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September and 7, October 1907; 5, January and 4, February 1908. See Hamzah, East: Islam, Movement, and the Longue Durée, Asia Research Institute (ARI),
Al-Imam: Its Role…, 73-9; Laffan, Islamic Nationhood…, 150, 255-6. This school
did not last long, however. Faced with the opposition of the old traditionalists, it was
relocated to Riau under the new name Madrasah al-Ahmadiyah, and consisted up
to 1909.
22. Deliar Noer, The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia 1900-1942, (Kuala
Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1973), 30. Meanwhile at the Malay regions which
are now Malaysia and Singapore, reformism also had a strong impact. In the field
of publishing, this can be seen from the rise of magazines and newspapers after
al-Imam had discontinued its publication. In 1911, Haji Abbas bin Toha, an al-Imam
exponent, began to publish the reform magazine Neratja. In Penang, the reform
magazines al-Ikhwan and Saudara were also published. These magazines, like
other magazines and publications continued al-Imam’s reform spirit. See Roff,
Bibliography of Malay…, 11-4; Roff, The Origin of Malay…, 75-87.
23. Ahmat bin Adam, The Vernacular Press and the Emergence of Modern
Indonesian Consciousness (1855-1913), (Ithaca: Southeast Asian Program Cornell
University, 1995), 140. It must be clarified here that al-Munir was the first magazine
published in Indonesia after al-Imam. In Malaysia, Neratja emerged in 1911 and
Tunas Melayu in 1913, both by H. Abbas, an ex editor of al-Imam. See Roff,
Bibliography of Malay…, 7-8.
24. Noer, The Modernist Muslim…, 35. For a discussion on al-Munir’s founding of,
see also Hamka (Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah), Ajahku: Riwajat hidup Dr.
H. Abd. Karim Amrullah dan perdjuangan kaum agama di Sumatera, (Djakarta:
Widjaja, 1958); Alfian, Muhammadiyah: The Political Behavior of a Muslim
Modernist Organization under Dutch Colonialism, (Yogyakarta: UGM Press, 1989),
108; Tamar Djaja, Pusaka Indonesia: Riwayat Hidup Orang-orang Besar Tanah Air,
Djakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1966), Vol. II, 700; Syamsuri Ali, “Al-Munir dan Wacana
Pembaharuan Pemikiran Islam 1911-1915”, Padang: MA Thesis IAIN Imam Bonjol,
1997, 26.
25. Azyumardi Azra, “The Transmission of al-Manar’s Reformism to the Malay-
Indonesian World: the Cases of al-Imam and al-Munir”, Studia Islamika, Vol. 6/3,
1999, 92.
26. Mahmud Yunus, Sejarah Pendidikan Islam di Indonesia, (Jakarta: Mutiara, 1979),
157.
27. See al-Munir 1, no. 1, 1911. See also Azra, “The Transmission of al-Manar’s…, 94.
28. See al-Munir 3, no. 2, 1913.
29. For the contents of these two magazines see Roff, The Origin of Malay…, 56-
59; Hamzah, Al-Imam: Its Role in Malay Society…, 21-22; Noer, The Modernist
Muslim…, 39-40; Ali, “Al-Munir dan Wacana Pembaharuan”….
30. Jutta E. Bluhm, “A preliminary statement on the dialogue between the reform
magazine al-Manar and the Malayo-Indonesian World”, Indonesia Circle 32, 1983,
35-42.
31. N.J.G. Kaptein, “Southeast Asian Debates and Middle Eastern Inspiration:
European Dress in Minangkabau at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century”, in
Eric Tagliacozzo (ed.) Proceedings Workshop Southeast Asia and the Middle
308 Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives
Singapore, 17-18 August 2004. It needs to be clarified here that Muslims wearing
European dress had started to become a controversy in 20 century Malay-
th
Indonesia. The way of dress was included as part of Muslims’ identity that differed
from that of Europeans and Arabs. For a discussion on this matter see Kees van
Dijk, “Sarongs, jubbahs, and trousers: Appearance as a means of distinction
and discrimination”, in Schulte Nordholt (ed.) Outward Appearances: Dressing
State and Society in Indonesia, Leiden: KITLV, 1997, 39-84; and also a previous
article by Kaptein on a similar issue that stressed the varieties of fatwas including
those from al-Munir. N.J.G. Kaptein, “European Dress and Muslim Identity in the
Netherlands East Indies”, paper prepared for LISOR Congress, “Religious Change
in Pluralistic Context”, Leiden 28-30 August, 2003.
32. A local ulama referred to in the request was Chatib Ali, a traditionalist religious
scholar from West Sumaera who opposed the reform movement. He banned the
use of European dress and blamed the youth (the reform religious scholars) who
had permitted the practice as appearing to be Christians. See Kaptein, “European
Dress and Muslim Identity…”, 6.
33. See al-Munir, 3, no. 12, 1913.
34. Azra, “The Transmission of al-Manar’s…”, 97.
th
35. The main source for the Islamic printed press in the beginning of the 20 century
is based on research done by Jajat Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious
Authority: Islamic Print Media in Early 20th Century Indonesia,” published in Studia
Islamika, Volume 11, No. 1 (2004), 38-53.
36. Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious Authority,” 46-47.
37. Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious Authority,” 48.
38. Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious Authority,” 49-50.
39. Martin Van Bruinessen classified kitab kuning into the following categories: ilmu-
ilmu alat (Arabic grammar, tajwid, Logics), Islamic law, and Islamic jurisprudence,
doctrines (tauhid, akidah, ushuluddin), tafsir Alquran, hadith, ethics and Sufism,
Islamic history, and extra-curricular books (honor, ritual, and magic). See his
book, Kitab Kuning, Pesantren, dan Tarekat: Tradisi-Tradisi Islam di Indonesia,
(Bandung: Mizan, 1995), 148-171.
40. Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious Authority”, 51.
41. Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious Authority”, 52.
42. Burhanudin, “The Fragmentation of Religious Authority”, 53.
43. See B.J. Boland, Pergumulan Islam di Indonesia, (Jakarta: Grafiti Pers, 1985),
79-88.
44. Ahmad Hassan (1887-1958) wrote no less than 80 treatises. He was
acknowledged as one of the pioneers for the development of Islamic literature
in early modern Indonesia. Several of his works in the field of theology include:
Kitab al-Tauhied (first published in 1937), al-Iman (undated), ’Aqa’id (undated),
Adakah Tuhan? (1962, reprinted in Malaysia 1971), Benarkah Muhammad itu
Rasul? (1931), and an-Nubuwah (1941). Hassan also wrote outside theological:
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