)

' -
,,-_.,.,_.
South China and Maritime Asia
Edited by
Roderich Ptak
Volume 7
1998
Harrassowitz Verlag Wiesbaden
I
I
. '
I
FROM THE
MEDITERRANEAN
TO THE CHINA SEA:
Miscellaneous Notes
Edited by
Claude Guillot, Denys Lombard and
Rod erich Ptak
With the Assistance of
Richard Teschke
1998
Harrassowitz Verlag Wiesbaden
Die Bibliorhck- CJP-Einhcitsaufnahmc
From the :\kditerranean to the China Sea :miscellaneous notes I
ctt by Cbude Guillot ... - Wicsbadcn: Harrassowitz, 1998
(South China and maritime Asia; Vol. 7)
ISBN
Cl Otto HJ.rrJ.ssowitz, Wicsbadcn 1998
This work. including all of its pans, is protected by copyright.
Any usc beyond the limits of copyright law without the permission
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ISSN 0945-9.:?86
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Contents
Preface ..................................................................................................... vii
Daniel Nordman
La Mediterranee dans Ia pensee geographique fran<;aise (vers 1800-
vers 1950) ..............................................................................................
Sanjay Subrahmanyam
Notes on Circulation and Asymmetry in Two Mediterraneans,
c. 1400-1800 21
Salles
Antique Maritime Channels from the Mediterranean to the Indian
Ocean...................................................................................................... 45
Tilman Frasch
A Buddhist Network in the Bay of Bengal: Relations between
Bodhgaya, Burma and Sri Lanka, c. 300-1300 ...................................... . 69
Mona Abaza
Southeast Asia and the Middle East: AI-Manar and Islamic
Modernity ................... : .......................................................................... . 93
Claude Guillot
La nature du site de Lobu Tua a Barns, Sumatra.................................... 113
Jorge M. dos Santos Alves
The Foreign Traders' Management in the Sultanates of the Straits
of Malacca (The Cases of Malacca, Samudera-Pasai and Aceh,
15th and 16th Centuries):' 131
Chang Pin-rsun
The Formation of a Maritime Convention in Minnan (Southern
Fujian), c. 900-1200................................................................................ 143
92 Tilman Frasch
from Malaya, led to a completely new arrangement of political power on the
island. Neas the end of the thirteenth century, the first Burmese empire of
Pagan fell into decline due to internal weakness and external pressure,
resulting in political fragmentation, which lasted for almost two centuries.
Judging by the sources, interaction among Buddhist communities ceased for
almost five hundred years. The few instances that can be found make it
impossible to speak of an existing network any longer.
However, they show that the notion of such a network survived and that
Buddhist rulers and monks had a clear idea where to find their brethren. The
second phase of intensive contacts began in c. 1800, when European colo-
nial powers, especially the British, established their rule over northern India,
Ceylon and Burma. Colonialism brought new challenges to the Buddhist
religion in form of Christian missions and schools. To the Sinhalese Bud-
dhists, who.had already experienced Christian missions for several decades,
British imperialism introduced a new quality of dispute. Standing in the
front-line of the Buddhist-Christian squabble, Sinhalese Buddhists re-
sponded both by copying what they could learn from their Christian
opponents and by falling back on traditional values. But although certain
forms of religious behaviour looked similar, for example the veneration of
the Bo Tree, we have to interpret them as a re-invemion rather than the
persistence of an old tradition. We know from many sociological studies
that these "vented traditions" played an important part in legitimizing and
self-asserting social groups under the challenge of Western style moder-
nization.
Southeast Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and
Islamic Modernity
MonaAbaza'
Introduction
The hajj (pilgrimage) of Southeast Asian Muslims, the Jawihs sojoyming in
Mecca for many years,
1
travels to Cairp in search of religious
the efforts made by Islamic communities in Singapore, Batavia, Palembang,
and other places to collect information about such things as proper dress,
manners, correct attitudes, and so on - all these can be classified as "longue
elements within an established framework of exchanges between the
Middle East and Southeast Asia. This paper looks at one aspect of these re-
lations, namely at the Egyptian ai-Manar magazine, which was published in
Cairo from 1896 to 1936 and contains interesting news on Southeast Asia.
In recent years, the notion of "modernity" has been widely discussed.
One way of measuring the degree of "modernity" in a non-Western society
is to simply compare the changes occurring in that society to thoseuccurring
in the Western world. By doing so, certain cultures and civilizations are
received as "lagging" behind in matters of education, dress, music, tech-
nology, etc. The correspondence contained in the ai-Manar journal and the
nature of the questions raised by the Islamic community in the Indonesian
Archipelago is a fascinating subject because jt addresses the issues of
change and adaptation. Some articles are descriptions, others are
portrayals of Southeast Asian Muslims. There are wonderful examples of
how these men tried to cope with the needs of "modem" life; some articles
I wish to thank Claudine Salmon and Denys Lombard for encouraging me to write this
note and have particul2rly profited from Claudine Salmon's Rici1s de voyages asiatiques.
Genres, menta/iris, conception de l'espace (Paris, Ecole d'Extrc!me-Orient,
1996).
lawah and Jawih are terms used in the Middle East, e:;pecially in Saudi-Arabia, to in-
clude, in the broadest sense, the Muslims of Indonesia, Bunna and Thailand.
94 MonaAbaza
are highly critical, even turning to the ironic mode, or becoming sarcastic.
The language of these articles varies a great deal, it may be direct and open
or rather allegorical. As a rule, most authors considered themselves back-
ward vis-3.-vis .. modem" Europeans and Japanese, and even vis-3.-vis the
Chinese, who had already gone through the revolution of 1911/12, and also
the Turks and Egyptians whom they perceived as standing somewhere in the
middle between "modem" Europeans and Southeast Asia. Al-Manar there-
fore provides interesting information on a number of questions: What did it
mean for an Indonesian Muslim to be exposed to new habits, what impli-
cations were there for his own rituals? Questions Such as these can also be
raised with respect to the Egyptians and other Islamic communities, in India
or elsewhere; the scope of the al-Manar magazine is very broad and offers
ample opportunity for res-earCh in various directions. In the most general
terms:, however, ,correspondence included in the journal can be con-
sidered as a medium o( .. cultural construction" and comrriunication between
the center of the Islamic world and the Islamic periphery.
The ai-Manar's articles on Southeast Asia can be divided into three
broad categories. (I) The first category comprises general contributions by
Southeast Asians residing in Cairo. Mecca and the Archipelago, all written
in I 911 and 1912, and intended to inform the journal's Middle Eastern
readership about the sitUation in Indonesia. (2) A second set of contributions
is on education in the Archipelago and how to reform it; this includes news
about schools, political. parties, and religious leaders, about the bad treat-
ment of Muslims by the Dutch, and about Islamic conferences all over the
world, particularly in IriCii3/ Attention is also given to the relations between
Muslim groups in the East and their counterparts in Turkey, Egypt, and
elsewhere. Furthermore, in the 1930s, with the gradual introduction of
Western education in Egypt, there appeared a number of articles comparing
the advantages and shortcomings of the Egyptian and European school
systems. The latter can of course be linked to the long-lasting impact of the
Egyptian revolution (1919) on Egypt's society, the growing significance of
Egyptian liberal thinkers like Taha Hussein and cAii cAbdel Razeq, and their
demands for reform in education. (3) The third category comprises ques-
tions, requests and legal advice sent to Rashid Rida, the founder of the
journal, as well as the respective answers given by him, and other data
2 Al-Mmwr, vol. 27, no. 8 (1927), pp. 638-640.
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernity 95
collected from all over the Muslim world. The correspondence also deals
with the danger of proselytism of Christian missionaries.
In I 982, Jutta Bluhm published a short article on the al-Manar cor-
respondence.3 Since then, no serious attempt has been made to continue her
work.-4 My notes are thus intended to present some additional observations.
Two points may be added: First, limitations of space and other considera-
tions do not allow me to deal with all issues; I shall restrict myself to
comment on certain descriptions, educational matters, and religious con
cems. Second, it is not my intention to present thorough interpretations, all I
can do at this stage is to offer a mixed bag of "facts" which, I suspect, will
be of interest to histori'ans dealing -with maritime Asia.
A few more general remarks are in place before we can embark on the
first chapter. The period between I 900 and the 1930s, marked by colonial
expansion, left distinct traces on the Islamic world. Improved printing
facilities accelerated the spread of ideas including pan-Islamism.' The
transformations taking place in China and Japan were phenomena catching
the attention of Islamic thinkers and newly rising Muslim elites.' Another
point concerns religious anti-imperialism, which became popular in the
Archipelago mainly as a result of Jamal uddin AI-Afghani's efforts to
combine anti-colonial feelings with a nationalist Islamic awakening.
7
The
Islamic revival in the Archipelago, the Hadrami nahda, can be linked to the
activities of the peranakan Chinese in Batavia (peranakan: of Chinese of
Arab descent), especially to the founding of the Tiong Hoa Hwe Koan (or
Tiong Hoa Association) in 1900. Recently, Claudine Salmon has shown how
significant this group was, and how it aimed at reforming education and
3 Juna Bluhm, "A Preliminary Statement on the Dialogue Established Between the Reform
Magazine al-Manar and the Malaya-Indonesian World," lndonuia Circle 32 (1 982), pp.
35-42. Bluhm says that in 134 cases legal opinions were requesled.
4 Ibid,. p. 35.
5 Jacob Landau, The Politics of Pan-lslamism: Ideology and Organization (Oxford: Clar-
endon Press, 1994), p. 9.
6 The idea that Japan was an interesting "counter-model" for Indonesian intelleclUals has
been developed by Denys Lombard, "Le voyage de Parada Harahap au 'Pays du Solei!
levant' ( 1933-34)," in Salmon (ed.), Recits voxages, pp. 281-296.
7 This is an expression from Baber Johansen quoted from Landau, The Politics of
lslamism. p. 9.
8 See Natalie Mobini-Kesheh, The Hadrami Awakening: Community and in the
East Indies /900-1942 (Monash University, 1996; unpublished Ph.D. dis-
sertation).
96 MonaAbaza
certain ceremonial practices. The policy of its leaders was nurtured by their
grudge against ihose Chinese who had converted to Islam and assimilating
themselves to local conditions. According to Salmon, parts of the Chinese
community thus wished to return to "purely" Chinese traditions and dress as
a reaction against Muslim peranakan customs which included the practice
of selamatan (Muslim feast) and worshipping holy tombs.' But cultural
influences in the Archipelago were not interlaced. Natalie Mobini-Kesheh,
analyzing the Hadrami nahda, has demonstrated, for example, that the
growing importance of Confucianism among traditional Chinese circles also
had a stimulating effect on the activities of the Hadrarni community. In
short, Islamic and Chinese circles were concerned about"- similar issues,
especially education, and both tried to cope with similar phenomena forced
upon them by the steady influx of Western civilization."'
When Rashid Rida founded the a/-Manar ("Lighthouse") magazine, he
did so in order to spread the ideas of his teacher, the Islamic reformer
Muhammed 'Abduh (1849-1905). Al-Manar first appeared as a weekly and
then became a monthly periodical." It had the following aims:
"To promote social, religious, and economic reforms; to prove the
suitability of Islam as a religious system under the present conditions, and
the practicality of the Divine Law as an instrument of government; to
remove superstitions and beliefs that do not belong to Islam, and to
counteract false teachings and interpretations of Muslim beliefs, such as the
prevalent ideas of predestination, the bigotry of the different Schools, or
Rites, of Canon law, the abuses connected with the cult of saif!tS and the
practices of the Sufi orders; to encourage tolerance and unity among the
different sects; to promote general education, together with the reform of
text books and methods of education, and to encourage progress in the
sciences and arts; and to arouse the Muslim nations to competition with
other nations in all matters which are essential to national progress."
12
9 Claudine Salmon, "Ancestral Halls, Funeral Associations, and Attempts at Resinicization
in Nineteenlh-Century Netherlands India," in Anthony Reid, with the assistance of Kris-
tine Alilunas Rodgers (eds.). Sojourners and Sealers: Histories of So11theast Asia and
the Clrinese (St. Lconards: Asian Studies Association of Australia in association with
Allen & Unwin, 1996), pp. 183214.
10 Mobini-Keshch, Tire Hadrami Awakening, p. 43.
II Charles C. Adams, Islam and Modemism in Ec.\111 (London: Ox.ford University Press,
1933). p. 180.
12 Ibid., p. 181.
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernity 97
Ideas such as these had a strong impact on the Islamic world. They
influenced the emergence of nationalism in Southeast Asia and local debates
on Islam." Refonnist concepts, for example those of ai-Afghani and M.
cAbduh, as well as the controversy between modernists and traditionalists
can be linked to the Malay nationalist movement. This has been elucidated
in Rofr s work on The Origins of Malay Nationalism." Other topics related
to intellectual and religious contacts between the Middle East and Southeast
Asia include the distribution of Arab periodicals in the Dutch East Indies,"
the networks of Sufi scholars and the spread of Sufism," and, finally, the
way in which Southeast Asians dealt with the question of the Caliphate."
Images of Southeast Asia in al-Manar
The following discussion begins by looking at those articles which refle<:t on
the general situation of the Islamic community in Asia. I shall
proceed in a chronological order. The first article to be considered here is
entitled The Muslim World and Colonialism." It starts by pointing out that
from the Mashreq to the Maghreb Europeans seized the wealth of the Mus-
lims. England, Holland, Russia and France are described as being more
powerful than the Ottoman empire. The English are most brilliant in colo-
nizing other nations Oecause they respect the other races
and they use reason rather than coercion in ruling other countries. This is
how they rose to power and acquired the riches of the world. They control
the ninety million Muslims in India.
J 3 Sec Mohamed Aboulkhir Zaki, Modem Muslim Thought in Egypt and its Impact on Is
lam in Malaya (University of London, 1965; unpublished Ph.D. dissertation); W. R.
Roff, The Origins of Malay Nationalism (New Haven and London: Yale University
Press, 1967); Deliar Noer, The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia 1900-1942
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, I 973}; Abu Bakar Hamzah, Allmam: Its Role in Ma-
lay Society, 1906-1908 (Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka Antara, 1991). ,
14 The first reformist journal in the Archipelago was called a[.Jmam and launched by
Sheikh Muhammed Tahir bin Jalal ai-Din a! Azhari (18691957).-who was a student of

15 Natalie MobiniKesheh, 'The Arab Periodicals of the "Netherlands East Indies, 1914
1942," Bl]dragen tot de Taa/-, Land en Volkenkunde 152 (1996), pp. 236-256.
16 Martin van Bruinessen, Tarekat Naqsyabandiyah di Indonesia (Penerbit Mizan, 1992).
17 Martin van Bruinesscn, "Muslims of the Dutch East Indies and the Caliphate Question,"
Studia lslamica 2.3 (1995), pp. 115-140.
18 AIManar, vol. 14, no. 5 (1911 ). pp. 347-352.
.- ...
98 MonaAbaw
The Dutch are next in cleverness. Their country is small, but they govern
thirty million Muslims. The writer is bitter because they treat the people of
his native place, the Jawah islands (jaza jawah),
19
like they treat sheep.
The Jawihs are more ignorant than the Muslims living under British rule.
They are spiritually weaker, less civilized, and know nothing about science,
unlike the Indians and Egyptians.
The Jawi!ts, says the author, are extremely lazy. They travel to Mecca
and Egypt in search of knowledge (talab al-'ilm), but return in utter igno-
rance. They think they know a lot about Shaft 'i books (one of the four Sunni
schools of law) and adore the writings of men like Ibn Hajar ai-Haytami ai-
Ramli, but in the end they may go back to the works of Zaqariyya al-Ansari
and al-Nawawi. The things they read and follow in terms of worship and
legal matters, can in fact be reduced to one hundred pages, or two hundred
at the most. Years are spent abroad to study the rules of Mu camalat (deal-
ings), the principles of Jihad (the holy war against non-Muslims), the issue
of slave!)' and other matters, which is completely in vain because none of
these are practiced in the Archipelago. They know nothing about the science
of the Qur'an. Nor do they reflect about the weak and strong points of na-
tions, or read about history, geography and sociology. When in Egypt they
do not even bother to read newspapers. Finally, the Qur'an requires that one
should think about the book of Ibn Hajar al-Ramli, not only read it.
The Dutch, it is continued, make no efforts to enlighten these people. On
the contrary, they try to spread the Christian faith, as happened, for example,
in a small town near Batavia, where they converted some four thousand
souls in all. The Christian missionaries, he claims, no longer permitted
Muslims to preach their own teachings, and denigrated all matters related to
Islam. Moreover, they found support in the fact that, culturally and in terms
of wealth, the Muslim community was at a disadvantage vis-3-vis the
Christian world. The whole town was thus Christianized, so that when a
Muslim entered it, he could no longer find shelter or was not even offered a
cup of coffee or glass of water. The last part of the article contains further
attacks against Christian proselytism. It then ends by praising the Muslims
of Russia, who are still better than the Jawihs because they are more
courageous.
19 Here Jawal1 is understood to include all the Muslims of the Archipelago since the writer
refers to the thiny million people.
East Asia atui the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernity
99
This article generated a vivid response in the form of a letter from an
anonymous Jawih living in Cairo.
20
The responder confinns that many
Muslims have become ignorant. Those of Jawah, he says, must indeed be
blamed for their inability to acquire proper information on the affairs of the
outside world.
Although newspapers and journals refer to the Muslims of Southeast
Asia under the general term of Jawihs, this writer distinguishes between the
Muslims from Malayu or Malisia (he uses Malaysia in brackets)'
1
and those
living in the islands of Jawah, in terms of language and other respects. The
difference between these two he compares to the difference between them
and the Indians;religion being the only thing these groups have in common.
But the Jawiyyin, he says, often had to flee to the lands of the Malays when
threatened by tyranny and etislavement. No one surpassed the Dutch in
injustice.
The Malays and Jawihs, says our writer, have similar weaknesses: they
are ign9rant, envy others and are inclined to conspiracy. H<?wever, the
Malay soul does not s_how kind of lowness and submissiveness found in
the soul of a Jawih. The many sultans of the Malay lands (Ard malayu) act
according to their own will, whereas in the islands of Jawah, there are only
two sultans in all. Although ignorant and politically fragmented, the Malays
resisted the Dutch by disobeying them. Aceh on northwestern Sumatra is
singled out as an outstanding example: it was engaged in combat for over
forty years Without ever submitting to Batavia's rule. He wonders whether
the islands of Jawah, With their dense population, ever made similar
attempts at resistance. He then proceeds by expressing his gratefulness to
God for having seen to it that none of the Malayan Muslims adopted the
faith of the Christians and Jews. He insists, however, that he does not prefer
Malays over Jawihs, since both are searching for the same kind of superior
knowledge.
With regard to the studies undertaken by the Jawihs in Cairo and Mecca,
he confirms the views of the previous writer, underlining their ignorance
and the fact that they were usually ill-prepared when arriving in the Middle
East. He adds that they overemphasize certain Shaft c-; texts on rites, for
example the Hajar and the al-Ramly. He also says that those
studying in Mecca would only be doing so to appease the "fire of
knowledge." Most of the Jawah sheikhs, he goes on, spent much time read-
20 AI-Manar,vol.14,no. 7(19ll}.pp.537-541.
21 The term Mulayu is no! clearly defined. However, Sumatra is included.
t.
f;
' '
100
MonaAbaza
ing Fiqh books. Their students not understand the Arabic language, Jan,
guage instruction being in a most state. Only one _percent of all
Jawihs learn how to converse in Arabtc and only after spendmg long years
abroad - in spite of the fact that they read the texts of Ibn 'Aquil and ai-
Ashmuni.
The sheikhs, he complains, teach the hajjs (hajjis) what they call the
tariqa (the order). They command the purchase of and on. the
rules of abstinence, but the hajjs do not know the essentials of theu rehg10n,
nor the rule of the holy pilgrimage. Little wonder then, that the incidence of
charlatanry (khuza 'balat).was on the rise, as was the number of those who
spread superstitious beliefs (khurafat), and doctrines hostile to reform and
innovation (ansar al-bida<>;.
The letter ends by saying that Jawih sheikhs should neither overrate
relioion nor order students to leave the world and submit themselves to a
nation. Islam does not forbid the pleasures of food and good
dressing. God might thus punish the teachers for putting so many obstacles
in the way of students and their career.
StiJI in the same year, Muhammed bin Hashem Bin Taber, a teacher
from Palembang, published a Jetter entitled The State of the Muslims of Java
and Reform.
22
It gives a similar diagnosis: The Muslims of Jawah, says the
author, are in a deplorable state, unable to cope with the fast pace of
Western development. Apart from uttering the Shahada (the confession of
Islam), they achieve nothing. Everything points to decadence. The West, by
contrast, is wealthy, owns colonies, and makes use of advanced learning.
The sharp contrast is of course intended to urge the Muslim reader to reflect
upon their own situation. But not only that: The Arabs (from in
the archipelago are labeled "barbarians" (Hamajiyyah) and descnbed as
scandalously ignorant and animalistic (twahush). The Egyptians, Syrians,
Hijazis, and Moroccans should be pitied because the Hadramis have become
victims of so much shortsightedness. Moreover, the Hadramis would kill
themselves for the dinar and the dirham, but perceive everything new as
harmful, stubbornly sticking to old habits and following the spirit of the
lAwam, the masses. They are extremely fanatic, even opposing the basic
equipment of modem schools such as tables, libraries, and black boards, all
of which they brand as attributes of Kufr (disbelief).
22 AI-Mmrar, vol. 14, no. 10 (1911) pp. 761-766.
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic MO<kmity 101
AI 'ajma al-jawiyya, the Jawih incorrectness in pronouncing the lan-
guage reached the sons of the Arabs. The Europeans, lie continues, spread
their language among the sons of the Jawihs to alienate them from Islam.
European influence being such that even the sons of the Arabs are no longer
able to correctly pronounce their own language. It is for these reasons that
the author, with the help of some friends, opened a school to teach Arabic
grammar, art, and geography, as well as Islamic history, Islamic doctrines,
and English. He also states that he uses an American method, the Berlitz
method, to teach Arabic through pictures and visual arL Fanatic Arabs, he
adds; opposed,these efforts by trying to prevent childrenfrom attending his
school. He praises al-Manar because it has played an intellectual role in
mental elevation. Finally, the author mentions that there is an Arab move-
ment in Singapore which has produced two or three journals, but he seems
to express enmity towards it.
The next article to be considered here is by a certain 'Abdel Wahid
'Abdullah, Talib biriwaq al-jawiyyin bi/-azhar al-sharif(i.e., student of the
Jawih Riwaq at al-Azhar ai-Sharif). Its title runs Ummat al-jawiyyin (The
Nation of the Jawihs) and, like the previous articles, led to various re-
sponses, all published in al-Manar.
23
In some cases, writers now began to
make a clear distinction between the Jawihs and the Malays (or Malaysia)-
the second term referring to the people of both Sumatra and Malaysia -,
whereas in other cases they still followed old Arabic conventions by taking
the words Jawih and Jawah to include all Southeast Asian Muslims. 'Abdel
Wahid. 'Abdullah calls the Archipelago a/-Qutr al-jawih (the region of the
Jawihs) and briefly outlines its geographical extension (New Guinea is not
included), adding that the Moluccan Islands and northern Borneo are not
under Dutch control. The total population is estimated at forty million
people; apart from Muslims, there are Majous (Zoroastrians) and others (this
possibly inCludes Hind.us and magicians).
As in the previous articles, the Jawihs are described as "retarded"
(muta all matters of,religion and life. They are not interested in
acquiring sCientific knowledge. They might Jearn how to read and write in
their own language, but only through the Dutch. Unfortunately, there are no
culama among them. Moreover, only very recently have they asked for
permission _to open a school of their own, which was approved by the
colonial authorities. One ofthe ills of the Jawihs is their inability to unite,
23 AI-Mmrar, vol. 15, no. 9 (1912). pp. 695-696. This article was also published in the al-
Mu 'ayyid magazine.
102 MonaAbaza
due to the ambitions of their leaders. This made it possible for the Dutch to
penetrate the Archipelago. In spite of all these unfortunate issues, the author
delights in the fact that three Jawih students have registered with the school
of Rashid Rida in Cairo and that another thirty are enrolled at ai-Azhar
University.
24
He then shifts to the Christian missionaries telling the reader how they
spread their religion in the Archipelago. Among other things, he also points
out that young people studying in Europe are easily lured into becoming
Christian converts. Furthermore, German graduates from the Protestant
sch,o9l in Bremen, he says, spent enormous funds on missionary work .. The
article ends by expressing the author's ardent hope that Muslims will sup-
port their own preachers to rescue Islam.
'Abdel Wahid 'Abdullah's article incited an almost instantaneous re-
sponse by 'Abdul Hafez al-Jawi, who had come to Mecca in search of reli-
gious enlightenment (min tulab al-cilm fi makkah al-mukaramah).
25
Apart
from stating that he read the article with great interest (ishtiyaq), hoping to
find answers to certain legal problems, 'Abdul Hafez ai-Jawi criticizes a
certain bias towards Malaysia and the Malays in this article and some of the
earlier notes published by al-Manar. The Jawihs' alleged backwardness,
ignorance and superstitious beliefs are not depicted correctly, he says.
Worse still, the authors of such portrayals harbor ill intentions and do not
serve the imerests of the Jawah community. Yet, he admits that the Jawihs
follow certain superstitious beliefs (khurafiyyah), and he also praises coun-
tries like Japan and China for the progress they have made by altering their
economic, administrative and political systems. Japan, in particular, is
credited for having gone through forty years of steady development; it might
24 Concerning this school, Adams writes in his Islam arrti Modernism, p. 198: '"The Insti-
tute or the School, of Propaganda and Guidance' (Dar ai-da ("wah wa al-irshad, or Ma-
drasah,& c.), is described as a college in which instruCtion is given in the subjects
usually taught with.additional emphasis upon religious training, and its primary object is
said to be: 'improvement of the method of Islamic teaching, together with religious
training. The organization of the school aild its curriculum, together with the constitution
of the society, arc given in detail in the pages of Al-Manar. Muslim young 'men, of the
age of twenty to twenty five years and the requisite scholastic standing, are received as
pupils. preference being given to students from distanl Muslim lands where the need of
Muslims is greatest, as China, India, Malaysia, & c. Students have been enrolled from
East Africa, North Africa, Turkey, Turkestan, India, Java, and Malaysia. Tuition and
board and lodging are free. and financial help is also provided for those who need it."'
25 AIManar. vol. 15, no. 12 (1912), pp. 929-937.
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Mode miry 103
replace the Western powers in the "Orient." Indeed, he foresees Japan's rise,
believing its industries will one day be more advanced than those in Europe.
As to the Chinese, he explains, they witnessed a coup d'etat (inqilab) and
now enjoy the gouvernemenr de Ia republique (he uses the French term
when alluding to the Chinese system of 1912) and religious freedom. He
then describes the new Chinese flag, explaining the symbolism of its colors
(white stands for the Muslims in China). Generally, his praise for all things
Chinese makes the Chinese peranankan of Java an example to the Muslim
community. The Chinese went through educational reform, they founded the
Tiong-Hoa school, and they closely watched events in China. Moreover,
they donated enormous funds to finance their institutions, something the
Jawihs ought to do, too. China, he adds, seems to frighten Europeans on.
account of its enormous space and human resources. According to govern-
ment reports there are no less than fifty-five million Muslims among the
Chinese!
In contrast to the Chinese, the Muslims of Jawah are depicted as
decadent and retarded (inhitat, taqahqur). They stick to their traditional
dresses, wooden shoes (kubkab ), and old-fashioned schools (a/-Madares al-
c:aquima). Some Jawihs even recommend to ignore contemporary journals
aod newspapers. This explains why they know so little about the world.
Paradoxically, they forbid what is allowed, but conceal shameful acts ('Af
'alfahisha) and superstitious behavior. This holds for the sheikhs of Jawah,
in particular the ones of Ponorogo. Furthermore, local Muslims read the
Qur'an commentaries to find excuses for allowing what ought to be
forbidden. Foreigners have already noticed this and make fun of them.
Islamic laws are constantly bent, there are many deviations from "stanqard
practice." Fortunately, certain essentials have survived, like the celebnition
of the Prophet's birth.
In view of so much naivety, the author cannot but pity the Jawihs. When
they leave their country, they face humiliation. The mutawiffun (guides in
Mecca) play with them and abuse them. In short, pilgrims from Jawah are
treated like cows.
He then cautions against the Christian preachers in Surabaya, Semarang,
Batavia and Surakarta, adding that resident Japanese would resist Christiani-
zation. He also mentions the creation of five modem schools in Betawi
(Batavia), Pekalongan, Surabaya, Surakarta, and Yogyakarta. The latter two
became leading centers of religious instruction after their inauguration by
Emir Abdel Rahman X. At first, local teachers were ill-informed about the
104 MonaAbaza
standards set by Cairo and Turkey, but later Sayyed Abdullah bin Sadaqa
bin Zaini Dahlan introduced modem methods. However, some Muslims
imitated Western habits in uncritical ways.
Providing good educational facilities had its price; statistically, annual
amounts of 1,215 guilders were available to each student. However, too
little was allocated to the teachers of Arabic. Most regrettably, in lieu of
defending Islam, graduates from Dutch schools spent all the money they
received from the Islamic community,. on pleasure, gambling, and other
dubious activities.
Reading contemporary newspapers, has awakened the people of other
nations: those of the Ottoman State, Egypt, Japan, and China. He points to
the educational renaissance in India and the strength of the mujahiddin in
Tripoli. In the concluding section of his article, he wishes the Jawihs would
undertake similar endeavors for Java so that all Javanese might prosper.
Traditional Versus Modern Education
.The texts discussed above.reveal that education played an important role in-
the correspondence of alManar. Many articles make a comparison between
Europe and Egypt. One contribution, by Muhammed Basyuni from Sambas,
the imam maharaja of the island of Sambas, is particularly interesting. It is
in the form of questions addressed to Rashid Rida.u' There are six questions
in all, three of which deal with education: (I) Are high schools in Egypt as
good as English, French, German, Swiss, Dutch and other European schools
in the different fields of sciences, arts and language, with the exception of
the Arabic language and Islamic sciences? (2) Did Egyptians who hold
ministerial offices receive their education in Egypt, or did they also study in
Europe? (3) Is it really possible to say that those graduating from the best
26 AI-Manar. vol. 27, no. 10 (1927). pp .. 778-81: vol. 31. no. 3 (1930), pp. 189-192. Mu-
hammad Basyuni bin Muhammad (18851953) was the last maharaja imam (highest re-
ligious official) of the Malay Sultanate of Sambas in West Borneo. In 1910 he went to
Egypt and enrolled at alAzhar and at Rashid Rida's newly established mad rasa Dar al-
darna wa al-irslmd. We arc told that Basyuni translated two of Rashid Rida's works into
Malay. The questions he addressed to ai-Manar led to the famous answer of Shakib
Arslan. For runhcr details about his lire and thought, see the entry by Martin van
Rruincsscn in Marc Gaboricau el al., Dictio11naire biographique des SOI'Onts er grandes
figun.-s du mmrde m11sulmarr periphcrique, du X!Xc sitcle a nos jours (Paris: Groupe de
Recherche du CNRSS-EHESS, 1992).
East Asia and the Middle East: AI-Manar and Islamic Modernity 105
schools of Egypt cannot compete with graduates from European schools be-
cause Egyptian high schools do not offer the same standard in European
languages and sciences?
The following answers are most intriguing: (I) If Egyptian high schools
were as good as European schools, Egyptians would no longer send their
children to Europe. But some of those who studied in Egypt have a broader
knowledge than those who studied in Europe. (2) As to the holders of
ministerial ranks, some graduated from Egyptian, others from European
schools. Sa'ad Pasha Zaghloul, prime minister of Egypt and president of the
parliament (and leader of the Egyptian revolution against British colo-
nialism), graduated neither from an Egyptian nor a European school. He was
a student (mujawir) from ai-Azhar and did not obtain the 'alamiyyah, the
highest al-Azhar degree, but received his training "by sitting under the foot
of Imam Muhammed 'Abduh" (ai-Ustadh a/-lmam). The imam taught him to
be free-spirited, to develop a strong will, high ambitions, and to cultivate his
concerns for the nation (al-umma). He learned French and studied law when
he became older. Later he earned a law degree in France. (3) It is better to
learn foreign languages in the countries where they are spoken. Never-
theless, Imam Muhammed c Abduh pronounced and understood French much
better than other Arab students- in France and Switzerland. The imam
learned it at an old age with a teacher in Egypt. He also attended some
seminars in Geneva and translated Spencer's writings on education to train
himself on the language. These translations were corrected by Qassem
Amin, a highly esteemed expert in FrenchY But reading Amin's corrections
of the imam's original translation, it is evident that the latter's .way of
handling French texts surpasses Amin's capacities, the principle reason
being that Amin' s knowledge of Arabic was so poor.
These answers, it is clear, were formulated in a most diplomatic way that
took account of the high position of the questioner. They were certainly
intended to strengthen the questioner's confidence in Egyptian policy. A
similar case is the famous letter of Muhammed Bassyuni (Basyuni) 'Imran,'"
which Jed to an equally famous answer by Shakib Arslan. Both pieces
became known all over the Muslim world. The questions posed in the letter:
were these: Why are Muslims backward and Europeans, Americans and
Japanese advanced? What caused the Muslims of Java and Malaysia to
27 A follower of Muhammed ~ b d u h who wrote one of the earliest books on the liberation
of women in Egypt.
28 AI-Manar, vol. 31, no 5 (1930).
106 MonaAbaza
become so weak and lag behind in worldly and religious affairs? Can they
improve their position by finding out the underlying causes of their decline
without giving up their religion? Can they, by following their own ways,
ever reach the kind of cultural refinement attained by Europeans?"
The above questions address general issues. Other pieces contained. in
al-Manar look at special problems. One such letter, entitled "Demand for
Education" (al-da'wa ilal ta'lim), written by Ali Bin Shihad from Batavia,
30
advocates the establishment of a new school. This school ought to offer all
the different sciences and thereby stimulate the renaissance of the Muslim
nation. The forty thousand Hadramis in the Archipelago (the "islands" or a/-
jaza'er) shoi.ild contributesame of their riches to this venture. Interestingly,
the author recommends locating this school in Hadramawt, not in Southeast
Asia. The following reason is given: Arabs receive low salaries in Batavia,
even if they are trained in languages, mathematics, and engineering. Their
wages amount to half or one fourth of the wages paid to Europeans; it is
pointless, therefore, to install schools in the Archipelago, they should rather
be set up in the homeland of the Hadramis, on the Arab peninsula, all the
more so because Europeans ill-treat the Arabs and no Arab ever reached a
high rank in the hierarchy of the Archipelago states.
Another issue picked up by al-Manar is 'Uthman ibn Abdallah bin
cAquil's well-knOwn work on education, one of the most "conservative"
accounts of this period. There is an important letter in the journal which
gives critical comments on this book.
31
cUthman bin cAquil, it is claimed in
the letter, had good intentions, but the examples he quoted from the
Prophet s sayings were rather weak. In general, the article cautions against
one-sided attitudes, in particular against blindly rejecting all attempts at
modernization. Muslims would be better off, if they allowed some flexi-
29 The reply that followed was published in ai-Manar, vo\. 31, no. 5 (1930), pp. 355-370;
no. 6. pp. 449-464; no. 7, pp. 529-539. Also see Bluhm, "A Preliminary Statement," p.
41.
30 vol. 13, no. 8 (1910), pp. 604-606.
31 The article is in af-Manar, val. 13, no. I (1910), pp. 60-65.- Sayyid cUthman (1822-
1913 ), the mufti of Betawi (Batavia), was an honorary advisor to the Dutch bureau of
Arah affairs which dealt with both native and Islamic issues. He was also known to be a
friend of the Dutch Oricntalist Snouck Hurgronjc.- cUthman's son cAii saw in the a/-
Manar's attack "one of the ten calamities (bencana) faced by his father during his life-
time." According to cAli, ai-Manar was a most malicious journal because it humiliated
the sayyids. Sec Azyumardi Azra, "Hadhrami Scholars in the Malay-Indonesian Dias-
pora: A Preliminary Study of Sayyid cUthman," Studio Js/amica 2.2 (1995). p. 13.
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernity 107
bility, as even the Prophet had sh9wn by wearing clothes of other nations. In
short, it would be wrong to say tha.t Islamic schools should completely turn
down foreign ideas. Moreover, contributing to the growth of modem insti-
tutions does not imply sympathetic feeling towards foreigners. On the con-
trary, some of those who studied abroad or were influenced by European
thoughts have turned fanatic, as the Ottomans, who have accepted many
things from the West. ,
There are two more articles which criticize Sheikh 'Uthman ibn Ab-
dallah bin 'Aquil." The first note warns against his conservative standpoint.
The argnments are very similar to the ones presented above. It is added,
however, that his followers created a journal in Singapore which was against
reform and propagated false ideas. 'Uthman bin 'Aquil is said to be in-
fluenced by the Dutch Orientalist Christian Snouck Hurgronje, a hypocrite
who pretended to be a Muslim, calling himself' Abdel Ghaffar, while spying
in al-Azhar and Mecca. Both men worked together and eventually 'Uthman
received a Dutch award with a cross (the symbol of Christianity). 'Uthman
bin 'Aquil is judged a "corrupt man" (mufsid), who betrayed the Hadramis
thus stopping their progress. The article ends by calling for book donations
for the school of Pal em bang.
The other article which came out a little earlier, under the title "Reform
Movements in the Malayo-Indonesian World," also recommends certain
changes, in particular the opening of schools in Batavia, Surabaya and
Kersi. On the whole, it seems more sympathetic towards cAquil.
Religious and Worldly Concerns
In a/-Manar religious concerns from various spheres are debated. I shall be-
gin with "ceremonial" items and issues of everyday life. Several queStions
are raised, for example, on smoking during ramadan, additional prayers,
"prayers of calling" (du'a), correct body bearing, death processions, visiting
tombs, and so on.
33
Other considerations relate to professiona1 photography,
listening to music, and hanging pictures of animals on walls or curtains.
34
These questions came from different ends of the Islamic world and were
usually addressed to Rashid Rida. Among the requests collected from
32 Al-Manar, val. 12. no. II. pp. 871-873, and val. 14, no. 10 (1911 ), pp. 761-766.
33 AIMana,. vol. 31. no. 3, (1930). pp. 189192; no. 5 (1930). pp. 347-352.
34 AIMana,. vol. 14. no. 9 (1911). pp. 669-694.
108 MonaAbaw
Jawah, those by Haj Abdullah Ahmed of Pondok (Fadagh in Arabic) are
inost representative." Ahmed hoped the answers would help him in his ef-
forts to fight Jawah 's ignorance. The following points are just a few exam-
ples: Does religion prescribe a certain kind of dress when walking on the
street? Does the Prophet's hadith (saying) "The one imitating a nation be-
longs to it" apply in this case? Are imitations (tashabbuh) of a Western out-
fit permissible?. For instance, may one wear a Western hat (burnita), or a tie
like the Turks and Europeans, since most culamas in the Archipelago con-
sider this to be against the Shar' (Islamic law)?
The answers are rather straightforward: Islam does not impose a partic-
ular-dress, only for the hajj and 'umra (small pilgrimage) a certain attire is
required -to remind the pilgrim of the simple Bedouin garment and distract
him from leisurely thoughts. No scholar ('alim) has ever prescribed a
particular gown for everyday life. It is proven in the collection of Bukhari"
that the Prophet himself dressed like the Rum (Byzantines) and Majus
(Zoroastrians). Therefore, no one should be accused of disbelief because of
clothing himself in a Western style which the Turks, Tatars, Arabs, Syrians,
Egyptians, and others are already in the habit of wearing. Those who call
themselves culamas and accuse others of disbelief are completely ignorant,
exposing their Muslims followers and Islam to mockery (sukhriyya). The
Prophet's quote above is weak and does not apply.
Other religious issues discussed in al-Manar relate to Christian mis-
sionary activities. Generally, Christian priests are perceived as dangerous, as
we have already seen from some of the comments presented in the previous
sections. One such article, entitled "Sumatra," refers to the German mis-
sionaries on that island.
37
It provides detailed information and claims the
German missionary association had thirty-six branches which managed to
Christianize some six thousand Muslims, with an additional 1150 being
"under scrutiny." It also discusses the activities of the English and Dutch, in
particular of rhe Java Committee ..
Special attention is given to the role of Christian schools and hospitals.
Both the Dutch and Germans ran such institutions. Although God sent
Western docrors to help the local population, these "medical missionaries,"
it is said, "affect the Muslims." The same applies to Java, where there are
forty-six preachers and one hundred and fifty assistants and the number of
35 Ibid.
36 One of .the canonic scripturcs of Islam codifying 1hc lifestyle and sayings of !he Prophet.
37 AI-Mnnar, voi.IS, no. 6 (1912), pp. 447-448.
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernity 109
Muslims who converted to Christianity, so the article, has already reached
1800.
A second report comes from a Muslim traveler from Singapore." The
author says he had been visiting Java since twenty-five years, during which
he noticed many negative changes in relation to his religion. The Dutch in
particular did not favor Islam. Their government forbade Muslim preachers
from entering the country under the pretext that these men were charlatans
and had not graduated from Western schools. He warns that the number of
those Christianized each year could amount to no less than one hundred
thousand.
Apart from ritual issues and the dangers emerging from Christianity., al-
Manar also highlights legal matters and various fatwas (laws). One
particular fatwa gave rise to a vivid debate in Singapore. This can best be
seen in an article called "The Naqshabandi Order and the Obedience of the
Follower to his Sheikh" (Al-rabita al-naqshabandiyyah wa ta'at al-murid
lishaykhihi)." The leader of this Sufi group, it is said, compelled his
followers (murid) to invoke his own image (sural) in their heart, forbade
them to obey their Muslim parents, and urged Muslim wives not to listen to
their Muslim husbands. It is put to debate whether the sheikh should really
exert an influence and whether the murid should follow him blindly.
The author of the article further indicates that he has already posed
identical questions to the Singaporean journal al-Iman. According to al-
lmam 's reply, the sheikh's behavior should be classified as shirk (heresy).
The kind of rabita (the bond between a sheikh and his followers) practiced
was unknown to the Prophet, his immediate followers, and even the tabi c wz
(the second generation of followers). Hence, one should not listen to the
sheikh, the Prophet being the highest murshid (teacher, guide) in any case.
The article then says that the Naqshabandis had protested against this
explanation arguing that other sheikhs, especially ai-Juneid and ai-Jilani,
!]ad directed their followers much in the same way as the leader of the
Naqshanbandis.
Other writers also sought authoritative advice from al-Manar in this
conflict. In a letter sent from . Kuala Lumpur, the followers of the
Naqshabandi leader are called apostates and the Naqshabandi tariqa (the
Sufi order) is attacked for its bid 'a (innovation, heresy). It is added that
important Sufi leaders have never tolerated the kind of things advocated by
38 AfManar, vol. 14. no. I (1911), pp. 4952.
39 AI-Mauar. vol. II. no. 7 (1908). pp.
_,
110 MonaAbaw
the sheikh of the Naqshabandis. Albeit, the practices of the order are not
branded as kufr (disbelief).
There then follows ao all-out attack against the Sufis claiming they play
psychological games, no more and no less thao that. This should not be
tolerated, only real science should be respected. Religious worship had
nothing to do with invoking images. The Qur'an and the sunna (tradition)
were the only acceptable landmarks for religious orientation. The article
ends by referring to the writings of Imam al-Ghazali who also condemned
the Naqshabandi order and its imitators.
My final point concerns the hajj. Here we may consult a note by
Muhammed Basyuni, the imam maharaja of Sambas, dated 22 November
1926. It was written in Malay and originally appeared in a Javanese news-
paper. Basyuni asks whether the hajj can still be considered safe. He gives
the answer himself by pointing out that recent Jawih pilgrims visiting the
tomb of the Prophet had no complaints to make. On the contrary, they
thought the voyrige was easy, no harm occurred to them, and they- were able
to perform all the necessary ceremonies. This was encouraging news, in-
deed, and was spread throughout the Islamic world by important local
potentates. Basyuni then says that he would never agree to recent requests to
abolish the hajj. Such requests had been put forth in various countries, but
not in the Archipelago where Muslims were keen to preserve the old
tradition. He advocates not to listen to the opinions of charlatans (dajjal)
and "devils" (shaytan). For him, the denial of the hajj is an expression of
ki!fr (disbelief). There may be certain differences in interpreting traditional
views, but Muslims ought to stand together, as differences (ikhtilaj) between
schools of law are no more than differences in interpretation (ijrihad).
Another article blames the West for having fostered religious over-
Western newspapers, it is argued, attack the rules of Islam,
give distorted interpretations of the Qur'an, and wrongly claim that Muslims
are obliged to kill non-believers. If this were correct, all non-believers
would -CXtinitiished long ago. Muslims could easily eliminate
their enemies. but they treated them kindly, much better, -indeed, than
Europeans ever treated the Muslims of Java, Singapore, India, Tunisia, and
Algeria. The article then turns to the hajj, deploring the fact that Egyptian
pilg-rims oflen have to travel with run-down ships. In contrast to what
Basyuni stated, the conditions of the pilgrimage are depicted as bad. Eng-
40 AI-Mmrar. vol. 12. no. II (1909).
East Asia and the Middle East: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernity Ill
land and Holland, in particular, are accused of ill-treating the pilgrims, al-
though certain improvements have been made.
Finally, Europeans believe that Muslims from all parts of the world
crowding together in large numbers during the hajj. can easily transmit and
spread microbes. If those returning from Mecca are considered as carriers of
dangerous diseases, why then do Europeans undertake so little to improve
the conditions of the travelers?
Conclusion
As was said in the introduction, the above consists of a few uncoordinated
jottings. One would have to go into further detail and classify the enonnous
amount of infonnation contained in al-Manar according. to clear-cut topics.
Perhaps through research of this kind certain long-term trends and continui-
ties in the thoughts and attitudes of Southeast Asian Muslim intellectuals
could emerge more clearly. This in turn might throw light on the long-
lasting nature of the "South-Souih debate." This is exactly what Anwar
Ibrahim, deputy prime minister of Malaysia, does in his recent book.
41
He
looks at the "South" by drawing on examples from Japan and India, Confu-
cianism, China's elite, and Egyptian intellectuals such as Taha Hussein
faced with the resistance of the al-Azhar clergy. Interestingly, Ibrahim also
refers to Amir Shakib Arslan' s book Our Decline and Its Causes and the
challenging questions posed by Sheikh Muhammad Basyuni in al-Manar.
42
His discourse on nationalism and modernity is thus strongly influenced by
the views of the non-Western "Other."
4 I . Anwar Ibrahim. The A.tian Renais.mnce (Singapore and Kuala Lumpur: Times Books
International, 1996).
42 Ibid., p. 116.
...