A House Divided the Decline and Fall of Masyumi (1950-1956)
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Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive DSpace Repository Theses and Dissertations 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items 2003-09 A house divided the decline and fall of Masyumi (1950-1956) Lucius, Robert E. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/6299 Downloaded from NPS Archive: Calhoun NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS A HOUSE DIVIDED: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF MASYUMI (1950 – 1956) by Robert E. Lucius September 2003 Thesis Advisor: Glenn E. Robinson Second Reader: Gaye Christoffersen Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 2003 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS A House Divided: The Decline and Fall of Masyumi (1950-1956) 6. AUTHOR(S) Robert E. Lucius, Major, USMC 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis analyzes the rise and fall of Masyumi during the era of the provisional parliament in Indonesia (1950- 1956). As the largest of the pre-Suharto Islamic political parties in a country with an overwhelming Muslim majority, Masyumi was poised in 1955 to achieve political ascendancy, and thus to achieve its primary objective of establishing an Islamic state. Ultimately, Masyumi’s leaders failed to unify Indonesian Muslims, and they consequently lost much of their moral and political authority. In an important demonstration of the malleability of Islamic and ethnic identity politics, Masyumi’s struggle was eventually submerged within a greater struggle by the Javanese to assert cultural hegemony over the entire Indonesian archipelago. This thesis describes Masyumi’s role in precipitating not only its own fall, but also in helping to bring about the collapse of Indonesia’s first attempt at parliamentary democracy. Indonesia’s Islamist past contains many important lessons for US policymakers dealing with this largest of all Muslim countries, particularly in light of the war on terror. Understanding the contingent and variable nature of Masyumi’s Islamic politics can help shed light on the present ideological battles in Indonesia. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Indonesia, Islam, Islamist, Masyumi, Muhammadiyah, Nahdatul Ulama 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 253 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A HOUSE DIVIDED: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF MASYUMI (1950 – 1956) Robert E. Lucius Major, United States Marine Corps B.A., Norwich University, 1989 M.F.S., National University, 1996 Submitted in addition to the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL September 2003 Author: Robert E. Lucius Approved by: Glenn E. Robinson Thesis Advisor Gaye Christoffersen Second Reader James Wirtz Chairman, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes the rise and fall of Masyumi during the era of the provisional parliament in Indonesia (1950-1956). As the largest of the pre-Suharto Islamic political parties in a country with an overwhelming Muslim majority, Masyumi was poised in 1955 to achieve political ascendancy, and thus to achieve its primary objective of establishing an Islamic state. Ultimately, Masyumi’s leaders failed to unify Indonesian Muslims, and they consequently lost much of their moral and political authority. In an important demonstration of the malleability of Islamic and ethnic identity politics, Masyumi’s struggle was eventually submerged within a greater struggle by the Javanese to assert cultural hegemony over the entire Indonesian archipelago. This thesis describes Masyumi’s role in precipitating not only its own fall, but also in helping to bring about the collapse of Indonesia’s first attempt at parliamentary democracy. Indonesia’s Islamist past contains many important lessons for US policymakers dealing with this largest of all Muslim countries, particularly in light of the war on terror. Understanding the contingent and variable nature of Masyumi’s Islamic politics can help shed light on the present ideological battles in Indonesia. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS: LOOKING BACK IN ORDER TO LOOK FORWARD .........................................................................................3 B. ROOTS OF POLITICAL DISUNITY AMONG THE INDONESIAN UMMAH ...........................................................................................................5 C. THE DECLINE OF MASYUMI IN THE ERA OF THE PROVISIONAL PARLIAMENT...................................................................6 D. FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION IN APPLYING THE LESSONS OF THE MASYUMI EXPERIENCE ............................................................8 II. DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN INDONESIA PRIOR TO INDEPENDENCE......................................................................................................15 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................15 B. THE IMPACT OF ISLAM ON SOCIETY IN MARITIME SOUTHEAST ASIA ......................................................................................16 1. Abangan..............................................................................................17 2. Santri...................................................................................................18 3. Priyayi .................................................................................................20 C. THE ISLAMIC AWAKENING....................................................................21 1. The Padri Movement (1803-1838) ....................................................22 D. THE INTRODUCTION OF ISLAMIC REFORMIST THOUGHT INTO THE NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES ............................................26 E. MODERNIST VS TRADITIONALIST ISLAM: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN .........................................................................................28 F. INTIAL EFFORTS TO ORGANIZE ISLAMIC POLITICAL ACTIVISM .....................................................................................................31 1. Sarekat Islam......................................................................................31 2. Muhammadiyah .................................................................................35 3. Nahdatul Ulama .................................................................................39 G. INITIAL STEPS TO UNIFY THE UMMAH .............................................41 H. JAPAN’S CONTRIBUTION: MASYUMI AND THE LESSONS OF MASS MOBILIZATION ..............................................................................42 I. THE STRUGGLE FOR DASAR NEGARA ...............................................47 J. THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1945 – 1949) ..................................................................................51 1. The Institutions of Governance ........................................................51 2. Power Dynamics in the Revolutionary Period (1945-1949) ...........54 K. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................64 III. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF MASYUMI DURING THE ERA OF THE PROVISIONAL PARLIAMENT (1950 – 1956) .....................................................71 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................71 B. BACKGROUND: A NEW STATE EMERGES .........................................73 vii C. MASYUMI DURING THE CABINET OF MOHAMMAD NATSIR (SEPTEMBER 1950 – MARCH 1951).........................................................75 1. Cabinet Character .............................................................................76