 not blocked by the two existing organizations,

Budi V/omo and Sarekat Islam.

The reason why A~mad Da~lan formed the new organization, according

to Nakamura, was that perhaps neither of the existing organization was fully

able to meet the need of propagating Islam and furthering educational issues

:20

which were very important to him.45 AI~mad Dal,llan saw that the applicatioll

of Islam in daily life was much intlucnccd and corrupted by the local

traditions and beliefs and made it heterodox in the performance of rituals,

On the other hand, this syncretic tendency did not give any prccis\~ response

to the demands of social life. Ironicalty, it was claimcd that Islam was li

universal religion which could always contributc to the developmcnt of the

world. Ahmad DahHin realized that such a claim receivcd an inditfcrcnt and . . anti-religious attitude from the intelligentsia. As a result of Western secular

education, many of the young inteHectuals had bccome indiffcrent towanls

religion in general, and indeed sorne of them considered religion to he an

obstacle to progress.46

Thus the religious consideration became an important stimulus to the

establishment of the Mu~ammadiyah. This factor was discussed hy j\l~'nad

Da~an with A~mad al-Surkati and led the two men promise each other tn

rehabilitate Islam and the Muslims in Indonesia. Ahmad al-Surkati workcd

among the Arab eommunity by establishing the Al-Irshlul organization and

A~ad Da~an among the Indonesians by establishing the MuI,lammadiyah

organization.47 This commitment showed that Ahmad Dahlân was a

pragmatist who was very conscÏous of his dut Y to apply the tollowing

Qur/anie injunetion:

And there may spring l'rom you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin righ48 conduet and forbid indeeency. Such arc they who arc successful.

45 Nakamura, The Crescent, 47.

46 See Mu/ti 'Ali, "The Mu~ammadijah", 55-56.

47 Ibid,49.

48 Muqaddimah & Anggaran Dasar Mu~ammadiyah (Yogyakarta:

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2.a. The Estabilshment of the Movement

IIowever, certain external factors su ch as the general socio-political

climatc of Indonesia (which was characterized by the presence of the Dutch

Islamic Policy), the fise of lndonesian nationalism, the activities of the

Christi:m missionarics, and the influence of Middle Eastern ideas and

movements accelcrated the proccss of the establishment of the

Mul}ammadiyah. On Novcmber 18, 1912, the MuI}ammadiyah was

estabIished in Yogyakarta, with the following persons as members of its first

leadership counciI:

1. Kiyai Hüjî Ahmad Dahlün (Chairman) 2. ',\..bdullah Siràdj (Secretary) 3. Hüjî Ahmad 4. nüjî 'Abdul Karîm 5. Raden I-Iüjî Sarkawi 6. Hüjî Muhammad 7. Raden Hâjî Djaelani 8. Hüjî Anis 9. I:Iajî Mul}ammad Pakih49

On December 20, 1912, the Organization sent its formaI request, signed

by A~mad Da~lün and Siradj (as Chairman and Secretary of the new

movernent respectiveIy), to the Governor General in Jakarta asking for an

official Iice:lse recognizing the Mu~ammadiyah as a Recht Persoon (Legal

Person). The application was submitted together with a draft of the Statute of

the movemcnt. The draft of the Statute contained the statement that one of

the two goals of the movement was "the spreading of Muslim religious

tcachings among the native people of Java and Madura". It also stated that

Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah, 1986), 5-6; see also Qur'ân, III: 104. Mohammed Marmaduke Picktall The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (Markham, Ontario: Penguin Bokks Canada Ltd., n.d.), 70.

49 Mulzamnulliijah Setengah Abad (Djakarta: Departemen Penerangan R.I:, 1962). 157.

its regular membcrs would he those Muslims l'rom Java and Madura. The

Dutch colonial government seem to have bcen very cautious about the wide

territorial scopc of the new movernent and thercfore ddiberated on the

matter for quitc a while. Bascd on the suggestion of the Dutch Resident of

Yogyakarta, Liefrinck, and the adviec of the Advisor for Native I\ffairs

(Inlandsche Zaken)" Rinkes,50 the Office of the (Jovernor General lïnally

issued the Gouvernement BesluÎt No. 18, datcd August 22, 1914, recognizing

the establishment of the Mu~arnmadiyah as a "legal person" limited to the

Residency of Yogyakarta, instcad of Java and Madura as had been formally

requested.51 This license had validity for 29 years.52

2.b. Objectives

The Mu~arnmadiyah IS an organizatiol1 which is based on Islam. The

fundamental goal of the movernent is not political power hut the sprcading of

the Islamie faith. One manifestation of this rcligious goal has bccn the

apparent expansion of dakwah activities and rcligiopolitical ~xpression in

terms of preaching and the distribution of leatlets, or other publications.

Broadly speaking, as Mehden mentions, there have bccn three types of

dakwah movements sponsored by the Mu~ammadiyah. The first has heen the

large-seale organization primarily committed to reinforcing Islamie identity

among the faithful, inereasing their knowledgc of thcir religion, and providing

50 Liefrinck wrote to the Governor General in which he suggested that the government could approve the application provided that the word "Java and Madura" should be changed into "the Residency of Y ogyakarta". And like Liefrinck, Rinkes advised the government to do the sarne, but left the door open for the rnovemcnt to file new applications for its ncw branches whieh might develop outside Yogyakarta in later years. Sec Alfian, Mu~ammadiyah, 153.

51 Ibid, 153-154.

52 Makin Lama Makin Tjinta, 125.

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a bridge between the modern world and fundamental Islamic values. While

there may he sorne interest in the conversion of non-Muslims, this however

has not been the major task.53 The main goal is mentioned in the Statute of

the organization which, at the first time, was formulated as follows:

The spreading of Muslim religious teachings among the native people in the . RC5idcncy s~gyakarta; and thc promotion of religions life among Its rnembers.

2.e. Activilies

From its Statute, it is clear that the MuI}aInmadiyah was and is an

officially non-poli tic al organization intent on expanding the horizons of

Indonesian Muslirns through religious propagation (tabligh) , educational,

social, and cultural programs.55 It has organized and maintained schools,

orphanages, clinÎcs, and other social action programs, as well as attempting

to synthesize rcligious values and modernization. Although formally n011-

politieal, the movernent allied itself with anticolonialism during the Dutch

perim!. Whilc remaining nonviolellt, it has been consistent with its stated goal

of attempting to maintain and expand Islam's role in Indonesian society.

In the period before the Mu~ammadiyah was established, A~mad Da~an

concentratcd his efforts in propagating his ideas among his relatives and

53 Fred R von der Mehdell, "lslamic Revival in Asia: Malaysia and Indonesia" in Shireen T Hunter, ed. The Polilies 0t Islamie Revivalism: Diversity and Unity. (Bloomington and IndianapolIs: Indiana University Press, 1988), 251.

54 Faried Ma'ruf, "Analisa Achlaq DaJam Perkembangan Muhammadijah" Almanak Muhammadijah, XXII, 1961/1962, 7; Liferally, the formulation of tlle goal of the movement has changed for many times, but the essence of its contents is still the same.

55 The Constitution of the Muhammadiyah, Chapter II, article 4. MlIqaddimah & Anggaran Dasar; 6-7.

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close friends in Yogyakarta. But arter the organization was t"ounded, he

concentrated on the effort of looking for new cadres to inhcrit his idcas and

develop the organization which he establishcd.

In his effort to form a group of dcdicated cadres Al}rnad Dal.llün appcars

to have concentrated his recruitrnent within the Kauman ncighbourhood

where he was to groom and train a number of his close fril'nds, promising

students and disciples in the fields of education and rcligious propagation

(tabligh). Moreover, they were to bccomc closcly knit through hlood tics,

marriage, business, and other connections.

His decision to use educational institutions to cuItivatc his new cadres

was bascd on his expcnences pnor to the estahlishment of the

Mul!ummadiyah. AI.lmad Dal}1ün \Vas very active in tcaehing al the

government schools, the Kweeksclwol (the 'l'cacher Training School) and

MOSVIA (the Sccondary Training School for lndonesians Officiais), bdore

the organization was founded. This activity, howcvcr, was not only stimulated

by a wish to spread his religious ideas among his students,56 but was also

based on the idea that an educational institution was an idcal instrument to

form the cadres of the organization. Here, for cxample, those who were to

become the first leaders of the women's section of the Mul}ammadiyah,

Aisyiah, were graduates of the Mu~ammadiyah school.57 And aftcr Aüyiah

was established, AI~mad Da~lan sent sorne of them to the public Kweekschool

56 He thought that it was very imporlant bccausc they would occupy a strategie position în the community as tcachers and govcrnrncnt officiaIs. Therefore, through them, he hoped his ideas could be spread out to a wider range of communities.

57 They were Âisyah I1ilal, Busjro Isom, Zahro Muchsin, Wadiah Nuh, Dalalah Hisjam and Badilah Zubcr. Sec Salam, K.H. Ahmad Dahlün, 18. .

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to obtain ncccssary instruction in secular subjects and to make thorn the

cadres respol1sible for the establishment of Ai~yah's own Kweekschool for

girls. This purpose was succcssfully achieved In 19:4, when the

Mul~ammadiyah divided its Kweekschool into Madrasah Muallimin

MU~(Jmmadiyah (the Mul.lamrnadiyah Teacher-training School) for boys and

Madrasah Muallimat MlI~ammadiyah) for girls, both of which exist till

today.58 Thcsc schools were geared towards producing new dedicated cadres

for the movcment in which the students were offered advanced religious

training, instruction in secular subjects and lectures on leadership.59

Meanwhile, the pengajians (public religious instruction) and a variety of

short religious courses which were he Id by Al~ad DaI:ùan also produced

rnany cadres who were capable of continuing his ideas. Sorne of them were

rnembcrs of the younger gcneration who were involved in the Mu~arnmadiyah

rnovement, although in the earlier period they did not sit on its first

leadership council. These young members were Kiyai I:Iaji Ibrahim, Al!mad

Da~lan's own brother-in-law, who then became a Chairman of the

organization in 1923-1932; the two sons of Wedono J:Iâjî Husni, Kiyai J:Iajî

Hisjam and I:Iajî Muchtar. I:Iajî Hisjam was to become a distant relati.ve of

AI!mad Da~llân through his marriage to the daughter of bis brother-in-Iaw,

Kiyai I:Iüjî Dja'far. He was to become a Chairman in 1932-1936. While I:Iüjî

Muchtar was to become AI!rnad Da~lün's right hand man in running the

organization, he also worked as a Vice-Chairman in the period of Kiyai I:Iajî

Ibrâhîm's leadership. This period also saw the involvement of three

brothcrs, narncly J:Iâjî Sudjak, I.Iiijî Fachruddin and Ki Bagus Hadikusuma.

58 Wirjosukarto, Pembaharuan Pendidikan, 72.

59 Vers/ag Mli~zammadijaJz 1923, 53-54.

--

J:Iâjî Sudjak was known as a central figure in the establishment of Prflolollg

Kesengsaraan Umum (Hclping People's Miscrics) and a pioncer of the

establishment of an organization intended to hclp pilgrims to tlw Ilejaz

known as the Panitia Penolong l!âjî (the Committcc for lmproving thl~

PiIgrimage). I:Iajî Fachruddin was a famous muba/liglz (rc\igious precher).

and he also became Vice-Chairman of the organization during the period of

Kiyai ~Hijî lbrahîm's leadership. Finally, Ki Bagus IIadikusuma was an 'lllim

and a famous Muslim politician. He had a role in founding the statc

philosophy, Pancasila, and Undang-Undang Dasar 45.

In addition to these individuals, there were l.Iajî Anis (one of the first

ni ne leaders of the movement) and his son MU~1<lmmad Junus Anis, who then

became known as the backbone of the Mul.lammadiyah hecausc he had

devoted more than twenty years of his lire in service to the organization as

secretary general. A few other cadres such as I:lajî Iladjid, I.lajî 'Abdulgani,

J:Iajî Tamim, ~âjî Ma'ruf were important figures in the movemellt.60 Most

of these activists were ~ither from the abdi dalem (Sultanatc official) family,

or those who had become prosperous merchants as batik entrepreneurs. As

they came from strongly religious families who were ri eh cnough 10 make thc

pilgrimage to Mecca, whieh was an indication that they had considerable

material wealth. They represcnted the middlc class of the Kauman

community, 80 far as their family social status, thcir upbringing, thcir

occupation and their material wealth were concerned.

60 Hadikusuma, Matahari-matahari, 57; sec also Salam, Mu~ammadijah, 134-141.

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2.d. The I!.:xpansion of the Movement

Thus, the growth of the Mul}ammadiyah In the carly period was

characterii'cd by certain aspects, somc of which were very influential to the

development of the movement in the ncxt dccade. The first is that the

Mul}ammadiyah movemcnt gained strong support among members of the

middle class in the communÎly. They representcd various middlc class

professions as weB, such as: abdi dalem, the wealthier merchants, "ulama'

or a certain religious dass, and the educated people. This category was, at

least, shown in the composition of the ni ne members of the first founding

leadership of the Mul}ammadiyah.61 Most of them were abdi dalem. Seven

of them had the aristocratic title of Mas or Raden; three of them were

religious officiais (one penghulu and two Kha!îb) and two of them were

involved in general administration at the village level (one carik and one

kebayan). Eight of thern had the title of ijo}ï.

The support and participation of the middle class in the movement has

lasted since the organization was established. This phenomenon has

contributed to making the Mul}ammadiyah an "urban middie class

organization" which, in fact, still has a wide range of sympathizers among

those whom Nakamura has called "officiais and professionals" which includes

govcrnment and private officiais, retired officiaIs, and professionals such as

medical doctors, lawyers, university teachers.62 The rationalistic character of

the manner in which the Mul!ammadiyah formulates the doctrines and

principles of Islam is perhaps the reason why the influence of the

61 Sec Alfian, Mu~ammadiyah, 152.

62 Nakamura, The Crescent, 123.

Mul}arnrnadiyah is much greater among the educated Muslims.6J It is also

due to its elasticity in carrying out its ideas,64 which according to Bellah,

provided a considerable capacity for adaptation to ncw situation and for

innovation.65

The tabligh activity, carried on by penglljilllls, (public rc1igious

instruction) appears to have been a very important instrument in spreading

the ideas of the rnovernent. In the carly pcriod there developed certain

groups of pengajians in Yogyakarta, such as: lklzwiill lll-MusbmÎIl, lja/wja

Muda, Taqwim al-Din, Hambudi Sil Iji , ijayiil aL-Qulüb, Pnjo Vtomo,

Diwan al-IsLam, ,!ahürat al-Qulüb ,!allürat al-Abii, Ta'iiH'lIl1lt lIlaL /Jirr,

Ta'rifu bima kana, Wa'l Fajr, Wa'L 'A.~r, lam'îjat aL- Umnwl/éit, Slllll1lsiyllt

al-Muslimîn, Sjarlkat aL- Mubtadz'.66 When the movement was Ilot yct

perrnitted to open new branches in the cities outside Yogyakarta, I\I}mad

Da~Uin suggested that they establish similar groups which parallcl the aims of

the rnovernent. Sorne of thesc were NûruL Islam (Pekalongan), 1I1-HuJiiylllz

(Garut), ~iddiq Amllnah Tablîgh Fa~ana (Solo), I~yii' aL-Sunnalz and Ta'mir

al-Ghafilin (Surabaya), al-Munir and Sirii~ Mustaqim (Makassar -now

Ujungpandang), and Sendi Aman Tiang Selamat (Minangkahau, Sumatra).67

63 von der Mehden, "Non-Political Islamic Movements in Indonesia" Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia: Blirma, Indonesia, the Philippines (Medison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1963), 195-198.

64 Alfian further describes that the success is duc to the strength an-l vitality of Muharnrnadiyah itself; to its idcas, goals and aims; to its WOl KS and activitiës, the nature of its organization and the men who run anù support it. Alfian, Mu~ammadiyuh, 134.

65 Robert N. Bellah,"Islamic Tradition and the Problems of Modcrnization" in Beyond Belief: Essays Oll Religioll in a Post-Traditional World (New York: Harper & Row Publishcrs, 1970), 159.

66 Departemen Penerangan R.I., Mu~ammadijah, 156-157.

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And when the colonial government finally allowed the Mu~ammadiyah to

opcratc outside Y ogyakarta, such organizations merged to become branches

of the parent organization. lt was quite significant that the pengajian thus

bccame an effective tool for developing the organization and for building the

character of its rnembers. And indced, such activity is still going on in the

present day.

The success of the Mu~ammadiyah in carrying out the tablîgh activity

owed a great de al to the efforts of Kiyai J:Iajî A~mad DaJ.ùan. He himself

was to set the bcst ex ample in this field of activity. Through his business

connections and his friendships with the 'ulama and Muslim entrepreneurs

and traders in the cities outside Y ogyakarta, he was tü have many

opportunities to hold tablîgh meetings. Alfian mentions tl1at A~mad Da~Hin

used to deliver his tablîgh speeches in Jakarta, Garut (West Java);

Pekalongan, Pekajangan (Central Java); and Surabaya and Banyuwangi (East

Java).68 In sorne cities,the tablîgh meetings were held in conjunction with

groups of pengajians. In Surabaya, for example, Al;mad DaJ.ùan was invited

to give a tabligh speech before the I~yii' al-Sunnah group. And when AI:mad

Oa~lan went there a second time, it was decided that the group would

become a branch of the Mu~ammadiyah69

The spread of the movement outside Y ogyakarta was closely related to

business activity. Itinerant Muslim traders were a key factor in its

67 Ibid; see also Muktamar Muhammadiyah ke 40 (Surabaya: Panitia Muktamar Muhammadiyah ke 2tO, 1978), 27; Surono W, "Peristiwa­pcristiwa Bersëjarah Oalam Muhammadiyah" Almanak Muhammadiyah, 1394 H/1974, 19.' .

68 AIfian, Mul!ammadiyah, 168.

69 Ibid, n. 56; Mliktamar, 27.

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establishment in many communities. Sorne 01 the citil's in which thl' !:(IOUp:­

of pengajians existed were located along trade routes. ln Medan (North

Sumatra), a place Al}rnad Dal}lün orten visited for businc!'-s purpOSl'. was in

fact the city where the first Mul}ammadiyah bram:h was l'stahlishcd outside

Java. However, it was insignificant and shortlivedJO III somL' regiol1s. thl'

role of Muslim traders was an important ass .... t 10 thL' dnclopnll'nt 01 thl'

movement. Thus Nürul Islam in Pekalongan, originally L'stahli!'-hl'd hy thl'se

traders, was transformed into a Mul}ummadiyah branch. In Surabaya, the

trader Pakih Hasjim, known as 'lllama Padal/g (Minangkahau) was very

active through his tabtiglz. 1 le, together with the local '1IIl11llii, Kiym I.Iùji

Mas Mansür (later president of the M ul.lal11l11adiyah), mallaged a gloup or

pengajian (I~lya' al-Sunnah), whiclt laler hL'camL' thL' h, anch 01 thl'

Mul}ammadiyah in Surabaya.71 The role of the Mul.1alllll1adiyah III11fllii,

which was supportcd by dynamic Muslim cntl cprcncUI~, hclpcd the

movemcnt to grow quite rapidly. Such support had ~prcad to the other urhan

areas of Java when the movement was allowed to operale outside

y ogyakarta.

In sorne places, the emergence of new branches of the M ul.ulmmadiyah

was pioneered by wealthy local traders. The establishment of the organization

in Pekajangan (Central Java), for example, was sponsored I>y I}üjî

Abdurral}mân, a batik entrepreneur of Pekajangan and members ot his

farnjly. He had made trading contacts in Yogyakarta, and whenever he went

to that city he usually lived in the Kauman district, the area beside the Great

Mosque where AI}mad Da~Ia,n had founded the movement.72 In Kotagede,

70 Hamka, Ayahku, 88-90.

71 Noer, The Modernist, 76-77; Muktamar, 27.

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the mie of cstahlishing the movement l'cil to the local Muslim traders,?3 And

in Pekalongan, the initiative was taken by a group of merchants who had a

batik trade connection with outside of the island.74

These Muslim traders took on the role of propagandists, not only

accepting the ideas of the Mul:ammadiyah but also spreading them to other

Muslims, espccially their own lamilies and close relatives. Thcrcfore, the first

people to be taught the Movcment's aspirations and ideas were family

members. And it is probably not an exaggeration to say that the

Mul:ammadiyah, during the carly period, was like a large family cnterprise in

which each mernber contributcd his own share by taking an active part in it.

2.e. The Infrastructure

This stage in the devclopment of the movernent was followed by the

establishment of the ncccssary infrastructure upon which the Mu~ammadiyah

was to grow. This infrastructure, which included various departments and

autonomous bodies within the organization, was to be developed gradually

over a period of time. Alfian mentions that the infrastructure wruch was built

by Al}mad Da~lân consisted of the following sections: Tablîgh (Religious

Propagation); Education; Aisyiyah (the worat n's section of the movement);

Penolong Kesengsaraan Umum - PKU (Improving the People's Miseries);

Boy Scouts (Hizbul Wathan); Taman Pustaka (Publications and Library);

72 Susanna Kitty Priee, "Pekajangan: Reli~ion, Textile Production and Social Organization in Javanese Village. Unpublished M.A. Thesis (Australian National University, 1977), 51-52.

73 Nakamura, The Crescent, 70-83.

74 Mohamad Roem, "Mcngenal K.H.A. Dahlân: Mengikuti Jejak Ky ai Dahlan" Muhammadiyah: Se jar ah . Pemïkiran dan Amal Usaha (Yôgyakarta: 1>1' Tiara wacana Yogya dan Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Press, 1990), 20. .

Bahagian Penolong Hadji (Department to Assist thc Pilgrims); and a kw

other minor activities su ch as Blllzagillfl PerusaJllIl1J1 (Fntcrprisc). 75 Ali of

these departments and activitics then beeame the pillars 01 the organization in

carrying out the mission of the movcment.

Through the expansion or various endeavors or the movcl11cnl, Ahmad

Da~lan demonstrated that he had given an appropriate diagnosis as well as a

solution to the problems which were faced by the Indoncsian Mllslims al that

time. He also showed an integral mcthodology in inkrprding thL' ba~;ic

principles of Islam in the contcxt of the challenges or modern devclopmL'llt.

The infrastructure which was laid down by Al.llTIad Dal.llün was then

develoiled by his succcssors in running the organizatioll. SOI11C of the

departments in the Mul}ammadiyah organization have la!->ted 1I1l1Il today, as

can be seen l'rom süme of the following names 01 sections that wcrL~ m:tive as

recently as 1990: Majlis Tllbllgh (Propagation ('OllllCil), MllJ"S Tmïl"

(Council of 'Vlama'), Majlis Pendidikan dan Kelmdayuun « 'ouncil 01

Education and Culture),76 Majlis Pemlnna Kesejahter""lIl Urnat (Council of

Social Welfare), Majlis Waqaf dan Kehar!ahendaan (Council of WaqI and

Property) , Majlis Pembina Karyawan (COl!l1cil of Promoting Workcr's

Welfare), MaJUs Pembina Ekonomi (Council of Economy),and Majlts

Pustaka (Council of Library and Publishing).

The organization is also assisted by several bodies dcvoted to their

75 Alfian, Mu/!ammadiyah, 166.

76 At its 41st congrcss in Solo, in 1985, the Muhammadiyah dct.:ided to establish a new dcpartment. bcsidcs the COUilCil of Education and Culturc, which would conccntratc on the devclopment of higher education in the Muhammadiyah, narncly the Majlis Pendidlkan lln~~l Penelitian dan PenNe"tnbanNan (Collncil of IIigher J ~dllcation, Rcsearch and Dcvclopmcnt).

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respective fields, namcly: Lembaga Hukum (Institution of Law), Riro

Organisasi dan Katler (Bureau of Organization and Cadre), Biro Hikmah

(Political Bureau), and Biro Hubungan Luar Negeri (Foreign Relation

Bureau). The Mul!ammadiyah also has many subordinate yet autonomous

organizations, which havc their own hierarchies of leadership, patterned on

the modcl of thcir mother organization. These autonomous organizations are:

Ai.\yiyah (Mul.lammadiyah Women's Organization); Pemuda Mul!ammadiyah

(Mul}ammadiyah Youth Movement); Nasyiatul Aisyiyah (Mu~ammadiyah

Girl's Organization); Ikatan Pelajar Mu~ammadiyah (Mu~ammadiyah

Students' Association); Ikatan MahasislVa Mu~ammadiyah (Mu~ammadiyah

University Students' Association); Ikatan Kelarga Usahawan Mu~ammadiyah

(M ul.lammadiyah Businessmen' s Association) ; Ikatan Karyawan

MII~Ulmmadiyah (Mul}ammadiyah Workers' Association); Persatuan Tani

Islam (Muslim Farmer's Association), and Tapak Sud (Mul}ammadiyah Self­

Defcllcc Organization).77

The organizational growth of the Mu~ammadiyah was also followed by

s:gnificant developments in its social, edueational and religious activities. The

movement daims that it has 14,461 sehools divided into the categories of

Western Sehool System (Sekolah Umum) and Religious Sehool System

(Sekolah Agama or Madrasah) from Kindergarten to Senior High Sehool. It

also manages 78 Universities and Colleges throughout Indonesia.78 In the

field of social welfarc, the organization has established 9 hospitals, 303

77 Sec Muhammadiyah Movement in Indonesia (Yogyakarta: Central Leadership of Mul}ammadiyah, n.d), 12-13.

78 SlWrtl Ma~jid, 197 (Fcbruary, 1991), 21; compare with the Central Leadcrship's report at the opening ceremony of the 41st Muhammadiyah Congress in Solo in 19S5. Siapa Yang Tidak '[ahu Muhamniadiyah, 14; "Pcrguruan Tinggi Muhammadiyah" (Bonus) Suara Munammadiyah, no. 9, 76(1991), 16. . .

----------------------------.............. .. J4

clinics and polyclinics, 86 maternity hospitals, 6 dispensarics, 274 molhcrs

and Children health centers, 17 midwife and nurse's Schools, 89 orphanagcs,

34 units of family planning, and 2 community devcloprnent ccntcrs.79 The

ab ove mentioned institutions are spread throughout 26 of 27 provinces in the

country.

79 Muhammadiyah, 10; Agenda Muhammadiyah (Surabaya: }>irnpinan Peuiuda Mu~ammadiyah Cabang Ngàgcl Surabaya, 1988), 64-76.

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CHAYfER II

THE FUNDAMENTAL IDEOLOGY OF THE MUHAMMADIYAH . MOVEMENT

1. The Basic Religious Outlook

The reIigious outlook of the Mu~ammadiyahl is elaborated in the

Keyakinan dan Cita-cita Hidup Mu~ammadiyah (Ideology and Ideal of Life

of the Mu~ammadiyah)2 in which the formulation of Islam as a basic

ideology of the movement is discussed. The movement has determined a

methodological framework for the understanding of Islam, in accordance

with which the basis of Islamic teachings is formulated. AIl this is deemed

Ilecessary for the dutiful fulfillment of God's commandments and the

cmulation of 1 lis Prophet Muhammad, in order to create a true Islamic

society.3 From its rcligious outlook, the Mu~ammadiyah is a "neo-orthodox,,4

movement, its main dut Y is to return to true Islam. The task of reviving the

true Islam has logieal as weIl as practical primaey and requires substantive

changes in the traditional approach to the new interpretation and analysis.

1 Federspiel refers to this religious outlook as the "philosophy" of the Muhammadiyah, and divides it into four major points, namely: the prin·ciple of Islamic beHef (tawhid) , social organization, the individual's role, and the relationship of the past to the contemporary era. Howard M. Fedcrspiel, "The Muhammadiyah: A Study of an Orthodox Islamic Movement in lndonesiâ" lndonesia, 10 (October, 1970), 59-60.

2 See "Matan Keyakinan dan Cita-cita Hidup Muhammadiyah" Himpunan Keplltllsan-2 P.P. Muhammadiyah Dalam Bidan"g: Tajdid Ideology dan Garis Pimpinan (Yogyàkarta: Pimpinan Pusat Mu~ammadiyah, 1973), 3-5.

3 The Muhammadiyah's Constitution, Chapter II, Article 3. Mllqaddimah & Anggaran Dasar Muhammadiyah (Yogyakarta: Pimpinan Pusat Mul~ammadiyah, 1986), 6. .

4 Sharabi calls "nco-orthodox" as "reformist". See Hisham Sharabi, 'Arab InteIleetllals and the West: The Formative Years, 1875-1914 (Baltimore: The John lIopkins Press, 1970), 25.

The principle of the Mu~ammadiyah's rcligious outlook is explaincd in ils

statements regarding its religious issues. It asserts that Islam is a religion

which has been revealed by God in the Qur/an and which has bcen explaincd

in the true tradition of His Prophet. It consists of commandmcnt, prohibition

and guidance for the happincss of mankind in this world and in the

Hereafter.5 The Mu~arnrnadiyah goes a long way toward pointing out the

direction an interpretation of Islam must takc in order 10 do justice to the

Islamic imperative in the modern context. The fact that the movcrncnt clearly

advocates the position that Islam is not the name of a fcw specially privilcged

duties such as salat (praying), pllasa (fasting), zakiit (almsgiving), and "lijj,

but that it is commensuratc with aIl of life, should have prevented this

piecemeal approach.

The most significant aspect of the Mul~arnrnadiyah's rcligiolls

understanding lies in the belief that Islam is a guidance for ail mankind in

this world,6 a guidance whose goal is the acquisition of a happy lire i Il this

world as well as in the Hereafter. This ideal purpose can be achievcd by

obeying God's commandments as they have been claborated in the teachings

of Islam, which, according to the Mu~ammadiyah, cover 'aqidllh (be1icf),

akhlaq (lslamic character), 'ibadah (religious service), and mu'amlllüh

(social relation).7

5 Kesimpulan Djawaban Masalah Lima Dari Beberapa 'Alim-Oelamll Tentang: Agama, Doenia, 'lbadah, Sabilillah, dan Qijas (IIoofdbestuur Moe~ammadijah, 1942), 13.

6 Djindar Tarnimy, "Agama Islam Menurut Faham Muhammadiyah" Muhammadiyah: Se jar ah, Pemikiran dan Amal Usaha (Yogyakarta: PT Tiaia Wacana Yogya and Universitas Mul.lammadiyah Malang Press, 1990), 76.

7 "Mat an Keyakinan", 4.

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The 'aqidah or iman (belief) which is believed in the heart, expressed in

good words, and carried out in real endeavors,8 is the princlple criterion by

which God determines true value of }ttlman endeavors. The Qur'an says:

rightcous is he who belicveth in AlHïh and the Last Day and the Angels and the Scripture and the Prophets; and giveth rus wealth, for love of him, to kmsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarcr and to those who ask, and to set slave free; and observeth proper worship and paycth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and tim§ of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are God­fearing.

From this verse, Mu~ammadiyah doctrine eoncludes that aIl endeavors

and aIl rightcousness should be based on the belief in God and the Last Day

and the Angels and the Scripture and the Prophets. Belief in God is the

principlc aspect of iman. It stresses the Unit y of God, His essence and His

aets, and His transecndence above aIl in eomparison with created beings. In

this belicf therc lies the pro of of the universe having one creator, known

attributes of knowledge, power, will and so forth are to be traced in the

cffccts of His handiwork. It insists that He is incomparably other than

anything in His creation. Ibn Taymîyah states that "nothing is like unto Him,

whether in His essence, His attributes or His actions (laisa kamithlihi

shaiun, Iii fi dhiitihi, wa Iii fi sijàtihi, wa Iii fi 'afiilihi).10 The only relation

between Him and His created beings consists in that He is thcir originator,

that they bclong to Him and that they must return to Him. It is clear that

8 K.H. Mas Mansoer, 12 Ta/sir Langkah Muhammadiyah (Yogyakarta: Pimpinan Pusat Mu~ammadiyah, Majlis Tablîgh', n.d), 8.

9 Qur'iin: II, 177; sec also Pickthall, Gloriolls Koran, 48; See also H. A. Malik Ahmad, Inti Sari Adjaran Agama Islam: Ta/sir Surah Al-Baqarah 177 (Yogyakarta: Pimpinan Pusat Mu~ammadijah, 1970).

10 Victor E. Makari, Ibn Tavmivah's Ethics: The Social Factor (Chico, California: Scholars Press, 1983), 34.

, .

everything cmnes from Him, and based on this idca, God is bdieved tn he

the functional Existence in terms of being the ('reator, Protector, and

Inspirer.ll ln the basic teachings of tawhId (belicf in the oneness of (loti)

there must be a proper rclationship of man to God in an attitude of direct

worship and obedience, without any intcrmediator. This itlea inspires the

moveme~t to uphold the 'aqidah Islam (Islamic belict) l'rom the corrupting

influences of polytheistic phenomcna.12

The second aspect of Islamic tcachings which is formulated by the

Mul}ammadiyah is that of akhlliq. It is a quality of soul which stimulatcs the

emergence of good or bad deeds spontancously. The good is called akhlnq

mahmüdah (morally praiseworthy) and the bad IS called akhliilJ

madhmümah (morally blameworthy).13 The Mul~ammadiyah states that

akhlliq ma~mftdah is an important aspect in building the individual charactcr

of cvery man. Considering the duties of mankind which have to he

performed, both to bis God and his community, cvcry man is rcquired to

have such character. With good character, man will be able to achieve Cl

proper relationship to his God. And within his community, the role or every

individual man is very important. This is bec au se the rneasure ol the worth of

society is derived from the sum of the good and evil actions of the

individu aIs of that society.14

11 Kyai Hâjî Sjamsoel Ma'arif, Pandon Moehammadljah, (Solo: Pencrhit Melati: n.d.), 12. .

12 "Sistematika dan Pedoman Untuk Mcmahami Rumusan Matan: Keyakinan dan Cita-cita Bidup Muhammadiyah ll Pedoman BerMuhammadiyah (Yogyakarta: Plmpinan' Pusat MuJ~ammadiyah, Badan Pendidikan Kader, 1990), 11.

13 Risalah Islamiah Bidang Akhlak (Yogyakarta: Pimpinan Pusat Mu~ammadiyah, Majlis Tarjih, 19<)0), 2-4.

14 Federspiel, "The Mul.1ammadiyah", 60.

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In its mission, the Mul.lammadiyah not only inculcates such moral values

in every individual of the community but also devclops it as a "social ethic"

which thcn becomes one of the movement's characteristics. This ethic

appears in the conduct of its leaders and in various endeavors of the

movement. In this respect, A~mad Da~Hïn played a great role in laying down

the principles of the Mu~ammadiyah ethic. In one of his anecdotes, he is

iIlustrated as a hard worker (pekerja keras). When his health deteriorated,

he was sent to a sanitarium where his doctor and family advised him to take

a rest from his daily activities. But even at the sanitarium he continued to

propagate the ideas of his movement. When his wife insisted on his taking a

rest, he said:

1 must work hard to lay the cornerstone of this tremendous work. If 1 slow my work or stop it because of my illness, nobody will be able to lay the cornerstone. 1 feel that my lire will not last rnuch longer. And if 1 am working hard to finish this work which is abouiso finish, it will be casy for the people to come to complete this work.

Sorne other character-traits reflected in the bchavior of Ahmad Dahlàn . . indicate that he was piolls (~ule~), generous (dermawan) , wise (bijaksana) ,

sincere (ikhliis) , simple (sederhuna) , resolute (tabah), just Cadil), and bold

(berani).16

The formulation of Islamic ethics in fact became the main concern of the

leaders of the movement after the period of A~mad Da~àn. I:Iàjî Mas

Mansür, for example, formulated and even introduced it to aIl members of

IS Solichin Salam, K. H. Ahmad Dahlan: Tjita-Tjita dan Perdjuangannja (Djakarta: Depot Pengadjâran Mu~âmmadljah, 1962), 13-14.

16 Such qualities are based on sorne incidents which are conducted by Ahmad DahHïn in carrying out the organization. Ibid, 50-62; see also F,iried Ma'ruf, "Analisa Achim} Dalam Pcrkcmbangan Muhammadijah" Almllllak MlI~zammadijah, XXII (1961-1962), 9-13. .

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the movement through his Langkah Mll~ammadijalz 1938-19.fO (The Stcps of

Mu~ammadijah 1938-1940) programme. 17 He said that the application of

good ethics would not bear fruit if it was not based on tllll'akka[ (trust in

GOd).18 Therefore, he designatcd tawakkal as a fundamental base of his

ethical formulation. In it, he added sorne other moral qualities. such as

truthworthiness (amlinah), honesty, or righteouSlless (henllr) , plcasantness

(menyenangkan, cinta sesama) , and consistency in fulfilling a promise

(menepati janji).19

The Mul}ammadiyah states that Islamic ethics basically consist in a moral

attitude towards God, individuals, family, society, and environment.20 Sorne

of the moral attitudes to God such as bclicf, devoulness (talJH'a) , trust in

God (tawakkaL), gratitude (shllkïir), and those attitudes which accompany ail

good endeavors and whose intcnt is to seek fllllrdiitillaiz «(iod's

agreement).21 The moral attitude to the individual is described as heing

based on the explanation of the Qur'an concerning with the commandments

and prohibitions, such as: not to comply with passion, to refrain trom anger,

have truthworthiness, humility (tawliqu'), rcsponsibility, patience, living

simply, providing a good example (uswatlln ~asanah), sinccrity (iklzlas) ,

hard work, discipline, consistency, generosity, avoiding waste, extravagance,

dissemblance (riyii'), arrogance, jealousy and greed.22

17 K.H. Mas Mansür, 12 Tafsîr Langkah Mll~ammadijah 18 Ibid,25.

19 Ibid,24-29.

20 Risalah Islamiah, 6.

21 Ibid,6-22 .

22 Ibid, 23-43.

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The most important mora! attitude in terms of the family is "kindness to

parents" (hi" al-walidain) , and to a11 other members of the family and

relatives. The moral attîtude which should be adopted towards society at

large is based on a good attitude to and respect for others, such as: creating

good relationships with neighbors, respecting others, not betraying anyone,

not having a poor opinion of others. To the environment, the attitude which

has to be developed is to approach it appropriately and not to cause its

destruction.23

The third aspect of Islamic teachings is 'ibadah. According to the

Mu~ammadiyah, 'ibiidah is an act which is performed in order to approach

God, and consists in obeying all His commandments and in doing only that

which is allowcd by Him. In this sense, there are two kinds of 'ibiidah, the

general and the particular. The general is any lawful action that is performed

in order to achieve the grace and mercy of God. The particular is any action

that should be performed completely in the way of God and in accordance

with what His Apostle has taught concerning manner and rules, such as

praying, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage.24

In accordance with the definition of general religious service and the way

of God, the Mul}ammadiyah states that God's commandments and the

religious responsibilities incumbent upon the believers are not merely

confined to the performance of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage,

but also includc the efforts toward and the achievement of social justice and

welfare. So it has become necessary to promulgate the belief that such efforts

23 Ibid, 44-82.

24 Muhammadivah MOl'ement in Indonesia (Yogyakarta: Central I.eai.lership (li' Mul}ammadiyah, n.d.), 6.

42

in the way of God are a part of religious service. Every Muslim is rcquired

to fulfill the Islamic mission, which among other things includ0s the

foundation of educational and social establishments .mch as schools,

orphanages, hospitals and c1inics.25

The Mu~ammadiyah's principle understanding of 'ihüdllh as mentioned

above asserts that ail social activities whieh are based the obedience to (iod

are equally important to the particular rcligious services. Thercfore, the

fourth aspect of Islamic teachings, mu'llmalüh have the same position in

term of their realization in the social life. The Mul~ammadiyah states that

besides fulfilling the particular religious services, every Muslim is hound LO

do services to his fellow men and community.26 The principle or

understanding Islam leads t0 a more active participation in social lite. Thus,

the Mul.1ammadiyah's main purpose is to in8till Islamic teachings into the

minds of Indonesians and to ensure tltat thcy become their code ot conduct.

Through this, the movement believes that a truly Islamic society can he

established.27 It is a society where virtue, welfare and happiness arc

prevalent. The Mu~ammadiyah believes that Islam has aIl the virtues needed

for the formation of such a society.

Each aspect of the Islamic teachings mcntioned abovc i8 intcrrclated.

25 Ibid,7.

26 Ibid,8.

27 This aim i8 mentioned in the Constitution of the Movcmcnt. I\t t'irst it was formulated: "to uphold and uplift the religion of Islam so as to create the true Islamic society". But at the 41th Congrcss in Sala, in 1985, it had bcen changcd to a ncw formulation which said: "to uphold and uplift the religion of Islam so as to lfcate "an eminent, jUsl and prospcrous society under the protection and favours 01 (ind the Forgiving, the i\lmighty". Muqaddimah & Anggaran Dasar Muhammadivah,6. . .

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'l'hl: Mul}élmmadiyah states that the life of mankind is nothing more than

obedience to God on the basic principle of tawhtd. It illustrates a good

character which stresses the importance of ethies, purification of the soul,

controlling base desires, and the deepening of wisdom and moral

undcrstanding. Every Muslim has an individual . esponsibility for moral

reform and, through social relations for bringing into being a Muslim

community adapted to eontemporary conditions. Thus, Islam is a way of

making sense of the world and strueturing the relation between God, society

and man.

The second prineiple of the Mu~ammadiyah's religious outlook is

concerned with the basis of Islamic teachings. The movement explains that

the basic prineiples of Islamic teachings lay neither in the schools nor in the

religious hicrarchy but in the Qur/an and the sunna. Thcrefore, the religious

bcliers and duties must have their authority in these two <;ources. Thus, any

religious tcaching and servi:;e should be purified of illegal additions and must

refer to the original sources of the religion. Thus, every Muslim is

eneouraged to understalld Islam through these sources. The Mu~ammadiyah

bclicvcs that the Qur/an itself consists of a complete set of teachings, which

have becn and will always be able to meet the demands of human life frem

the time of the Prophet Mul?ammad to the end of the world. To accomplish

thcsc idcal tcachings the Mu~ammadiyah states that ijtihad is very

"8 important. ..

Ijtihiid is the right to make a judgment based directly on an inde pendent

analysis of the Qur/an and the sunna. This process of independent analysis is

traditionally considered as the opposite of taqlîd, whieh has been understood

"'8 -( Himpllnan KeplltllSan-2, 9.

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by the Mul:ammadiyah as adopting and following the already cstab\ished

ideas or fatâwâ of carlier 'ulamâ' without knowing the foundations of thcir

judgements.29 Thus, the position of the Mu~ammadiyah on these two

methods of approaehing Islam is very clear; the movernent acccpls ijtihüd

and rejects taqtid.30 According to Deliar Noer, il docs not mcan that the

movement rejeets blind\y the fatâwâ of Imam madzhal>, (l'ounder of a school

of Islamic law) but rather eonsidcrs thcrn to be valid subjeets of study. For

the Mu~ammadiyah, the validity of aU fatliwli, ideas and rcligious pradiccs

must in faet be based on the Qur'an and the sUllfla.31 The movcment

maintains that "the gate of ijtihlid' is still open and, thcrcfore, that it should

be eonsidcrcd as part of the ongoing proccss of Mus\ims' striving 10

understand rcligious, social, and historie al phenorncna.

The Mul:ammadiyah encourages cvery Muslim 10 carry oul ijtihüd in

attempting to understand the Islamic teaehings, exccpt for thosc who arc not

capable of it. 32 For those who fall into this latter category, according to the

Mu~ammadiyah, they have to choose zttiba' which, in this teehnieal sense

me ans aecepting or following a religious faMa from another person on the

29 Djindar Tamimy, "Agama Islam Menurut Faham Muhammadiyah" Muhammadiyah: Se jar ah , Pemikiran dan Amal Usahll (Yogyakarta: PT Tiaia Waeana Yogya and Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Press, 1990), 75. .

30 llimpunan, 9; Muhammad Bcdja Dcrmalaksana. "Sedikit Tentang Madzhab Empat" Alrizanak Mul!ummadiyah, XXI, 1960-19(j], 236-239.

31 Deliar Noer, The Modemist Muslim MOl'ement in IndonesUl 19(){)-1942 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1(73), 305-306.

32 There are sorne requiremcnts which have to be t'ultilled by the mujtahitl (one who performs ijtihad). J\mong them arc: good under~tanding of Arabie, Queanic cxcgcsis ('ilm taf\'ir) , Islarnic jurisprudence ULm usüL fiqh) , and science of Hadith film Hadîth) WhlCh arc cnough to understand the mcanings and purposcs of the Qur'anie vcr~e~. SL:e Â. Hasan, Risalah Al-Madzhab (Bangil: Persatuan Islam Bagian Pustaka, f972), 11.

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condition of knowing the principle on which the fatwa is based.33 In other

words, everyone who follows the idea or fanva of the other 'ulama' is

rcquired to be able to understand the meaning and the position of the

rcligious argument explaincd by the mufti issuing that fatwa.

In this case, the Mu~ammadiyah hopes that the establishment of a Majlis

Tarjih (a council which is concerned with fatawa) will be able to weigh aU

rcligious problems on the basis of the Our'an and the sunna. At least, it will

be able to give an ittiha / alternative thereby avoiding taqlîd, to the person

unable to perform ijtihad. It is understandable, since taqlîd not only

hampcrs the devclorment of thought but also contradicts the teaching of the

Our/fin:

(0 man), follow not that wherc of thou hast no knowledge. Lol t~s hearing and the sight and the heart- of each of these it will be asked.

The position of the Mul!ammadiyah in understanding Islam is dear. It

says ihat the essence of Islam is God's revelation which contains the

principal aspects of teachings concerning the social and spiritual life in the

world and in the Hercafter. The movemcnt is convinced that worldly matters

cannot be separatcd from religious matters, stating that such an idea is based

on the Our/an which says:/I ... But seek the abode of the Hereafter in that

which Allah hath given thcc and ncglect not thy portion of the world ... ".35 It

al80 believes that the rcal truth of Islam is mentioned in the Our'an and the

33 Djindar Tamimy, "Agama Islam", 75; A. Hasan, for example, mentions that the idea wh:ich is followed has to be known that it is mentioned in t110 Our'an and the sunna. See A. Hasan,"Debat Taqlîd" Al-Lisan, Extra (27 Deccmbcr, 1953), 6. .

34 Qur'iin, XVII: 36; A. I:Iasan, Ringkasan Islam (Bangil: AI-Muslimun, 1972), 32.

35 Ma.m/ah Lima, 13-16.

sunna. Realizing that Islam is Îatcrpretable, the movemcnt is awarc thal

different interprctation among each others is tolcrahlc. Therc1ore, in this

case, the movement insists on its right that there is no claim of t>omebody "10

be only the truth".36

The third principle of the Mu~ammadiyah's religious outlook is rdah.'d 10

the idea that the implemcntation of Islamic values in social lire is qui te

important. Here, the role of religion is SCt.I\ as one of activcly strcs:'>Îng the

transformation of the individual in society to bring about thosc values lm the

merey of the worlds (ra~matan 1iL 'âlamîn). For the Mulyammadiyah the

principle of understanding Islam ultimately is Ilot theoretÏl:al but pradÎcal.

Considering the importance of this case, the 40th Congress at SUI ahaya in

1978 recommended that the movement should be able to carry out the

Islamic teachings amidst the social lire of the Indonesian community.37 And

in keeping with this goal, the Mul}ammadiyah supports dlorts to l'IlJoin the

good and forbid the wrong (amr-ma'fil! nahy-mullkar) which cover ail

activities of social life. '1'0 rcalize the se efforts, the movcment wages a

vigorous campaign to integrate Islam into the sodal fabric. Various schools,

orphanages, hospitals ann sorne other social activities are essential for

making Islam an active force in society.

Being a social and religious movement, the Muly"nmadiyah \Vith ils idcas

and activities constitutcs an influential moral force that tries to direct ail

developments in the society along a moral path, while al the sametime

avoiding aH politieal ambition. This standpoint has been confirmcd by the

36 Djindar Tamimy, "Agam a Islam", 70-72.

37 "Keputusan Mu'tamar Muhammadiyah kc 40 di Surabaya" Benta Rf.mû MlI~ammadiyah, special cëlition (July 26, 1978).

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resolution of the 38th Congress at Ujung Pandang in 1971 whieh states that:

1. The Muhammadiyah is an Islamie missionary movcmcnt which dedicates its' activitics to the service in every aspect of human life and society, having no organizational tics and being non-affiIiated with any politieal party or any other organization whatsoever. 2. Every Muhammadiyah mcmbcr has, aeeording to his fundamental laws, the right 1:.> join or not to join any other organization, as long as there is no dcviation l'rom the Statute, Bye Laws an%~ther valid regulations within the organization of the Mu~ammadiyah.

It is c1ear that the M u~ammadiyah is a non-politieal movement. This

does not mean however that the movement is blind to polities, but rather,

that it leaves politieal matters to its members on an individual basis. In fact,

the Mu~ammadiyah itself has reeommended that every member of the

movement be required to have knowledge of polities and politieal life.39

Since the Mu~ammadiyah is overtly a non-politieal movement,its involvement

is Iikely to be different from those organizations which make polities their

profession. As a non-politieal movement, it does seem to have tried not to

play polities direetly and openly.40 Polities, however important and dominant

it may be, is but a part of events in the society as a whole. Politieal and non­

politieal issues are not treated separately within the Mu~ammadiyah's dakwah

(missionary activity), a faet whieh distinguishes the movement from most

others.

The Mu~ammadiyah's religious outlook serves as the principal basis of

the movement. The Mu~ammadiyah deseribes itself as an Islamie movement

38 "KhiUah Pcrjuangan Muhammadiyah" Pedoman BerMuhammadiyah (Y~wakarta: Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah, Badan Pendidikan Kader, 19<JU) , 19; sec also Mlt~zammadiyah Movement, 8.

39 "Kcputusan Mu/tamar", 24.

40 Alfian, Muhammadiyah: The Politieal Behavior of A Muslim Modernist OrganiZlltion Under Duteh Colonialism (Y ogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press, 1989), 6-7.

which is bound to "enjoining the good and forhidding the wrong/l (llmr-lllil'rüf

nahy-munkar).41 ParaUcl to this slogan, the movement :-.tresSl'S the doctrine

that Islarnic teachings are not theoretical but practical. that they form a hody

of knowledge which has to be put into practice.42 Thal il is il Muslim's dut Y

not merely to impIe ment Islam in his social lite, but tn implcment it in such a

way as to fulfill the demands of modern developments. '1'0 this end the

Mu~ammadiyah affirms that tajdîd (regcneration)43 is quite neccssary.44

According to the formulation decided in its Muktamar Tarjih 19H9, hdd

in Malang, the Mu~ammadiyah translates tajdîd as pemllrnian (purification)

and pembaharuan (modernization). The term pemllrniall signifies the

preservation of the teachings of Islam l'rom corrupting influences. whi\c the

term pembaharuan means to interprct, to apply, and to realize Islam 111

social life.45 With such a formulation, the Mul~ammadiyah secs IlIJdid as

having three dimensions: first, purification of Islamic belier. enacting the live

pillars, and the formation of akhlüq al-karlmah (good cthic); second, the

41 The Muhammadiyah's Constitution,Chapter 1, Article 1. Muqaddimah & Anggtiran Dasar, 6.

42 Djindar Tamimy, Agama Islam, 75.

43 ln other tenns this is called islüh. Ahmad Amîn, Zu'amü' al-Islüh fi'l 'Asr al-Hadîth (Cairo, 1948); John 0 Vol1 mentions that tajdid and islâh refleet a continuing tradition of revitalization of Islamic faith and practiee within the historic communities of Muslims. AlthouJ?h they have il slight different implication, tajdîd and islüh have alwJ)'s II1volved a cali for a return to the basic fundamentals of Islam as presented in the Qur'an and the sunna. John 0 voll, "Renewal and Rcform in Islamie Ilistory: Tajdîd and IsIah" in John L Esposito, Voices of Resurgent Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), 32-33; For an historical survcy of the tajdîd concept, sec Ella Landau-Tasseron, "The 'Cydieal Rcform': A Study of the Mujaddid Tradiditon", Studia Islamica, 70 (19X9), 79-117.

44 "Tanfidz Keputusan Muktamar Tarjih Muhammadiyah XXII" Berita Resmi Mu~ammadiyah nomor khusus(1<J<X}), lt7.

45 Ibid, 47.

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formation of dynamic, creative, and progressive attitudes based on a fOl·ward­

looking orientation; and third, the de velo pme nt of leadership, organization,

and the social ethics of the movement. 46 The first dimension is related to the

fundamental aspects of Islam, while the second and the third are in the

domain of modcrnization.

The historieal background of the MuI~ammadiyah indicates that its

establishment was closely linked to two factors: an internaI one, which

consisted in the perception that Islam in Indonesia was far l'rom the genuine

tcachings of Islam; and an external one, which consisted in the challenges

passed by the development of modern science and technology. Stimulated by

these two concerns, the movement has constantly tried to develop new

formulas to bring about a better life for Muslims. In response to modern

dcvelopmcnts, the movemcnt is very eager to adopt modern science, and it

docs not hesitate to accept Western ideas in order to reduce the

technological gap. It also encourages the study of the spirit of Islam ,

especially in the aspect of ethics, in the hope that this will help bring about a

spirit of modernism. The ethical values which it believes will appear are:

return to the Qur/an and the sunna; a recognition of the right of independent

intcrprctation (ijtihlld) rather th an having to rely upon and imitate the

opinions of the preceding generations of learned men of Islam; and the

purification of Islam from corrupting influences.47

lt is intLI ~sting to note that from the purification aspect, the movement is

inspired by writings of A~mad ibn Hanbal who fought against Mu'tazili

rationaIism, by Ibn Taymîya who was opposed to popularised Sufism, and by

46 Ibid,4R.

47 John 0 Voll, "Rcnewal and Reform", 35.

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Muhammad Ibn 'Abdul Wahhab, who Icd campaign againsl the corrupled

J sI amie belicf. 48 Their movcmcnts wer~ clcarly orientcd to the inkrnal

reformation of Islam, and did not in geBeral show much ravour tn

rationalism. However, it would be wrong to classity thl' Mul~,\Inmadiyah as

being anti-rationalist, because it is clear l'rom its themes that movcment

encourages the performancc of ijtzhad and the avoidance of taqlit!.

The Mu~ammadiyah's purpose in trying Lo preserve the authenticity of

basic Isiamic principles based on the examples of early Islam, in raet, is not

mueh more than enlightcned conscrvatism; the differencc is that il is

equipped with a more rational awarcness of ilS situation and nceds. It is likc

the movement of the youngcr libcral Muslims who realize that they haw to

overcome thcir stagnation. In this respect, they are modernizl:rs 01

tradition al Islam and they inevitably coll ide with the estahlished traditional

hierarchy.49 Howcver, on the intellcctual plane, the Movemcnt sceks to

regeneratc Islam by going back to the pure and simple Islam of the early

period and trics to weakcn the hold of mediGval authoritics on the Muslim

mind. The Movement not only calls for a return to the Qur'an and the sUllna

but also daims the right of ijtilziid. What this ijtilziid me ans is m,ing

individu al effort to apply the Qur'an and the SIlIlIUl to exi~ting conditi( ms.

Consequently, this movemcnt prepares, in sorne measure, the way for

subsequent intellcetual development. 50 From this point, il will gcncrale new

48 Syafiq A Mughni, "Islam dan Modernisasi: Dengan Rujukan Khusus Terhadap Masalah Indonesia". General speech at the inauguration of new students of the Muhammadiyah University Surabaya 1<)S5/19X6 (Surabaya: Universitas Mul:ammadiyah Surabaya, l<)XS), 12.

49 On this matter, Hisham Sharabi gives a contributive account ot the distinction bctween conservativcs and rcformi~ts. Sec Illsham Sharabi, Arab Intellectuals and the West, 7.

50 Fazlur Rahman,"Muslim Modernism in the Indo-Pakislan Sub-( 'ontillcnt"

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{orms of thought which spring l'rom the Qur'an or which spring l'rom other

sources which are in harmony with its supreme teachings.51 Therefore, the

problem th en is not whether the Qur'an is true or not. The problem is that

the understanding of the Qur/an is necessary for the understanding of the

meanings, possibilities, and ways of reform in Islam.

As a whole, the religious outlook of the Mu~ammadiyah creates certain

attitudes which show its consistency and firmness on matters of principles, as

weil as wisdom and accommodation in implementing its principles. The way

in which the movement achieves its goal is determined by its social ethic. It is

important to rcmembcr that the social ethic of the movement remains open to

whatevcr is conccrned with method, system, technique, strategy and tactie of

strugglc.52 The movement thercfore accepts the praetical skills of the West,

science, tcchnology, and administrative techniques; Muslims have ehosen to

adopt such innovation sinee they are "uscful" and almost unavoidably

necessary in today's world.

With regards to the West, the Mul~ammadiyah stat('s that Muslims must

learn to study the West and its ide as objeetively in order to determine how

they should respond to the various challenges it poses. It must be realized

that in the intellectual activity of the West there are both good and bad, as in

any other civilization. The products of science and technology which are

devcloped by the West, in fact, are adopted by many Muslims, because of

thcir uscfulncss, whilc, on the other hand, the moral effects of the West may

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, XXI, 1(1958), 82.

51 llasan Saab, "The Spirit of Reform in Islam" lslamic Studies, 2(1963), CS.

52 Yusuf 'Abdullah Puar, Perjuangan dan Pengabdian MlI~lOmmadiyah (Jakarta: Pustaka Antara PT, 1989). 159.

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appear to be harmful to Muslim society. Fazlur Rahman is of the Op1l110n

that Muslims should not adopt the attitude that the door should he closcd to

the West and Western ideas, but rather that Islam cannot, undcr any

conditions, be simply identified with the West.53 Thus Muslims cannot face

the modern world successfully unless they learn to study ail ide as objcctivdy,

including their own and those of the West. For this rcason, the movcmcnt

accepts, as Muhammad 'Abduh did, the principle of borrowing Irol11 the

West.

In substance, the Mul}ammadiyah has been strongly influcnced by a spirit

of Islamic reformism and moclcrnism. As far as rcformism is cOllcerned, it

strongly advocates the preservation of the principles of Islam lrom corrupted

influences. Such an intentior. caUs for simplification of l'urrent pradicc in

orcier to return to the uncorrupted condition ot the system at the time 01 its

origin. The desired rcsult will he a purificd religion, one likc that originally

established by the Prophet Mul~ammad. As for modcrnism, which is basct.\ on

the foundation of Islam, the movement has the intention 10 rcconslrud

Islamic thought in al'cordance with modern developrnents. The movement

consciously accepts the prernise that Islam is a total way of lire illcluding

social, political, and economic facets as weil as both individual and

collective dimensions; likewise, while holding thc principles of Islam, the

movement states its openncss to modern idcas. The first and the second

intentions then becomc the charactcristics of rcrormism, while the thinl, as

will be discussed in thc next sub-chaptcr, is one of the main chaI acteristics of

modernism.

53 Fazlur Rahman, "Islam: Challcnges and Opportunitics" in A\ford T. We1ch and Picrre Cachia, cd. /sIam: Past Influence and Present Challenge (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univcrsity Press, 1979), 324.

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2. The Modern Ideas of the Movement

The modern ideas of the Mu~ammadiyah arc actually a logical consequence

of its religious outlook. It is clearly stated that "worIdly affairs" hold a

position of equal importance to a particular pillars of Islam. In this sense,

any action which is performed in order to achieve the grace and mercy of

God is lawful. The movement defines this idea bal'ed on the understanding of

the following saying of the Prophet Mu~ammad: "Y ou know better of your

worldly affairs", which is trallslated as anything that does not belong to

matters for which the Prophet has given guidance. 54 It creates a fundamental

prineiple of the dynamic chamcter of modernization which emerges in the

qa'idah (norm) which states, "everything is allowed except which is

forhidden". 55 Thus, the general character of the Mu~ammadiyah's conception

of modcrnity should then he first understood in terms of the Islamic concept

of this worId and its relation to the worId beyond.

1 t is gcnerally hcld that there is in Islam no separation between thillgs

religious and things mundane. islam generally seems to lay more stress on

organizing a religious eommunity than do many other world religions. This

wou!d require us to understand why religion, which is essentially concerned

with the fate and salvation of the individual pers on in the world beyond this

one (for ultimately, it is not the community but the person who will stand

before God in the world to come) should concern itself to such an extent

with his social life in this world. There is no doubt that for Islam as a religion

54 Mu/wmmadi .... ah l\1ovement, 6. . . 55 M. Natsir, "Gagasan-gagasan Pembaharuan Islam" in A.W. Pratiknya.

cd. Peson Perjuangllll Seorang Bapak (Jakarta: Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indoncsia, 1989), 23.

54

the primary concern is the end of man in the world to come.56 And what the

Mu~ammadiyah considers modernity is csscnlially concerncd with this world

(dunya) , Le. everything which is rclatcd to "worldly affairs", as distinguishcd

from the other world (iikhira).57

As in any field of human endeavor, a fruitful discussion 01 modern idcas

III the Mu~ammadiyah dcmand sorne prim c1arity conccrning lh\~ mcaning

and the char acter of modernity. It is suggested that no trend can rcasonahly

be called characteristically "modern" simpJy because it is conlemporary, lor

there are admittedly certain contemporary trends that arc lcgitimatc1y

described as rcactionary or traditional. It would he correct to characlcrizc

'llodernity as liberation from traditionulism, which itsclf can he dclined as

admiration for the great founders, the golden age, the anccstors, dcwloping

first into a belief in their superiority relative to the present, and suhscqllcntly

into a belief in the need to imitatc the supcrior achievements 01 a lormcr age.

Modernity has itself become a tradition, but unlike the tonner tradition, a

modern tradition seems to place its faith in the present and future relative to

the past; and it seems to accommodate itself tn the salutary charat:ter of

permanent change. 58

56 This matter is discussed and related with the question of which Islam considers man's life, and espccially his communal lire, in this world to he of decisive importance for bis life in the world to come. Sce Muhsin Mahdi. "Modernity and Islam" in Joseph M. Kitagawa, ed. Modem Trends in World Religions. Paul Curus Memorial Symposium (l,il Salle, Illinois: The Open Court Publishing Company, 1959), 1-27.

57 Djindar Tamimy, for example, in his paper which is pre~cnted at the tanwir (enlightt~nment) meeting 1968 of the 37th Muktamar, claborates the scope of modernization which eovers rnethod, system, technic, strategy, and tactie of struggle, anô sorne others which arc changeable aecording to situation and condition. spacc and lime. See Yuslii 'Abdullah Puar, Perjuangan dan Pengahdian Mu~ammadlyah, 159.

58 In this point, a number of scholars have distingui~hcd hctween tradition and traditionalism. Tradition rcfers to the bclicfs and pradice~ handed

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Based on this description, it is understand~ble that the establishment of

the Mu~ammadiyah was a response to a set of conditions strongly tied to a

statie tradition which ignorcd change, and, therefore, did not promise any

bctter condition of social life. On the other side, sorne efforts at change

which have been carried out by the movernent arc believed to be bringing

about sorne improvements. Here, the new ideas which are developcd are

really very beneficial to the society. The Mu~ammadiyah adopts and develops

new systems of education from the Western world, believing that this will

en able it to mect the challenge of modern developrncnt. It organizes sorne

social activities, becausc through such efforts, it will meet the goal of

reducing the burden of social life.

As a socio-religious movement, the Mu~arnmadiyah wants to establish a

new order of lire, in which the irnplementation of Islamic teachings in social

life becomes a very important duty. The movement derives its motivation, on

the one hand, l'rom dissatisfaction with the current conditions of lire, and on

the other hand, from wishes and bopes for change. Such conditions

encourage the process of change whicb happens to substantial parts of the

society which are moving from a traditional to a modern way of life. Karl

Deutsch calls this process of change "social mobilization". He defines it as

"the process in which major clusters or old social, economic, and

psychological commitmcnts are croded and broken and people become

available for ncw patterns of socialization and behavior". S9 But it cannot be

down from the past; as (>cople reinterpret their past, their traditions change. In contrast, traditlOnalism glorifies past beliefs and practices as immutablc. Traditionalists sec tradition as statie; they urge that men do thing only as thcy have becn donc before. Myron Weiner, cd. Modernization: The D)'namics of Grmvth (New York: Basic Books, Ine., 1966), 7; Edward Shils, Tradition (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983), 12-34.

56

denied that in a process of change there usually crnergcs a ncgatiVl' as against

a positive attitude to change -that is, resistance to changing situations and

their possibilities.60

However, sorne of A~mad Dal~lân's efforts accelcratcd this proccss of

change. His experience as a batik met'chant not ollly gave him matcrial

benefits but also enabled him to makc extensive contacts with other people,

especially merchants. For business purposes, he went trolll one city to

another, and therefore, not only had a chance to disserninate his ide as among

the merchants and urban people, but also to enrich himself through this

experience, leading to a change in his outlook.

An interesting example of this can be sccn 111 the rclationship hctwcen

modern ide as alld people who have a high dcgree of social mohility. J)allil'l

Lerner observes that therc is a strong correlation bctwcen horizontal mohility

and modernity.61 People who orten move l'rom one place to anothcr indicate

their readiness, at least psychologically, Lo leave their traditional boundarics,

which have been a part of their own culture since thcir childhood. 1 t also

indicates their readiness to adapt thcrnsclvcs to a ncw environ ment, where

they will live and feel in such a ncw almosphere.62 The entrepreneurial

aetivity of A~mad Da~lân was an opportunity to devclop modern attitudes,

59 Karl W Deutsch, "Social Mobilization and Political DevelopmenL" The American PoUtical Science Review, LV, 3(Seplember, 19(1), 493-514; S.N. Eisenstadt, Modernization: Growth and Dh'ersity (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1963), 2.

60 S. N. Eisenstadt, Tradition, Change, and Modernity (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1973), 329.

61 Daniel Lcrner, The Passing of Traditional Society: M()dt'rl/lzin~ the Middle East (New York: The Frcc Press, 19(6), 47-54.

62 Syafiq A Mughni, "Islam dan Hoùernisasi", 13-14.

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such as: opcnness to ncw expcrience, readiness for change, and awareness

of the diversity of attitude and opinion around him. Moreover, effective

cntrcprcncurship presumes the existence of a way of thinking that leads men

to bchave in a particularly energetic way -a "mental virus" whieh McClelland

calls a "necd of achievcmcnt".63 It also leaves out fatalism, laziness, a

preference for leisure over work, consumption over thrift, and so on.64

There are sorne interesting parallels between the phenomenon of

Protestant reformism in Europe and Islamic reformism in lndonesia,

cspecially the Mu~ammadiyah, in terms of ideas and the form of economie

activities. In faet, the founders and the prominent leaders of Islamic

rcformist movcments in Indonesia were to be found among the merchants.

This is, as Wertheim says, a conspicuous analogy to the European

rcformism. 65 A~mad Da~Hin, the founder of the Mu~ammadiyah, was a

merchant. His successors and supporters were merchants as weIl. A I-Irsh iid ,

which was estabHshed after the collapse of the al-Jam'îyat al-Khairîyah

bCCéJllSC of a fierce quarrel among its members which led to the polarization

of modernist and traditionalist groups, was pioneered by the Indonesian Arab

rncrchants.66 Such was the case with the Persatuan Islam (Muslim Union), a

rcform movement which was established by ~Iâjî Zarnzam and ~Hijî

63 David C McClelland, The Achieving Socie~y (Princeton, N.J: D van Nostrand Company Inc., 1961).

64 Myron Weiner, Modernization, 5; See also Gi:mfranco Poggi, Calvinism and the CapitaUst Spirit: Max Weber Protestant Ethic (Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1983), 40-57.

65 W. F. WcrthcÎm. East West Paral/els: Sociolo8ical Approaches to Modem Asia (The lIague: W van Hoevc Ltd., 1964), 133-145.

66 Sec Bisri Affandi, "Shaikh Ahmad AI-Surkati: His Role in AI-Irshiid Movement in Java in the Early Twcnticth Ccntury". Unpublished M.A. thcsis (Montreal: lnstitute of Islamic Studies, McGilI University, 1976).

Mu~ammad YÜnus. Both wcn~ rdigious tcachcrs as well as \wll-knnwn

merchants. They came from mcrchant familics who had migrakd l'rom

Palembang (South Sumatra) and thcn scttIed in Bandung (West Java). The

movcmcnt showcd its modernist tcndency, cspccially aller 1\. l,Iasan joincd

the movement, thereafter beeoming l'amous and having IllllCh inllucllcc upon

it. J:Iasan himself was l'rom Singapore,and had migratcd to Surabaya (l'~ast

Java), only 10 scttIe finally in Bandung to take up a cal'l~cr as a Il1crchant. 67

Another parallel with the Protestant rcformism can he ,ccn in the

Mu~ammadiyah's conviction that the religious tcachings must he puril iet!

from corrupting ritualism and mysticism. This idea results in a set 01 motives

which creates new social ethics. In its application, the Mul.lammadiyah

prefers to seck a social mcaning for evcry ritua! Imm. Thcrc is a cerlain

worldly quality to this approach which can almost be qualilicd as {lIlfl-

ta~awwuj'. But aetually, it tries to give a new inh~rprctation 10 ((I,~(Ih'I\·II.1. 1\

ritual which is very individualistie and isolative is transformcd by the

movement into a positive endeavor for the sake of socicty.6S

Itl' ability in adapting itselt to ehangeablt! situations cnahles the

Mu~ammadiyah to grow and develop into movement which IS very

accommodative and flexible. But it docs not sacrifkc its princip1cs. 1 ~ven in

its historie al course, the movement shows, on one hand, its tirmness to hold

the basic prindples of its belier, and on the other haml, its tlexihility in

67 Syafiq A Mughni, Hasan Bandung: Pemikir Islam Radikal (Surabaya: Bina Ilmu, 1980), V:~-17; lIoward M. Fcderspicl, The Persatllan Islam: Islami .. Reform in Twentieth Century Indollesia (Ithaca, N. Y.: Modern Ind", ,nsia Project, Southcast Asia Program, 1970).

68 'Abdul Mukti "Ali, "Muhammadiyah dan Univcrsitasnya Mcnjclang J\bad XXI" in Rusli Karîm, cd. MuhammadlYlllz Da/am Krillk dan Komentar (Jakarta: RajawaH, 1986), 242.'

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struggling for the principles. In this case the process of how the

Mu~amlTladiyah accepts the Pancasila69 as the principle of its organization,

is a good example. The Mul.lammadiyah realized that the government was

firm in its intention to make the Pancasila the basic principle of social and

politicaJ organizatÎon in Indonesia.70 Bccause of this issue, aU religious

organizatiol1s in !ndonesia faœd a dilemma wh ether or not to accept the

Pancasila. For the Mu~ammadiyah, the matter was not whether or not to

accept il, but rather how to incorporate the Pancasila into its Constitution

wi1.hout removing Islam as its basic principle. 1'0 this end, the movement

respondcd by showing its insolent attitude. Although it took time, the result

was really satisfactory to aIl sidcs, cspccially the government and the

Mul~ammadiyah.71 On this point, the government respected the efforts

undertaken by the movement. It has bcen said that the movement showed

that it was trying to undcrstand and look at the problcm from the viewpoint

or othcrs.72 This attitude, to use lnkeles' description, was formed because of

69 Pancasila is a basic principle of Indonesian state. It consists of five principlcs , namely: Belief in One God; Humanity; lndonesian Unity; Democracy; and Social Justice. Among the figures who formulate and accept Pancasila as a basic principle of state on August 18, 1945, are leaders of the Muhammadiyah. They are: Ki Bagus Hadikusuma, Kahar Muzakkir, and' Kasman Singodimejo. See Lukman Harun, Muhammlldiyah dan Azas Pancasila (Jakarta: Pustaka Panjimas, 1986), 40 ..

70 Undaflg-wulang Organisasi Kemasyarakatan (the Statute on Social Organization) requires aIl vocation al and professional associations, trade unions, pressure groups, special interest lobbies, welfare agencies, and ail organizations affihated with any of the state-recognized religions (Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism) to subcribe to the official state formula, Pan cas ila , as the sole ideological basis of their existence. Sec Ufldang-undang Organisasi Kemasyarakatan; Peter Burns, The Decline of Freedom for Religion in Indonesia (Townsville, Qld.: James Cook Umversity of North Queensland, 1985), 2.

71 For furthcr discussion of the process of acccptance of Pancasila by the Muhammadiyah, sec Lukman Harun's Muhammadiyah dan Azas Pllnl:llsilll (Mul.Hunmadiyah and the Principle of Pancasila). lbld, 36-58.

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its awareness of the diversity of attitudes and opinion aroulld it.?:; Thel dore,

in cases such as the one above, the movement did not tlutomatically acccpl

the ide as of the government or those above it in the power hierarchy, Bor did

it automatically reject the opinions of those bclow it.

The success of the movement in facing new challcngl.:s l'an he altributcd

to its attitude, which is dcfined by Chandler Morse in terms or

"adaptiveness"; that is, its ability to conrront, overcome, and indeed prepare

itself for new challenges. Whether challenges originate l'rom internaI social

dynamics, from external social contacts, l'rom the impact 01 natural forces or

from other sources, a society in the process 01 modernizing ilscll must Ill'

able to accommodate changc .. 74 And the key asp\'ct 01 mm.krnÎ'l.atioll is

actually the process of sustained growth and change through thc dcvelopmcnl

of a socio-cultural attitude that not only generates conlinuolls change but /lis

also capable of absorbing changes beyond ils own institutional prcmi~cs".75 Il

is, therefore, clear that one of the determinant aspects 01 modernizatioll IS

concerned primarily with the adaptability of sociocultural systems.

However, there are two other valuable approaches to ~tlldying the

process of modernization of the Mu~ammadiyah. 'i he l'ifst is concerned more

with the institution, and the other more with the individual. Whcn.:as the 1 ifst

72 Munawir Sjadzali, "Peranan Muhammadiyah Dalam Pcmbinaan Umat Islam Indonesia" Siapa Yang lî.dak Tahu Muhamnullhyah (jakarta: Departemen Penerangan R.I., 1986),74. .

73 Alex Inkeles and David H. Smith, Becoming Modern: lndivuillul Change in Six Developing Countries (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univcr~ity Press, 1974), 21.

74 Chandler Morse ct. al, Modernization hy Design: SOCial Chal1Kc in the Twentieth Century (lthaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1969),36.

75 Eisenstadt, ModermzatlOn, 5.

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approach puts more stress on ways of orgamzmg and doing, the second

focuses primmily on ways of thinking and feeling.76

The j in~t analysis in the study of the modernization of the

Mul.Hlmmadiyah glves emphasis to patterns of its organization. By

organization, wc rcfer to lia system of artivities directed towards an

organizational purpose, or a group of people engaged over time in a

purposcful cooperative l!ndeavor".77 1'0 govern and control the activities of

its organization, the Mul~ammadiyah has adopted a system of management

and administration. Leadership, one of the important elements in the

Mul}ammadiyah, plays an essential role in the management of the

organization, whcre members are committed to furthering its cause as has

becn the case with the Mu~ammadiyah since ils foundation. AlI behavior and

activitics carried on by members of the organization are considered as the

substance of the organization.

The Mul}ammadiyah is a nation-wide movement, and its structure of

organization is parallcl to the hierarchy of leadership, which is divided into

rive ranks. FifSt, Pimpinan Pusat (the Central Board of Leadership), the

highest rank, presides over the organization in gcneral; second, Pimpinan

Wilayah (Provincial Board of Leaderslup); third, Pimpinan Daerah (District

Board of Leadership); fourth, Pimpinan Cabang (Branch Board of

Leadership); and fifth, Pimpinan Ranting (Sub-branch Board of

76 Alex Inkeles, Becoming Modern, 16; Robert E. Ward and Dankwart A. Rustow, Politieal Modernization in Japan and Turkey (princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1964), 3-13; Samuel P. Huntington, "Political Modernization: America vs. Europe", World Polilies, 18, 3(1966), 378-414.

77 E. Wight Bakke, "Concept of the Social Organization" in Mason Haire, cd. Modem OrRunizatiol1 Theor)' (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1(59), IX.

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Leadership).78 Each lcvel has the right and dut y 10 underlake initiativcs and

impIe ment the purpose of the organization according to its administrative

regional authority. Each levcl is presided over hy a hoard or leadership

headed by a chairman, and they are clectcd l'very live years hy mcmbcrs of

the organization through conferences covcrcd at each lcvel. The highest lcvcl

of conference is callcd the MlIktamar. lt is held at a national levcl to choosl'

the central board of leadership and to dctermine the tivc-year program ot

organization.

To perform their duties, the board of leadership is aSl\istcd hy SOI11C

departments at each level. At the Central, Provincial, and District levcls it Î...;

called the Council or Department, while at the branc11 and sub-hranch Icvc1 il

is refered to as the Body. A Deparlment or Council is creatcd in the event

that the organization nceds assistance bccause of new dcvclopments which

demand more specialization. This is perhaps what Weher calls a "structural

characteristic", that is, a growhlg clifferentiatÎon which neccssarily Icads to

specialization of organization.79

The addition of every new department of the Mul.lammadiyah is

determined by the Muktamar. As an organization, the Mul}ammadiyah is not

only characterized by certain structural charactcrislics, hut abo hy far­

reaching changes in the structure of the organization, in the pattern of

participation in it. and of access to it, culminating in tendencics towarùs the

obliteration of the symbolic diffcrence bclwecn center and periphery, leader

and member. Nakamura illustrates that this is because the movement has

78 MlIqaddimah & Anggaran Dasar, 8-10.

79 S.N. Eisenstadt, cd. Max Weber on Charisma and InstltutlOn Ruilliing. Selected Papers (Chicago and London: The Univcrsity of Chicago Press, 1968), liv.

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appreciated the rationality and democratic values inherent 111 the

orgünization. Ail members have the sarne rights and ail levels of leadership

are elceted, not appointed. There is no distinction between common people

and '"lama in terms of organizational rights and obligations. Therc is 110

sharp distinction betwcen leader and member. This organization, he l'urther

says, is a voluntary organization based on internaI democracy.80

The second analysis which may be of help in understa'lding the modern

ideas of the Mu~ammadiyah focuses on individu al characteristics, which

1 nkeles dcfincs as the socio-psychological approach.81 This approach treats

modernization mainly as a process of change in ways of perceiving,

cxpressing, and valuing. In this way modernization is defined as a mode of

individu al functioning, a set of dispositions to act in certain ways.82 In other

words. it is an "cthos" in the sense in which Weber speaks of "the spirit of

('apitalism",X3 or a kind of mentality.84 As a spiritual phenomenon, it can be

compared to the case of Japan, a country which has experienced rapid

economic growth. Bellah suggests that Tokugawa religion has laid down the

charactcrs of modcrnity, or, at least, in that religion, there isn't any factor

which rcstrains the process of modcrnization.85

80 Nakamura, "lndonesia's Mu~ammadiyah", 209-211.

81 Alex Inkelcs and David Smith, Becoming Modern, 16.

82 Ibid.

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84

85

ln this case Weber deals with the connection of the influence of certain rcligious id~!as, the rational ethics of ascetic Protestanism on the dcvelopment of the spirit of modern economic life. See Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons, 1958), 27.

Robert N. Bellah,"Mcaning and Modernization" ReUgiolis Studies. 4 (1968),39.

Rohert N. Bcllah. Tokllf:llh'a ReUf:ion (New York: The Free Press,

In the case of the Mul.lammadiyah, sueh charac1eristÎl:s l'an Ill.' round in

its individual mcmbcrs. The historical course ot the movclllent shows that the

Mu~arnrnadiyah has a strong intlucncc among the middlc dass in the urhan

centers, ranging l'rom entrepreneurs, traders, cratslmen and artisans to

professional peoplc.86 As an urban phenomenon, thc Mlll~aml11adiyah has

foreshadowed the main shape of the Islamie social l110vements to come in the

latter period of this ccntury. Its suecessfulness in adapting ilsdr 10 l'hanging

situations is provcd by the conlinuous growth of the organizalioll in tams ot

entirc rncmbcrship and numbcr or branches as weil as numher 01 educ,üional

institutions and social endeavors il is mallaging.X7 The growing l1ul1lher~ 01

its rncmbcrs in urban ccnters constilutc a valuable a~sct 10 ~uPl'ort ib

modcrnization programmes. Il is round that in slieh a c1ass therc aIl' ~OI11l'

characteristics which arc poinled to hy sOllle sociologi:-.ts as the kcy~ 01

modernization. Among those charaderisties is hkracy.XX Thi~ charaderi~lic

is closcly rclated to the dcmand for education, which according 10 Robert

Wood oceomes thc dceisivc clemcnt of modern man.89 Arnold Anderson<)()

and Edward Shils91 indicatc that cducation plays an important roll' in

1957).

86 Alfian, Mu~ammadi)'ah, 194.

87 Nakamura, "lndonesia's Mu~arnmadiyah", 214.

88 Danicl Lerncr, The Passing of Traliaional Society, 46.

R9 Robert Wood, "The Future of Modernization" in Myron Wcincr, cd. Modernization: The Dynamics of Growth (New York/London: Basic Books, Ine., 1966), 44.

YO C. Arnold Andcrson, "The Modcrnization 01 Education" in Weincr, cd. Modermzation: The Dynamics of Growtlz York/London: Basic Books, lm:., 19(6), 68-XO.

Myron (New

91 Edward Shils, "Modcrnization and Iligher Education" in Myron Weiner, cd. ModemizatÎoll: The Dynamics of GrOl'.'th (New YorklI ,ondon: Ba~ic Books, Ine., 1966), 81 97.

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creating skills and a spirit of creativity. But Anderson notes, by way of

qualification, that education itself is not adequate, and that thcrc are a

varicty of ways in which men may learn new skills and attitudes other than

through formai cducationY2

ln fact, the Mu~ammadiyah itself states that education stands as one of

the most important progrclmmes of the moveffi<~nt. It~ role is not only to

eliminate illitcracy or to form the charactcr of the people but also, especially

through ils cducational institutions, to pursue an effective role in

di!iseminating its modern ideas. For thcse purposes, the movement considers

il very important to establish schools ranging from the elernentary levcI to

institutions of higher education. At this point, there is a difference in

orientation towards education between the Mul~ammadiyah and the demands

of the cconomic system. As was the case in the period of Dutch colonialism,

education was proposed as a way to fulfilJ the colonial government's need for

efficient workers to help the Dutch in business and adminisLiative affairs. In

this scp"e, as Anderson says, the emphasis on university education in rnany

socicties may be a waste of resources, for it may le ad to an increase in the

number of students without an increase in the number of people with modern

skillsY3

Sorne other characteristics which can he found in the individual within

the Mul~ammadiyah are certain attitudes which Inkeles lists as a time sense

that make men more interested in the present and future than in the past; a

grenter concern for planning, organization, anA efficiency; a readiness to

92 Arnold Anderson, "The ModerI1~zation of Education", 69-70.

9~ Ibid, 73-XO.

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express opinions: a disposition h, accert new ideas and II y I1l'W I1ll,thods.lJ4

A disposition to accept new ide as is a readiness to new e:\periellces. It may

express itself in a variety of fonns and contexts, as the M ul.lammadiyah

expressed its willingncss to accept sorne patterns of social institutions trom

the West, and to adopt new system of modern education in the early

twentieth century .

94 Inkeles, B.!coming Modern, 19-24.

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CHAYfER III

THE MUHAMMADIY AH MOVEMENT IN ITS SOCIO-RELIGIOUS . CONTEXT

The Mul~ammadiyah is an Islamic movement which is active in dakwah

(rcligious propagation) and which calls for amr-ma'rü! nahy-munkar

(enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong).l As a dakwah movement, the

Mul~ammadiyah indicates, on one hand, its concern for the spread of Islamic

values am id st the lire of Indonesian society and, on the other, it reflects a

continuing Islamization process which has lasted for a considerable length of

time, and has even today not been entirely compleled. Its commilmcnt 10

amr-ma'rnf Ilahy-mlillkar illustrales ils strong wish to implement Islam and

further ils impact upon the rcligious and social life of Indonesians. Such

characteristics le ad the movcmcnt to work not for the spread of Islam to new

converts but tl) campaign tor the correct observance of their fé. th by

Muslims; its mission therefore is not directed towards people in general but

to Muslims in particular. Thus, the dakwah that is carried out by the

movement stresses quality rather than quantity; it stresses on personal

observance of the faith rather than on the increase of rnass support. In tms

context, the moverncnt's efforts are considered as reflection of its religious

outlook and its modern ideas.

ln the context of history of Indonesian Islam, the movement represents

an enclcavor to implement changes in the current religious practices of

Indonesian Muslims. This is duc to the fact that there are many aspects of

1 MlIqaddimah & Allggarall Dasar Muhammadiyah, (Yogyakarta: Pimpinan Pusat Mul.lammadiyah, 1986), 6. .

1 the religious life of Indoncsian Muslims which arc Ilot Islamic. SOllle of them

are borrowcd from traditional bclicfs which arc much inlluenccd hy Ilinduism

and Buddhism. In the devc10pment of Indonesian Islam, thesc aspects of the

oIdcr beliefs rl'main dominant and l'ven color thc Indoncsians' rdigious lire.

AIthough many embrace Islam, the old traditional bc\icfs still cxist in thdr

inner soul and blur the original teachings.

What is more, the history of the spread of Islam in Indollcsia has

favoured the formation of hetcrodox clcments. Il is c\ear that Islam was

introduced into an alrcady well-cstablished non-Islamic civilization.2 Mu'ti

'Ali notes that Islam came to Indonesia through Gujarat mcrchanls. Thesc

were West-Indian Muslims whosc religious lite WHS much intlucllccd l>y

Hindu culture.3 Most of them hc10nged to ~üfî groups, and il secl11s lhat

owing to thcir ~üfi teachings, the Imloncsian people, and particularly the

Javanese, wcre easily able to adopt thcir kil1ll of Islam. Thi~ wa~ hecause

sorne aspects of ~üfî tcachings were similar to Javancse spiritual hdicls. For

example, the Javanese believed that the most valuable achicvcment for the

hum an character was the that of a quiet soul. This could be hrought ahout hy

controlling the passions and by not paying too much attention 10 matcrial

existence. If someone could manage this feat, he wOlild obtain the power to

rule the world around him.4 One can sec how SulÏsm would appcal to the

2 Clifford Geertz, "Modernization in a Muslim Society: The Indonesian Case" Robert N. BeIlah, cd. Religion and Progress in Modem Asia (New York: The Free Press, 1965), 95.

3 A. Mu'ti 'Ali, "The Muhammadiyah Movemcnt: A Bihliographical Introduction", unpublished M.A. thesis (Montreal: Institutc of Islamic Studies, McGiU University, 1957), 28; sec also SelLjarah MasuknJll Islam di lndonesia (Medan: Panitia Seminar Scdjarah Ma~uknja Islam di Indonesia, 1963).

4 Bisri Affandi, "Shaikh Ahmad AI-SurkatÎ: lIis Rolc in AI-lr:-.hiÏd Movement in Java in the Early Twentieth Century", lInpubJ' .;hed M.A.

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Javanese und\!r such circumstances. In this way, the Islam which was brought

by the Indian mcrchants had great success in Indonesia, especially in Java.

This thcory lcads Bcnda to the conclusion that if Islam had come directly

from the Middle East, applying pure monotheism and sweeping away aIl

traditional belicfs, perhaps it would not have any place today in Indonesia,

and particularly in Java.5

Although Islam spread fairly rapidly in the greater part of Indonesia, the

process of Islamization had no uniform pattern of degree of intensity. In

Java, for cxample, the regions which had experienced intense Islamizatiol1

from the start, a process continued by the Walisanga (nine Saints) and their

followers, formcd the nucleus of orthodox Muslim society. But those regions

which werc far l'rom the center of Islamic activity and which had expericnccd

a less intense Islamization, formed those groups of hcterodox Muslim society

which arc called Islam abangan (nominal Muslim).6 The non-uniform degree

of intensity in the spreading of Islam was also caused by the strong Hindu­

Buddhist intluence. Benda notes:

Only in those parts of Indonesia which had been least affected by lIindu civilization inpast centuries -such as Aceh and the Minangkabau region in Sumatra and Banten in West Java- did Islam almost from the outset profoundly affect the religious, social and

thesis (Montreal: Institutc of Islamic Studies, McGill University, 1976) , 31-32; Aboebakar Atjeh, Pengantar Ilmu Tarekat (Djakarta: Fa HM Tawi & Son, 1966), 4-5; Niel Mulder, Kepribadian Iowa dan Pembangunan Nasiollal (Y ogyakarta: Gajah Mada University Press, 1977), 36.

5 Harry J. Benda, "Continuity and Change in Indoncsian Islam".In Contillility and Change in Somheast Asia. Collected Journal Articles of Harry J. Benda. (New Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 1972), 175.

6 For fmtha dctail of this subject, sec Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java (Glencoe, Illinois: The Frec Press, 1960); sec also Harsja W. Bachtiar, "The Religion of Java: A Commentary", Majalah Ilmu-llmu Sastera /ndonesia, 5(1973), 85-118.

70

political consciousness of ilS adhcrents. 'l'hus. it is in thos~ 1 t'gion~ that the new faith has manifested itsclf in a purl-'r, kss conciliatory and at times evcn agressive form. ln the greater part of Java, on the other hand, Islam had been forccd to adapt itsell to centuri~s old traditions, partly indigcnous, partly II'fdu-Buddhist, and in the proccss, lost much of its doctrinal rigidity.

The continuity of Javanese traditional belicfs and lhe history or the

spread of Islam in Java, as mentioned ahovc, brought ahout the result thal

Islam in Java for a long time rcmaincd mon.~ stagnant and lcss pure than

Islam in other parts of Indonesia. Thesc two slrcams have erealed cerlain

charactcristics of syncretic and traditional Islam. The lirsl rcpresents an

element which was forrned by thl-~ strong intluenccs of local hclids, whill' the

second represents an clement which has a very traditional 1I1H.krstanding 01

Islam. Thesc two clements contributed toward the growing 01 hufllh

(innovation) in thc rcligious lire of Indoncsian Muslim~.

The origins of the Mul}ammadiyah are c10sely linked 10 the rcligiolls.

social, and politicallife of lndoncsian Muslims in the early twcl1\ieth century.

This is one of the factors which have led to attempts al puritying Islam lrom

corrupting influences, at rnodernizing Indonesian Muslims in ortler that they

might achieve a place of respcctability in the modern worId, and at liherating

Indonesia l'rom the grip of Dutch coJonialism. To the se ends, the movcmcnt

decided to concentratc its efforts on long-term goals. The first of lhcsc

consisted in pursuing socio-rcIigious activities such as rcsloring Muslim

education and initiating social welfare projects. Such mcthods, of course,

were unpopular in the carly twcntieth century. This is bccausc 1l10l-.t 01 the

Muslim leaders wcrc more intercsted in being busy ;.Ll1d ~acril icing lor

temporal purposes. '[0 escape from Dutch colonial domination they per~ucd

7 Harry lBcnda, The Crescent and the Rising Sun: In(/oneswn Islam Ullder the Japanese OccupatIOn (The Hague/Bandung: W van Iloevc, 1<)59), 12.

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71

a policy of confrontation with the governmcnt. They thought that direct

confrontation, politically and culturally, was the only way to rehabilitatc

Muslims l'rom their backwardness and from the grip of foreign domination.

Reacting against the subjugation of Muslims on the rcliginus, social, and

political mattcrs, the Mu~ammadiyah addresscs itsclf to the task of rcturning

to the teachings of Islam, and does not hesitatc to counter ideological

Westcrnization with Western weapons. Setting out from its basic religious

outlook and ilS modern ideas, the movement puts Islam into practice by

basing its principle programmes on religious, social, and education al

activities. ln so doing, their efforts meet with a relatively favourable response

from the Indonesian community. Our discussion is divided in three parts: 1)

Regeneration of "Pure Islam"; 2) Mu~ammadiyah 's Efforts in Social and

Educational Fields; 3) Responses to the Mu~ammadiyah movement.

1. Regeneration of "Pure Islam"

Il must be noted that the religious reform movement introduced by the

Mu~ammadiyah does not questiop doctrine.8 In Sharabi's term, it is a "neo­

orthodox" movemcnt which id not for reformulation of dogma but for return

to "truc" ISlamY Il shows an awareness of the need to overcome the

intcllectual and spiritual inertia of traditionalism. !ts first effort is a transition

from blind faith in the traditional interpretation of Islam to a new and freer

approach. This amounts to the setting up of rational analysis as the

prccondition of intcrprctation. This not only opens the way for the re­

establishment of the principle of ijtihiid, bat also questions the authority of

8 Nurcholish Madjid, "The Progrcss Of Islam and the Reformation Process", Mizllll, II, 1(1985), 63.

9 lIisham Sharabi, Arab lntellectuals and tlze West, 25 .

7~

the cstablished traditional hierarchy. lts sl.x;ond dforl focuses 011 the

endcavor of bringing back the faithful to the "straight path". 'l'his also

accounts for thcir emphasis on the principlc 01 "propcrly" undcrstanding and

practicing Islam. Islam in its essence is as valid as L'wr, and only Mu:-lims'

understanding of it is wrong: thus "Muslim hackwardncss IS not l'auset.! hy

Islam but rather by the Muslims' ignorance 01 its lruth". 'l'hl' social ami

political malaise of the Muslim community has ils source Ilot in blalll, hut in

the Muslims.

It is quitc possible that thc Mul}ammadiyah rcformisl11 may haVl' conl incd

itself to Salafiya doctrinc and become just anotha movcl1lent ni internaI

"purification". IIowevcr, ilS efforts at rcform have str~ssl.·d the puril ication

of Islam l'rom the wrong int1uences and practice~ 01 tradItions and local

belicfs. In this case, ils rdormist cndcavors arc mu.:h conceTlll.'d wlth the

very practical rituals Uimï'ïyah), such as removing wkluïylll (hclid in thc

disembodied spirit of a dead pcrson), bùfah, and klllmïJa{ (super stitio\1).

However, like other Islamic rcform movcmcnls, the Mul:ammadiyah

consistently stresses the slogan "back to the original kachings 01 blam, the

Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet Mul}ammad". By 'ihüdah Malll,lllh it

means that in ritual practices, cvcry Muslim must follow the alrcady cxisting

pattern from the Prophet Mul.1Ummad.

The moveml'nt has takcn up the fight against ail kinds of hùl' ah practiccs

regarded as hannful superstitions. They sec their effort as a matter of

loosening the grip whieh traùition has on the faith and creating the Irccdom

necessary for a return to the sources 01 religion, in scarch o! values helter

fitted to the mod(~rn age. Subjection to the authority 01 tradition :-,hould not

be the ideal of religion; the individual has the right to examine the tradition

73

ln the light of the truc sources of Islam. The purcly formalist rnanner in

obscrving and understanding sorne religious practices causes Islam LO lose its

hold on the spirit. An example of such an understanding is the Friday sermon

(khllthah Jum'ah). In congregational Friday prayer, many Muslims choose

to rcad the khutbah only in Arabic. This is because they believe that it is a

part of 'ihüdah. On the other hand, the Mul}ammadiyah and other Islamic

rcformists bclieve that the matter is actuaUy a question of both 'üdat and

'ibüdah. Thcreforc one must diffcrentiatc betwcen these two cases. Ahmad

1:la8an, who rcflccts the thinking of the rcformist Muslims on this subject,

says that 'ibüdah, as a ritual establishcd by Ood, must be performed as the

Prophet set it down, and since formai worship utilized Arabie, Arabie had to

be used. Al-fütihalz, the du'jj iftitah. etc., in ~alüt (praying), arc aIl includcd

in this catcgory, but other parts of worship, l'uch as individual prayer and

naslhah (advice) wcre 110t fixed by the Prophct, had no exact form, and the

language could vary according the convcnience of the audiences. The

reformist Muslim groups maintain that since the purpose of the kJzutbah is to

inform Muslims conccrning proper rcligious and moral behavior therefore it

should be givcn in a language undcrstood by the audiences. lO The khutbah

ought thcrefore to he given in the vernacular so that its contents may be

sensibly adapted to the necds of daily life. It brings the message of religion to

worshipcrs in an intelligible way, adjusted to the needs of contemporary

Indoncsian Muslims.

1.a. Bitfa" and Its Inclinalion

One of the important issues in the purification efforts of the movement

deals with the rcmoving of bid'ah. The rnoverncnt defines bid'aJz specifically

10 Sec Fedcrspicl, Persatlla!l Islam, 58.

as any praetice regardcd as 'iblidah that in faet il' not reporll'd in the

tradition of the Prophet. ll Thug, an inventahle practice 01 'd)lido" which is

not exemplified by the Prophct is rorbiddcn. With respect to innovation

other th an in religious matters the Mul~ammadiyah regards the1l1 as hcing

permissible. Thcre is no bid'ah ~IlHafl{lIl (bul'ah which is good) in rl'ligious

matters. 12 Therefore the movcment insists that the term /JuraI! is only

connected with 'ubüdîya (service of Ood) mattcrs. The mOVCl11ent howevcr

daims that it also occurs in mattcrs of . aqîdah sueh <lS the issue of klllmï/ilt

(superstition). However people idcntify it, the lTIovement bc\ieves that l'very

bid'ah is erroncous.13

The movcmcnt catcgorizes as bid'ah many of the practiccs perlofmcd by

lndonesian Muslims, such as: talqlll (instruction or direction, gencrally

denoting the instruction given to the deceased at Ihe graves ide at the time 01

the burial service); tah/il (the aet of repcating words dedaring (ioll Unit y, fii

illiha illli Allah, by many Muslims who join with the lamily of the decca~cd

intending to cleanse the sins of the decea:;cd; 14 quli 'at al-numiiqih (the

reading of the biography of certain saints, such us Shaikh Abdul Qüdir

Jailanî, intending to gain their blcssing. 15 and also pronoullcÎllg or cxpressÎllg

the niyah (intention) of ~allll.16 Although th~ niyah is incorporatcd as a part

11 Djarnawi Hadikusuma, Ah/us Sunnah wal Jamli {Ill Biffait Killirafat (Yogyakarta: PT Pcrcctakan Pcrsatuan, n.d.), 23-24.

12 H. A. Badawi, "Bid'ah dan Churafat Jang Merusak Tauhid" Almunak Mu~ammadijah, XXII (1961-1962), 52.

13 Ibid, 51-52.

14 Ibid,SO.

15 See Ahmad al-Surkatî, al-DhakÎrah, III (Batavia: Borobudur, 1923), 158. .

16 It is called "usallî/l. Literally means /II declarc my intention tü pray". The

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of .~·aljjt, according to the rnovernent it should be stated inwardly and not

pronounccd loudly.17 Anothcr point whieh is eonsidercd as an innovation is

sending a recitation of the Qur'lm to the dcceased. The practice is based on

thl! idca that the reward for sueh a ~ ecitation will benefit the deceased. The

movemcnt counters this idca by basing its argument on the Qur'ân that

" ... and that man has only that for which hc has made cffort ... ". Therefore,

the movcmcnt believes that a reward for recitation will not reach the

deeeased. 1S

Neverthdess, it is not impossible that the deceased will always receive a

reward for what he did when still alive. Such a reward, based on the hadIth

of the Prophet, cornes l'rom three efforts. First, 'amal jariyah (a fervent or

pious dccd), which is a good effort or deed donc during his life which

remains bencflcial to the people, sueh as spending money for building school,

hospital and mosquc. Sccond, ilmu yang bermanfaat (beneficial

knowledge), a knowledgc which had been taught and has proven beneficial to

the people. And third, doa anak saleh (pious son's praying), with the

fultïllment of praycr is on the condition that his parents must be mukmin

(belicver).19

J .b. Shirk and Ils RemOl'al

Sorne practices, such as belief in the power of holy men, of ancestor

term IIsalli in Indonesia refers to the voicing of the intention to pray as a prelude to the prayer itself.

17 Djarnawi IIadikusuma, Ahlus Sunnalz wallama'ah, 53.

lS Ibid, 55; sec also K.H. Farid Ma'ruf, "Chutbah Iftitah" Almanak Mu/!tlmmadijllh, XX (1959-1960), 14.

19 Ibid, 55-56.

spirits, or haunted things arc according to the l11ovcmcnl, sJllIk. (make

something the associate of God).20 In Shah Walî-Allüh's tcrm, Il is a

dangerous syncrctism. According to him. this is a gel1eral weakncss which

new converts to Islam introduce into ils taith and practice. To justity the

continued use of pagan practices thcse convcrts scek the support ot alaise

~adith. Utmost care is thcrd'ore rcquircd to kcep free l'rom .\lllrJ,., Ir,)111

association of aIl kinds with Divine Unit y, Will and Power, trom ail traces 01

anthropomorphism, and from a11 concepts which imply parallcIism bdwecn

Divine Attributes and Qualitics and those of the created.21 Such hdids at

the end crcate new ritual fonns which express respect or kar 01 the

inl1ucnces of the spirit of the deccased. Alllong the ri tuais ot tlm, type is

called slametan, which is usually pcrlonncd individually or collectivdy. Many

Javancsc bclievc that when someone give~ a .\ÙIII/t?tllll, it will IHotcct him

against l'vil spirits. Thcse will not upsct, bothcr, cause illl1e~s and make

unhappiness or confusion. The most important purpose 01 s/allle/lIli is to

render things slamet, which is dcfined by the phrase /lgllk (Ulll ajJCl-lljJll" (there

is not anything), or more appropriatcly, "nothing is going to harpen (to .,.,

anyone)":"~ In sueh meaning, slametan is considcrcd as an obligation for

human beings, espccially in the most important moments of onc's Wc, such

as birth, marriagc, and death.

20 Ibid, 46; K.H. Mas Mansür, Risalah Tauhid dan Sjirik (Surabaya: Peneleh, 1970).

21 See Aziz Ahmad, "Politieal and Rcligious Idcas of Shah Walî- Allah", The Muslim 'World, vol. LIl, 1(1962), 29.

22 Besides the above rcason, Gcertz also eoncludcs that it will not makc anybody feels any differcnt from anyonc cise and so they do nol wanl tn split up. This tcndency to state the implication of social bchavior in psyehological terms, according to its uItimatc clfcd on the individual's cmotional equilibrium, and to state those implications ncgativcly, is characteristic. Clifford Gccrtz, The Religion oJ Java, 14.

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I;ederspicl ~ays that slametan appears to have some connection with

ancient Javanese animism. ft is u~ually hcld on cercmonious occasions to

propitiate spirits and ward olf evil fortune.23 1t can be given to celebrate or

commemoratL: almost any occurrence one wishes to celebrate, mitigate, or

sanctify, such as: IlÎrth, marriage, sorcery, death, house moving, bad dreams,

harvest, name changing, opening a factory, iIlncss, supplification of the

village guardian spirit, circumcision, and evcn starting political meeting.24

Sorne Indonesian Muslims connect slametan with their own tradition and

cali it kenduri.25 Quoting a ~adÎth of the Prophet, the movemcnt states that

it is lorbiddcn to hold a slametan at a house of a mourning family on the day

of the burial or on several successive days, such as the third, sevLnth,

forticth. one hundredth, and even one thousandth day ufter the death.26 But

the Prophet asks people to come to the mourning family, to counsel them to

he patient. and cven to bring sorne food for them.27

I.e. Place al Mystical Practices

The concept of holy men or objects in the khuriifat tradition enables

people to perform certain deeds, 8uch as tawassul (intercession) and asking

for /Jerka" (blessing) to the deceased. Such practices were common during

23 Federspicl, Persatuan Islam, 70.

24 Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java, 11.

25 Fcderspicl, Persatuan Islam, 71.

26 Himpllnan Putusan Tar;ih Mul.lammadiyah, n.d.), 258-259.

(Yogyakarta: Pimpinan Pusat

27 Il>id, 258; 1\nother cxplanation clarifies that the family of the deceased should be let t alone with its grief for several days and that the neighbors should prepan: food for them up to threc days, dcpending on the sorrow causl'd by the <kath of the dcccascd, but that no slametan should be held at thnt time. Sec Fcderspicl, Persatuall Islam, 73.

7'<'

the period of llindu and Buddhist rdigious predominance in Indollesia.

After Islam arrivcd, many Indoncsian Muslims visilcd the tomhs of holy

men, such as those of the ni ne walis, the tirst propagators of Islall1 in Java,

to make a vow to pcrform a certain dced.2g Such an activity, aCl'lm.ting to

Mas Mansür, is shirk and thercfOJ~ forbiddcn. 29

Although the Mul~ammadiyah lights against tall'(lSSld, the 1Il0Vellll'nt

states that visiting tomb. .. pcrmissible for Muslims on thc basl~ th<lt the

Prophet visitcd gravcyards and allowcd othcrs ln do su. Il also ~tates that the

purposc of the visit should bc 10 pray for the deccascd and \0 "rccall the

Hcrcaftcr".30 But if visiting tombs is uscd to ask for somcthing 1 wm the

deccased and makc thcm intcrmcdiaries to (iod, the movemcnt n:jccts 1t.:H

This argument is bascd on the Qur/an:

And cry not, bcside Allah, unto that which cannot prollt thïl;.., nor hur l thce, for if thou didst so thcn wcrt thou of the wrong-docrs.· ~.

However, many M uslims still bclicvc that tuwassl/I is pcrmissihle. They

support thcir argumlmt bascd on thc Qur/ün:

o ye who believe ! Be mindful of your dut y to Allah, and scek "tlle way to a~~roach" unto Him, and strivc in 1 lis way in order that ye fllay succeed.

28 Ibid,77.

29 Mas Mansür, Risalah Tauhùl, 16-28; sec also Snouck Ilurgronjc, Islam di Hindia Belanda (Jakarta: Bhratara, 1973), 40-41.

30 Himpllnan Plltusan Tarjih, 259; Fcdcrspicl, Persatuan Islam, HO.

31 Himpunan Plltusan Tarjih, 233.

32 Ibid, 259-260.

33 Qur/an, 5: 35; Sec Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorinus Koran, 99.

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The Mul.Hlmmadiyah intcrprcts the wOId wasUah (the way of approach)

which is mcntioned in this verse as meaning to "obey every command of God

and to avoid doing what 1 le prohibits". Tht~refore, it concludes that the "way

of approach" (waûlah) to God is taqwa (devoutness),34 The movement

states that anyone is permitted to ask a pious man to pray for him, as long as

the pious man is still alive. In a ~adith it is mcntioned that during the

Prophet's life time, the Companions asked Mul!ammad to pray for them but

"alter he dicd they did not cver ask his spirit, or at his grave.35

The Javanese tradition, which is very respectful to the spirit of the

deceased, cspccially of ancestors, founders of villages, and holy men, has

cnablcd the emergence of tawassul. It seems that sllch a tradition al80

existcd in Arabia bcfore Islam. As a manif,~station of their respect to their

ancestors, people at that time built idols which in the end they uscd as a

means to intercede with God.36 Apart from this, howcver, many opponents

of such practices accuse the ~üti and Ba 'A:lawi groups of being responsiblc

for having sprcad the doctrine of tawassul. Il states that the ~üfi practice of

a novice rdying on the spiritual guidance of his teacher to discover the path

of God often places the teacher in an exalted position and Ieads to the

growth of a cult around the pcrsons of famous ~üfî teachers. Aner their

deaths, the tombs of thesc saints becomc sites of visitation wherL: Muslims

ask the saint to seek intercession for them with God. A similar devclopment

also was causcd by the Ba 'Alawi who claimed to possess a special blessing

and position among Muslims, because of thcir claim of direct descent from

34 "Tanya Jawab/Fatwa Agama" Sllara Mll~ammadiyah, 8,76 (1991), 24-25.

35 Djarnawi Iladikusuma, Ahlus Sunnah wal lamii'ah, 49-50.

36 Qur'iin, 39: 3.

the Prophct Mul~ammad. As a re~mlt cults grew up around :-.everal B.l 'Alawi

personages, such as Shaikh Habshî Iladramaut, who used his dmm to spedal

blessing as a descendent of the Prophet to reinforce his high position as a

~ilfi Shaikh.37

Thc bill'dl dispute between the Mul~ammadiyah and the majol'ity 01

Indoncsian Muslims, in certain aspects, actually rctlcd:-. the continuation 01

the process of Islamization towards a hetter undcrstanding 01 the ,lllUrall.

and thus a greater familiarization with thc Middle FaslL'rn, spccilically

"8 Arabian, style of Islam"') It also indicates that within Indone~ian blam there

is a fight being waged between the traditionaJ ekment!'> ami thl' Ill'W laith

which was much intlucnœd by early twenticth-century Middk L\~t\.'1 n Islam.

This fight has, in fact, bcen going on since the period 01 thl' Willi.'(IIlf..:lI (ni Ill'

saints). Thcre were two groups among the Wllli.\' wh() hall dit kll.:nt policil'!'> in

spreading Islam among the indigenous people who hall strong nid ~)c1leb. ()n

the one hand, Sunan Ampel and Sunan Giri wanted the spread 01 blam to

proceed exactly in accordance with the original sourCl'S. While on the other

hand, Sunan Kalijaga did not want this. Ile rather had a soft attitude towards

the old traditions. He did not want to climinate the nid tra01tional bclids aIl

at once, because it would affect the success of Islamic tlakH'lllz. What he

wanted was to givc new color to the 01d fonns of traditions, to participate in

them and yet at the same time to int1uencc them, so that the conti nuit y

towards true Islamic practices could be maintaincd, either through lollowing

the preachers or the peoplc's own consciousness of thcir religion3<J

37 Federspiel, Persatuan Islam, 79.

38 Nurcholish Madjid, "The Progress of Islam", 63.

39 Solichin Salam, Sekitar Wali Sanga (Kudus: Menara, 1 <J74) , 2X-30; 'Umar Hasyirn, Slinan Kalijaga (Kudus: Mcnara, n.d.).

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The success 01 the latter approach to Islamization has not only been

proved by the decrease in trivial disputes but also by the fact that ail groups

have bcgun 10 stecr away l'rom maUers that can lead to dispute. Those who

oppo'\ed the rcforrn idcas of the movemcnt have now bccome familiar with

such practices. They perform ~'aliit tarliwlh (night prayer during the fasting

mon th, Rllma~Jün) as the M u~ammadiyah does; they deliver the Friday

sermon not only in Arabie, but also in the vcrnacular; they do not hesitate to

pray without wearing a he ad coyer (for men) which was formcrly a much

disputed topic. On the other hand, the movcment now tries 10 forget such

trivial things and concentratcs on its etforts to sprcad ils reiigious reform

through its established institutions, more spccifically its cducational

institutions. Ilowcvcr, sorne rcligious l'ractices which were introduced by the

rdormist groups have now berome a gcncral phcnomenon in the religious li: ~

of Illdollc1"ian Muslims.

2. The Mu~ammadiyah's Efforts in Social and Educational Fields

The idea of reformism is concerned not only with religiou3 but also with

social matters. The Mu~ammadiyah insists that social and political reform

should go hand in hand with spiri\.ual and moral reform. Whatever political

attitudc it chooses, its main conccrn is to he able to protect its social and

rcligious reforms. Thercfore, the Mul}ammadiyah ensures that the reform

moverncnt is effectivcly carricd out with the consent and support of the

estahli::;hed order. For, dcspite its activism} the movement's thought is

basically anti-revolutionary in its social and political orientation.

2.a. Social Welfare

In the social field, the Mu~ammadiyah was a pioneer in using its asse~s

~.,

0_

-generally l'rom various charities- lm cstahhshing permanent social 1 unding in

ordcr to lightcn thc burden of such costs on communities. h.lf this pur pose

the movemcnt has built and contÎnues to huild hospitals. polydinics.

orphanagcs, poor-houses. and other ~ocial wdfare institutions. 'l'hl'

organization manages its orphanagcs through institution and Ilot through

individuals as is gencrally the case. Its social institutions also carry out

various religious duties which are rcIated to social conCCI11S, like distrihuting

certain kinds of chari tics to the poor, such as zaMa.

The Mul:ammadiyah statcs that :.aAiit is not only il rcligious duty. hut

also has an importunt social function in that il incrcasc~ the social wdfarc.

Bascd on this iden, the movcment thinks thnt it is important to coordinatc the

distributioll of zakilt funds so that it he givcll to th()~e who 'laVl" the righl 10

receive it. The movcment had corrcctcd the di~tnblltion 01 ;:llhilf which

tendcd to accumulate to the advantagc 01 a ~ingk pcr~()n. '1'0 thi~ L'nd. the

movement establishcd a temporary committee to rcceive and to di:.;trihutc

zakiit. The functÎol1 of this committcc Iater mcrgcd into the

Mu~ammadiyah's Social Wclfare and I1ealth Care Departrncllt (Pnnbitlll

Kesejahteraan Umat).

Considering thc social function of zakiit funds for the community, certain

questions have emerged, such as how to transfer zaküt to another place, or

how to capitalize zakiit fun.Js for productive purposes and to increase social

wclfare. The Mul}ammadiyah, through ils Majfis TafJlh «('ouncil 01 fatwa),

states that making zakiit into capital l'an bc understood as an ct fort to colle.;t

zakiit funds for productivc crforts based on the permission of the

mustahiqqln (those who dcscrve to receivc zakiit), tu whom the bcnelit will

be given. This effort is considcred as more bene1icial and prol itable than the

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former ways. The Mul!ammadiyah Pekajangan, Pekalongan (Central Java),

howevcr, is an cxample of a branch which has had success in managing such

funds as is sccn in thc productive efforts of thcir Batik Co-operative

(Koperasi Batik).40 ln sorne other placcs, zaklit funds was transformed to be

thc capital of business for small traders.41 The movement aI80 agrees that

zakllt funds can he transferrcd to another region.42

The social programmes of the Mul.Hlmmadiyah are not dirccted to a

specifie social c1ass but to aH people in generai. On the rceommendation of

the 26th Congress at Yogyakarta in 1937, the Mu~ammadiyah establishcd a

permanent committee for the bctterment of the Ilajj Pilgrimage (Badan

Perbmkan Perdjalanan Hadji). The movement relt that the Indonesian

Muslims should purchase their own ships for the yearly pilgrimage, and

thercfore organized a company liN. V. Indonesisehe Seheepvaart & Handcl

Maatschappij", raising moncy by selling its shares for the purp03c of buying

ships. But bcfme any ships could be bought, war broke out and frustrated

the project. So the Badan Perbaikan Perdjalanan Hadji was taken over by

the government in 1950 and placed under the administration of the Ministry

of Religious Affairs.43

40 Susanna Kitty Priee, "Pekajangan: Religion, Textile Production and Social Organization in A J avanese Village". unpublished M.A. the sis (Australian National University, 1977), 35-55; Solichin Salam, Muhammadijah di Pekadjangan (Djakarta: Iqbal, 1968), 16-18.

41 "Mcminjamkan Kambin~ Tcrobosan Menyantuni Dhu'ara", Suara MlI~zammadiyalz, 16, 76 (1991), 40.

42 "Bcberapa Masalah Sekitar Zakât" Himpunan Putusan Tarjih, 362-363.

43 Sec A. Mu/ti 'Ali, "The Mul!ammadiyah Movement", 58-59.

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2.b. Economie Welfare

1'0 irnprovc the cconomic prospects of its mcmhers and of Indoncsians in

general, the movemcnt cstablishcd the Majlls PemMflll Ekol/omÎ «'oundl of

Econorny). The council is in faet more oriented towards organi;ting the

economic activities of its mcmbers rather than h)wards l'stahlishing

cornpanies which would he direetly controlkd and managcd hy the

organization. IIowcvcr, to promotc economic products, the Illovemcnt

facilitates sorne busines!'. evcnts, such as IMzaars,44 and other dlorts which

serve to accelerate the tlow of goods l'rom prodlll:Crs to eon:mmcrs. On April

19, 1990, for example, the Mul.1arnmadiyah's Economie ('oUIll:il signed il

cooperation with private national hankers and retail businessmen who

represented national conglornerates and the "assimilationist ('hil1e~L''', Badall

Komunikasi Pellghayatan Kesatllllll Bangsll ( 'ommunication Board lor the

Practice of National Unity).45 J\ccording to press-rdcasc isslled hy the

Mu~amrnadiyah's Economie Council on August 31, 1990, the cooperation

covered such an effort of which the big national departrnent stores, ,'.1atalulfl

and Hero, agreed to rcceive sorne rctaiI commoditics l'rom the

Mu~amrnadiyah rnembcrs.46

l'hus, the practical efforts undcrtaken by the moveITlcnt have cncouragcd

its rnernbers to increase their social ethics and cntreprencurial consciousncss.

44 Yusuf Abdullah Puar, Perjuangan dan Pengabdian Mli~ammadiyah (Jakarta: Pustaka Antara PT, 1989), 20R-212.

45 lndonesia Reports, 49 (August 1990), 7.

46 "Press-release P.P. Muh,lmmadiyah Majlis Ekonomi Bcrkcnaan Dcngan Makan Bersarna Menteri Pcrhllbungan R.I. di Ilotel Indoncsia" in B. Wiwoho cd., Dia/og Bisl1ls Muhammadiyah Kehangkitan Pengusaha Muslim (Jakarta: Bina H.inâ Parawira, 19(1), 166; Suara Mu~ammadiyah, 24, th. 76 (üeccmbcr 19(1),12-17.

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The more sueeesstully the movement orgamzes the economic basis of its

members the more bencficial the organil-ation will be. The grcat majority of

supporters of the rno\'crnent come l'rom thc rniddle class santri groups in the

urban ccnkrs of Java, and thcir tradcs range from those of entrepreneurs,

traders, craftsmcn and artisans to profcssional people.

As a means of faeilitating trade and improving the economic condition of

the people the Mu~ammadiyah at one time planned to establish a Bank. The

idea to establish such banking systcm was in itself a forward-Iooking attitude

for the movement. It was a recognition of the faet that for progress Muslirns

should utilize evcry rneans which was not religiously prohibited. In 1937, the

M u~ammadiyah Economie Council prescntcd a plan for the establishment of

a Mul.mmmadiyah Bank. In this plan it rccognized that Islam did prohibit

ri/Jü (usury), but the low intcrest rate which the planned Mu~ammadiyah

Bank was to charge or offer could not be called ribü, simply because this

interest would not b,.! necessarily excessive or burdensome.47 But the Majlis

Tarjih (Council of f,atwa) insisted that the organization would accept such a

proposaI only on the condition that the word "interest" be eliminated.48 In

the end, the planned Mu~ammadiyah Bank was not rcalized at the time, nor

has it bec orne a reality since. Ironically, although the Mu~ammadiyah has not

yet cstablishcd its own Bank,49 ncvertheless in sorne places such as Jakarta,

Jcmbcr (East Java), and clsewhere, there are many Banks which are

47 Kartosocdharmo, "Soesoenan Bank Moehammadijah" Almanak MII~zammadijah 1358 (1939-1940), 202-211.

48 Ibid, 209-211; St~c also "Masalah Bank" Himpunan Putusan Tarjih, 304-307.

49 It was said that in 1925 a Bank Muslimin Indonesia (Indonesian Muslimin Bank) was established by the Muharnmadiyah) but it was not long-livcd. K.H.R. Fachruddin, "Umat Islam Tidak Boleh Meninggalkan Soal Pcrckonomian" Dia/og Bisnis, 32.

established and managed personally by the activists ot the 1l10Vl.'l11l'llt.

Rcalizing its importance, the 42nd Muktamar Mul~ammadiyah (hdd in 19<X)

in Yogyakarta) recommcnded once agam the establishment of a

Mu~ammadiyah Bank and urgcd the MllJils TtlrJih to rl'solvl' lhe continuing

problem of bank intcrcst.50 1'0 this end, the Mul.lall1l11adiyah has l"oopcrated

with thc private national banks, such as Bank Danamon, l.ippo Bank, Bank

Tiara Asia, Bank Susila Bakti, to cstahlish 20 Pcople's t'redit B'illk (Bank

Perkreditan Rakyat).51

To finance its activities which include its social institutions such as

hospitals, orphanagcs, poor-houscs, and cdllcatiollal programmes, the

Mu~ammadiyah rcceives contribution~ l'rom ils mcmher~, donations lrom the

rich, and incomc l'rom endowmcnts (H'aq)) and other!'.ources. Ali that is

concerncd with that the maintenance 01 ~llch propCI tics is 1I1\del lI\\'

responsibility of the Majlis Waqf dall Kehmtllhl!lldlllltl ('ouncil of II'{UIJ and

Property). It is reported that aIl its social and cducational institutions are

built on its own lands which have becn dcrived t'rom \l'aC/I. And 01 the 2216

branches throughout Indonesia, 1368 branches have rcportcd thaL the

movemcnt owns 6769 properties with a total land arca of 19,921,342,54

m2.52

50 "Peningkatan Penyantunan Kaum Dhuafa", 125.

51 lndonesia Report, 49 (August 19(0), 7; Jünus Jahjà, "Pengcmbangan Potensi Bisnis di Kalangan Muhammadiyah dan Cita-cita Nation Building" Dialog Bisnis Mu~ammlldZrah, 142-149.

52 "Scjarah Pcrkcmbangan Muh .mmadiyah di Indollesia" Swpa Yang 'l'al<. Kenal Mulwmmadiyah (Jak~trta: Departcmen Pcncrangan R.I., 19X6), 139. .

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2.c. ContnbutlOn in Edllcational Reform

One of the problems that had been faced by the Muslims in Indonesia in

early twenticth century was inadequacy of Islamic education to fulfill the

dcmand~ of modern dcvelopmcnts. The l~xistence of Muslim educational

institutions had bccn rc1atively undevelopcd. These institutions only

concentratcd on a limited lslamic knowledge that was mostly related to the

religious practice and avoided including modern sciences that were needed in

accordance with the demands of modern development. The Muslims in

general werc not prcpared to undertake the study of modern sciences and

literature because thcse were regarded by them as altogether incompatible

with their religion. Such a condition also happened to the Muslims in India in

the late ninetcenth century which led Sayyid i\1.1nlad Khân establishing the

MIIIIllmmadcl1l Anglo-Orielltal College at Aligarh.

ln Indonesia, the Muslim cducational institutions which centered at the

POlldok Pe,\{ltltren (the traditional institution of lslamic education), in fact,

were isolated from the devcloprncnts of sciences and modern society. Those

who werc in the circle of the Pondok Pesantren were not able to solve the

problcl11s which arose duc to modern dcvcloprncnts. The role of doctors,

lawycrs, ellginccrs, educators, economists, which werc lleeded by community.

could not he produced hy a traditional Islarnic educational institution, but by

modern one. Thus, in this point, the Pondok Pesantren did not adequately

serve the national plans for modernization.53

Meanwhile the colonial cducatlOnal system could 110t fulfill the wish of

the Muslims. I,ike in India, the system of education inaugurated by the

53 Dawam Rahardja. Pesantren dan Pemhaharuan (Jakarta: LP3ES, 1974), 5.

British was not accepted by the Muslims as il was considered irrl'ligiolls and

an attempt to wcan them away l'rom the crced which their-rathers hall

professcd.54 In lndoncsia, the devc10pment or the colonial secu!ar

education, whicb \Vas very discriminativl? am\ strcsscd on the sccular science

by avoiding religious values in its school curriculum, thrc,ltcned the culture

and spiritual lire of Mllslim youth. Moreover, the Dutch cducaliollal policy,

in faet, proposcd to fulfill the colonial governnwnt's need for dlicicnt

workers 10 hclp thc Dutch in business and administrative offices. These civil

servants wer~ usually l'rom the priya)'l (J avancsl' aristocracy) lamilies.55

Thereforc, whcn the opposition to the J)ulch edllL\ltion elllerge \, this group

did not react but the public bcgan to doubt the bCllelït of the J)ulch

education for Indoncsian people. In the t'idd of education, the l'rt)'llyl class

altaincd several advanlilgcs l'rom the nutch and so die! the Ilindus lrolll the

British govcrnmt:nt in India.56 Mor\?over, th\? issuc 01 the relation bdwl'l'n

colollialism and Christianization in the colol1ialized coulltries, ~upportcd the

54 For morc information about lndian Muslim attitude towards British colonial education in lndia, sec Barkat Ali, "The Origin of Moslelll Renaissance in lndia", The HindlJsran RevLeh', (J uly 19(7), 39; Sayyid Ahmad Khan found tha1 the Muslims rejected Western sy:-.tcm 01 ecrucation for a number of rcasons which may he traccd to tour cau~es: their political traditions, rdigiolls bclids, social custom and poverty. But among these rcasons, it \Vas believcd that religious reaSO\1 wa~ the principlc onc. M.S. Jain, The Aligwh Movement: Its Ori/{ll/ (Iml Development ]858-1906 (Agra: Sri Ram Mchra & ('o., 1{)()5), 29.

55 Edwin R. Embree, Margaret Sargent Simon, and W.Bryant Mllmtord, Island Indla Goes to ScIIOOI ~Chicago: Thü Univürsily 01 Chicago Pn;ss, n.d.), 97; seü also Soebardi, 'Islam dl Jlld()l1e~ia", l'nslnlJ, üx(ra (I9Tl), 27-29.

56 They l'clt that the colonial government education would glve them accu.;:.. to government job~, and at this point, thcy Idt the Muslim~ lar hchilld cducationally and cconomically. Com;eClucntly, thcy had bCCOJlH': the favourites of the coloninl govcrnment bccau~e 01 their willillgne:-.:-. to adopt it, but the Muslim!-. were without any support owing 10 the IHlstik propaganda ag<.inst the rukrs emanating lrom the c(}n~ervatiYl' Mu~hm circles. Shan Muhammad, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: A PoÜtlca! B(()/{raphy (Meerut: MeenakShi Praka:-.han, 19ŒJY, 55.

i

reaction to the colonial government education.57 The Mul.uunmadiyah

considered that this point was an important issue hecallse in ninctl'l'nth

centllry, in particular, many Dlltchmen had great hopes 01 e1iminating the

influence of Islam by rapid Christianization of the majority of lndollcsians.

These hopcs were parti y bascd on their assumption 1hat the :-.yncretic nature

of Indonesian Islam at the village lcvel would rentier conversion to

Christianity easier in Indonesia than elsewhere in Muslim lands.5S This issue,

however, was supported by the Dutch colonial government policy who tendcd

to hand over the education in Indoncsia tn the missionary works. ln faet, the

policy was begun in 1905 and was complcted in the period of Idenhurg, in

1909.59

The above-mentioned conditions of Muslim education encouraged the

movement to strive toward cstablishing an educational institution lor the

future generations.

The organization has endeavored to rcform Islamic education hy

introducing a new system of values which are in conformity with the dcmands

of the future, and yet which do not neglect thc principlcs 01 Islamic

teachings. The reformation includes two aspccts, namcly, an ideal and a

technical aspect. The ideal aspect, as formulated in thc educational aims or

57 ln 1835, when the Muslims of India came to know that the British government intended to start English teaching in ail the schools, they submitted an application which stated that the evidcnt object of the scheme was to convert them and to inducc the people to become Christians. Ibid, 54; sce also David Lclyvcld, Aligarh '.') Fm;t Generation (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1978),72.

58 Wertheim, Indonesian Society in Transi/wn (Bandung: W. van IIocvc Ltd., 1956), 204-205.

59 Soegarda Poerbakawatja, Pendidikan Da/am A/am Indonesia Men/l'ka (Jakarta: Gunung Mulia, 1970). 29.

90

tbe Mul~ammadiyah, proposes 10 shape a man who has a good character, a

good knowledgc of the religious as weIl as the secular science, and a

willingness to work for the progress of hi<; society.60 The technical aspect is

related more to the methods of learning, school organization, subjects and

curriculum adoptcd from modern educational theory.

The purpose behind Mul~ammadiyah education, a purpose reformulated

l'rom its religious outlook, is to form a generation of 'ulama-intellecwals or

intellectual-'ulamil. That is, a Muslim ought to have an equilibrium between

faith and knowledge, betwccn rcligious science and secular science. This is

because Islam is a way of life that tcaches ils followers not only religious

doctrine (in a limitcd sense) but also aU aspects relating 'with the life in this

world. From this point of view, 'ilm (science) should not be understood a3

rigidly divided into the religious and secular sciences, as is generally the

case, but rather, as Seyyed Hossein Nasr has said, the principlcs that are

based on the universality of Islamic teachings, which emphasize the

equilibrium betwccn the life of the world and of the Hereafter.61 Based on

this understanding, a truly Islamic system of education should, therefore,

teach its followers not only the beHefs and religious practices of Islam but

also their relcvancc and application to worldly life. The Mu~ammadiyah is

dcsirous of producing an educated Islamic elite, with a strong sense of

identity, capable of giving guidance and leadership to the community in the

60 Sec the Constitution of the Muhammadiyah education, Chapter l, article 3. Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah Majlis P & K, Surat Keputusan Pimpinan Muhammadiyah TentanG Qaidah Pe~qllruan Dasar dan Menengah Muhammadiyah, (Surabaya: Plmpinan Wilayah Muhammadiyah Jawa Timur, Majlis Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, n.d.), ,., . -.

61 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Science and Cil'ilization in Islam, (Cambridge, Mass.: Ilarvard University Press, 19(8)), 22; see also Qur'an, 28: 77.

91

years to come, and also l)f actiug as a countervailing lorl'e 10 thc l'cl'ular

Wcstern-cducated elitc produced by the Dutch colonial education systcm.

2.d. Introduction to a New System of Education

The system of education introduced by the M ul.lammadiyah is a model of

modernization which combines the (,Id clement, Islam as hasis of

modernization, with the new clement, methodology dcrivcd l'rom thl' systems

of modern education. From this combination, according to Nakamura, the

results of its education have been manifold. First, il has enhanced an

Inclonesian national concÏousness through h\lamic idioms. Second, through

the Mu~amrnadiyah school8, the ideology of rcformist Islam was widc1y

disseminated. Thini, it has promoted the spread of practical knowkdge of

modern scicncc.62

Many aspects of the technical rcformation of education wcre taken lrom

modern educational systems. The method of learning that is uscd by the

Mu~ammadiyah sehool is classroom-oriented rather than text-oriented as is

the case in the Pesantren in Indonesia and the Deoband school in 1 ndia. The

les sons are given in the classroom, using benches for seating the pupils,

tables, a blackboard and other equipment. The teacher gives thc lesson to a

group of pupils of nearly the same age and knowledge. 1 le also has tu

monitor the progress of the students by giving thcm formai cxaminathms

regularly, and individual marks; thus, the student is able to move l'rom grade

to grade until he completes his education, whercupon he is awardcd a

eertifieate.63

62 Mitsuo N akamura, The Crescent Arises Over the Bunyan Tree: A Swdy of the Muhammadiyah Movement in CentraL Javanese Town, (Yogyakarta: Gajah Macla University Press, 19X3), X6.

92

The ~ystem of school organization is based on the Constitution that is

issued hy the Mul}ammadiyah. It is organizcd as an indcpendent institution,

not as a part of the household of thc leading tear,her, nor as a function of the

local mosque. J 11 this aspcct M u~ammadiyah school organization is similar to

the Aligarh Collcge of India.64 '1'0 manage ail of its schools, the

Mul~ammadiyah established the Departmcnt of Education. The

Mul~ammadiyah's Departrnent of Education is responsible for aIl of its

schools. It has l1l1 office in every region where the Mul}ammadiyah exists.

The distribution of authority between the headquarters and the regional

branch offices is clcarly delineated. Except for its curriculum and managerial

manual which arc issued by the headquarters, the day-to-day management is

car ricd out by the hranch office. Even in sorne places, the branch office

coordinatcs ail of the schools which are in its administrative region by

ccntralizing financial administration in one management unit, and not at the

school. In this way, the Mu~ammadiyah school that is financially weak is

assisted, and yet is still able to maintain its function of carrying out the

mission of thc Organization.

The changes also included the rationalization of the curriculum. To

achieve its educational goals, the Mu~ammadiyah decided to inc1ude religious

63 Sec Muhammady Idris,"Kiyai Hiiji Ahmad Dahliin", 178; Soebardi and Lec, "Islam in Indonesia " in Raphael Israili, ·ed. The Crescent in the East: Islam in Asia Maior (London: Curzon Press, 1982), 191; Clifford Geertz, "Modernization' , 101.

64 The organization of thc Aligarh College had been charted prior to its aetual establishment. It was through a committee that the lolicy of education was dctermined. See Muhammad, Sir Syed Ahma , 65; for details of the rules and regulations of the Committee, see ~'Rules for the Guidance and Management of the CoJlege Fund Committee (1872 A.D. or 12H9 Il)'' Shan Muhammad, ed. The Aligarh MOl'ement: Basic Documents, 1864-1898 (Mecrut, New Delhi: Meenakshi Prakhasan, 197H). 3Hl<~H6.

.'

--------------------.............. subjccts as weil as sccular suhjccts such as mathcmatic~. natural sciellces and

humanities in thc curriculum, the ratio of which depcndcd on the type nI'

schoo1.65 The construction of the charactcr and rcligiolls spirit of t11l'

students is an irr.portant dut Y of the schoo\s. J\lthough the Mul.lamlllatliyah's

schools arc nol the same as the i\ligarh,66 in formulating the rcligioll~ lilc (l!

:hc students, thc former providcs somc kinds of practical and social dl1til'~

for the students in their extra-curriculum. Rcligious activitics arc pcrlor1l1L'd

in class seminars as weIl as on campus such as, Dür al-AIl/am (re\igiou~

training) which is he Id cvcry Ramadân, and outsidc campus in the l'mm of

social participation in the community which is usually held coinciding with

the remembrance of the special events in the Muslim calcndar sllch as Id 1I1-

Fi!" ijiijj and sorne ather important days. It was hopcd t11at by thL'~e

religious and social activitîcs, students will he able Ln implcmL'1l1 Islam in

practice. Howcver, the mnst important innovation 01 the cdu<:ational ~yslL'1l1

was undoubtedly the opportunity il providcd for girls 10 ohtain an education.

even permitting them to study alongside I:lale students in the saille da~~.r,7

lhe reformation of the Mu~ammadiyah education was also a respol1se tn

the duali5l eaucational system in Indoncsia. With regard to the Pesulllren, the

Mu~ammadiyah introduced many change:; to it and rcformcd its organization,

curriculum and techmques of instruction. This new modc1 schoo) was callcd a

madrasah, in which both rcligious and sccular suhjccts werc taught.

65 Ibid, Chapter VII, article 8.

66 At Alîgarh, religious instruction was an intcgral part of the program of the College. The students had to live in the hostc1s, and numaz (prayer) was compulsory for both Shî'î and SunnÎ students. The pre~ençC of every student at narnaz was essential and rcgular altcndance was to be maintained. Muhammad, Sir Syed Ahmad, 68; 1,c1yvcld, Alil{arh 's Flrsl Generation, 128-129. .

67 Socbardi and Lec,"Islam", 191.

...;..-------------------

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Similarly, schools that were lormcrly estahlished by lhe Dutch colol1Ial

gov(:rnment, were transformed by the Mul~ammadiyah by the addition of

religious subjcct in its curriculum. Thesc schools, called Sekolah Umwll

(gcncral school), subsequently grcw and dcvcloocd rapidly and became one

01 the strong agents in transmitting the i(k':.t of reformation of the

Mul.1ammadiyah. lt bclieved that by the compreh~'nsive teaching of Islamic

subjects in ils schools, it would be able Lo prûducl\' graduatcs in accordance

to the plans of the movement.

The effort to transmit rcligious teachings at the sekolah lImlim began

long before the Mul~ammadiyah's own schools were \:stablished. Kiyai ~liiji

AI}lTIad Dal}lan in fact approached the government SChtlllls to tcach religious

suhjects. The governmcnt schools that he considerelt1 to introduce the

teaching of religious subjects wcrc thc kweekscllOol at Jetis, Yogyakarta, and

the Middlehare Opleidings Scl100l Voor Inlandsche Ambtenaaren

(M.O.S.V.I.A.), the secondary training school for lndonesian officiaIs, at

Magclang, north of Yogyakarta.68 He realized that the students who

gra.4lJated from these schools would be appointed as teachers and officiaIs in

government offices, whcre their role would be very important to society;

thcrefore,thcy had to be givcn an indepth understanding of religious

tcachings.

In 1920, the Mu~ammadiyah opencd its first madrasah, called Pondok

Mll~amml1diyalz, offcring a fivc-ycar programme of both religious and

sccular subjccts.69 The sccular subjects included arithmetic, Latin

68 Solichin Salam, K.H. Ahmad Dahlan: Tjita-tjita dan Perdjuangannja (Jakarta: Depot Pcngadjai-an Mul~ammadijah, 1962), 5-6.

69 This schoo\ was actually foundcd in 1918, whcn its original name was al­QIsl1lui Arqa, tcaching only rcligious subjects. Thcn in 1920, i~ was

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charactcrs, nationai history and litcrature, geography, and sn lorlh: il

curriculum organizcd along a strict subjecl, grade, and h:xthook pattern,

complete with c1ass hou r..; , cxaminations, marks, diplol1las and :m on.70 This

was undoubtcdly the first sccondary school al Yogyakart(\ that taught

rcligious and secular subjccts organizcd in il modern styk. ln 1924, this

school changcd its name 10 Kweekschoo/ MululIll/lltllli\'l/h (the

Mu~amrnadiyah 'l'cacher-training School), and since that time, it has bccn

divided into Madrasah Mu'allimlit MIl~Ulmmlldiyllh for girls and MlU/Ill.'illh

Mu'allimln Mul!ammlldiYlllz for boys, and still exists tilt t()dtlY JI

The madrasah modd of the POlldok Mlilulnllnadi\'tll!, l'omhining Islamic . . and Western subjccts, was dividcd into two lcvds: f/wdrasah Ih(uliiÎWlh

(Elerncntary Schnol) and mat/rasah Th ail lÎ Il 'Îyah (ScL'ol1dary School).

Mal~rnüd Yünus writcs thal by 1957 lherc wcrc 6X5 madmsa!z.\ organi'/cd by

the Mul~arnmadiyah in Indoncsia.72 ln 195H the M ul.lammadiyah loundcd thL'

Akademi Tabllgh, Li collegc which offefcd a thrce year course for !slamie

missionaries, a course cornprising subjccts, soc;ology, anthropology, I\rahic,

Indoncsian ~nd local languages. Tt was hoped that this colIcgc woulll producc

Islamic missionaries who conforrncd to the needs ot the lndoncsian

society.73 In the following years, the Mul~amrnadiyah also opcncc.l other

changed to be Pondok Muhamnuuliyuh. Sec WirÎm;ukarto, Pembaharulln Pendidiklln Dan PenglldJuran Islam , (Y()gyakarta: Pembaharuan Pcndidikan/Pcngadjaran Islam, 1962), 72; and according to Mahmüd Yünus, in 1957 it was changed tO he a ~ix-ycar school. Mahmud Yünus, Sejarah Pendidikan Islam dl Indoflesill, (Jakarta: Muiiara, 1979), 272.

70 Geertz, "Modcrnization", 101.

71 Wirjosukarto, Pembaharuan Pendidikan, 72.

72 Ma~müd Yünus, Sejarah Pendidiklln, 270.

73 Ibid, 280-2X1.

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instituliOI1~ providing blamic studies al the college levcl. According to the

official report issued by the Mul.lammadiyah in the acadernie year 1989-1990,

it rnanaged 10 religious coIlcgcs arnong ils 72 universities and colleges

throughout lndonesia. These 10 collegcs consistcd of 6 for the Faculty of

Islamic Education, 1 lor the FacuIty of Theology, 2 for the Faculty of

Dakwah (missionary), and 1 for the FacuIty of Islamic Law.74 This number

is said to h~ on the increase since there were many proposaIs to establish

ncw collcgcs in ot11cr regions of Indonesia where the Mul~amrnadiyah is

infl ucntial.

During the Dutch pcriod the Muharnmadiyah established many schools of

Sekolllh Umum modcl in a various different lcvels. In 1926, it established a

Bustlwul Atfiil (Kindcrgarten) in Yogyakarta. In the sarne year, another

school Hollandsclz Inlandsch School (H./.S.) met de Qur'iin 75 was

m;tablil-'hed; later it changed its narne to the B.LS. Mul:ammadiyah, and

functioned as an c1erncntary sc11oo1. In following years it also establishcd

othcr school8 such as Sclzakel SchooL MlI.~ammadiyah, (the Mu~ammadiyah

Link School)76 Hollandsch /nlandsch Kweekschool (H.I.K.), Meer

74 Pimpinan Pusat Muharnmadiyah, Majlis Diktilitban~, Warta PTM, 3, IV (September, 1989),1; at its 41st congress (held In Sala in 1985), the Muhammadiyah decided to forrn the Majlis Pendidikan Tinggi Penelitian dan· Pengembangan (Diktilitban~), Department of Higher Learning, Research and Development. ThIS department was to coordinate and manage the Muhammadiyah higher learning. Formerly, this function was undcrtaken by tne Department of Education. This decision was not only stimulated by the rapid developrnent of its Universities and Colleges but also by the realization that the University has a very strateg:c role to play in fulfilling the needs of the movernent.

75 The foundation of the 1 I.I.S. met de Qur'an was a counterbalance to the 1 I.I.S. met de BijbeI. founded by the Christian missionary. See Wirjosukarto. Pemolllzaruan Pendidikan, 72.

76 The purposc of cstahlishing the Sc/zakel Sclwol in the Dutch educational system was to givc the Desa Sc/zool or Volk SclzooL (Village School) pupib the opportunity to continue to the Meer Uitgebreid Lager

p

Uitgebreid Lager Ontfen"ljs (M.U.I .. 0.), and A!Rt'lJ/ellt' IHidd!t'htlrt' Sc/wo!

(A.M.S.) Mul~ammi.H.liyah77

After Indepel1dence, the system of J)uleh education, which was

considered discriminatory, was changed to conform to the Ill'l'lb 01 nation

building. With the emcrgence or the gowrnment or lndollesia, the policy 01

education was dirccted to rulfill the ide al purposc, thal is, to l'dlH.:atc the

Indonesian people. '1'0 achieve this purpnse, the government dcclarl'd that

education was compulsory for every individual Indonesian. One of the

changes was that the government began 10 rearr:lI1ge the ~tages of education

from elementary to higher levels. The M ul.lammadiyal~ Seko!llh V/IlIIIll

(gcneral school) happcned to conform 10 the governmen\'s pattern 0\

education: Taman Kanak-kanak (Kindergartcn), SeAolah Dasar (Ekmcntary

School), Sekolah Mellengah Tingkat Pertal1l11 (Junior Iligh School), Seko/ah

Menengah Tingkat Atas (Senior IIigh School), and Pelgllntllll '/lllggi

(Collcge or University), The Mul.wmmadiyah schools spread tn nearly l'very

rcgion in Indonesia and overshadowcd the government schools.

The Mu~ammadiyah schools have recciv~d a positive response from holh

the community and governmcnt. The studcnts who cnroll at the

Mu~ammadiyah schools come l'rom vanùus religious aspiration and ~()cial

groups. Nakamura eoncluded through his rescarch 111 Kotagcdc,

y ogyakarta, that there were many individuals l'rom a much wider spectrum of

Ondem'ijs (M.U.L.O.)

77 Both M.U.L.O. and A.M.S. were the Dutch Native School mode!. M.U.L.O. sehool was formed as a special depurtment 01 the gencral Sccondary School (Lower Sccondary School). A.M.S. was cquivalcnt to upper seeondary sehoul. Sec Wirjosukarto, PemlwharlllJn Penditliklll1, 72; Pocrbakawatja, Pendidikun Dalam Alam Indonesill Merdt'ka (Djakarta: Gunung Mulia, 1970), 24-30, 215.

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religiou~ orientations and social status groups who sent their children to the

M u~ammadiyah schools.7X The government gave them subsidies because the

Mul~ammadiyah schools actually fulfilled the requircments as the government

schools had done.79 Judging by the responses l'rom the community as weIl as

from the government, the Mul.lammadiyah schools arc well accepted.

J\Hhough there were ncgative reactions from sorne groups, whieh were

gradually reduced and changed to positive responses as people realized the

need for such kind of education.

Well-organized schools and also a very positive response l'rom the

government and communities accelerated the development of the

Mul.ulmmadiyah schools. In 1985, it was reported that the Mul~ammadi)ah

was managing 14,385 schools l'rom Kindergarten to Senior High Sehool

throughout Indonesia.80 This number is based on data l'rom 1985, thercfore,

it is likcly that now the number has increased. Having such a great numuer of

schools, the Mu~ammadiyah has become a power to be reckoned with in the

system of national education.

The reformation of Muslim education that has been carried out by the

M ul}ammadiyah is aetually a precise response to the socio-religious

conditions of Muslims in Indonesia. The school model that has been

estahlishcd by the movement combines sorne elements of modern educational

systems, and, on the othcr hand, preserves Islam as the basis of its

78 Mitsuo Nakamura, The Crescent Arises Over the Banyan Tree, 89

79 Poerbakawatja, Pendidikan, 24-30, 215

SO "I,aporan Kclua Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah Pada Resepsi Pcmhukaan Muktamar ke 41 di Stadion' Sriwl"dari Tgl. 7 Desember 1985",in SiUjJll Yang Til/ak Tahll Muhammadiyah, (Jakarta: Departemen Pcncrangan R.1.. 19H6), 14. .

.......

education. '1 hcretore. in ~ome aspects. il is ditlcrcnt trom th ... · traditional

Muslim cducational institution (Pont/ok Peslllllrt't/) and tWill the nutch

schools. The differel1l'l' is not on\y in krms 01 tcchnica\ aspects hut, aClually,

in the aim of education itscll. In this sense, the Mul.\ammadiyah is dl'~irnll~

of producing an cdul'ated Islamic ehte which will hl' c:qually capahle in !loth

the rcligious and sL'clllar lïclds.

3. Responses to the Mu~amrnadiyah Moverncnt

The establishment of the Mul:mmmadiyah \cd to rl'actions l'rom the Duh:h

colonial government and trom some group~ in Indonesian ~()l'idy. 'l'hL'

reactions were lwth positive and l1L'gative. ;\ po~ilivc n:acliol1 cOll\d he Sl'l'Il

il' the Kaul1l Mw/a (moderni:-.t group), WhICh had the same a:-.piratjol1s as thL'

Mul.lammadiyah. Negative reactions caille lrom the J)ulch CO\Olllil\

govcrnment, Nationalists and Mu~lim tradltlona\i~t~, c(\ch 0/ thL'~e grollp~

having its own rcason for opposing the f\ll1l.1ammadiyah.

In lndoncsia, the groups which wantcd to have somc changes in rcligioll:-'

thoughts and practiccs wcre called Kallfll Mw/a. X 1 They werc cOl1sidcrc:d

pioneers in effccting radical changes in religious thought and practices. That

is why, whcn sorne modern Islclrnic organjzatioll~ wcrc foundcd in thc carly

twentieth ccntury, they becarne the fir~t group or pcople who wekol11ed

them. And soon arter the Mul:ammadiyah was estahlished, many of Ils

functionarics were l'rom this group. \Vhcn the rnovernent was allowcd to open

81 The carly twenticth cl'ntury brought to the 1 ndonesian ~cene new idea~ and thoughts which began to divide the Mu:-.lim cornmunity into the Kaum Tua (old group) and the Kallm Mulla (young group), the lonnCf including those wh,) adhercd to the tratlitonal practicc:-. o! blam, the latter representing thosc who wantcd rctorm. Nocr, nit' Modem/st MlisUm, 6; see also B.J .0. Schrieke, PerRolakan ARlIl1W dl ,SlImal1l1 Barat: Sehllah SlImfJaflRan BihlLORrall (Jakarta: Bhratara, )<)75), ()<).

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100

branches outside 01 Yogyakarta hy the Dl1tch colonial government, many

regions which had l'ormed the basis of KOllln Mw/a supports quickly changed

to become repre::-entatives of the Mul~ammadiyah.

( (owcvcr, not ail re~p()n~es to the M u~.lammadiyah were positive. The

DUlch, lor c.\ample, aIthough lhey claimcd to be neutral toward religion,

discriminated againsl (siam. This is because the Dutch policy in Indonesia

was directed to weakening the strcngth of Islam. Therefore, as Deliar Noer

ha:-- noted, the c~tabli~hmcnt of modernist organizations, especially the

Sarekat (siam and the Mul.1ammadiyah, could he viewed as a bulwark against

this policy.X2 If we study it carelully, the Dutch attitude toward Islam in

Indoncsia ' .... as actually ambiguous. For example, the establishment of the

MulYlInmadiyah was permitted by the Dutch colonial governmcnt through

their GOIlI'ernen;ClI( Besillit no. Xl, August 22, 1914.83 The decision to allow

lhe Mul.lammadiyah lo exist, contradicted thcir policy toward Islam in

Indone~ia. But if wc look at it closcly, the Dutch permission for the

movement's estabiishment was not really honest. They did so in the first place

bccausc thcy wanted to rcducc the Muslims' opposition to Dutch policy and

in the second place, because the Mul}ammadiyah was not a political

organization. AIthough thcir existence had been legalized, the

Mul.ulmmadiyah really did not cnjoy complete frcedom. Hs tabl1gh was often

interfcred with, many of its mllball1gh were often checked, 'll1d even sorne of

ils teachers wcrc prohibited from teaching.84 Thcse rmitations are evidence

that the Dulch colonial govcrnment always wantcd to control the

W' (- Nuer. nIt! Mot!em;sr Muslim, 314.

K~ Muhammat!IJali Setengllh Abad (Djakarta: Departemen Pencrangan R.I:. 19(2). appcndix 2.

X4 Noer. The Modemi.\1 MlIslim. 315.

1

4''''

lOt

Mul~ammadiyah, and the modcrnist organizatiol1s as a whole.

In contrast to the Dutch rl'action, the Nationalists -illduding the leaders

of Sarekat Islam- accuscd the Mul.lammadiyah of having dose rdations and

of cooperating with the Dutch.85 They rcacted I1egativdy to the

Mu~ammadîyah simply because this organization did Ilot use polities as the

bl.isis of the movement.86 Sue'l reactions were él!SO experienccd by mmkrnist

groups in other colonialized Muslim countries. Thcre 'Nere many people who

held the opinion that the national cause would he best promoted only by

discussing politieal arrairs. In India, for cxamplc, Sayyid Al~mad Khiln was a

figure who rejcctcd this opinion and saiel that the spread of education was

the only means for promotion of the national eause.87

This dilfcrenec in ~)pinion arose trom the differing order cl priorities

which the two Muslim reformer groups in Indonesia the Mul.lammadiyah and

Sarekat Islam. For the tirst, the non-political modcrnist groups, the primary

issue was to combat the backwardncss of Muslims in the ~oeial and

educational iïelds -an undcrtaking that was inseparahle trom Islamie rcfol'm.

This explains thcir untiring efforts to present Islam as a religion that was

rational and compatible with science and which urgcd bc\ievers to pay

attention not only to the word of God, but also tü thc work of ()od. The 1 Îrst

group believcd that their choice was a corrcct political attitude, while the

second maintained that direct political agitation against col()niali~m 'Vas the

85 Harnka, "J angan Membanggakan Mayoritas" Panji Mas)'aralwt, 211 (Novembcr 15, 1976), 8.

86 Harry J. Benda, The Crescent and the Risinp Sun, 50.

87 Lelyvcld, Alîgarh's First Generation, 317-3l9; J.M.S. Baljon, '[he Reform and Reltgious Idem; of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khün (Leiden: H.J. Bril!. 1949), 33. .

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102

bcst way.

Mcanwhilc, thc idca of the Mul~ammadiyah reformation met with ~~rong

opposition from, if wc may use Geertz's term, traditionalist groups.88 They

believcd that the truth expressed in the teachings of the great Islamic

scholars of c1assical and medieval Islam --such as al-Ghazali (d.U1), al­

Mütüridî (d.944), and al-Ash'arî (d.935) in th~ology, and the imams of the

great madhiihib in jurisprudence-- did not c.,hange. The truth, they argued,

did not ncecl to be reformulated. A reinterpretation of the Qur'an and

'fallUh was not only unnecessary but also dangerous since it coulcl le ad to

misintcrpretation and error.89 They said that following one of the great

madhühib, (MaIikî, I~anafi, Shafi'i, and l!anbalî) was necessary.90 In other

words, taqlîll was encouraged for every Muslim. They argued that taqLîd had

existed si nec the periml of the Prophet Mu~ammad. 91 Therefore, when the

Mul~ammadiyah advocated the new approach of understanding Islam, and

criticizcd the formalism of Islamic orthodoxy embodied in the traditional

M uslims, the latter reacted very negatively.

Moreover, sorne of the beHefs and practices which are heterodox in the

eyes of the Mul~ammadiyah, are supported by religious doctrine, according to

the traditionalists. Here, the dispute becomes worse and worse because it is

concerned with differing beliefs and truths. From tbis angle, it is

88 Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java (New York: The Free Press, 1960).

89 "Verslag-Congress Nahdlatul 'Oelama' Jang ke 14 di Kota Malang". quotcd from Federspicl, The Persatuan Islam, 46-47.

90 Pcngurus Bcsar Nahdlatul 'Ulama', Kumplilan Masalah-masalah Diniyah Da/am Muktllmar N.V. ke 1 s/d 7 (Djakarta: EI-Hidayah, 1960), 6-7.

91 IIllsain al-lIabsji, Risalah Haramkah Orang Bermadzhab 'l 2 (Surabaya: /\laydrus. 1957), 16.

103

understandable that the traditionalists should rdu~e l'very change 10 their

religious practiccs, for they thillk that l'very change is considercd to he an

attempt against the religion itsclf. On the other hand, the Mul.lammadiyah

argues that changes are very l1ecessary as long as such hcterodm .. helicts arc

still practiced in the religious life of Muslirns.

The reaction to the Mul}amrn~ldiyah was not only limitcd to verbal hattle

but also often fo11owed by physical connicts. AI.lmad Dal}Ian, the founder of

the movement, was accused of being "wahhiibî, who had deviated l'rom the

path of the ahl Slinnah wa al-lama'ah, 92 rejccted the accepted schools of

thoughts (madhahib), ruined religion, a Mu'tazilî, a Khliriji, ... nay Cl kiifir,

whose tongue, wheu he died, would come out two meters trom his mouthyJ

In sorne places the reactions exploded into physical violence, such as III

Babat, East Java, in 1926; in Cileduk, Cirebon, West Java, on July 26, 19J2;

in Gebang, Cirebon, on May 1936.94 For the Mul}ammadiyah such incidents

were unavoidable, especially when the movement wantcd to spread ils

influence and to establish new branchc5 in l1CW regions. In Handarsepuluh,

Paiman, West Sumatra, a11 Mu~amrnadiyah branches wcre closcd and its

leaders were driven away. In Bintahan, Bengkulu, the Mu~ammadiyah office

was burned. In Binjai, East Sumatra, a member of the Mul~ammadiyah was

killed by the Kaum adat (adat group).95 Ali these reactions illustratc th<1t the

traditionalists could not accept the ideas which wcrc brought forward by the

92 Saifuddin Zuhri, K.H. Abdulwahab Chaslmllah (Jakarta: Yamunu, 1972), 25;

93 Mu'ti 'Ali, The Mu~ammadijah, 32.

94 Noer, The Modernise Muslim, 234.

95 Musthafa Kama} Pasha, ct. al., Muhammadiyah SebaRai Gerakan Islam (Yogyakarta: Persatuan, 1975), IS ..

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104

Mul}ammadiyah, and even they felt dissatisfaction with the religious efforts of

the movement.

Such rcactions were more often directed towards the Mul}ammadiyah

than towards the other modernist groups, such as AI-Irshâd, Persatuan

Islam, and Sarekat Islam. This was due to the fact that the MuI}ammadiyah

was able to dcvelop more rapidly than these three modernist groups. Among

the factors involvcd was the intensity of its tabligh activities which received

much support from middle class batik merchants. Through their trade routes

the M ul}ammadiyah was a! ,le to be spread widely, and in faet these

merchants themselves functioncd as muballigh.96 In addition to this factor,

the social programmes and activities of the movement met with the needs of

people. In compU'-jng the Mu~ammadiyah with Sarekat Islam, Susanna

Priee, through her rcsearch in Pekajangan, Pekalongan, Central Java, writes

that to join the Mu~ammadiyah entailed sorne changes in one's way of

behaving, which ideally permeated aIl aspects of thought and action, whereas

to join Sarekat Islam could simply represent a formaI expression of

dissatisfaction with social and economic conditions. Where others made

speeches, dcbated and argued, the Mu~ammadiyah provided a blueprint for

internaI evaluation and specifie action. 97 "Action not words" was Ahmad

Dahlün's common entreaty to his followers. Such factors enabled the

Mu~alT1madiyah to spread easily and its ideas to become more acceptable.

96 This factor, we believe, is also possessed by the three modernist groups, especially Sarekat Islam which was motivated and established by Muslim traders to lift up their entrepreneurial position from the business competition with the Chinese traders.

97 Susanna Kitty Priee, "Pekajangan: Religion, Textile Production and Social Orgamzation in A J avanese Village". unpublished M.A. thesis (Australian National University, 1977), 51.

lOS

The widcsprcad growth of thc Mul.Hlmmadiyah's influence in th~ various

Muslim communities, also served to aggravate its rdationship \Vith the

traditionalist groups. Deliar Nocr points out that thl' acceptancc of the

Mu~ammadiyah in Kepanjcn, East Java, was a thorn in the Iksh 01 thl'

traditionalists. ln this town there werc many batik traders who had hllsiness

ties with Sala and Yogyakarta.98 For business purposes as weil as for the

purposc of the Sarekat Islam, AI.lmad Dal.llan, the founder (lf thl'

Mu~ammadiyah, oftcn visited Kepanjcn and disclosed his idem; about several

religious practices to his friends. At nrst hit-; ideas werc readily acccpled

because of the respect he enjoyed among the traders, but Kiyai '}ajî J\snawi,

a traditionalist of Kudus who also had contacts with somc of the traders

(several of them even hailed from Kudus), began to shun MulY\ll1madiyah

ideas and incited the people in Kcpanjcn 10 do the samey9 From that point

on, Kiyai ~Iajî Asnawi became one of a numbcr of strong opponcnls to the

development of the Mul}ammadiyah. lOO

The disputes betwecn the Mul}ammadiyah and the traditionalist groups

gave momentum to the wish of Sarekat Islam to concentrate efforts towards

uniting aIl the disputant Muslim groups. 1'0 this end, the first al-Islam

congress was held in Cerebon betwecn Octobcr 31 and Novcmber 2 1922.

Both the reformists, the Mu~ammadiyah and AI-Irshad, and the

traditionalists, K.H. Abdul Wahab Hasbullah of Surabaya and Kiyai l.Iüjî

Asnawi of Kudus, took part. On that occasion, the traditionalists dcnounced

the Mul}ammadiyah for having crcatcd a ncw madhhab (school 01 law), 01

98 In thesc two cities, batik was much produccd, and Yogyakarta itscll was known as a center of the Mul:ammadiyah

99 Nocr, The Modernist Muslim, 227.

100 Aboebakar i\tjeh, SalaI (Jakarta: Permata, 1970), 130.

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106

replacing the old ones, and of creating new intcrpretations of the Our/an,

which, in the eyes 01 the traditionalists was forbidden. 101

Sarekat Islam/s d'tort to unite the rcformist and traditionalist groups III

the lirst congress was a failure. The rcsults of the congress, especially on

religious matters,102 dissatisfied the traditionalists. This was made clear

wh en they did not come to the sec('nd congress held in May 1924 in Garut.

'J'he Mul.lammadiyah, on the contrary, played dominant role. 103

In the following al-Islam congress, the traditionalist groups realized the

growing dominance of the rcformists. This was demonstrated when the

representatives of Muslims in Java were invited by Ibn Saud to attend the

world Islamic congrcss in Mecca, in June 1926. To this end, the permanent

Committee of the al-Islam congress (founded according to the decision of the

second congress in Garut) decided to attend the congress. Based on the

decision of the fourth al-Islam congress in Yogyakarta (August 21-27, 1925),

a meeting of rdormist organizations in Cianjur, West Java (January 8-10,

1926), and again at the firth al-Islam congress in Bandung (February 6,

101

102

The al-Islam congress sponsored by Sarekat Islam was an effort to enlarge its power among IndoneSlan Muslims by strengthening its rcligious influence -whieh had deteriorated bec au se of the success of the Muhammadiyah. Besides that the internaI condition of Sarekat Islam was· unstable because of the provocation of the left-opposition in il. A.K. Pringgoùigdo, Sejarah Pergerakan Rakyat Indollesia (Jakarta: Dian Rakyat, 1977), 36-37, 91-92.

The congress agreed that the basis of aIl religious teachings is Our/ân and hadIth; that the four imam (Malikî, Hanafî, Shafi'i, and Hanbalî) had come to their respective religious juagments after a carëful and complete study and investigation of the texts in the Our/an and hadith; that in order to purify and to give explanations about the various disciplines of Islam, and for the study of religious books, it is very important to carry investigations into the Our'an and hadith; that the interprctation of the Qur'an should not be done arbitnirily, but that it nceds the neccssary equipment. Noer, The A10dernist Muslim, 227-228.

103 Pringgodigdo, Sejarah Pergerakan, 92.

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107

1926), the Committcc sent I:Iâji 'Umar Said ('okroaminoto or Sarl.'kat Islam

and K.H. Mas Mansur of the Mul:ammadiyah to Mt'cca 10 parlidpatc in the

congress. 104 At the firth congress in Bandung, K.l1. Ahdul Wahah

Hasbullah, on behalf of the traditionalists, submittcd proposais 10 the dTcl'l

that traditional rcligious practiccs, such as the crcctioll of tomhs 011 graves.

the rcading of certain prayers, and the teaching of IIllUlhÏlllllJ, he rcspl'cted

by the new Arab King in his statc, including Mecca and Medina. lOS

The congrcss at Bandung respondcd unlavourahly to these proposaIs.

and this caused Wahab Hasbullah tn withdraw l'rom the committce and to

take the initiative in holding a meeting of promincnt tr(\(lItiol1alist lcaders. lOfl

From then on K.I 1. Wahab lIashullah let! the meeting ath',ndcd hy

traditionalist figures such as K.H. lIasjim Asjari, K.l1. Bi:-;ri Sans uri

(Jombang), K.H. Ridwan (Semarang), K.ll. Asnawi (Kudus), K.II. Nawawi

(Pasuruan), K.I-I. Nachrowi (Malang), and K.I 1. Abdul Aziz (Surahaya).

They resolved to establish a committce under the name 01 Komite /lipl;',

(Hijaz Committee), and decided to: 1. send dclegates to the world Islamic

congress in Mecca, and appeal to the King Ibn Saud to take mcasures in the

interest of the four madhlihib (I~ana1ï, Maliki, Shafi'i, and I.lanhalî); and 2.

establish an organization, Na~datul 'Ulama (awakening of 'ulamii') which

purposed to carry out the shar1'a! al-Islam based on of four madhiihih. 107

It was clear that the N ahdatul 'Ulama had becomc the basis of the

traditionalist groups opposcd to the idcas of Mul}ammadiyah rcform. In vicw

104 Ibid; Noer, The Modernist Mllslim, 223.

105 Ibid.

106 Ibid.

107 Saifudin Zuhri, K.H. Abdulwahab Chashullah, 26.

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108

ot this tact, it would not bcinaccurate to say that the establishment of the

Nal~datul 'Ulamâ was a reaction to the Mul~ammadiyah.108

ln addition to thcir criticism of the Mul~ammadiyah's stance on religious

matters, the traditionalists rcjected the efforts of the Mu~ammadiyah in the

social, cultural and cducational fields as ret1ecting a cooperative attitude to

the Dutch government. Therefore, they defined the movement's endeavors as

being no more th an the deeds of unbelievers. This idea was based on an

intcrpretation of the ~ad1th which says, "whoever is trying to resemble a

nation, he is actually includcd in that nation". For the modernists, if the

hadith was (.~·a~l~l), the word "resemble" should be interpreted refers to

'aqîdah and not to trivial things. Sorne however thought that the ~adîth is

weak (~la'If), and therefore, that it could not be used as a basis of law. 109 It

is ckar that they uscd this religious reasoning to support their non­

cooperative attitude towars the Dutch. On this basis, they opposed the

Mul.ltlmmadiyah's endeavors and refuscd everything connected with the

Dutch, whom they identified as unbelievers. By logical extension, whoever

rcscmbles the Dutch or other Westerners in terms of dress, thought or

approach to education, then he is autornatically an unbeliever.110

If it is studied carefully, the negative reaction to the Mu~ammadiyah

cannot he separated l'rom other factors. 1t is reasonable to say that the

108 Nakamura argued that the establishment of the Nahdatul 'Ulam a rctlected the realization of 'ulama' and their grass-mot 'masses of the challenges of modernization in the colonial period. Mitsuo N akamura, "Bulan Sabit Kian Meninggi" Panji Masyarakat, 275 (July 15, 1979), 31-32.

lO9 Amir IIamzah Wirjosukarto, Pembaharuan Pendidikrln, 66.

110 Ihid. 65; Pcngurus Bcsar Nahdlatul 'Ulama', Kumpulan Masalah­l1l11salah Diniyah. 25-26.

1 political position of the lndonesians under the ))utch rule WilS very wl'ak. To

oppose the Dutch militarily was impossible. This condition led to the

decision to concentrate on a non-cooperative attitude towards the Dutch

govcrnment, both politically and culturally. As a justification, thl'Y laokL'd l'or

religious reaSOIlS. Thus, it is clear that the non-cooperative attitude wa~

partly formed bccause of the political factor of anti-c~)lonialism. ()11 this

point, the traditionalists were of the same opinion as the l~ationalists.

The Mul}ammadiyah, on the other hand, believed that independenc': l'rom

the Dutch would cvolve through adopting sorne modern idea:; and certain

aspects of culture, even though somc of them mighl b\i derived l'rom the

Dutch. Convinced that such an attitude was right, the movell1ent wanled 10

build a new culture appropriate to the demands of modernization. Nakamura

believes that the Mul}ammadiyah at that time provided an cxamplc 01 ,111

Islamic movement which was successful in adapting lslamic values to the

modern urban environmenl. The urbanization process which was carricd out

by the Duteh colonial government resulted in new challenges to Islamic

values as weIl as to the Muslim identity. But tp~ Mu~ammadiyah responded

effectively to those challenges. And, in fact, the post-colonial situation ha~

created a beneficial instrument for the continuity of the devclopment of the

movement. 111

Moreover, the disputes were progressively reduccd through externat

forces impinging upon the Muslim community. Although the traditionali~ts

and rdormists remained divided, the division hecamc more and more

111 Mitsuo Nakamura, "lndoncsia's Muhammadiyah as an Urban Phenomenon: 1\n Observation of Ruràl-Urban Contrast 111 blamic Social Movement". Urbanism in Islam. supplement. The Procceding of the International Conference on Urbanism in Islam. October 22-2X, 1989 (Tokyo: The Middle Eastern Culture Center, 1 <JX<J) , 216.

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110

competitive rather than destructive. On the one hand, the M ul~ammadiyah,

partly to avoid governmental suspicion and hostility, came to conduet its

aetivities with a notable absence of acrimony against its traditionalist

adversaries. On the other hand, in matters of organization and even in

certain religious affairs, the Na~datul 'Ulama was driven to copy the methods

which had so signally contributed to the sueccss of the Mu~ammadiyah, and

in doing so it ccascd to combat its adversary with its original vehemenee. 112

112 Benda. The Crescent and the Rising Sun, 51.

, CONCLUSION

The subjugated condition of lndonesian Muslims in the rcligious, social,

and political spheres in the early twenticth century provokcd certain

responses among lndonesian Muslim leaders. With thcir commit ment to thcir

religion, these leaders tried to find a solution to thcir problems. Oiving a

diagnosis of the situations Kiyai I:Iajî A~mad Dal}lân believed that the real

problem was duc to the fact that the MusIims did not implemcnt Islam

correctly. He believed that if the Muslims went back to the original teachings

and applied it in daily life, and paid attention to the improvemcnt of social

and educational fields, they would rccovcr l'rom thcir backwardncss.

Therefore, the establishment of the Mu~ammadiyah in 1912 was an endeavor

to respond to such a condition.

Ahmad DahUin laid down the organizational principlcs of the

Mu~ammadiyah and directed it as a religious and social movement; its

politieal attitude avoided a reaetionary position white at the same time

strategically protecting its religious and social initiativcs aimed at achicving

its goals. A t.un ad Da~lan's dedication to the movemcnt lcd to the

development of a strong organization. This stage of the developmcnt was

followed by the establishment of the necessary infrastructure. The

infrastructure, which included various departments and autonomous bodies

within the organization, was to be devcloped gradually ovcr a period of time.

It was built on the basis of the need of the organization to both diagnose and

provide solutions to the problems which were faced by the Indoncsian

Muslims. The infrastructure which was laid down by i\~mad Dal}lan was then

developed by his succcssors who subsequently ran the organization, and it

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112

becarnc the pillar of the rnovemcnt in carrying out its mission.

The basic religious outlook of the movcrnent makes it clear that the task

of rcviving true Islam has logical as weIl as practical primacy and requires

substantive changes in the traditional approach to doctrinal interpretation.

Such intendcd changes include bringing about "the proper understanding" of

Islam. This leads to the ide a that the final authority in aIl that concerns

religious doctrine lies neither in the schools nor in the religious hierarchy,

but in the Qur'ân and the sunna. By adhering to the word of God as

conveyed to Mu~ammad in the Qur'an and by following Muhammad's

cxamples, Muslims would find the source of true Islam. In pursuing this

basic line of thought, the movemcnt has confirmed the right of ijtihiid and of

liberating the mind from the bonds of taqlîd.

Mcanwhile, on the issue of modern ideas, the Mu~ammadiyah stated that

thesc issues, concerncd with "worldly affairs", hold a position of equal

importance with the religious practices. Therefore, the general character of

the Mu~ammadiyah's conception of modernity should be understood in terms

of the Islamic concept of this world and its relation to the world beyond.

Since the Mul~ammadiyah considers that modernity is essentially concerned

with this world everything which is related to "worldly affairs", therefore the

process of change becomes a main character of this world. However, there

are sorne other characteristics which indicate the modernization of the

Mul.lammadiyah. Those, which are concerned with the instituion, lay more

stress on ways of organizing and doing; while sorne others, which are

conccrned with the individual, focus primarily on ways of thinking and

feeling, such as readiness to adapt to new environment, readiness to accept

ncw idcas. openness to new experience, and awareness of the diversity of

l 11.'

attitude and opinion. Such characteristics can he round anwl1g IIIdivlduals

within the Mulyammadiyah.

Its fundarncntal idcology is rctlectcd in thc l'ad that the M ul.Hlmmadiyah

carries on the rcligious rcform as well as social and educational

modernization. By the former, the rnovemcnt rncans a proccss to "purity

Islam" from the wrong intlucnccs and practiccs of traditions and local hdids.

ln this case, its reforrnation was much cOl1ccrned with the Vt:ry practical

aspects of 'iblidah, and thercl'ore biffaI! became a major lSSUC. The

movement concluded that, first, the tcrm bitfah is only conneclec.\ with

'ubüdîya matters; second, therc is :10 hid'ah ~zasllllah in 'ubiidîya matters;

third, with respect to innovation other th an in re\igious matters, the

Mu~ammadiyah regards thcm as being pcrmissible; lourth, an innovatiVL'

practicc of 'ibüdah which is not excmplificd hy the Prophet, is not only

erroneous but also forbidden. In such meanings the MulYlillInadiyah in~i~ts

that the important thing for the Muslims is not mercly to implelllent 'lhiit/ah

duties in daily life, but to irnplerncnt thern in such ways as werc c},.emplil iet!

by the Prophet Mu~amrnad.

The distinctive achievements of the Mu~arnmadiyah, which di~tinguish~~s

it from aU other Islarnic reform movcrnents in lndoncsia, c()n~isted preciscly

in its social and edueational endeavors. The movemcnt did not practicc the

ways as people generally did in managing thcir social cndcavors, bccausc il

believed they could not meet the real purposc or such cndeavors. On the

other hand, the movemcnt introduced ncw ideas and systems whlch wcrc

adopted from the West to build ils own social and edueationaJ in~tilution!'>.

Many of its social efforts, such as hospitals, orphanages, poor-hou~cs, and

other social welfarc institutions wcre organized on the pattern ot Western

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institutions. In the tield of education, the movement introduced a new system

which combined the old clement, Islam, as a basis of modernization, with the

new clements, rnethods of learning, school organization, subject and

curriculum, derived from the system of modern education. Such a

combination was bclieved to be in conformity with the demands of the future,

and yet not in opposition to the principles of Islam.

The struggle for reformation of the Mu~ammadiyah did not run weIl. It

faced opposition from various groups of lndonesian society. Each of the

groups had their own reasons for opposing the Mu~ammadiyah. The religious

outlook of the movernent and its opposition to the existing religious

practiccs, which wcre considered by the Mu~ammadiyah as bid'ah, represent

the primary cause for the traditionalist's reaction against the movement. The

traditionalists owed their position and power to the very system which the

Mu~arnmadiyah wished to change. Meanwhile the nationalist groups accused

the Mu~ammadiyah of not having the courage to participate in practical

politics, and that the Mu~ammadiyah was close to the Dutch. But as seen

later, some groups of Indonesian society realized that what the

Mu~ammadiyah had striven for was very beneficial. Even the traditionalist

groups, which had opposed the idea of the Mu~ammadiyah reformation,

eventually became familiar with it; and sorne religious practices such as the

style of .~aliit tariiwih, ~aliit 'id al-Fi~r and 'id al-Adha on the fieldyard, and

rcading khlltbah Jum'ah in the vernacular which were introduced by the

Muhammadiyah have now become a generai phenomenon in the religious life

of Indoncsian Muslims.

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......

GLOSSARY

abangan (Javanese) == nominal Muslim

abdi dalem (Javanese) = royal servant

akhlak, akhlliq (Indonersian, l'rom Arabie) = moral eharaetcr

akhirat, akhira (Indonesian, from Arabie) = herlJaHcr

'alim, pl. 'ulama (Indonesian, from Arabie) = lcarned man in the Islamic teaehing

alun-alun (J avanese) = fieldyard

'amal-jariyah (Indonesian, from Arabie) == a fervent or pious deed

amal-usaha (Indonesian) == endeavor

amana (Arabie) = truthworthiness

amr-ma'rü! nahy-munkar (Arabie) = enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong

'aqidah, pl. 'aqiiid (Arabie) == Islamie belicf, faith, erced.

Ba (Arabie) = a genealogieal term used in Hadramaut, cspccially among thc Sayyids and Shaikhs of Hadramaut, to form individual and collcctive proper names, e.g. Ba 'AIawî, Ba F~

Ba 'Alawl (Arabie) == Hadramî Arabs who claim to he the descendcnts of 'Ali .

batik (Indonesian) = beautiful prillted (sometimcs written by hand) cloth manufaetured in Indonesia

berkah (Indonesian, from Arabie) = blessing

bitfah (Arabie) = innovation

Budi Utomo (Javanese) = an association of Javanese founded in Djakarta in 1908

Bustanul A~flil (Arabie) = Kindergarten managcd by the MU~1ammadiyah

carik (Javanese) = seeretary of village

dakwah (Indonesian, from Arabie) = religious propagation

Dar a!-Arqiim (Arabie) = Mu~ammadiyah religious training

dunya, dunia (Arabie, Indonesian) = world, worldly

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fatwa pl. fatawa (Indoncsian, from Arabie) = decision of religious matter givcn by a rceognizcd religious seholar ('iilim)

fiqh (Arabie) = Islamie jurisprudence

furü'iyah (Arabie) = eoneerning praetieal application

f!iiJï (Indonesian, from Arabie) = a title for a pers on who has performed the pilgrimagc to Meeea

~iijj (Arabie) = the pilgrimage to Meeea

'ibadah, ibadat (Indonesian, from Arabie) = religious service

'Id al-Adha (Arabie) = the feast beginning on the tenth day of the month of dhulhijja; saerificial animal (korban) is slaughted on this day

'id al-Fitr (Arabie) = the feast of breaking of the Ramadan on the first day of tlie month Shawwal; it is the biggest annual festival eelebrated by lndonesian Muslims; often ealled Lebaran

/hya' al-Sunnah (Arabie) = revival of sunna, a religious group in Surabaya . founded by the reformist groups

ijtihad (Arabie) = the right of individual interpretation

ikhlas (Indoncsian, from Arabie) = sineere

ilmu falak (Indonesian, from Arabie) = astronomy

imam (Indonesian, from Arabie) = leader of the congregational prayer; head of a religious eommunity

al-/rshiid (Arabie) = guidance; the name of an lslamie reform movement founded by A~ad al-Surkati in Djakarta in 1913

ittibii' (Arabic) = aceeptanee of a judgment from another who bases it on the Qur'an and Hadith

al-Jam'iyat al-Khairiyah (Arabie) = Association for the good; An lndonesian Arab association founded in Djakarta in 1905; the organization was open to every Muslim, but, in faet, the majority of its members were Arabs

Kaum Muda (Indonesian) = Young group; reformists; modernists

Kaum Tua (Indonesian)= Old group, traditionalists

kenduri llndonesian) = meal or feast of religious eharacter; slameran

khatib or khatib (Indonesian, from Arabie) = Friday sermon giver

khurlifat (Arabie) = superstition

, .'

....

khutbah (Indonesian, [rom Arabie) = Friday sermon

kiblat, qiblah (Indonesian, from Arabic) = direction of prayer (to Mecea)

kiyai, kyai, kiai (Indonesian) = 'ulamfi', uscd especially in Java. Sec 'iilim

kraton (Indonesian, from J avancse) = royal palace

langgar (J avanese) = small prayer building, also callcd mu.~allii

117

madrasah (Arabie) = school; usually refers to a rcligious (rcformi~t) school

marqatillah (Arabie) = God's agreement

mu'amalah (Arabie) = eonduet of people among thcmselves

muballîgh (Indonesian, from Arabic) = a person who propagates Islam; see tabl1gh

muktamar (lndonesian, from Arabic) = confcrcnce; the Mul~ammadiyah holds it in every five years

Pancasila (Sanskrit) = a formulation of five principlcs as the philoso(>hic basis for an lndonesian state. The princlples arc Belicf in One (JOd, Humanitarianism, Nationalism, Democracy, and Social Justice

pengajian (Javanese) = religious lecture

penghulu (Indonesian) = head of religious official at rcgcncy Icvcl

Persatuan Islam, PERSIS (Indonesian) = Islamic Unit y; a rdormist organization established in Bandung in 1923

Pesantren, Pondok Pesantren (Indonesian) = Islamic traditional seminary in Java

priyayi, priayi (Indonesian) = Javancse aristocrat, usually conm~ctcd with government official

puasa (Indonesian) = fasting

qa'idah (Indonesian, from Arabi . .;) = norm

Raden (Javanese) = noble title used in Javanese community

riba (Indonesian, from Arabic) = usury

salaf (Arabie) = predeeessor; the carly gencration of Muslim community and those who followed the way thp,y studicd

salaftya (Arabic) = an Islamie reform movement founded by Muhammad 'Abduh

~alat (Indonesian, from Arabic) = praying

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santri (Indoncsian) = pupil of pesantren in Java

Sarekat Islam (Indoncsian, l'rom Arabie) = Muslim Association; A transformation of Muslim Trade Association, founded in Solo in 1911

shirk (Arabie) = aseribing of pattern to God

shukür (Indoncsian, from Arabie) = gratitude

slametan (Javanesc) = a communal feast given to eommemorate important cvcnts in an mdividual's life

~üfl = mystie; a member of a religious order whieh follows mystieal interpretations of Islamie doctrines and praetiees

sufism = mystieism

tabligh (Arabie) = propagate religious message

tafsir (Arabie) = eommentary of the Qur'an

tajdid (Arabie) = rcformation

takhüyu[ (Indonesian, from Arabie) = belief in the disembodied spirit of a dcad person

taqlid (Arabie) = aeeepting the aire ad)' established tradition and praetiee as final and as having an authoritabve eharaeter

taqlid buta (Arabie, Indonesian) = blind aeeeptanee

taqwa (Indonesian, from Arabie) = obedience; fear of God in the sense of revcrcnee

tariiwih (Indonesian, frm Arabie) = night prayer during the fasting :;-.onth Ramadan

ta~awlVuf (Arabie) = Islamic mystieism; see süfi

tawii4u' (Arabie) == humility, modesty

tawakkal (Indonesian, from Arabie) = trust in God

tawassili (Arabie) = intercession

ta wh id (Arabie) = a theologieal term used to express the unity of the Godhead

'1Ilamü' (Indonesian, from Arabie) = plural of 'olim; see 'olim

Undang·Undang Dasar 45 (Indonesian) = Indonesian Constitution 1945

liswatull ~asallah (Arabie) = a good ex ample

r

wakaf, waqf (Indonesian, from Arabie) = rcligious cndowmcnt

wedono (Javanese) = head of an under-distriet

119

waU (Indonesian, from Arabie) = saint, used of certain Islamie religious notables;

walisanga (Javanese) = the nine walis

wasilah (Arabie) = intereessor; see tawassul

zaklit (Indonesian, from Arabie) = almsgiving

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