 Logo of Sarekat Islam | |
| Abbreviation | SI |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1911 (as Sarekat Dagang Islam, SDI) 1912 (renamed to Sarekat Islam, SI) |
| Type | Political organization |
| Headquarters | Surabaya |
| Membership | 2.500.000 (1916) |
Official language | Indonesian |
| Leader | Samanhudi (1911–1912) Oemar Said Tjokroaminoto (1912–1934) Abikusno Tjokrosujoso (1934–1940) |
Sarekat Islam orSyarikat Islam (lit. 'Islamic Association'[1] or 'Islamic Union';[2]SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century during theDutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative ofMuslimJavanesebatik traders to compete with theChinese-Indonesian big traders. From there, SI rapidly evolved into anationalist political organization that demanded self-governance against the Dutch colonial regime and gained wide popular support. SI was especially active during the 1910s and the early 1920s. By 1916, it claimed 80 branches with a total membership of around 1.000.000[3]
SI was eventually embroiled in an internal conflict between the Islamic moderates and theradicalcommunist members who urged firmer anti-colonialist and anti-capitalist actions. In 1921, the organization was split and communist members founded a separate entity known as the Sarekat Islam Merah (Red Islamic Association) which was absorbed into theCommunist Party of Indonesia (PKI). The split led to the decline of the organization, and the original SI later turned into a political party,Indonesian Islamic Union Party (PSII).[4] PSII was fused into theUnited Development Party (PPP) in 1973.
Today, SI is credited as the first large-scale Indonesian nationalist organization (or mass organization,ormas) and the largest Muslim political organization in the pre-independence era.[3][5][6]
The predecessor of Sarekat Islam was Sarekat Dagang Islam (Islamic Trade Association, SDI)[1] which was based on a movement in 1909 inBatavia (today's Jakarta) and 1910 inBuitenzorg (today's Bogor),West Java. This movement was formed by a journalistTirto Adhi Soerjo who was a member ofpriyayi (Javanese noble class).[7] Tirto aimed the movement to bring together small-scalepribumi (indigenous) traders andArab traders unified by the common Islamic religion to advance their economic interests and compete with the Chinese-Indonesian big traders. The movement was also a reaction to the intensified activities of the foreignChristian missionaries in Indonesia, which strengthened the position of Islam as a rallying point of native Indonesians' struggle against foreign encroachment.[8] The movement sparked the interest ofSamanhudi, a successful batik trader based inSurakarta. In 1911, Samanhudi founded SDI in the city of Surakarta with the help of Tirto.[6]
On August 12, 1912, SDI was briefly suspended by the colonial government after some conflicts between and Chinese and the occurrence of anti-Chinese riots. After the restriction was lifted, SDI renamed itself to Sarekat Islam on September 19, 1912, in Surabaya.[9] On January 26, 1913, the first party congress was held in Surabaya which gathered tens of thousands of participants.[10] The congress was marked by the rise ofOemar Said Tjokroaminoto as the new leader of CSI. Under the charismatic leadership of Tjokroaminoto, who was hailed as amessianic figure orRatu Adil, the organization rapidly expanded the network throughoutJava and later spread to the outer islands.[6][11] SI also began publishing periodicals in the Surabaya,Semarang,Bandung, and Batavia branches. Membership of SI rapidly grew from 4,500 in April 1912 to 150,000 in April 1913 and eventually 350,000 in 1916. Other reports estimated the membership to be 800,000. SI itself claimed 2 million members in 1919.[5][6]
The rapid increase of SI membership led to the expansion of the supporter base to a wide array of social classes. Although SI leaders generally espousedModernist Islam, it became heterogeneous in terms of the demographics and ideology of its grassroots members.[6][12] While the initial supporter base was apetty bourgeoisie of religiously devoutaliran (societal stream) ofsantri, the expansion had led to the inclusion of peasantry ofabangan whose Islamic faith was mixed withmysticism and pre-Islamic animist beliefs, as well as members ofpriyayi nobility class who had secular outlooks. The leadership of the organization gradually moved from small-scale merchants of the SDI era to theintelligentsia ofpriyayi origin with Dutch-language education.[13]
During this time, the central leadership of SI strived to maintain harmony with theDutch colonial administration. SI proclaimed to uplift the welfare of the indigenous population under Dutch rule and demanded self-governance through constitutional means.[14] Tjokroaminoto declared the rejection of anti-government activity during the 1913 congress, during which he insisted on "loyalty" and "satisfaction" toward the Dutch government and denied the allegation that the organization served as a political party.[15] As a response, the colonial government did not attempt to suppress SI in the beginning. In November 1912, SI requested the colonial administration to recognize them as a legal entity. The government individually authorized the regional branches of SI on June 30, 1913, and eventually gave an official permit to the SI headquarters in 1916.
Despite the non-confrontational stance of the SI leadership, the spread of SI in the villages had led to an outburst of violence, where peasants and villagers perceived SI as a means of self-defense and expression of group solidarity against the oppressive power structure in the rural area. The 1913–1914 period saw a particularly severe outburst of violence toward the Chinese-Indonesians,priyayi officials, and the Dutch colonial regime. In some areas, SI became a shadow administration which obligedpriyayi officials to accommodate their demands.[11]
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SI was loosely organized and its regional branches retained considerable autonomy.[6] Under the circumstances, the SI Semarang branch led by a union activistSemaun began to radicalize and embrace communism. The radicalization was a result of the heighteningMarxist-socialist influence in the city which led to the establishment of the Indies Social Democratic Association (ISDV) in 1914. ISDV, founded by aComintern agentHenk Sneevliet, was composed almost entirely of Dutch members, and they sought to spread their thoughts among the native Indonesian population. Thus ISDV turned to SI which grew into a political organization with the largest number of followers.[16] Semaun joined SI in 1914 and also ISDV in 1915, leading him to hold dual party membership. Semaun militantly advocated communist ideas and pushed for the leftist turn of SI, competing with the more moderate position taken by the central SI leaders such as Tjokroaminoto. The leftist turn was also aided by the events outside of Indonesia, notablyWorld War I (1914–1918) and theBolshevik Revolution (1917–1923). The subsequent SI Congress held in 1917 incorporated openly anti-colonialist and anti-capitalist tones.[17]
In May 1918, the colonial administration established thePeople's Council (Volksraad) as a concession to the rising demand for democratization. A few SI leaders became members of the council, including Tjokroaminoto andAgus Salim, a trusted advisor of Tjokroaminoto who joined the SI leadership in 1915 and was known for his commitment to modernist Islam andpan-Islamism. Despite the demand for democratization, the council only had an advisory power, and the members were appointed by the colonial government. Since the SI Congress held from September to October 1918, communist SI members such as Semaun,Darsono Notosudirdjo, andAlimin joined the ranks of the SI leadership, enabling them to pressure Tjokroaminoto to boycott the Volksraad and take firmer political action.[5] Tjokroaminoto finally answered their calls and demanded the Dutch colonial administration to form a parliament based on the popular election and alleviate labor issues, and refused to cooperate with the Volksraad unless the government addressed these grievances.[18]
The radicalization of SI prompted the Dutch colonial government to suppress the organization. In May 1919, the government accused SI responsible for the murder of a Dutch official inTolitoli,Celebes which led to the arrest of an SI leaderAbdul Muis. There was also a shooting incident inGarut, West Java in June 1919 which led to the arrest of SI leaders, including Sosrokardono and Tjokroaminoto who were imprisoned in 1921 for 11 months.[5][19] These events had led to the dramatic decrease in its membership, due to the fear of carrying a membership card leading to an arrest.[16]
The ideological rift between theIslamist wing led by Agus Salim and the communist wing led by Semaun intensified, at the expense of Tjokroaminoto's support level.[20] Semaun was now effectively a leader of ISDV together with Darsono. ISDV metamorphosed into the Communist Association of the Indies (PKI) in 1920, as the direct predecessor of theCommunist Party of Indonesia (PKI).[21]
During this time, labor and trade unions achieved considerable success inlabor disputes and wage negotiations, leading to an attempt to establish the Labor Movement Association (PPKB) as a federation of PKI and SI unions in 1919 which comprised 22 unions and 72,000 members. Salim andSoerjopranoto, a labor activist who belonged to the SI union and nicknamedraja mogok (the strike king), competed with Semaun for the leadership of PPKB.[21] Threatened by Semaun's influence, Salim denounced the dual party membership during the 1921 SI Congress. The conflict between Salim and Semaun's factions reached the highest point after Semaun recruited several labor groups under the PPKB which were then absorbed into the PKI. Salim's motion to prohibit dual membership was officially adopted by the SI leaders including Salim and Muis in the subsequent SI Congress, leading to the effective expulsion of Semaun and his communist followers from the SI leadership.[22][23]
The decision led to the split of SI branches between the Islamist-supporting "White SI" and PKI-supporting "Red SI."[24] The expelled left-wing faction of SI set up a group known as Sarekat Islam Merah (Red Islamic Association), which was later renamed to Sarekat Rakjat (People's Association) and served the mass organization of PKI. The split of communist members, in addition to the mounting pressure from the colonial government, had led to the severe decline of SI as an organization.[3]
With the release of Tjokroaminoto from jail in May 1922, he decided to unify the ideological orientation and get rid of communist infiltration once and for all. In February 1923, SI reformed itself into a political party known as the Islamic Association Party (PSI). Since then, PSI attempted to join forces with other Islamic movements, but they failed to link with the emergingtraditionalist Islamic movement ofNahdlatul Ulama and the modernist organizationMuhammadiyah, both of which avoided direct political confrontation and focused on community building and education.[5] PSI built a close relationship with the Islamic revival movementAhmadiyya which was denounced as heresy by Muhammadiyah.[25]
In 1929, PSI renamed itself to theIndonesian Islamic Union Party (PSII) but this did not stop its decline into a secondary political party. In 1930, the party membership was reduced to around 19,000.[26] Tjokroaminoto died in 1934, and the remaining members faced another internal dispute, this time on their political position against the Dutch colonial regime, in light of the heightened surveillance against political dissidents. In 1937, members such as Salim andMohammad Roem were expelled from the party due to their non-confrontational stance against the Dutch and replaced by the more radical leadership ofAbikusno Tjokrosujoso, Tjokroaminoto's brother.[5]
In 1942, theJapanese occupied the Dutch East Indies, and the PSII was banned in March.[27] The PSII was revived in 1947 and was led byAnwar Tjokroaminoto andHarsono Tjokroaminoto, the sons of O.S. Tjokroaminoto. In the1955 Indonesian legislative election, the PSII performed poorly and won 2.9% of the popular vote. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in 1973 after the forced merger into the United Development Party (PPP) at the hands of theSuharto regime.[6]
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