Kartosoewirjo, An Impossible Dream

By Nugroho Dewanto et al.

He came from a nominal Muslim family but Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo ended as the leader of the rebellious Darul Islam. Almost 50 years after his death, at the hands of a firing squad, his vision and his ideal of an Islamic state still resonate among some Muslims in this country.

ALTHOUGH Kartosoewirjo, born in Cepu, Central Java on January 7, 1907, was known as an Islamic leader, he was not excessively “Islamic.” His father was a mantri candu or head of an opium control division— a somewhat high rank for a “native Indonesian” during the Dutch colonial era. Clearly, candu and Islam seemed, even at that time, quite incongruous.

The Kartosoewirjo family was indeed among the feudal upper-class, and they were not strict adherents of Islam. “Our family tended to be abangan,” said one member of the family in Cepu. Kartosoewirjo’s childhood was not filled with religious instruction. Most of his education came from Dutch schools.

After graduating from the Inlandsche School der Tweede Klasse, known as the “Ongko Loro School” little Kartosoewirjo continued his education at the Hollands Inlandsche School in Rembang, Central Java. He then continued his studies at the Europeesche Lagere School, an elite school for Dutch children, in Bojonegoro, East Java.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tempo Publishing
• Release date: Sep 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301558292

Book preview

KARTOSOEWIRJO

An Impossible Dream

By Nugroho Dewanto et al.

Published by Tempo Publishing at Smashwords

Copyrights 2013 Tempo

Illustration on Cover by Kendra H. Paramita

Fifty years after his death, Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo continues to inspire groups who dream of an ‘Islamic State’ in this country—both by peaceful and violent means.

Ironically, the Kartosoewirjo family was classified as gentry, feudal and not a strict follower of Islam. His youth was not spent in religious education but in colonial Dutch schools. Not surprisingly, historians judge Kartsoewirjo’s motives in establishing an Islamic State as the result of deep disappointment in the Renville Agreement.

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Table of content

The Rebel Imam from Malangbong

An Abangan from the Jungle

Tjokroaminoto’s Student in Peneleh

Time Spent with Masyumi

Scattered Roots

For the Love of a Guerrilla

Memories of Suffah Institute

The Just King—with a Keris

Roots of a Guerrilla War

Riding the Renville Momentum

Changing the Imam’s Heart

Kartosoewirjo vs Alex Kawilarang

Guerrilla War in the Forests of Priangan

Under the Command of Three Clerics

Line of Command in a Time of Revolution

Bullet Holes in the Minaret

Journey’s End

Out of the Jungle

The Imam’s Trial

Still a Mystery After 45 Years

The Idea that Would not Die

The Halfhearted Nation

Fast Times at a Darul Islam School

A Farewell Letter from Johor Bahru

An Undimmed Resistance Movement

Two-Stage Revolution

Sidney Jones : Darul Islam’s Ongoing Appeal

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SPECIAL EDITION TEAM OF TEMPO AUGUST 24, 2010

Team Leader: Nugroho Dewanto Project Head: Bagja Hidayat Editors: Nugroho Dewanto, Bina Bektiati, Mardiyah Chamim, Idrus F. Shahab, Purwanto Setiadi, Arif Zulkifli, Budi Setyarso, Muhammad Taufiqurohman, L.R. Baskoro, Seno Joko Suyono, Hermien Y. Kleden, Amarzan Loebis Writers: Nugroho Dewanto, Bagja Hidayat, Sunudyantoro, Harun Mahbub Billah, Dwidjo Utomo Maksum, Yandi M. Rofiyandi, Anton Aprianto, Wahyu Dhyatmika, Budi Riza, Yophiandi Kurniawan, Anne L. Handayani, Nurkhoiri, Fery Firmansyah, Angelus Tito Sianipar, Yuliawati, Ramidi, Erwin Dariyanto, Ahmad Taufik, Oktamandjaya Wiguna, Sapto Pradityo, Nurdin Kalim, Retno Sulistyowati, Suryani Ika Sari Contributors: Widiarsi Agustina, Cheta Nilawaty (Jakarta), Gilang Mustika Ramdani, Ahmad Fikri, Angga Wijaya (Bandung), Sigit Zulmunir (Garut), Jayadi Supriyadin (Tasikmalaya), Deden Abdul Aziz (Sukabumi)Sudjatmiko (Rembang, Cepu, Bojonegoro), Sohirin (Semarang), Erwin Dariyanto (Brebes), Kukuh S. Wibowo (Surabaya) Language Editors: Uu Suhardi, Dewi Kartika Teguh W., Sapto Nugroho Photos: Aryus P. Soekarno (Coordinator), Bismo Agung, Dwi Narwoko, Aditya Herlambang Design: Gilang Rahadian, Eko Punto Pambudi, Hendy Prakasa, Kiagus Auliansyah, Ajibon, Agus Darmawan S., Tri Watno Widodo

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The Rebel Imam from Malangbong

He came from a nominal Muslim family but Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo ended as the leader of the rebellious Darul Islam. Almost 50 years after his death, at the hands of a firing squad, his vision and his ideal of an Islamic state still resonate among some Muslims in this country.

ALTHOUGH Kartosoewirjo, born in Cepu, Central Java on January 7, 1907, was known as an Islamic leader, he was not excessively Islamic. His father was a mantri candu or head of an opium control division— a somewhat high rank for a native Indonesian during the Dutch colonial era. Clearly, candu and Islam seemed, even at that time, quite incongruous.

The Kartosoewirjo family was indeed among the feudal upper-class, and they were not strict adherents of Islam. "Our family tended to be abangan," said one member of the family in Cepu. Kartosoewirjo’s childhood was not filled with religious instruction. Most of his education came from Dutch schools.

After graduating from the Inlandsche School der Tweede Klasse, known as the Ongko Loro School little Kartosoewirjo continued his education at the Hollands Inlandsche School in Rembang, Central Java. He then continued his studies at the Europeesche Lagere School, an elite school for Dutch children, in Bojonegoro, East Java.

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Only intelligent native Indonesian children from families of civil servants could enter this school. He then furthered his education at the Nederlandsch Indische Artsen School—better known as the Java Medical School—in Surabaya.

During his teens, Kartosoewirjo became interested in sociopolitical movements around the world, in the process discovering nationalist thinking—even the ‘left-leaning’ kind. He was known to have read many leftist books, which he obtained from his uncle, Mas Marco Kartodikromo.

Marco was known as a journalist and activist of the communist-leaning faction of the Islamic Union. Influenced by his writings, Kartosoewirjo plunged into politics by joining the Jong Java and then the Jong Islamieten Bond student groups.

He developed a knowledge of practical Islam on his own, through literature in Dutch and discussions with kiai (traditional Islamic teachers). His first Qur’an teacher was Notodihardjo, an activist of the Indonesian Islamic Union Party (PSSI) and the Muhammadiyah organization in Bojonegoro. Notodihardjo was a typical Javanese Muslim: he spoke in a refined manner and always wore a traditional blangkon cap, tight-fitting beskap jacket and slippers.

His teacher in political movements, as well as his greatest religious teacher, was none other than Haji Oemar Said Tjokroaminoto—the man the Dutch called the Uncrowned King of Java. Impressed by the speeches of this lion of the podium, Kartosoewirjo applied to become a student and began boarding at the home of the head of the Islamic Union in Surabaya.

To pay for his accommodations, Kartosoewirjo worked at the Fadjar Asia newspaper owned by Tjokroaminoto. His diligence and ingenuity led him to become the personal secretary of Tjokroaminoto’s first in-law of (Indonesian President) Sukarno.

It should be noted that Tjokroaminoto also taught Semaoen, a communist, and Sukarno, a nationalist. The shared goal of setting Indonesia free from Dutch colonial rule united them, putting aside their differences.

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WHEN he lived in Malangbong, Kartosoewirjo furthered his studies on Islam from a number of ajengan, or local kiai, such as Ardiwisastra in Malangbong, Kiai Mustafa Kamil from Tasikmalaya, and Kiai Yusuf Tauziri from Wanareja. Ardiwisastra went on to become an in-law and his close ally in the struggle to establish an Islamic Nation.

Yusuf Tauziri, on the other hand, became a tough opponent of Kartosoewirjo, in the true sense of the word. On a number of occasions, Yusuf’s followers who mostly rejected the Darul Islam, exchanged shots with Kartsosoewirjo’s people.

With this combination of Javanese and Islamic background, the story that Kartosoewirjo once went on a tapa geni (fasting and meditation) for 40 days inside Walet Cave in Mt Kidul in Yogyakarta, neither eating nor drinking for the duration, seemed highly probable. He convinced his followers that even Prophet Muhammad went into seclusion when he received his first revelation from God in the Cave of Hira.

In Volume 3 of his handbook on serving the Indonesian Islamic Nation or NII, Kartosoewirjo was referred to by many names: a Ratu Adil (Just King), Imam Mahdi, Sultan Heru Tjokro, and Satrija Sakti (a warrior with supernatural powers). These titles were cited by the Javanese king and poet, Joyoboyo, when he prophesied the coming of a leader of all men.

The people of West Java had a mystical belief that Kartosoewirjo was the Just King who would be victorious in battle if he could bring together two ancient weapons: the keris dagger of Ki Dongkol and the sword of Ki Rompang. Indeed, he always carried these two heirlooms when he fought his guerrilla warfare in the jungles.

In profiling Kartosoewirjo, Bahtiar Effendy, a scholar of political Islam, feels that he did not have a strong ideological basis for establishing an Islamic state. Bahtiar—and other experts on Islamic politics—are of the opinion that it was Kartosoewirjo’s disappointment with the Renville Treaty, which he felt was detrimental to the interests of the Muslim community, that led him to rebel against the ‘kafir’ government of Sukarno.

Even so, Kartosoewirjo’s rebellion in West Java together with Daud Beureueh’s in Aceh and Kahar Muzakkar in South Sulawesi had their place in the history of the fledgling Republic. Decades after these three figures died, the spirit to establish an Islamic state has been kept alive by segments of the Muslim community. The effort to keep on recruiting new cadres, it seems, has not been broken.

Those who aspired to the concept of an Islamic Nation may have split because of ideological reasons or the personal interests of their leaders. Some have decided to go into education, or to keep on fighting through advocacy programs, and still others keep on justifying the use of violence, like the group which became the root of the Jemaah Islamiyah. Yet, all