REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, By. Alwi Shihab
JAKARTA -- Desire for Indonesian Moslem to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam cannot be stop, even in colonial era. Even, Pilgrim keep on increasing when Suez strait opened in 1869 and steam ship has been developed.
A journey that used to take months, even years with a sailing boat, can now be completed in a month with those two new inventions. In fact, until the 1970s the majority of pilgrims Hajj choose ship as transportation to Mecca. At that time, very few people go to Hajj by plane.
To prove the hajj has been done for centuries, we can see from the many Moslem turn into the sheikh when the system is started and ended in the 1980s. Among their descendants, there who hold important positions in Saudi Arabia. In 1974, when I was performing the pilgrimage, I found most of them no longer proficient to speak in Bahasa.
Based on the official report of the Government of the Dutch East Indies in 1941, in 1878 (with a sailing boat), Indonesia has around 5,331 pilgrims. A year later (1880), it became 9542 pilgrims, up nearly two-fold.
The example below shows how the amount of interest the Indonesian Muslims performs the pilgrimage. In 1921, as many as 28,795 Indonesian pilgrims from 60 786 pilgrims all over the world who went to perform the pilgrimage. In fact, on economic recession in 1928, Indonesian pilgrims actually increased to 28,952 from 52 412 worshipers around the world. Still in the global economic crisis (1931, 1932 and 1932) Indonesian pilgrims actually amounted to over 39 thousand people.
H Aqib Suminto in the book ‘Political Islam in Dutch East Indies’, the development of relations with the Middle East and the increasing number of Hajj after using the steamer influence developments in Indonesia. This makes the Netherlands put a consul in Jeddah and later became an embassy.
Moreover, when the movement figures that perform the pilgrimage is considered a purification of Islam. There arose groups that wants to reform Islam in the archipelago.
As recorded in various books of Islamic history, until the end of the 19th century, Muslims were involved in resistance against the occupiers. For example, disturbances in the villages were often made of the scholars, many of which are pilgrimage.
Dutch see this problem by considering the interests of power in Indonesia, so they assume the Hajj as bigots and rebellion.
Since long, the Dutch community in Indonesia fear of growing congregations in Indonesia taken by pilgrims. Moreover, at the end of the 19th century, according to Suminto, Indonesia’s mukimin (residents) were one of the largest in the Holy Land.
Such concerns seem obvious on event in Cianjur (1883), Cilegon (1888), and Garut (1919). In the event of rebellion in Garut, newly formed Syarikat Islam by HOS Tjokroaminoto was accused to be involved.
Revolts against the Dutch colonial government also occurred in Tambun (Bekasi) and Tangerang in 1924. The uprising in Tangerang pioneered a number of figures in the Village of Pangkalan, Tangerang. Figures addressed the mass of shouting resistance against the Dutch with Allahu Akbar.
Mr Hamid Algaderi in the book ‘The Role of Arab Descendants in Indonesia’ mentioned that the ‘tareket’ congregation was a dangerous movement derived from Pan Islamic Movement. The movement was considered a danger from outside. At that time, many Arab descendants in Indonesia continued Pan Islamic movement, such as from figure Said Jamaluddin Afghani, Syekh Muhammadd Abduh, and Sayid Rayid Ridha.
Translate by Rizky Suryarandika
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika