THE ARABS OF SURABAYA A Study of Sociocultural Integration * LIBRARY ^ A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts of the Australian National University by ABDUL RACHMAN PATJI June 1991 I declare that this thesis is my own composition, and that all sources have been acknowledged. Abdul Rachman PatJi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis has grown out of an academic effort that has been nourished by the support, advice, kindness, generosity, and patience of many people to whom I owe many debts. I am grateful to AIDAB (Australian International Development Assistance Bureau) for awarding me a scholarship which enabled me to pursue my study at the ANU (the Australian National University) in Canberra. To all the administrators of AIDAB, I express my gratitude. To LIPI (Indonesian Institute of Sciences), I would like to express my appreciation for allowing me to undertake study in Australia. My eternal thank go to Professor Anthony Forge for inviting me to study in the Department of Prehistory and Anthropology at ANU. I express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to Professor James Fox, my supervisor, for his scholarly assistance, encouragement, and supervision in the preparation of this thesis. He has always been an insightful commentator and a tireless editor of my work. I wish to thank all my teachers in the Department of Prehistory and Anthropology and all staff of the Department who always showed willingness to help during my study. The help rendered by Dr Doug Miles in commenting on Chapter I of this thesis and the attention given by Dr Margot Lyon during my study can never been forgotten. To them, my many thanks. iii Special thanks goes to John Clanchy (Study Skills Centre) who helped in improving my English during the period of study and with the arrangement of this thesis. My thanks also go to many individuals who intentionally and unintentionally contributed support to my study. I offer special gratitude to all my family and relatives who have always offered their moral support for my success. Last but not least, I wish to mention that this study is possible because of the readiness of Surabayan Arabs to share knowledge, experience, and information with me. I dedicate this study to them. I offer my thanks through the following expression. In the name of Allah, the Beneficient. the Merciful We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might know one another .... the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply concscious of Him. The Qur'an. Surah A1 HuJJurat 49:15 Quoted from: Merryl Wyn Davies, KNOWING ONE ANOTHER Shaping an Islamic Anthropology London, Mansell Publishing Ltd. 1988 iv ABSTRACT This thesis examines the Arab population in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The main o b je ctive of the study is to present an ethnographic description of the so cio cu ltu ra l in te g ra tio n of Surabayan Arabs fo llo w in g their participation in political movements before and a fte r Indonesian Independence. In p a rtic u la r i t examines Arab participation in contemporary social organisations, and in economic activities, and analyses such factors as education, religious beliefs as well as their marriage system. This study shows that the Arabs integration is a continuing process. Their long history, from the arrival of th e ir ancestors u n til nowadays, shows tha t the Surabayan Arabs, mostly the descendants of Hadrami Arabs, have developed integrative relations with indigenous people. Islam, the religion of most Arabs and native people, forms the most important factor in their integration. Islam has always inspired their activities. In the past, for example, they declared that PAI (Partai Arab Indonesia. Indonesian Arab Party) was an Islamic and a national political movement. Today, Islam endows their educational institutions, and supports their participation in various social organisations. The soul of Islam also colours their economic activities. For example, they trade Islam ic books, saJadah (prayer mats), Arabic calligraphy, kopiah or p ici (caps) and other kinds v of merchandise which facilitate the development of Islamic activities. On the other hand, because of their well-known position as an Islamic community, indigenous people also question their concept of an Islamic marriage. This study shows that, in relation to marriage, the Arab culture and tradition sometimes prove the primary consideration if conflict between culture and religious traditional arises. All factors of Arab integration are viewed within a broad anthropological and historical framework in order to show how the Surabayan Arabs have shaped their identity as part of the larger Indonesian society and developed their connection with the life-style of the people around them. vi NOTES ON FOREIGN WORDS AND NAMES Since Indonesian words do not have a plural form, I do not add an 's' when using them in the plural. The word ulama. for instance, can also be used in either singular or plural forms. Because of historical reasons, actual names of most individuals are mentioned in this thesis. The fictitious (or initial) names are only used in the discussion of specific cases. In general, I follow the new spelling system in Bahasa Indonesia except in the case of some proper names. There is no standard spelling for the Arab words and names in Indonesian. In this thesis, I use, for example, both "Syahab" and "Shahab" (which actually refer to the same clan) following the ways of other writers used them. vii GLOSSARY ab 1 d - slave ahl beit - relatives (or descendants) of the Prophet Muhammad SAW ahl al-sunnah wal-Jama'ah - the followers of the Prophetic tradition and Muslim law created by the Muslim community al -Am - year al-Aslaf - Pious Ancestor Alawiyyin - descendants of Alawi bin Abdullah or Ubaydillah bin Ahmad al-MuhaJir (the founding father of Hadrami s a w i d s ) al-Chertan - clans of farmers al-P11 - elephant al-Qerwan - people from a village Al-MahdJar - country of migration anadi1 - artisans aqldah - articles of faith ' aribah - Arabian Arab asablyah - in group feeling ayib - the term is used by Palembang people for sawid ayle - unmarried children Ba-alwee - the term is used to refer to sayyid in everyday communication Babad Tanah Jawa - Chronicle of Java baraka - God's blessing baya - merchant b id 'ah - heresy Bhinneka Tunooal Ika - Unity in Diversity. The motto of the Republic of Indonesia bumlputera - indigenous ("inlander") ceramah aoama - religious talks d a ' 1 f - means "weak"; the term refers to poor people. They are also called masikin (poor) ‘ dakwah - Muslim missionary activity; 'proselytising1 ekonoml keluarga - family business fatwa - instruction or legal opinion issued on a point of Islamic law f 1qh - Islamic Jurisprudence fuqaha - scholars or experts on Islam Jurisprudence; singular is fagih furu' - detailed problems viii hablb - the beloved or the honoured hadith - record of actions or sayings of the Prophet hadrah - a typical kind of Arab music haJ - Pilgrimage to Mecca hal al - legal hamula - kinship group haram - illega1 Har1 Pahlawan - Hero Day Ibadah - worship 1dJt1had - the process of arriving at new Judgements under Islamic law infaq - donation Isya - evening prayer Jamiyat Khain - Association for the Good J1lbab - women's Muslim dress kafaah - equality of marriage partner karang taruna - youthful body kaum tua - older generation kecamatan - subdistrict kelurahan - vi11 age Keppres - Presidential decree khal - mother's brother khala - mother's sister kotamadya - municipal i ty langgar - prayer house or village mosque laskar rakyat - popular soldier groups lebaran - the feast at the end of the fasting period (Ramadhan) madzhab - school of thought Maghrib - noon prayer masyaikh - (singular: syaikh) scholars or holy men; or (in Southeast Asia) "agent" of haJ industry masikin - poor people Medan PriJaJi - Nobles' Forum Mufti - religious official authorized to interpret Islamic law mushallah - smal1 er mosque musta’ribah - Arabicised Arabs muwalida - (singular: muwallad) people of mixed descent (father: Arab and mother: Indonesian) nasab - pedigree Orang Arabi - Arab people Orang Hadramawt - Hadrami people ix Pan-Islam - Islamic movement which was pioneered by Sayyid Jamaluddin al-Afghani with the aim of arousing the spirit of Islam in the world pegon - Javanese script written in Arabic characters pengaJian - institution for Islamic teaching or A1-Quranic study pertempuran Surabaya - Surabaya battle pesantren - training centre for advanced Islamic studies pribumi - indigenous Indonesian qabai1 - (singular: qabili) tribesmen qarabah - closeness qaum - people or nation remaJa masJid - mosque youth rukun tetangga - neighbourhood associations rukun warga - citizenry associations sayyid/syarif - (plural: sadah) term of title for descendants of the Prophet Sarekat Islam - Islamic Union Sarekat Dagang Islam - Islamic Commercial Union SeJarah Melayu - Malay History shalat - prayer sharaf - arabic grammar shodaqoh - alms sidi - the term used by Minangkabau people for s a w id si noman - neighbourhood mutual aid associaton syarifah - women of sa.yy i d or syari f Sumpah Pemuda Keturunan Arab - The Oath of the Youth of Arab Descent sunnah - traditions of the Prophet taqlid - uncritical acceptance of legal and theological decisions tarikh - history tariqah - Sufi order tasawwuf - Islamic mysticism totok - ful1blooded ulama - Islamic scholars ummah or umat - Muslim community ustadz - teacher or teaching staff (male); for female - uztadzah Volksraad - People's