Reconciling Islam with Indonesian Nationalism: Acceptance of the Arab Middle Eastern Influence During the Dutch Colonial Period

Abstract

Abstract During the final decade of the Dutch colonial era, Indonesia witnessed a heated conflict over the relationship between Islam and nationalism. This paper examines several opinions within the Indonesian Islamic movement during the conflict, considering the influence of the Arab Middle East. Around 1930, behind the conflict with secular nationalists, a movement of Islamic groups sympathetic to nationalism emerged, resulting in a fierce debate from the latter half of the 1930s. At the end, those who accepted nationalism while demanding an Islamic movement and an Islamic state became the mainstream position. The rise of Indonesian Islamic nationalism was influenced by the Arab Middle East via Cairo-educated Indonesians and the writings of Arab Middle Eastern intellectuals. However, the acceptance of the influence depended on regional factors. It took some time before those writings became a contentious issue in Indonesia, and Indonesian Muslims selectively utilized the writings.