Muhammadiyah

Muhammadiyah (Arabic: محمدية, romanized:Muḥammadiyyah, lit.'followers of Muhammad'), officially the Muhammadiyah Society (Indonesian: Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia. The organization was founded in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan in the city of Yogyakarta as a reformist socioreligious movement, advocating ijtihad—individual interpretation of Qur'an and sunnah, as opposed to taqlid—conformity to the traditional interpretations propounded by the ulama. Since its establishment, Muhammadiyah has adopted a reformist platform mixing religious and secular education, primarily as a way to promote the upward mobility of Muslims toward a "modern" community and to purify Indonesian Islam of local syncretic practices. It continues to support local culture and promote religious tolerance in Indonesia, while a few of its higher education institutions are attended mostly by non-Muslims, especially in East Nusa Tenggara and Papua provinces. The group also runs a large chain of charity hospitals, and operated 128 universities as of the late 1990s.

At the time of Dahlan's death in 1923, the organization reported a membership of 2,622 men and 724 women, mostly residents of Yogyakarta. Membership grew steadily—10,000 in 1928, 17,000 in 1929, and 24,000 in 1931. By the 1930s, moreover, it had begun to establish branches beyond Java, the main center of population, throughout Indonesia, and today it is said to be the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia (behind Nahdlatul Ulama) with 29 million members in 2008. The membership is largely urban and middle class in composition. Although Muhammadiyah leaders and members are often actively involved in shaping politics in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah is not a political party. It has devoted itself to social and educational activities.

History

On 18 November 1912, Ahmad Dahlan—a court official of the kraton of the Yogyakarta Sultanate and an educated Muslim scholar from Mecca—established Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta. There were a number of motives behind the establishment of this movement. Among the important ones are the backwardness of Muslim society and the penetration of Christianity. Ahmad Dahlan, much influenced by Egyptian reformist Muhammad Abduh, considered modernization and purification of religion from syncretic practices were very vital in reforming this religion. Therefore, since its beginning Muhammadiyah has been very concerned with maintaining tawhid and refining monotheism in society.

From 1913 to 1918, Muhammadiyah established five Islamic schools. In 1919, an Islamic high school, Hooge School Muhammadiyah was established. In establishing schools, Muhammadiyah received significant help from the Budi Utomo, an important nationalist movement in Indonesia in the first half of the twentieth century, which provided teachers. Muhammadiyah has generally avoided politics. Unlike its traditionalist counterpart, the Nahdlatul Ulama, it never formed a political party. Since its establishment, it has devoted itself to educational and social activities.

In 1925, two years after the death of Dahlan, Muhammadiyah only had 4,000 members but had built 55 schools and two clinics in Surabaya and Yogyakarta. After Abdul Karim Amrullah introduced the organization to the Minangkabau people, a dynamic Muslim community, Muhammadiyah developed rapidly. In 1938, the organization claimed 250,000 members, managed its 834 mosques, 31 libraries, 1,774 schools, and 7,630 ulama. Minangkabau businesspeople spread organization to the entire of Indonesia.

During the 1965–66 political turbulence and violence, Muhammadiyah declared that the extermination of the Communist Party of Indonesia constituted holy war, a view endorsed by other Islamic groups. (See also the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66). During the events surrounding the 1998 fall of Suharto, some parts of Muhammadiyah urged the leadership to form a party. Therefore, the leadership, including Muhammadiyah's chairman, Amien Rais, founded the National Mandate Party. Although gaining large support from Muhammadiyah members, this party has no official relationship with Muhammadiyah. The leader of Muhammadiyah said the members of his organization are free to align themselves with political parties of their choosing, provided such parties have shared values with Muhammadiyah.

In 2008, with 29 million members, Muhammadiyah was the second-largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, after Nahdlatul Ulama.

Doctrine

Muhammadiyah adheres to the Sunni tradition of Islam, with its theological orientation historically influenced by Ashʿarī thought, especially in early doctrinal texts such as Kitab Ngakoid and the 1929 Himpunan Putusan Tarjih. While the movement emphasizes returning to the Qur'an and Sunnah as the ultimate sources of religious understanding, it does not identify with Salafism as it is commonly understood today. Instead, Muhammadiyah promotes a purification of Islamic belief and practice from elements regarded as bidʿah (unwarranted innovation), superstition, or shirk (polytheism), while maintaining respect for traditional Sunni scholarship. It does not formally align itself with any particular theological or legal school (madhhab), but engages in collective ijtihad through its Tarjih Council. Muhammadiyah encourages critical engagement with the texts through both naqli (scriptural) and careful aqli (rational) reasoning, especially in matters of public welfare. Though the movement has been compared to reformist thinkers such as Muhammad Rashid Rida or Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammadiyah's theological framework remains rooted in Indonesian Islamic intellectual traditions and maintains a more moderate and institutional approach than modern Salafi movements.

Muhammadiyah strongly opposes syncretism, where Islam had coalesced with animism (spirit worship) and with Hindu and Buddhist elements that were spread among communities from the pre-Islamic period. Muhammadiyah opposes the tradition of Sufism that allows a Sufi leader (shaykh) to be the formal authority over Muslims. As of 2006, the organization was said to have "veered sharply toward a more conservative brand of Islam" under the leadership of Din Syamsuddin the head of the Indonesian Ulema Council. However, some factions of Muhammadiyyah tend to espouse the modernist movement of Muhammad Abduh rather than the Salafi doctrines of Rashid Rida; which has been described as "rigid and conservative". Muhammadiyah refused to condemn LGBT people, because it believes that publicly condemning people affiliated with those identities and orientations would not help them "return to normalcy".

Activities

Muhammadiyah was noted as a Muslim reformist organization. Its main activities are religious practice and education. It has built modern Islamic schools, differing from traditional pesantren. Some of its schools are also open to non-Muslims. In 2006 there were around 5,754 schools owned by Muhammadiyah.

It also functioned as a charitable organization involved in health care. In 2016, it owned several hundred non-profit medical clinics and hospitals across Indonesia. In 2006, it was active in campaigning about the danger of bird flu in Indonesia.

Universities

As of 2024, Muhammadiyah has 89 universities which are spread out in several provinces of Indonesia, such as:

• Ahmad Dahlan University of Yogyakarta (UAD)
• Muhammadiyah University of Malang (UMM)
• Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (UMY)
• Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta (UMS)
• Muhammadiyah University of Karanganyar (UMUKA)
• Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto
• Muhammadiyah University of Makassar (Unismuh)
• Muhammadiyah University of Magelang (UMMGL)
• Muhammadiyah University of Semarang
• Muhammadiyah University of Metro
• Muhammadiyah University of Palembang
• Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu
• Muhammadiyah University of West Sumatra
• Muhammadiyah University of North Sumatra
• Muhammadiyah University of Aceh
• Muhammadiyah University of Cirebon
• Muhammadiyah University of Bekasi
• Muhammadiyah University of Purworejo
• Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya
• Muhammadiyah University of Sidoarjo
• Muhammadiyah University of Gresik
• Muhammadiyah University of Jember
• Muhammadiyah University of Kupang
• Muhammadiyah University of Ternate
• Muhammadiyah University of Gorontalo
• Muhammadiyah University of Jakarta
• Muhammadiyah University of Prof. Hamka (UHAMKA)
• Muhammadiyah University of Parepare
• Muhammadiyah University of Sukabumi
• Muhammadiyah University of Ponorogo
• Muhammadiyah University of Pontianak
• Muhammadiyah University of East Kalimantan (UMKT)
• Muhammadiyah University of Sorong
• Muhammadiyah University of Mataram
• Muhammadiyah University of Bima
• Universiti Muhammadiyah Malaysia (UMAM) Padang Besar, Perlis

Media

Muhammadiyah published their own magazine called Suara Muhammadiyah (English: The Voice of Muhammadiyah). Initiated by Ahmad Dahlan himself, it was first published in 1915, making it one of the oldest publications in Indonesia. Its contents consist of information on the doctrine of the movement and reporting on Muhammadiyah's activities.

Organization

The national headquarters was originally in Yogyakarta. However, by 1970 the committees dealing with education, economics, health and social welfare had been relocated to the national capital, Jakarta.

Muhammadiyah is supported by several autonomous organizations:

• Aisyiyah (women)
• Pemuda Muhammadiyah (youth)
• Nasyiatul Aisyiyah (women's youth)
• Ikatan Pelajar Muhammadiyah (students)
• Ikatan Mahasiswa Muhammadiyah (college/university students)
• Tapak Suci Putera Muhammadiyah (pencak silat martial arts)
• Hizbul Wathan (scouting).

The central committee structure consists of five advisors, a chairman with several deputies, a vice chairman, a secretary general with some deputies, and a treasurer with some deputies.

List of leaders

See also

• Nahdatul Ulama
• Islam in Indonesia
• Pencak silat

Further reading

• Modern Islam in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah After Independence
• Burhani, Ahmad Najib. 2005. "Revealing the Neglected Missions: Some Comments on the Javanese Elements of Muhammadiyah Reformism." Studia Islamika, 12 (1): 101–129.
• Burhani, Ahmad Najib. 2010. Muhammadiyah Jawa. Jakarta: Al-Wasat.
• Peacock, J.L. (1978). Purifying the Faith: The Muhammadijah Movement in Indonesian Islam. Cummings Press.
• . Div. of Religion and Philosophy, St. Martin College, UK. Archived from on 2008-09-14.
• Ricklefs, M.C. 1991. A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300. 2nd Edition, Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-333-57690-X

External links