Formation The predecessor of Sarekat Islam was Sarekat Dagang Islam (Islamic Trade Association, SDI) which was based on a movement in 1909 in
Batavia (today's Jakarta) and 1910 in
Buitenzorg (today's Bogor),
West Java. This movement was formed by a journalist
Tirto Adhi Soerjo who was a member of
priyayi (Javanese noble class). Tirto aimed the movement to bring together small-scale
pribumi (indigenous) traders and
Arab traders unified by the common Islamic religion to advance their economic interests and compete with the Chinese-Indonesian big traders. The movement was also a reaction to the intensified activities of the foreign
Christian missionaries in Indonesia, which strengthened the position of Islam as a rallying point of native Indonesians' struggle against foreign encroachment. The movement sparked the interest of
Samanhudi, a successful batik trader based in
Surakarta. In 1911, Samanhudi founded SDI in the city of Surakarta with the help of Tirto. The rapid increase of SI membership led to the expansion of the supporter base to a wide array of social classes. Although SI leaders generally espoused
Modernist Islam, it became heterogeneous in terms of the demographics and ideology of its grassroots members. Tjokroaminoto declared the rejection of anti-government activity during the 1913 congress, during which he insisted on "loyalty" and "satisfaction" toward the Dutch government and denied the allegation that the organization served as a political party. As a response, the colonial government did not attempt to suppress SI in the beginning. In November 1912, SI requested the colonial administration to recognize them as a legal entity. The government individually authorized the regional branches of SI on June 30, 1913, and eventually gave an official permit to the SI headquarters in 1916. Despite the non-confrontational stance of the SI leadership, the spread of SI in the villages had led to an outburst of violence, where peasants and villagers perceived SI as a means of self-defense and expression of group solidarity against the oppressive power structure in the rural area. The 1913–1914 period saw a particularly severe outburst of violence toward the Chinese-Indonesians,
priyayi officials, and the Dutch colonial regime. In some areas, SI became a shadow administration which obliged
priyayi officials to accommodate their demands.
Radicalization SI was loosely organized and its regional branches retained considerable autonomy. flag, 1922.
Tan Malaka stands in the middle as a teacher. In May 1918, the colonial administration established the
People's Council (
Volksraad) as a concession to the rising demand for democratization. A few SI leaders became members of the council, including Tjokroaminoto and
Agus Salim, a trusted advisor of Tjokroaminoto who joined the SI leadership in 1915 and was known for his commitment to modernist Islam and
pan-Islamism. Despite the demand for democratization, the council only had an advisory power, and the members were appointed by the colonial government. Since the SI Congress held from September to October 1918, communist SI members such as Semaun,
Darsono Notosudirdjo, and
Alimin joined the ranks of the SI leadership, enabling them to pressure Tjokroaminoto to boycott the Volksraad and take firmer political action. Tjokroaminoto finally answered their calls and demanded the Dutch colonial administration to form a parliament based on the popular election and alleviate labor issues, and refused to cooperate with the Volksraad unless the government addressed these grievances. The radicalization of SI prompted the Dutch colonial government to suppress the organization. In May 1919, the government accused SI responsible for the murder of a Dutch official in
Tolitoli,
Celebes which led to the arrest of an SI leader
Abdul Muis. There was also a shooting incident in
Garut, West Java in June 1919 which led to the arrest of SI leaders, including Sosrokardono and Tjokroaminoto who were imprisoned in 1921 for 11 months. These events had led to the dramatic decrease in its membership, due to the fear of carrying a membership card leading to an arrest.
Split The ideological rift between the
Islamist wing led by Agus Salim and the communist wing led by Semaun intensified, at the expense of Tjokroaminoto's support level. Semaun was now effectively a leader of ISDV together with Darsono. ISDV metamorphosed into the Communist Association of the Indies (PKI) in 1920, as the direct predecessor of the
Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). During this time, labor and trade unions achieved considerable success in
labor disputes and wage negotiations, leading to an attempt to establish the Labor Movement Association (PPKB) as a federation of PKI and SI unions in 1919 which comprised 22 unions and 72,000 members. Salim and
Soerjopranoto, a labor activist who belonged to the SI union and nicknamed
raja mogok (the strike king), competed with Semaun for the leadership of PPKB. Threatened by Semaun's influence, Salim denounced the dual party membership during the 1921 SI Congress. The conflict between Salim and Semaun's factions reached the highest point after Semaun recruited several labor groups under the PPKB which were then absorbed into the PKI. Salim's motion to prohibit dual membership was officially adopted by the SI leaders including Salim and Muis in the subsequent SI Congress, leading to the effective expulsion of Semaun and his communist followers from the SI leadership. The decision led to the split of SI branches between the Islamist-supporting "White SI" and PKI-supporting "Red SI." The expelled left-wing faction of SI set up a group known as Sarekat Islam Merah (Red Islamic Association), which was later renamed to Sarekat Rakjat (People's Association) and served the mass organization of PKI. The split of communist members, in addition to the mounting pressure from the colonial government, had led to the severe decline of SI as an organization.
Aftermath (PSII) poster (left) on display in the run-up to the
1955 Indonesian legislative election. With the release of Tjokroaminoto from jail in May 1922, he decided to unify the ideological orientation and get rid of communist infiltration once and for all. In February 1923, SI reformed itself into a political party known as the Islamic Association Party (PSI). Since then, PSI attempted to join forces with other Islamic movements, but they failed to link with the emerging
traditionalist Islamic movement of
Nahdlatul Ulama and the modernist organization
Muhammadiyah, both of which avoided direct political confrontation and focused on community building and education. PSI built a close relationship with the Islamic revival movement
Ahmadiyya which was denounced as heresy by Muhammadiyah. In 1929, PSI renamed itself to the
Indonesian Islamic Union Party (PSII) but this did not stop its decline into a secondary political party. In 1930, the party membership was reduced to around 19,000. Tjokroaminoto died in 1934, and the remaining members faced another internal dispute, this time on their political position against the Dutch colonial regime, in light of the heightened surveillance against political dissidents. In 1937, members such as Salim and
Mohammad Roem were expelled from the party due to their non-confrontational stance against the Dutch and replaced by the more radical leadership of
Abikusno Tjokrosujoso, Tjokroaminoto's brother. In 1942, the
Japanese occupied the Dutch East Indies, and the PSII was banned in March. The PSII was revived in 1947 and was led by
Anwar Tjokroaminoto and
Harsono Tjokroaminoto, the sons of O.S. Tjokroaminoto. In the
1955 Indonesian legislative election, the PSII performed poorly and won 2.9% of the popular vote. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in 1973 after the forced merger into the United Development Party (PPP) at the hands of the
Suharto regime. == Citations ==