![Hadji M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Hadji_M._Miscbach_portrait_from_Medan_Moeslimin_1_January_1925_cover.jpg)
Mohammad Misbach ( 1876–1926), commonly known as Haji Misbach, was a
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and Islamic activist from
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
,
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
.
He was a leading member of the left wing of the
Sarekat Islam organization in the 1910s and famously advocated for the compatibility of Islam and Communism.
Biography
Misbach was born Achmad in
Kauman Kauman is a village name used by regencies and municipalities in Central and East Java to name an area where pious Muslim communities are concentrated.
A Kauman village is usually located on the west side of a town square with a mosque
A mosqu ...
,
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
, Dutch East Indies in around 1876.
He was the son of a wealthy
Batik trader and received a traditional Islamic education in a
Pesantren
''Pesantren'', or ''pondok pesantren'', are Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. They consist of pondok, mosque, santri, teaching of classical Islamic texts and Kyai.Zamakhsyari Dhofie''The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role of the Kyai ...
, as well as a brief eight-month period in a government school.
He entered the Batik trade and became fairly wealthy, owning his own workshop.
When he got married he changed his name to Darmodiprono; however, after making the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
he changed his name once again to Hadji Mohammad Misbach.
When the
Sarekat Islam was founded in Surakarta in 1912, he joined, although he was initially not prominent.
Misbach started to become well-known among the reformist generation in Surakarta (called or young group); he became more active in 1914 when he joined
Marco Kartodikromo
Marco Kartodikromo (1890 – 18 March 1932), also known by his pen name Mas Marco, was an Indonesian journalist and writer.
Born to a low-ranking ''priyayi'' (noble) family in Blora, Dutch East Indies, Kartodikromo's first employment was ...
's League of Native Journalists ( nl, Inlandsche Journalisten Bond).
In 1915 he became even better known after he acted as leader of local people in Surakarta who were opposed to the Dutch "anti-plague" policies which involved the partial demolition of native homes.
He refused to have alterations made to his own house until he was ordered to by a magistrate.
In 1915 Misbach helped cofound a left-wing Islamic monthly magazine named (Muslim forum) as a response to increasing Christian missionary publications in Java.
In 1917 he launched a new daily newspaper called (Islam in Motion).
He also opened a hotel, the ''Hotel Islam'', along with a bookstore and religious school.
During this time he was a close ally of
Muhammadiyah
Muhammadiyah ( ar, محمدية; 'followers of Muhammad'); also known as the Muhammadiyah Society ( id, Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer ...
, its founder
Ahmad Dahlan
Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan (born as Muhammad Darwis; ar, أحمد دحلان; 1 August 1868 – 23 February 1923), often abbreviated to K.H. Ahmad Dahlan, was an Indonesian Muslim religious leader and revivalist, who established the Muh ...
and his protege Hadji Fachrodin.
He also continued to be active in campaigning against the Dutch "anti-plague" policies; in 1918 the
Insulinde party appointed him as local investigator of the matter and allowed him to found new local branches outside Surakarta to expand the campaign.
In 1918, Misbach and some of his more Islamically-minded allies (including
Oemar Said Tjokroaminoto
Raden Mas Hadji Oemar Said Tjokroaminoto (16 August 1882 – 17 December 1934), better known in Indonesia as H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto, was an Indonesian nationalist. He became one of the leaders of the Islamic Trade Union ( id, Syarekat Dagang Islam) ...
) entered into a dispute with some parts of the nationalist movement over the publications of content in the Surakarta newspaper
Djawi-Hisworo
Djawi-Hisworo was a newspaper printed in Surakarta, Dutch East Indies from 1909 to 1919 in Malay language, Malay and Javanese language, Javanese. It was considered the mouthpiece of the early Javanese people, Javanese self-improvement organizatio ...
which they deemed disrespectful to the prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
.
They founded a counter-organization named (TKNM, "To confirm, convey, and propagate goodness").
They held immense protest rallies, some of which had twenty thousand people in attendance.
The main activity of the group was to send letters of complaint to the colonial government; it eventually fell apart over disputes about fundraising.
After that he began to campaign in the countryside, moving beyond local influence in Surakarta for the first time.
He became a propagandist in the countryside against the regressive
Corvée forced labour system through which peasants had to do unpaid work or risk being expelled from their land.
He was released from prison in August 1922.
With the 1923 split of the Sarekat Islam into left and right wings, he followed most of the left wing into the
PKI PKI may refer to:
* Partai Komunis Indonesia, the Communist Party of Indonesia
* Peter Kiewit Institute
The Peter Kiewit Institute is a facility in Omaha, Nebraska, United States which houses academic programs from the University of Nebraska ...
(Indonesian Communist Party). After a bombing in Surakarta, Haji Misbach was blamed and exiled to New Guinea.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misbach, Haji
1870s births
1926 deaths
Date of birth uncertain
Prisoners who died in Dutch detention
Dutch political prisoners
Boven-Digoel concentration camp detainees
Sarekat Islam politicians
Muslim socialists
People from Surakarta
Journalists from the Dutch East Indies