The event of the 10 November 1945 Battle in Surabaya, which is commemorated as Heroes\' Day, is an important part of the Independence Revolution period.
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By AHMAD NAJIB BURHANI
·6 minutes read
Even though Indonesia had declared independence on 17 August 1945, the struggle for independence in the years after that has not ended. The Dutch rejected the proclamation. They even tried to colonize Indonesia again. The struggle for independence between 1945 and 1949 was known as the Revolutionary War period.
The event of the 10 November 1945 Battle in Surabaya, which is commemorated as Heroes\' Day, is an important part of the Independence Revolution period. Even though official recognition by the government only emerged in 2015, the 10 November 1945 event was closely related to the "Jihad Resolution" issued by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) on 22 October 1945.
This resolution motivated the santri (Islamic boarding school students), youths and Indonesian people to fight to the death against the Allied armies that came to Surabaya. One of the leaders of the Allied armies, Aubertin Walter Sothern Mallaby, was shot dead on 30 October 1945. This was what made the Allies angry and take revenge until the climax, which occurred on 10 November. President Joko Widodo has also designated 22 October as Santri Day.
Apart from the NU Jihad Resolution, there was a similar resolution that emerged during the 1945-1949 Revolutionary War, which until now has not yet known by many historians and the general public. The resolution was issued by Muhammadiyah on 28 May 1946 and was named "Jihad Mandate".
Diplomatic meetings with the Netherlands had failed and signs of peace were grimmer.
According to Yuanda Zara, a historian and an alumnus of Universiteit van Amsterdam who has widely reviewed this document, this resolution was issued after the national situation became increasingly dangerous. Diplomatic meetings with the Netherlands had failed and signs of peace were grimmer.
The threat of war on a large scale emerged from both the Indonesian and Dutch sides. If in August-November 1945 a major war occurred only in Surabaya, since May 1946 the threat of war had occurred throughout Indonesia. Therefore, Muhammadiyah issued its Jihad Mandate.
The question now is, how did Islamic movements, such as the NU and Muhammadiyah, build a "revolutionary ideology" and how could that ideology become a grassroots force to bravely fight for and defend independence?
In short, in building the revolutionary ideology, NU and Muhammadiyah figures explained that revolution was a struggle for Islamic goals. They used slogans, symbols and methods that departed from Islamic traditions and doctrines (Fogg, 2020).
In short, the revolution was preached as an Islamic and holy struggle and therefore everyone who died was a martyr. This was what caused the two mass organizations to call the revolutionary war a jihad.
Apart from the above methods, the revolutionary ideology was also formed by instilling the belief that in the new state that would be formed, Islam would also influence politics. With this revolutionary ideology, the santri and Muslims in Indonesia set out to fight.
The revolutionary ideology used by ulema in Indonesia was certainly different from other inhabitants or even Muslims in other countries. The belief about millenarianism, such as the presence of Ratu Adil, was once used by Pangeran (Prince) Diponegoro in the Java War. However, NU and Muhammadiyah did not use this tradition. This could be seen, among other things, in the key words in the Jihad Resolution and Jihad Mandate, namely jihad (religious struggle), fi sabilillah (in the way of Allah), independence, and the Republic of Indonesia.
Jumping far from the 1940s to the 2010s, the ideology that was used during the revolution was then transformed into a passion and love for the country, especially in facing the waves of transnationalism. NU and Muhammadiyah, for example, through their various decisions instilled love for the homeland as a religious tradition.
After promoting the concept of "Islam Nusantara" or Islam of the Archipelago at the 2015 Congress, at the National Conference of Ulema and Konbes (big conference) of NU in Banjar city, West Java, March 2019, NU again issued a phenomenal decision in relation to nationality, namely not to use the term kafir (infidel) in the context of nationality.
After the Prophet moved to Medina, there was no term kafir for non-Muslim citizens of Medina.
As disclosed by Said Aqil Siroj, the chairman of the PBNU (central executive board of NU), "In the citizenship system, in a nation state (muwathonah), the term kafir is not known. Thus, every citizen has the same position and rights in the eyes of the constitution. The term kafir was valid when Prophet Muhammad was in Mecca, namely to call them idolaters, paganists, who had no holy books, did not have true religion or animists. After the Prophet moved to Medina, there was no term kafir for non-Muslim citizens of Medina."
In Muhammadiyah, the concept of “Islam Berkejamuan" or Progressive Islam has also been introduced since the 2015 Congress and was accompanied by the issuance of important documents, such as "Pancasila State as Dar al-Ahdi wa al-Syahadah". This document confirms that Indonesia is a country where we make a sacred promise to be loyal and a place to prove our best work.
This declaration aims to put an end to the theological and political debates about dar al-Islam (Islamic territory) and dar al-harb (war zone). For Muhammadiyah, this dichotomy is out of date and not selling. As a substitute, Muslims need to keep them busy with the concept of dar al-salam, a peaceful state which is mutually built and agreed upon.
In short, with the ideas of Islam Nusantara and Islam Berkemajuan, the two Islamic organizations want to strengthen the tradition of love for Indonesia and make it a habitus for their followers.
Concepts such as Islam Nusantara and Islam Berkemajuan are perhaps what Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, later adopted when introducing Islam des Lumières (Islamic Enlightenment), a distinctive French style of Islam that is free from the control of Arab countries; an Islam that adapts or acculturates to the identity and character of Western society.
Finally, the vocabulary and tradition of loving the homeland or hubbul wathan are not currently owned by certain religious groups. This, among other things, is because the concept of the nation-state had not existed when several major religions were born in the world. However, the principle such as the one practiced by Prophet Muhammad when building the "State of Medina" by making equal agreements with other people of various religions and ethnicities is a model of state that needs to be seen.
In the state of Medina, they promised to become "one people" (ummah wahidah) to fight together, guard and protect each other. All groups in it had the same rights and obligations and were not allowed to betray.
AHMAD NAJIB BURHANI, Research Professor at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)