Tuanku Imam Bonjol (1772 – 6 November 1864), also known as Muhammad Syahab, Peto Syarif, and Malim Basa, was one of the most popular leaders of the Padri movement in Central Sumatra. 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 ...

Biography

Tuanku Imam Bonjol was born in Bonjol, Pasaman,

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

. His parents name were Bayanuddin (father) and Hamatun (mother). His father is a Minangkabau cleric who came from Sungai Rimbang, Suliki, Limapuluh Koto. His mother is a Moroccan from central maghreb who migrated to Bonjol with her brother. Syarif was immersed in Islamic studies as he grew up, studying first from his father and later under various other Muslim theologians. After founding the state of Bonjol, he became involved in the Adat-Padri controversy as a Padri leader. The Padri movement, which has been compared to the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

) school of Islam in the now Saudi Arabia, was an effort to return the Islam of the area to the purity of its roots by removing local distortions like gambling,

cockfighting Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...

, the use of opium and strong drink, tobacco, and so forth. It also opposed the powerful role of women in the

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

Minangkabau culture Minangkabau culture is the culture of the Minangkabau people, Minangkabau ethnic group in Indonesia, part of the Indonesian culture. This culture is one of the two major cultures in the Indonesian archipelago which is very prominent and influe ...

. The Adat, or traditionalist, position was that local custom that pre-dated the arrival of Islam should also be respected and followed. Feeling their leadership position threatened, the traditionalists appealed to the Dutch for help in their struggle against the Padris. At first, the Dutch were not able to win militarily against the Padris because their resources were stretched thin by the

Diponegoro Prince Diponegoro (; born Bendara Raden Mas Mustahar, ; later Bendara Raden Mas Antawirya, ; 11 November 1785 – 8 January 1855), also known as Dipanegara and Dipa Negara, was a Javanese prince who opposed the Dutch colonial rule. The eldest s ...

resistance in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. In 1824, the Dutch signed the Masang Agreement ending hostilities with the state of Bonjol. Subsequently, however, once the Diponegoro resistance was suppressed, the Dutch attacked the state of Pandai Sikat in a renewed effort to gain control of West Sumatra. Despite valiant fighting by the Indonesians (by this time the traditionalists had realised they didn't want to be ruled by the Dutch either and had joined forces with the Padris in their resistance), the overwhelming power of the Dutch military eventually prevailed. Syarif was captured in 1832 but escaped after three months to continue the struggle from his tiny fortress in Bonjol. After three years of siege, the Dutch finally managed to sack Bonjol on 16 August 1837. Through a negotiation ruse, the Dutch again captured Syarif and exiled him, first to

Cianjur Cianjur () is a town and district in the West Java province of Indonesia, and is the regency seat, seat of Cianjur Regency. The district of Cianjur is located along one of the main roads between Jakarta (120 km to the northwest) and Bandung ...

in West Java, then to Ambon, and later to

Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

. He died on 6 November 1864, at the age of 92 and is buried in Sulawesi. The site of his grave is marked by a Minangkabau (West Sumatran) house.

Controversy over National Hero Title

Imam Bonjol and the Padri Movement have been accused of

Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...

and of conducting crimes against the

Batak people Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

according to some Batak historians, specifically Mangaradja Onggang Parlindungan, as well as international sources. Some Batak historians argued that Imam Bonjol does not deserve the National Hero title because of his past actions and his ideological motives. Reports from Dutch colonial and Batak lore about the notoriety of Imam Bonjol's movement have been the source for almost a century of discussion among experts on the role of Imam Bonjol in the past.

References

External links

*
Bio Imam Bonjol at Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonjol, Tuanku Imam 1772 births 1864 deaths Minangkabau people National Heroes of Indonesia Indonesian Sunni Muslims Indonesian imams Padris

Biography

Controversy over National Hero Title

See also

References

External links