Islam and Colonialism: Becoming Modern in Indonesia and Malaya

358 Pages·2016·0.994 MB·English

by  Muhamad Ali

‘Through its critical approach to the interplay of Islamic religious reform and
I I S L A M A N D
dynamics of both British and Dutch colonialism, this work of comparative history S
opens up illuminating perspective on the rather different shapes that Islam and Muslim L
societies have taken in the neighbouring nation-states of modern Malaysia and A
Indonesia.’
M
Michael Feener, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore COLONIALISM

A
Explores the ways in which Islam and European colonialism
N
shaped modernity in the Indo-Malay world
D
B E C O M I N G M O D E R N I N
Focusing on Indonesia and Malaysia, this book looks at how European colonial and C
Islamic modernising powers operated in the common and parallel domains of O
government and politics, law and education in the first half of the twentieth century. L I N D O N E S I A A N D M A L AYA
It shows that colonialisation was able to co-exist with Islamisation, arguing that Islamic
O
movements were not necessarily antithetical to modernisation, and that Western
N
modernity was not always anathema to Islamic and local custom. Rather, in
I
distinguishing religious from worldly affairs, they were able to adopt and adapt
A
modern ideas and practices that were useful or relevant while maintaining the Islamic
L
faith and ritual that they believed to be essential.
I
S
In developing an understanding of the common ways in which Islam was defined
M
and treated in Indonesia and Malaysia, we can gain a new insight to Muslim politics
and culture in Southeast Asia.
Key Features
• Shows how Asian Muslims and European Christians developed modern
approaches to politics, law and education which formed the basis for governance
M
and civil society in the independent nations of Indonesia and Malaysia
U
• Adds to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between Islam and
H
the West
A
• Demonstrates that colonial–Islamic relations were less confrontational, both M
conceptually and institutionally, than has been previously believed A
D
• Uses comparative history to emphasise common and parallel features between

diverse forces for change A
L
I
Muhamad Ali is Associate Professor in the Religious Studies Department at the University
of California, Riverside.
Cover image: Ontvangst te Wadjo ter Gelegenheid van Idoel Fitri, c.1938 © Leiden University Library, KITLV, Image code 41626
Cover design: www.hayesdesign.co.uk
ISBN 978-1-4744-0920-9
M U H A M A D A L I
www.euppublishing.com
Islam and Colonialism

Islam and Colonialism
Becoming Modern in Indonesia and Malaya
Muhamad Ali
For
Neneng and Inas
© Muhamad Ali, 2016
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
The Tun – Holyrood Road
12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
www.euppublishing.com
Typeset in 11 /15 Adobe Garamond by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire,
and printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 0920 9 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 0921 6 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 0922 3 (epub)
The right of Muhamad Ali to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and
Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498).
Contents
Glossary vii
Acknowledgements xiii
List of Abbreviations xvii
Transcriptions and Orthography xviii
Map xx
Introduction 1
Part I Making Islam Modern
I Organising Da’wah and Spreading Reform 35
II Colonising the Muslim East and Reinforcing Culture 74
Part II Modernising Politics and Government
III Building Siyasah and Reforming Sultanate 107
IV Controlling Politics and Bureaucratising Religion 137
Part III Modernising Law
V Integrating Shari’ah, Adat and European Laws 165
VI Formalising Legal Plurality 193
vi | islam and colonialism
Part IV Modernising Education
VII Teaching Agama and the Secular 223
VIII Secularising Education 256
Conclusion 279
Bibliography 297
Index 329
Glossary
adat: custom. From Arabic, adat (ade, adat istiadat) becomes a local term in
the Indonesian- Malay world. Another Arabic term is urf to refer to local
custom.
adatrecht: customary law. From Arabic (adat) and Dutch (recht).
agama (ugama, igama): religion. From Sanskrit. A local term in Indonesia
and Malaya.
Ahl al- Sunnah wa al- Jama’ah: People of the Tradition of Muhammad and
the Community. This theological branch of Islam was developed by
Abu Hasan Al- Ash’ari (874–936 ad) who attempted to reconcile reason
and revelation. Ahl al-S unnah wa al-J ama’ah is often identified as the
Sunni in general. Groups who hold Ahl al-S unnah wa al- Jama’ah usually
reject Shi’ism, Mu’tazila, Khawarij and other theological branches they
claim did not follow the Way of the Prophet and Early Community of
Believers. They accept the four caliphs after Muhammad: Abu Bakr,
Umar, Uthman and Ali. Al- Ghazali (d. 1111 ad) has been followed as
one of the Ahl al-S unnah wa al- Jama’ah theologians influential in the
Indonesian- Malay world.
Aisyiyah: a women’s department or sub-u nit of the Muhammadiyah. Named
after Prophet Muhammad’s wife, Aishah.
akhirah: the final, everlasting world. From Arabic. The hereafter. A Qur’anic
concept of the everlasting world to come, as opposed to the temporal
world (dunya, dunia).
aqidah: ‘to bind’. Faith. Belief. Another Arabic term for this is ‘itiqad.
aql: an Arabic term for reason, rationality. It is localised as akal.
bangsa: nation. Sanskrit. Often similar to Arabic qawm or kaum.
Barat: the West. A regional or cultural entity. In the Indonesian-M alay
vii
viii | islam and colonialism
world, Barat has become associated with Western Europeans and
America.
bid’ah: religious innovation. From Arabic, it has become a local term. The
term is found in the saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad that is
divided into good innovation and bad innovation.
bissu: a healer. A local shaman in South Sulawesi. Of third gender.
bumiputera: sons of the soil. From Sanskrit. The local people.
dar al- harb: the abode of war. Often deemed the world of ‘non-M uslims’.
It refers to countries under the rule of kafir where Islamic law is not
practised.
dar al- Islam: the abode of Islam. The term is not found in the Qur’an and the
hadith, but it was used by Abu Hanifah (699–767 ad) and then by other
jurists such as Al- Shafi’i (767–820 ad). Dar al- Islam refers to the coun-
tries under the rule of Islam in which Muslims enjoy peace and security.
da’wah: to call to the way of God. Islamic mission. It can be oral (preaching,
tabligh), written and in action.
din: religion, path, way of life, law. Islam is described as din. Christianity,
Judaism and many others are adyan (pl. of din). In Arabic, the term is
discussed alongside milla and shir’a, or shari’ah.
dunya, dunia: this world. From Arabic, meaning the worldly, the temporal.
See also: akhirah.
fatwa: an opinion by a scholar. Often not legally binding, but authoritative
according to those who accept it. In Arabic, ifta is the process of deliver-
ing a fatwa; mufti is the fatwa-g iver; istifta is the act of asking for a fatwa;
and mustafti is the fatwa-a sker. The fatwa became institutionalised fol-
lowing the institutionalisation of the mufti, whose main task is to issue
fatwas. The Muhammadiyah employed the Indonesian term ‘putusan’
rather than ‘fatwa’.
fiqh: to understand. Islamic jurisprudence. Interpretations and practices of
jurists.
hadith: The sayings and actions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Considered secondary to the Qur’an, it is subject to debate between the
Sunni, the Shi’ism and others.
hajj: a pilgrimage to Mecca. Considered to be one of the five obligations in
Islam. To occur once in a lifetime for a Muslim who can afford it. Hajji
glossary | ix
is a status for the person who has performed the hajj. For example, Hajji
Muhammad As’ad.
hijrah: emigration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina. The date became
the first Islamic year.
hukum: from Arabic, meaning law, rule, regulation. Hakim: judge.
ibadah: worship. In its narrow sense: ritual. In its broadest sense, every act of
service to God and humanity.
ijma’: consensus. Scholarly consensus in a certain time and place.
ijtihad: independent reasoning to extrapolate rules and guidance from the
Qur’an and the Sunnah.
ilmu: knowledge. From Arabic ilm, ilmu has many meanings. Ilmu agama
(local term): religious knowledge. Associated with the knowledge about
the Qur’an, the hadith, kalam, fiqh, tasawwuf and others.
imam: leader. Prayer leader or community leader in the Sunni tradition.
Shi’ism defines imams as supreme spiritual leaders.
iman: faith. Belief in God, angels, scriptures, prophets, the Day of Judgement.
jahiliyyah: ignorance, darkness, before or outside Islam.
jama’ah: community, congregation.
jam’iyyah: organisation, association, perkumpulan, perhimpunan, persyarika-
tan (in Indonesian and Malay).
Jawa – Java: the land of Java. An island in the archipelago. The people of Java
live primarily in Central and East Java.
Jawi – Jawa: a language or an attribute to Jawi language spoken and written
in many parts of the Indonesian- Malay archipelago. The Jawi people
speak a Jawi language.
jihad: struggle. jihad fi sabilillah: any form of struggle in the path of God.
kafir: someone who covers (the truth). Often translated as ‘non-b eliever’,
‘disbeliever’, ‘non- Muslim’. It is, however, a multifaceted concept.
kalam: to speak. Islamic dogma or theological discourse.
kaum muda: the young faction. The reformist.
kaum tua: the old faction. The conservative.
khilafah: caliphate. Universal Islamic leadership. Khalif: caliph.
khutbah: sermon. Weekly sermon on Fridays. But also daily, annually and on
any occasion.
kitab: book. Associated with Arabic books, although not always.