Ilyas Yakoub (14 June 1903 – 2 August 1958) sometimes spelled Ilyas Ya'kub, was an

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 ...

Islamic scholar, journalist and politician. He was declared a

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia () is the highest-level Orders, decorations, and medals of Indonesia, title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual de ...

in 1999.

Biography

Ilyas Yakoub was born in Asam Kumbang,

North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) on 14 June 1903. His father Haji Yakoub was a cloth merchant. Ilyas was sent to in a

Hollandsch-Inlandsche School Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) (Dutch school for natives) was a school during the Dutch East Indies, Dutch colonial era in Indonesia. The school, was first established in 1914, following with the enactment of the Dutch Ethical Policy. The scho ...

, a Dutch-language school for native children, and he also studied Islam with his grandfather. After graduating during the First World War, he worked as a clerk for a mining company in

Sawahlunto Sawahlunto ( Jawi: ) is a city in West Sumatra, Indonesia. It lies 90 kilometres (a 2-hour drive) from Padang, the provincial capital. Sawahlunto is known as the site for the oldest coal mining site in Southeast Asia. Sawahlunto is geographically ...

until 1919. In 1923, he went to Egypt to study further; he became active in student and Islamic politics and began to write for Egyptian newspapers. He returned to the Indies in 1929. In 1930 he cofounded the Persatuan Muslim Indonesia, a nationalist party with an Islamist orientation. Because of this he was exiled by the Dutch to the

Boven-Digoel concentration camp Boven-Digoel, often simply called Digoel, was a Dutch concentration camp for political detainees operated in the Dutch East Indies from 1927 to 1947. The Dutch used it to detain thousands of Indonesians, most of whom were members of the Communist ...

. He died on 2 August 1958. In 1958 he was declared a Pioneering Hero of Indonesian Independence and was declared a National Hero in 1999.

References

{{Authority control 1903 births 1958 deaths Indonesian journalists National Heroes of Indonesia 20th-century Dutch East Indies people Boven-Digoel concentration camp detainees 20th-century Indonesian politicians