Ending Discrimination Against Arabs

ALI Shahabudin had been talking for three hours, yet he showed no sign of fatigue. His mouth and pointed nose emitted cigarette smoke. The ashtray on the table in front of him was overflowing with cigarette butts and ash. Meanwhile, his coffee is gone, leaving only the dregs. “I still have many stories about people of Arab descent,” he told Historia.

Ali is of Arab descent, the grandson of Ali bin Ahmad bin Shahab, popularly known as Ali Menteng. Of Sayyid blood, Ali Menteng was one of the founders of Jamiat Khair. Until now, Ali Menteng's descendants still think that they have sayyid blood. Sayyid is an honorific title of the descendants of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad through his grandsons Hasan and Husayn. “Regarding this sayyid status, I had a unique experience in Aceh,” said Ali.

It was January 2006, when members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) kidnapped the son of a policeman from a village. A rumor spread that GAM would kill the boy in less than 24 hours. As an intelligence officer, Ali was tasked with saving the child, so he visited the local Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and asked to connect him with GAM.

“I knew some of the ulema had contacts with GAM members,” Ali recalled.

To his surprise, GAM handed the child over to the MUI. “They said they knew there was a Habib from Jakarta coming. They remembered Habib Abdurrahman Az-Zahir, a leader of the Acehnese resistance in the late 19th century,” Ali said. He then concluded that the sayyid status was still important in society.

As an Arab descendant, Ali claimed he never received discriminatory treatment. His career in intelligence and his overall life went smoothly. He was grateful to have a special place in society as a descendant of the Prophet. “But it was a bit different in the Dutch era. The colonial government wasn't happy with Arab descent, including the sayyids,” said Ali.

According to Yasmine Zaki Shahab, a professor of anthropology at the University of Indonesia, who is also Ali Menteng's granddaughter, her grandfather was irritated by the treatment of the Dutch. Once, his grandfather went on a train. “Although he was allowed to ride with Dutch people, he was still looked down upon because Arab descent belonged to the Foreign Eastern group (vreemde oosterlingen),” Yasmine explained.

On the train, a Dutchman smoked a cigar, which at that time was a status symbol that separated the Dutch from the Foreign Orientals and the native people. Knowing that a Dutchman was mocking him, Ali Menteng responded in a unique way. “He rolled a banknote, burned it, and smoked it as if it were a cigarette,” said Yasmine. Perhaps it can be an example of the Arab descendant's deep resentment of the colonial government's policies.

Racial and Religious Stratification

The Dutch have a long history of segregating their colony. This began when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) took control of Batavia in the first half of the 17th century. They arranged the population based on their origin and religion (wijkenstelsel). Neighborhoods of Javanese, Ambon, Balinese, Makassarese, Indian (named Pekojan), and Chinese (named Pecinan) emerged. “No less than 40 community groups were created in this way, and they were treated differently,” wrote Parakitri T. Simbolon in Menjadi Indonesia.

Each village had a village head or wijkmeester who was responsible to report to the captain. The captain chaired each community group and was tasked with reporting the conditions of his group to the Batavian authorities. This method made it easier for the Batavian authorities to control and prevent mixing between population groups, thus maintaining the stability of the city's security.

For the Arabs, the VOC applied a slightly different rule. They placed Arabs in the same village as Indians because they were both Muslims. Although the Arab population was still small at that time, the Batavian authorities saw them as a threat.

The Batavian rulers put more trust in groups that were of the same religion as them. “Meanwhile, those who had the same religion as the ruler, or at least, did not adhere to Islam, which was seen by the Batavian authorities as an enemy belief, had a privileged position and a certain level of trust,” wrote W.F. Wertheim in Indonesian Society in Transition.

This view was the aftermath of the Crusades of the 12th century. The upheaval didn't only occur in the realm of religion, but also trade.

According to Siti Hidayati Amal, a researcher at the University of Indonesia, the arrival of the Dutch to Nusantara was in line with the enlightenment of the Christian conscience (renaissance) in Western Europe. “In spreading this religion, the Arabs were significant competitors for the Dutch. For the Dutch, it was a competition for influence among the natives, especially among the nobles to gain economic power. Therefore, the attitude and treatment of the Dutch towards Arabs was very antipathetic and they must always be vigilant,” wrote Siti in ‘Arab Descendants Outside the Yogya Palace Walls’, published in Indonesian Anthropology Vol. 29 No. 2, 2005.  

However, the downright hostility didn't discourage the Arabs as they had become attached to Nusantara. So, their migration continued, especially from Hadramaut. Later, the Dutch fears were proven. “At the end of the 18th century, Arab traders established sultanates in Sumatra and Kalimantan,” Huub de Jonge wrote in "Discord and Solidarity Among the Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies 1900-1942", published in Indonesia Vol. 55 April 1993.

It added more problems for the Dutch. The Arab population increased in the mid-19th century, and they became the second largest minority after the Chinese. Realizing that the number of Arabs was increasing, the colonial government took several ways to limit their space. In Batavia, they were only allowed to settle in four districts of the Afdeeling stad en voorsteden van Batavia: Penjaringan, Pasar Senen, Mangga Besar and Tanah Abang. If they lived outside these areas, the colonial government wouldn't hesitate to drag them to court.

The Fall of the Separation Wall

Not satisfied with wijkenstelsel, in 1866 the colonial government issued passenstelsel or pass system, which ordered the Arabs to bring a pass when traveling. “This rule disrupted their integration with the local population,” wrote Ismail Fajrie Alatas in "Becoming Indonesian", published in Die Welt des Islam No. 51 in 2011.

The pass must describe their destination and who they would meet there, which also included information about their lodging. They were not allowed to spend the night outside the designated place and could only leave after getting permission from the village head, which oftentimes took a long time to be issued.

This rule actually applied to all foreign orientals. However, the Arabs sensed that it applied differently to them. Another foreign oriental group, the Chinese, also felt the same and considered the colonial government to be unfair. Jealousy among foreign oriental groups further arose.

“Although in principle there was one policy for all Asian minorities, in practice they were often treated differently. Both the interpretation and the application of the restrictive laws varied from group to group, and even from person to person, depending on general colonial interests and the personal preferences of particular officials,” Huub de Jonge wrote in "Dutch Colonial Policy Pertaining to Hadhrami Immigrants", published in Hadhrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s to 1960s edited by Ulrike Freitag and W.G. Clarence-Smith.

The Arabs were discontented with all these rules, and some of them demanded the same status as Europeans (gelijkstelling). Others asked to be equalized with the local community. “It was indeed a class suicide. But they themselves felt they had integrated into the local community,” said Syamhari Baswedan, son of A.R. Baswedan. Besides, they prioritized avoiding passenstelsel because the colonial government didn't apply this rule to native people.

The demands of the Arabs received a breath of fresh air from Turkey in 1870. At that time, Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II carried out the mission of pan-Islamism, which aimed to unite all Muslims under the Ottoman Turkish caliphate. The Sultan considered all Muslims as his citizens.  

This idea had scientific support from Sayyid Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, a Muslim thinker who graduated from Al-Azhar University, Egypt. “And this ideology spread to the Dutch East Indies. The colonial government called it a threat because it rejected colonial rule in a Muslim country,” wrote Nico J.G. Kaptein in ‘The Arabs in the Netherlands East Indies and The House of Orange’, published in Writings and Writing from Another World and Another Era edited by Robert M. Kerr and Thomas Milo.  

The response was favorable, and the Arabs sympathized with this idea by recognizing Turkey as their homeland. “At home, the sayyids also put up a photo of Sultan Hamid II,” said Ali Shahabudin. Another form of support was by wearing a tarbus, a typical Turkish red felt headdress. This happened after the coronation of the Dutch Queen, Wilhelmina, in 1898.

However, the colonial government was indifferent about the sayyids' status as Turkish citizens. Arabs continued to receive discriminatory treatment, a few of them were even subjected to harassment. The story spread beyond the Dutch East Indies.

Overseas press such as al-Ma'lumat (Constantinople), al-Mu'ayyad (Cairo), Samarat al-Funun (Beirut), and Salam (Iskandariah) published some of the stories, such as the story of Sayyid Husain al-Attas. “The government prohibited him from staying in a native village one night, even though his wife lived there,” wrote al-Ma'lumat, August 30, 1899. Sayyid Husain resisted the ban, and he ended up in trouble with the police.

At the same time, the colonial government raised the status of Japanese to the same level as Europeans. Arab resentment mounted. A group of sayyids formed Jamiat Khair, an organization that fought for the rights of Arabs. Snouck Hurgronje, head of the Office of Arab and Native Affairs, regarded the reaction as a symbol of resistance that had to be suppressed. So, Snouck wrote a letter to the governor-general on May 18, 1903.

He assessed three policies that needed to be corrected: the restriction of residence permits, the obligation of travel papers, and the Arabs' dealings with the police. Snouck concluded, “the limitation or even the gradual abolition of permits to Arabs to settle in the Dutch East Indies must be considered entirely necessary.” Snouck clearly wanted the Indies to be totally closed to Arabs, like in Australia and some British colonies.

In another letter dated July 28, 1904, Snouck was even more emphatic. “I have to urge an absolute closure against the Arabs, so that they cannot settle in this Nusantara.”

However, Snouck's wish wasn't fulfilled. “Snouck's attempt to stop the flow of the river from Hadramaut was unsuccessful. To the best of my knowledge, the immigration of Hadramaut Arabs was not stopped at all, until the Dutch left Indonesia,” Hamid Algadri wrote in Snouck Hurgronje and Dutch Politics towards Islam and Arab Descendants.  

For those who were already living in the Indies, Snouck hoped that the government would give them greater freedom. After that, wijkenstelsel and passenstelsel were gradually abolished, resulting in more freedom for the Arabs. They tried to blend in again with the local community. A new awareness of their homeland emerged as the idea of pan-Islamism faded in the 1920s.  

The Arab descendants began to turn away from Hadramaut and Turkey. Some of them identified themselves as native Indonesians. They became more confident after the colonial government overhauled the stratification of colonial society which wasn't arranged by race anymore but by nationality. This was mentioned in Memorie van Toelichting of the 1925 Wet op de Bestuurshervorming.

As proof of their seriousness, a group of Arab descendants formed the Indonesian Arab Association (PAI) in 1934. They abandoned tarbus and replaced it with songkok, a typical native headgear. They also approached several associations, although it wasn't easy. Partai Indonesia Raya (Parindra), for example, was not ready to accept Arabs as members because they considered Arabs as Indo (mixed blood) descendants. “Furthermore, Parindra itself is not yet convinced that all Indo people are willing to unite themselves with Indonesia sincerely,” wrote Aliran Baroe, January 1939.

However, the proclamation of Indonesian independence proved Parindra wrong. Arab descendants were determined to become Indonesians. A.R. Baswedan, their representative on the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence, confirmed this. As a symbol of integrating with Indonesian society, PAI was then disbanded.

The End of Discrimination

In August 1956, the All-Indonesian National Economic Congress took place in Semarang, aiming to draw a line between weak native and non-native entrepreneurs. Mr. Assaat, as chairman of the congress, invited Arab businessmen as native businessmen, while Chinese descendants were included in non-native businessmen.

The decision caught the attention of Tjoa Tjie Lieng, secretary-general of the Indonesian Chinese Party. He wrote to his friend A.R. Baswedan: “What is the reason behind the success of the movement of Indonesians of Arab descent, in which they were excluded from the 'non-native' aspect?”

“Because PAI is very idealistic! Because I always emphasize fulfilling obligations rather than demanding rights. So, the awareness of being Indonesian among them is deep,” Baswedan answered the question, as recounted in Pelita, November 8, 1979.

A stumbling block emerged in 1979, resulting from Presidential Decree No. 14/1979 on the protection of economically weak entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the decree classified Arab descendants as non-natives. A.R. Baswedan forwarded the complaints of people of Arab descent to Vice President Adam Malik. Recognizing the history of the struggle of Arab descendants during the colonial period, Adam Malik immediately requested a revision of the Presidential Decree.

After that, discrimination became even more distant from Arab descendants in Indonesia.

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