(This event is organised by MEI Diffusion of Ideas-Gulf cluster)

Abstract

What is the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia? For centuries, Indonesians have travelled to Saudi Arabia and been deeply involved in education, scholarship and the creation of centers for Islamic learning in the country. Yet, the impact of this migration has not  been the focus of scholarly research and little is known about the important intellectual connections that currently exist.

This book examines Indonesian educational migrants and intellectual travellers in Saudi Arabia including students, researchers, teachers and scholars to provide a unique portrait of the religious and intellectual linkages between the two countries. Based on in-depth interviews and questionnaires, Dr Sumanto Al Qurtuby identifies the “Indonesian legacy” in Saudi Arabia and examines how the host country’s influential Islamic scholars have impacted  Indonesian Muslims. The research sheds light on the dynamic history of Saudi Arabian-Indonesian relations and the intellectual impact of Indonesian migrants in Saudi Arabia.

This public talk will be conducted online via Zoom on Thursday, 8 July 2021, from 4.00pm to 5.30pm (Singapore Time). All are welcome to participate. This event is free, however, registration is compulsory. Successful registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom details closer to the date of the event.

Photo by Sulthan Auliya on Unsplash

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By Ilyas Salim
Research Assistant, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore

Prof al Qurtuby’s book discusses the role and contribution of Indonesian Islamic scholars to Islamic education and Muslim thought and cultural practices in particularly in Mecca and Medina, as well as the changing nature of educational destinations and professional vocations of Indonesian migrants before and after the founding of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The book firstly explores bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, which has both formal and informal aspects. Saudi Arabia was one of the earliest states to recognise Indonesia’s independence in 1945, and formal relations between the two countries were initiated in 1948 with the founding of the Indonesian embassy in Saudi Arabia at Jeddah. In 1955, a Saudi representative office was established in Jakarta, and was upgraded two years later to a formal embassy. However, informal relations — especially in the form of people-to-people relations — between both countries stretches as far back as several centuries ago. Historically, Indonesians visited Mecca mainly for two reasons. The first was the Haj pilgrimage — according to famed Dutch colonial adviser and scholar Snouk Hurgronje, around 1600 Indonesian pilgrims visited Mecca in 1850–60. The number of pilgrims rose to between 2600–4600 in the next decade, and 50 percent of pilgrims to Mecca in the 19th century came from Indonesia. Pilgrims returning to Indonesia were often regarded to have gained “kesaktian” — a kind of supernatural divine power — and enjoyed an elevated status among the peers. Notably, a sizeable number of Indonesians pilgrims chose to remain in Mecca because of financial reasons; maritime travel from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia at the time was costly and risk-laden, and many needed to stay in Mecca to secure provisions for the return trip, or work off debts incurred during the journey. The second reason compelling many Indonesians to stay in Saudi Arabia was the desire and opportunity for an extensive education in the Islamic sciences. In Islam, a quest for knowledge — called “rihlah” — is ascribed holy significance, and many Indonesian Muslims thus valued the chance to undertake a religious education in the birthplace of the religion.

The vibrant educational connections between the two countries has historically produced a good number of prominent Indonesian Islamic scholars. During the 17th to 18th centuries, an illustrious generation of Indonesian Islamic scholars emerged including Nuruddin al-Raniri, Abdurrouf al-Sinkili, Yusuf al-Makassari and Hamzah al-Fansuri. Many of these scholars and Sufi masters resided in Mecca and Medina and taught in mosques, zawiya (Sufi lodges), rubat (informal religious schools). The succeeding 19th to 20th centuries also produced eminent scholars including Muhammad Nawawi bin Umar al-Bantani, Akhmad Khatib al-Minangkabawi, Muhammad Yasin bin Isa al-Fadani and Asy’ari bin Abdurrahman al-Baweani. Some of these figures established madrasahs (formal religious schools) in Mecca. These included Madrasah Darul Ulum in 1934 and Madrasah Indonesia al-Makkiyah in 1947. Professor al Qurtuby also noted that since the death of Muhammad Yasin bin Isa al-Fadani in 1990, there have been no notable Indonesian Islamic scholars living in Saudi Arabia.

The demographic profile of Indonesian migrants to Saudi Arabia was somewhat altered in the wake of the second world war. While the flow of Hajj pilgrims from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia continued, the post-WWII era was also marked by the emergence of at least three new groups. The first was the new influx of both unskilled menial labour (such as housemaids and drivers) and skilled professional workers (such as oil industry workers and teachers). At the request of the Saudi government, Indonesia sent 47 000 documented menial labourers into Saudi Arabia in 1983; since then, the number of workers and the diversity of labour has expanded rapidly. Skilled workers, on the other hand, came of their own accord in response to opportunities found in the kingdom. The second group was the rising number of Indonesians students who came to Saudi Arabia to study the Islamic sciences in Saudi universities at the graduate and post-graduate level. This is differentiated from previous waves of Indonesian students who often studied in informal Islamic learning centres such as mosques. The 1970s saw new trends in educational destinations, as the Saudi government began providing scholarships to incentivise foreign students to study within the kingdom. From this period onward, many Indonesian students began to enrol in the University of Madinah, the Umm al-Qura University in Mecca and the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. The third new group belonged to Indonesian students who came to the kingdom to study secular sciences at the masters and doctorate levels from the 1990s onward. These students often attended the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, the King Said University in Riyadh, and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal.

Professor al Qurtuby suggested in his book that although social and religious factors were important in shaping the dynamics of Saudi–Indonesian relations, the ties between the two countries remained fundamentally consistent with the realist emphasis on state calculations, with each country looking to maximise its own interests. While religion is not the driving force behind Saudi-Indonesian relations, Islam is a vital factor that guides many aspects of this bilateral relationship. The significant role of religion, as well as the people-to-people connections between the two countries has been important in influencing how both countries each others’ societies and governments today. Professor al Qurtuby also acknowledged some weaknesses overlooked by his book, saying that he should have explored deeper the intellectual, political and social divergences between the conservative and moderate factions among the Indonesia’s Saudi alumni, as well as the differences in societal roles played by Indonesian graduates who studied the Islamic and non-Islamic sciences in the kingdom.

Highlights from the Q&A Session

A key topic discussed during this session was the modernisation drives in Saudi Arabia that have intensified under current Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS). These changes, which include an overturn of KSA’s longstanding ban on driving for women, have resulted in visible and far-reaching changes for Saudi Arabia’s society — how would these developments affect Indonesia?

Professor Qurtuby noted that though Saudi Arabia’s moves towards modernisation gained much traction under MBS, these ambitions had, in fact, already began during the tenure of the late King Abdullah who initiated various reform initiatives even before he ascended to the throne in 2005. Importantly, the kingdom’s recent heightened efforts at modernisation and cultural change parallels Indonesian discourses about Islam Wasatiyya (or “Middle Path” Islam) in that both seek to promote a more moderate and tolerant Islam that is suitable for modern societies.

Furthermore, Professor Qurtuby pointed out that since Mecca and Medina — the two holiest cities in Islam — are in Saudi Arabia, it has a special standing in the eyes of Southeast Asian Muslims. Hence, cultural and religious changes in the country is bound to affect local Muslim discourse in Indonesia.

However, it is also important to note that this impact is unlikely to be uneven, given the diversity of factions within Indonesian society. While groups such as the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama are likely to move towards religious moderation, some Salafi groups may be reluctant to do so (although it should be noted that Salafi groups are not unified and a spectrum of views exists among them as well).