The Indonesia Arab Association ( id, Persatuan Arab Indonesia) (PAI) is an association of

Arab Indonesian Arab Indonesians ( ar, عربٌ إندونيسيون) or ''Hadharem'' (; sing., ''Hadhrami'', ), informally known as Jama'ah, and until the 20th century known as Codjas or Kodjas, note the work was also published in the Hague and Utrecht simulta ...

s founded by

Abdurrahman Baswedan Abdurrahman Baswedan, also known as AR Baswedan ( ar, عبد الرحمن باسويدان '; 9 September 1908 – 16 March 1986) was a nationalist, journalist, Indonesian freedom fighter, diplomat, and writer. During his political life, AR Bas ...

in 1934 in Semarang to encourage the allegiance of Arab immigrants to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

History

On October 4, 1934 a group of forty Muwallads met in Semarang. After three days of vigorous debate they announced the establishment of a new organization called ''Persatoean Arab Indonesia''. Originally the association was intended to encourage

s, mostly Muwallads, to integrate, assimilate and pledge allegiance to Indonesia which was still under ruling of

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as Dutch East Indies. The association later joined the political party ''Gabungan Politik Indonesia'' (GAPI) in 1939-1940. Meanwhile, a separate association called ''Indo-Arabische Beweging'' found in 1930, in other hand, tried to continue the separate status of Arab immigrants as ''foreign orientals'' established by the Dutch government. Members of the association came from different background and organizations, mainly from Al-Rabithah al-Alawiyah and al-Irshad. The first management of the organization consisted of Abdurrahman Baswedan of Al-Irshad as the chairman, Nur Al-Kaff of

Al-Rabithah al-Alawiyyah Rabithah Alawiyah ( ar, ; lit. ''The Association of Alawiyyin '' or'' Alawiyyin League'') is an Indonesian Islamic organization engaged in social movements. In general, the organization is an exclusive association of Hadhrami people of Ba 'Alaw ...

as the secretary I, Salim Maskatee of Al-Irshad as the secretary II, Segaf al-Segof of Al-Rabithah al-Alawiyyah as the treasurer, and Abdurrahim Argubi of al-Irshad as the commissioner. The members of the association declared their oath affirming their allegiance to Indonesia as their homeland (rather than

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

) and Bahasa Indonesia as their mother tongue. The Arab-Indonesian youth also pledged three oaths (''"Sumpah Pemuda Keturunan Arab"''): # The motherland of Arab-Indonesians is Indonesia. # Arab-Indonesians should leave social isolation and exclusivity towards indigenous people of Indonesia # Arab-Indonesians should fulfill their obligations towards the motherland and the nation of Indonesia PAI received supports from many

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

s through their newspapers such as chinese-Malay's newspaper ''Matahari'' or ''Sin Tit Po'' as one of the main supporters. However, the organization also received negative reactions from Arab Indonesians who were against it, many are of Wulayati group. Among the opponents were Ali bin Yahya of al-Rabithah al-Alawiyyah who frequently published his oppositions on

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

magazine ''Al-Salam'', and MBA Alamoudi, an

Ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...

-born Arab Indonesian, who strongly attacked the organization on the weekly periodical ''Al-Yaum'' in

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

published by ''Arabische Verbond''. The counter parties use all means and threats to prevent the development and influences of PAI, including firing the person out of his job or even expulsion by the father. Partai arab indonesia kongress pai cirebon 1940

Partai arab indonesia kongress pai cirebon 1940

Among its prominent members were

and Hamid Algadri.

References

{{Former Indonesian political parties Indonesian National Awakening Islam in Indonesia Political organizations based in Indonesia Dutch East Indies Organizations established in 1934 Diaspora organizations Arab diaspora in Indonesia