Ansor Youth Movement (, often abbreviated as GP Ansor) is a non-profit

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

youth organization based in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, affiliated with

Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership numbered over 40 million in 2023, making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU is also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as or ...

(NU), the largest

mass organization in the world. Founded on April 24, 1934, GP Ansor has maintained a significant role throughout the

history of Indonesia The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,000 ...

, and it has developed its characteristics as traditionalist Islamic,

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

, and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

. It has grown so far into 433 branches on the municipal and regent level, under the coordination by 32 district managers from provincial down to the village level. This is also coupled with the management of the multipurpose paramilitary wing Banser, which requires the special membership to join.

Etymology

The name ''ansor'' was suggested by the renowned scholar Abdul Wahab, which was derived from the term '' ansar'' ( ', "The Helpers"), the honorifics dedicated by the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

to the

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

n inhabitants who sheltered Muhammad and his companions during the hijra. GP Ansor had intended to derive a wisdom from them and consider their attitude, behavior, and spirit as their role model. They have always been referring to this wisdom as their basic values, namely helping, struggling, upholding and fortifying the teaching of Islam, and its members are required to adhere to these principles.

History

Predecessors

The history of GP Ansor is linked with the history of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). In 1921, there had been an idea among the Muslim community to establish an extensive Islam oriented youth organization, responding to the wave of new regional youth organizations such as

Jong Java , was a Dutch East Indies youth organization founded on March 7, 1915, by at the STOVIA building under the name Tri Koro Dharmo ('Three Noble Goals'). It was founded in response to the perceived elitism of the Budi Utomo movement by many young p ...

, Jong Ambon, Jong Sumatera, Jong Minahasa, and Jong Celebes. Behind the idea, there was a difference of theological position between the

modernists Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and social issues were all aspects of this moveme ...

, who adhere to the Islamic orthodoxy and modern education, and the traditionalists, who follow the traditional and syncretic form of Islam specific to Indonesia. The division between the two parties was surrounding the issues regarding ''

taqlid ''Taqlid'' (, " imitation") is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs ''taqlid'' is termed ''muqallid''. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Cla ...

'' (imitation, conformity to legal precedent), ''

ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...

'' (independent reasoning), ''

maddhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all ...

'' (schools of Islamic jurisprudence) and other problems. In 1924, the traditionalist scholar Abdul Wahab formed his own organization called Syubbanul Wathan (lit: homeland of youth). The new organization was then led by Abdullah Ubaid as the chairman, Thohir Bakri as the vice chairman and Abdurrahim as the chief secretary.GP Ansor, Awalnya Lahir Karena Perbedaan
''Republika Online''. Retrieved November 14, 2017 Once Syubbanul Wathan was considered mainstream, it began attracting teenage Muslims. Administrators of the organization then decided to create a division dedicated to

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

, called Ahlul Wathan, as many other youth organizations during the time owned the scouting division. After NU, the traditionalist organization, was established on January 31, 1926, the popularity of Syubbanul Wathan had fallen, due to certain members becoming more active within NU. The youth organization, however, didn't directly become part of the NU structure. With the initiative of Abdullah Ubaid, finally, in 1931, Nahdlatul Ulama Youth Union (PPNU) was formed at the extension of Syubbanul Wathan. On December 14, 1932, it was transformed into Pemuda Nahdlatul Ulama (PNU). In 1934 it was reorganized again to Ansor Nahdlatul Oelama (ANO). Although ANO had been acknowledged as a part of NU, it wasn't formally listed in the NU structure, and the connection between the two remained unofficial.

Ansor Nahdlatul Oelama (ANO) era

Up until the time, the association between ANO and NU was considered informal. During the 9th NU Congress in

Banyuwangi Banyuwangi, previously known as Banjoewangi, is a large town and an administrative district (''kecamat5an'') which serves as the capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 106,000 ...

on April 24, 1934, ANO was formally accepted and ratified as NU youth wing by the board members. Thus the date is considered the official formation date of the movement as a whole. During the whole process, ANO

Malang Malang (; , ), historically known as Tumapel, is an inland List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari, Singhasari K ...

chapter had clandestinely formed a scouting organization called Ansor Nahdlatul Ulama Front (Banoe), which later developed into Multipurpose Front (Banser). During the 2nd ANO Congress in Malang in 1937, Banoe made its first official appearance in a marching line with uniform, led by the commander Syamsul Islam, who was also the chairman of ANO Malang chapter. Banser was officially established at the Congress as a military wing of ANO. During the Japanese occupation, youth organizations including ANO were muzzled by the Japanese occupational administration. After the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

, the figure of ANO

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

chapter, Chusaini Tiway had proposed an idea to revitalize ANO. It was met with positive response from Wachid Hasyim, the Minister of Religious Affairs during the time, and ANO was reestablished with the new name Ansor Youth Movement on December 14, 1949.

References

External links