Introduction of Islam The introduction of Islam in the West Sumatran region, especially the
Minangkabau Highlands, the home of the Minangkabau people, is assumed to have taken two routes: one from eastern Minangkabau between the 7th and 8th centuries, and another from the west coast of Minangkabau after the 16th century. The first route was cultivated by the Muslim Arab traders who came down from the
Strait of Malacca through the
Kampar River, flowing from the highlands into the strait. This trading activity is estimated as the first contact between the indigenous people and Islam. The cultural contact became more intensive in the 13th century with the rise of the Muslim
Samudera Pasai Sultanate in the northern Sumatra, assuming control of the strait and advancing into east Minangkabau for gold mines and pepper production centers. After the Strait of Malacca fell into Portuguese hands during the 16th century, Islam began entering the west coast of Minangkabau through coastal cities such as Pariaman. The most substantial Muslim empire in the region was
Aceh Sultanate, based in the current
Aceh province. Intensive interactions between the Aceh Sultanate and Minangkabau region had developed into significant influence by the former on the latter in terms of Islamic teachings. Among the first Islamic proselytizers in the Minangkabau area was
Sheikh Burhanuddin Ulakan, a disciple of Sheikh Abdur Rauf Singkil, who adhered to the Acehnese line of
Shattari tariqa. Shattari tariqa quickly spread into Minangkabau through the traditional religious educational institution known as
surau. Islam began to be established in many port towns along the coasts of West Sumatra around the 16th century. The earliest to adopt the religion were the ruling elites and local merchants, although proselytization among the rest of society eventually occurred during the 18th century. Once Islam spread into the interior, the locals accommodated the religion with the ancient customs and
culture of the Minangkabau.
Spread of Islam based in West Sumatra Islam was propagated by several
Sufi orders, namely Shattari and
Naqshbandi tariqas, through surau and proselytization in the 17th to 19th centuries. There were specific differences in the way religion had developed between the western coastal area and the eastern inland area during the process. The more syncretic form of Islam was spread within the inland area through Naqshbandi tariqa. This Sufi sect was disseminated by
Ismail al-Khalidi al-Minangkabawi, and gained a strong foothold there, combined with the commercial advantage coming from its geographic proximity to the Strait of Malacca. The development of Islam in West Sumatra can also be characterized by
tasawwuf (the science of Islamic mysticism) through the emphasis on
sharia, which was instituted by the influential Minangkabau ulamas, pioneered by
Tuanku Nan Tuo. Tuanku Nan Tuo was a Sufi-oriented reformer who took a
wasatiyyah (moderate) position; his syncretic approach between the orthodoxy and non-orthodoxy had successfully laid the foundation of sharia within the Minangkabau Sufi traditions. This led to the comprehensive development of Islamic sciences and studies, often accompanied by applying Islamic solutions to social issues and otherworldly affairs, not confining it to the spiritual aspects. This development had attempted to transform various aspects of Minangkabau society, especially within the inland agrarian area. The transformation was often colored by conflicts in the religious interpretations stemming from the cultural roots of the Minangkabau people, such as the
matriarchal system. The conflict, for example, between the mainstream sharia and Naqshbandi practices, as well as later
Islamic modernism between the Sufi orders, had resulted in the intense intellectual development of the religious interpretations and indirectly contributed to the ascendance of the Minangkabau region as one of the most important centers in the history of Islam in Indonesia.
Pre-modern era featured in the
5,000-rupiah banknote issued by
Bank Indonesia After the spread of Islam in the 17th to 19th centuries, Islam was embraced by most of the Minangkabau people who lived both inside and outside of West Sumatra. In the early 19th century, Minangkabau society began to be influenced by the Islamic intellectual development in the Middle East. Certain Minangkabau ulamas who were inspired by the newly-founded
Wahhabism in
Mecca intensified their scrutiny against the
Pagaruyung kings who were deemed not fulfilling the sharia prescriptions and performing acts considered forbidden or heretical. These reformist scholars became known as
padri, who mainly were disciples of Tuanku Nan Tuo. Prominent padris include
Tuanku Nan Renceh,
Tuanku Imam Bonjol,
Tuanku Tambusai and
Tuanku Rao. Facing the situation, the leader of the padri group, Tuanku Imam Bonjol, began to embrace the indigenous cultures and agreed between the two parties to unite against Dutch colonialism. The two parties had made a consensus on the amalgamation between the Islamic teachings and the local customs, under the principle of
Adat basandi syarak, syarak basandi Kitabullah ("Adat based on the teachings of Islam, the teachings of Islam based on the
Qur'an").
Modern era In the late 19th century, a Minangkabau ulama
Ahmad Khatib al-Minangkabawi rose to prominence through rigorous education in
Mecca. He became the first foreign scholar to occupy the position of the
mufti of
Shafi'i school in the city. Many ulamas, scholars, and intellectuals throughout the archipelago who studied in Mecca became the disciple of al-Minangkabawi, including
Ahmad Dahlan, the founder of
Muhammadiyah, and
Hasyim Asy'ari, the founder of
Nahdlatul Ulama. Rosters of Minangkabau ulamas who returned to West Sumatra after their education under al-Minangkabawi had formed a new generation of intellectuals, including
Muhammad Jamil Jambek, who turned from a tariqa-oriented scholar into the avid critic of Sufism, and
Tahir bin Jalaluddin, known for his publication
Al-Imam and its influence on
Abdullah Ahmad's
Al-Munir magazine. These ulamas were based in surau in each
Nagari, which turned into a counterweight against the Dutch colonization and the Western education brought by the colonial government. Minangkabau ulamas of this generation are marked by the intellectual struggle between the traditionalists, who uphold the syncretic Islam fostered mainly through the Naqshbandi worldview, and the
modernists, who are inspired by the newly founded
Islamic modernist movement, which advocates for
Sunnah, modern education, and forsaking of non-orthodox traditions. Among the main contentions of the struggle are the allowance and the scope of
ijtihad (independent thinking) and the aspects of
hukum wasilah (rules of tawassul) deemed incompatible with Sunnah. Modernists held West Sumatra as one of their bases for exerting influence throughout the archipelago. One of the first modernist mass organizations in the archipelago was
Sumatera Thawalib, established in
Padang in 1915. The West Sumatran chapter of Muhammadiyah was established by
Abdul Karim Amrullah in 1925. The modernist political party
Union of Indonesian Muslims (PERMI) was established in 1930, with
Rasuna Said among its leaders. Correspondingly, the traditionalists led by
Sulaiman ar-Rasuli established the
Union of Islamic Education (PERTI) in 1928. After the
independence of Indonesia in 1945, the state saw the rise of Java-based mass organizations and the intellectuals from
Jakarta,
Ciputat, and
Jogjakarta. Under this circumstance, the prominence of West Sumatra and Minangkabau people in the intellectual landscape of Islam in Indonesia had fallen off since the
New Order year. Among the important Minangkabau figures of the post-independence era is
Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah (Hamka), who authored
Tafsir al-Azhar in 1967, the first
tafsir written in
Indonesian and taking the vernacular Minangkabau and Malay approaches in interpreting the Qur'an, and
Mohammad Natsir, who led the
Masyumi Party and
Indonesian Islamic Dawah Council, contributing greatly to the propagation of Islamic orthodoxy in Indonesia. ==Society==