Bisri Affandi M.A. Islamic Studies Ahmad Surkati:- His role in ~1-Irshad movement in Java SHAYKH AHMAD AL-SURKATÏ: HIS ROLE IN AL-IRSHAD HOVEMENT IN JAVA IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY by Bisri Affandi A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, McGill Unive rsity, Montreal, in partial fulfilment of the require­ ments for the degree of Master of Arts Insti tut e of Islami c Studies McGill University Nontre al March, 1976 ABSTRACT Au thor Bisri Affandi Title of thesis Shaykh A9rnad al-Surkati: His Role in al-Irsh~d Movernent in Java in the Early Twentieth Century Departrnent Islarnic Studies, McGill University Degree Master of Arts This thesis is an attempt to study the role of A9rnad Surkati in al-Irsh~d rnovernent in Java, and its implica t i ons for the Arab cornrnunity in Indonesia. Surkati was a Sudanese Muslirn scholar who, in 1911, came to Indo- nesia as one of the Islamic teachers invited by Jamiat Khair, an Arab organization, which was e stablished in Jaka rta in 1905. The f a ct that the Hadrami Ara bs were divided into two groups, the sayyids who enjoyed elevated position and the non-sayyids, urged Ahmad Surka ti to propaga t e the idea of e qua lity among Mus lims. Thus, in 1913 Surkatr s ponsored the foundation of an Arab organization of Islamic reform called a l-Irsh~d which has been e specially influential by means of its educa tional s ys tem. The i mporta nce of t he Irsh~di rnovement lies in its effecting a social change in the Ara b cornrnunity a nd making a significant contribution to the bi rth and development of Islamic r eforrn in I ndonesia . ABSTRAIT Auteur Bisri Affandi Titre de la thèse Shaykh A~mad al-Surkati: son rôle dans le mouvement al-Irshad à Java au d~but du vingti~me si~cle Departement Etudes Islamiques, Université McGill Diplôme Mai tri se-es-Arts ' . Cette these fait l'objet d'une etude du rôle de Ahmad Surkati de le mouvement al-Irshad à Java, ainsi que ses repercussions dans la communauté arabe d'Indonesie. Surkati, fut un savant Nusulman soudanais qui en 1911 vint en Indonesie en tant que professeur invité par l'organisa­ tion arab, la Jamiat Khair. Cette dernière fut établie à Jakarta en 1905. Le fait que les arabes ~a~rami furent divisés en deux groupes, les sayyids (groupes privilegiés) et les non-sayyids, amena AQmad Surkati à propager la notion d'égalité parmi les musulmans. Ainsi, en 1913 Surkati parréna l'organisation arabe de la réforme Islamique entitulée al-Irshad. Cette dernière eut une grande influence grâce à son systême éducationel. Le mouvement Irshadi fut important à cause de ses effets au niveau social parmi la communauté arabe, ainsi que de sa contribution à la naissance et au dépeloppement des réformes Islamiques en Indonesie. ACKNŒv'LEDGEMENTS The writer would like to express his sincere ap­ preciation and deepest gratitude to Prof. Charles Adams, in his capacity as Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, NcGill University, who gave hirn the opportunity to study at the Institute, and rendered encouragement in the process that produced this work. The \vri ter also would like to express his indebtedness to his thesis super­ viser Prof. D. P. Little, not only for devoting a great amount of his valuabe time to supervise the writer, but also his advice was invaluable in determining the ultimate direction and scope of this work. Thanks are also due to Prof. A. M. Abu Hakima, Prof. Niyazi Berkes and Prof. R. N. Verdery from whom the writer profited from their courses during the academie years 1973-1975. The '"ri ter' s most sincere thanks must go to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the award of a fellmvship, thereby enabling him to com­ plete his M.A. program at McGill University. It would not have been possible to complete this work without the help of many persons, among whom only a few can be named. Mr. H. Ali and Miss Sal\va Ferahian, the Librarian and the Librarian Assistant, gave much help in locating material. Hrs. E. Law and Mrs. C. Korah gave iv administrative assistance. The writer would like every one of them to know his sincere gratefulness. Thanks must also be given to my friends Mr. Andy Rippin and Mr. Douglas Crow who kindly devoted their valuable time to edit the English. And also to Hr. t-l. A. Samad and Mr. z. Rasheed who gave much help in reading the Arabie material. In Indonesia the writer's special gratitude goes to Prof. H. A. Nukti Ali, the present Ninister of Re­ ligious Affairs, who gave him the opportunity to study in Canada and to leave his academie duties at the Faculty of U~Ül al-Din in Kediri. Thanks must also be given to the officials of al-Irsyad Majlis Da'wah of Surabaya, especially Ustadh tUmar Hubay~, who sent me various orig­ inal Arabie and Indonesian sources. Without such aid this work could hardly have been completed. Last but not l east , the \..rriter is indebted to his wife \..rho has always been s o pa tient. She and our children have indeed been of great help. Although all these persans have rendered invaluable services, any possible misconceptions and e rrors of this study belon g to the \vri ter al one. Hontreal , Harch 17, 1976 B. A. v SPELLING AND TRANSLITERATION The Arabie names and terms in this thesis are written according to the English transliteration employed by the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University. The Indonesian names and terms are written according to the new Indonesian spelling used by the government of Indo- nesia since 1972. Bowever, certain nam es of persans written in the old Indonesian spelling \vill appear because they pre fer to use them. The main differences between the old and the new Indonesian spelling are• Old New Pronunciation ch kh similar to ch as in German ach. dj j similar to j a s in Joseph. j y similar to y as in yellmv. sj sy simila r to sh as in shmv. tj c similar to ch as in chalk. The main differences in transliteration from Arabie are a Indonesian English Arabie Indonesian English Arabie ts th 6 dh (dl) d. ~ h h rr th t • • .la L... dz dh .:> zh z. ~ sy sh 1 y ~ ~........- sh s 1 . ~ ~ vi TABLE OF CONThNTS ACKNOWLEDGE:tvŒNTS . iv SPELLING AND TRANSLITERATION . vi INTRODUCTION . 1 Chapter I. Tllli BACKGROUND OF THE IRSHADÏ HOVEl'-'ŒNT 9 1. The Arab Community in Indonesia 2. The Continuity and Change of Islam in Java F'ootnotes • . 43 II. SHAYKH AHNAD. SURKAT! AND THE IRSHAD i MOVEtvlENT . 51 1. The Origin of the Irshadi Movement 2. Surkati and the Foundation of the Irshadi Hovement 3. The Principles of the Irshadi Movement 4. The Foundation of Irshadi Schools S. The Teachings of Ahmad. Surkati Footnote s . • . 103 III. ISLAHIC CONSERVATISM Vli:RS US ISLM/:IC . 113 1. Ba 'Alawi versus Al-Irshad 2. Re formists ver s us Cons ervatives and the Role of Ahmad. Surkati Footnotes • . 141 CONCLUSION . 147 vii GLOSSARY • 1 1 • • • 154 APPENDIX.L!:S . 161 BIBLIOGRAPHY 172 viii INTRODUCTION Studies on Islamic reform movements in Indonesia can be found in a number of monographs. A. Hukti Ali has written his thesis on the Muhammadiyah movement. 1 Other works on the Muhammadiyah have also been written by Alfian2 and Federspiel. 3 Deliar Noer has written about modern Muslim movements in Indonesia during the reign of the Dutch colonial government (1900-1942),4 and Federspiel has written about Persatuan Islam, an Islamic reform movement founded in 1923 as we11. 5 Islamic reform in Minangkabau (ivest Sumatra) has been studied by Taufiq Abdullah6 and Murni Djamal. These works are almost entirely concerned with the native Indonesian Muslims; very little attention has been given to the Arab movements in Indonesia. This thesis is an attempt therefore to study and examine the nature and the characteristics of Arab Indonesian Nuslims. In this endeavour the writer has confined his work to Shaykh Ahmad Surkati al-An~ari, who was ân important figure ih the Indonesian reformist movement and a prominent leader of the Indonesian Arab community in the early twentieth century. 1 2 The history of Indonesia records that in the nineteenth century the Arab ~agrami populace in Indo- nesia began to increase because of permanent economie difficulties in Hadramaut together with the comme rcial characteristics of the people and the easier methods of transport available from the Middle East. These Arabs are seen to have accelerated the change from 8 heterodoxy to orthodoxy. This may be true in a sense that most of them are lja9ramis, whose relig ious practice was tha t of the Shafi'ites and was, the refore, contrary to the Süfi. dervish practice. But their claim to the title of sayyid, and thus their claim to possess exempla- ry piety and r eligious merit, seemed to blur their role as orthodox Nuslims. Ba 'Alawis encouraged people to practice the so-called tawassul (intercession). In this respect t hey made themselves intercessors between other people and God. This practice was compatible with the Islamic mysticism existing in Indonesia. Furthermore their trading methods and money lending a ctivities made their name unpopular in many villages in Java. However, i n fluenced by the Niddle East Nusli m developments of the late nineteenth century , the Arab community in Indonesia b egan to educate the young Arab gene ration.