The Triumph of the Second Leaders: Ahmad Khatib and Rashīd Ri d ā in Islamic Reform in Indonesia

The advent of Islamic reform in Indonesia at the turn of the 20th century is to be attributed to two scholars or called the second Muslim leaders. They were Ahmad Khatib in Mecca and Rash ī d Rid ā in Cairo. Ahmad Khatib was an intellectual leader of mainly Malay-Indonesian section of Jawa (Southeast Asians Muslims) in Mecca when the Islamic reform began to be voiced by Cairo ‘ulama, Muhammad ‘Abduh and Rash ī d Rid ā . One crucial point to discuss in this article is that the two scholars shared similar religious thoughts, which hold a determining role in the development of Islamic reform, much more than the role of Muhammad ‘Abduh, the first leader of the movement. As can be gleaned from Ahmad Khatib’s works and his intellectual orientation, as well as from the fatwas of Rash ī d Rid ā in al-Man ā r, both scholars emphasized the primacy of pristine Islam (sal ā f), different from the thought of ‘Abduh. In fact, it was in the hands of Ahmad Khatib’s students that the Islamic reform reached wider audiences in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the early 20th century also witnessed the mounting request for fatwas to Rash ī d Rid ā in al-Man ā r, which greatly contributed to the transmission of reform ideas from Cairo to the region.


INTRODUCTION thought and his books (kitab). 3
In fact, Ahmad Khatib presented new Islamic discourse that departed from the traditional line of thought among the Jawa of Mecca. Ahmad Khatib appeared as an activist 'ālim who posed direct responses to religious affairs in the Dutch East Indies, particularly in his hometown in West Sumatra. He introduced a new way of intellectual dealing with actual religious issues, which could hardly be found in the traditional Islamic scholarship. As such, he contributed to establishing a strong base for the rise of Islamic reform and new Islamic leadership.
The second is Rashīd Ridā (1865Ridā ( -1935, a Cairene reformist 'alim who echoed the reformist ideas articulated by his teacher, Muhammad 'Abduh. It should be noted that the role of Rashīd Ridā in the Islamic reform has been superseded by his teacher. 4 This point needs to be highlighted. With due regards to the central role of 'Abduh, the reformist ideas were disseminated by Ridā, who taught the Jawi students at al-Azhar when their numbers increased in the 1920s. As well, it was also with Ridā that Muslim leaders in Southeast Asia corresponded to request fatwas (Ar. fatāwa, religious edicts) through the journal al-Manār. As a matter of fact, Ridā's religious thought differed from Abduh's. He emphasized the return to the tradition of the forefathers of Islam (salāf).
In this article, the thought of these two scholars will be examined, giving emphasis on the ways how they came into the Indies and Southeast Asia at large and formed a new layer of Islamic configuration in the region. One thing is important to state at the outset, the ideas of Ahmad Khatib held essential roles in the dissemination of the Cairo-based reform. He had similar ideas with salafiyya line of Ridā's thought, as articulated in Ahmad Khatib's response to the subject of Islamic inheritance in West Sumatra. His role is also to be explained by the fact that the first contingent who migrated to Cairo to study at al-Azhar came from his Jawi students in Mecca. And, one of his students appeared as a leading scholar who disseminated the Islamic reform to Southeast Asia.
The discussions of this article have a foundation in the previous scholarly studies 5 but with strong weight on direct relation to the thought of Indonesian reformist Muslim leaders. In so doing, the motion of ideas from the Middle East to the Indies, and Southeast Asia at large, is taken as the main subject of discussion, which appears to be a leading issue in the initial development of Islamic reform in the region. This article is expected to give a new element to the historiography of Islamic reform, which has emphasized too strongly the role of the mentioned intellectual leader and equally has paid attention too much to the rise of modern organizations. 6 Approaching the end of the 19 th century, the Holy City, which had enjoyed being the heart of traditional Islamic learning, began to change.  Turning to the above-cited issue of a changing Mecca, it can be said that at the time when his being appointed as an imām and a teacher of Jawa that Ahmad Khatib encountered a new trend of religious and intellectual life. The 'ulama-centered learning, as "the very kernel of the Jawa colony", 10 began to change. Ahmad Khatib's students, most notably those from Sumatera and the Malay peninsula, seem to have started learning Islam from other sources of knowledge besides the lectures of their teacher. 11 The printed Islamic materials, especially the journal al-Manār published by the reform-minded 'ulama Muhammad 'Abduh and Rashīd Ridā, circulated in Mecca and were accessed by the Jawi students. And Ahmad Khatib, as Noer asserts, permitted his students to read the journal, although with the expectation to be able to refute the reformist ideas. With the printed materials, a new mode of Islamic learning arose, no longer based on the book as lectured by the 'ulama but on the independent reading of the printed media. As a result, the students had a space of liberty to comprehend and to come to a conclusion on certain Islamic doctrines on the basis of their autonomous reading, not of oral lectures by their teacher. 12 The changing Jawa of Mecca can also be seen in Ahmad Khatib   Asian Muslims that began to be questioned in the early 20 th century. One of the questions was concerned with two issues: to colour (black and others) the sign of praying direction in the mosque toward the Kaaba and hang a piece of cloth for the spit in the mosque's wall. To the first issue, Rashīd Ridā wrote in al-Manār that this practice could be religiously immoral as it was to litter the mosque, and was equally so if it dislocated the mind of those who were praying; otherwise, it is just a small mistake in religious practice. One thing for sure is that Rashīd Ridā looked at the issues as to have no ground in the tradition of the Prophet and his companions (salāf), and he classified them as bid'a. 47 Further, Rashīd Ridā argued that the practice of hanging a piece of cloth in the mosque' wall led him to remind those commonly found in Muslim countries where stupid people were used to displaying a cloth hanged on a tree and the graves of supposedly pious Muslims with the intention to prevent from danger and to gain advantages. For him, this practice belongs to those of the idolater and therefore contrary to the Prophetic tradition, albeit many Muslims had long practiced it. 48 Another issue that arose to be an intensely debated subject amidst the advance of Islamic reform was tawassul, a medium in soliciting divine favour. It appeared in an al-Manār edition of 1906. It was later re-stated Rashid Rida's Fatwas in al-Manar: Some Examples due to the request by a fatwa seeker from Singapore with initial name MS. 49 As is assumed, Rashīd Ridā issued a fatwa that emphasizes the bid'a status of tawassul, saying that it has not precedence which could be found in the Qur'an and the tradition of the Prophet, as well as in the religious practices of the believers from the companions. He also acknowledges the fact that those who are committed to bid'a claim that their predecessor (the Sufi 'ālim) once made a prayer (du'a) for the deceased with the intention that his wishes would be granted; and, in so doing, they do praying (salāt) on the grave; they also believe that these ritual practices would help to make the wishes materialize. Rashīd Ridā states that it is religiously groundless. 50 Moreover, to Rashīd Ridā, the wide practice of tawassul among the Muslims is strongly related to the perception of the Prophet, which holds the notion that his prophethood includes non-religious mission and affairs. In this particular respect, there appears the belief that the Prophet had superiority which enables him to give help for those who do prayer to make what they look for are fulfilled by God. In contrast to this, Rashīd Ridā clarifies few points, saying that the Prophet has no authority to prevent someone from danger, neither to give advantages; the only superiority he has lies in the mission to proselytize Islamic teachings to the people; thus, with the exception of receiving Qur'anic verses and having Prophetic attributes, he is just like normal people. 51 Still related to the issue of tawassul, Rashīd Ridā issued another fatwa which refuted the belief that all the miracles of the Prophet were similar with dignity or honour (karāma) of the saints. It was a response to the request sent by Muhammad bin Hashim Alawy of Java, in which he noted that the term karāma was popular among the Javanese, especially those who Like al-Manār, al-Imam took the spirit of reform to be its central concern. In its first edition, the editors of al-Imam wrote that the journal was directed to make the people who were forgetful, asleep and astray come under the right guidance based on Islam. 61 For this purpose, al-Imam transmitted the reform ideas of Cairo by republishing the articles in al-Manār, such as the one entitled "Ilmu dan 'Ulama" (Knowledge and 'Ulama), on which the editors stated that "we publish this article in The second 'ālim is Abdul Latif Syakur (1882-1963. His name is not so well-known as other students of Ahmad Khatib already mentioned. The previous work of Deliar Noer mentions this scholar in relation to his role in introducing a new style of education into Ma'had Biaro in 1906. 72 Nevertheless, thanks to the finding of his works, the intellectual picture of Abdul Latif Syakur becomes more apparent. 73 In terms of education, as his daughter Sa'adyah Syakura recounts, his concern in reforming education strengthened. In 1912 he founded Sicamin School. A few years later, in 1918, he transformed into Tarbiyatul Hasanah School. 74 And these schools were designed to enhance modern education for Minangkabau people in the early 20 th century. In addition, he was also concerned with the progress of women. In addition to writing a specific work on this subject, 75 he also published Djauharah (1923)(1924)(1925), a special magazine for women 's issues. 76 In the field of religious thought, Abdul Latif Syakur seems to have what was regarded as contaminated religious practices became the primary concern of the Islamic reform movements, as can be seen in the reformist 'ulama of West Sumatra (kaum muda), who had experiences learning in Mecca with Ahmad Khatib, and the development of

Muhammadiyah.
All those explained present the triumph of not only the second leaders but also of the salafiyya reformism in Indonesia.
The first draft of this paper was written as I was a research fellow at Southeast Asian Program (SEAP) Cornell University in the framework of the Fulbright Program of Visiting Scholar (October 2019-March 2020). I am grateful to Chiara Formichi, who supported me during my research. I also thank my friend James B. Hoesterey who kindly edited the major English part of this paper.