Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indonesia

Drawing on previously unavailable archival material, this book argues that Indonesian nationalism rested on Islamic ecumenism heightened by colonial rule and the pilgrimage. The award winning author Laffan contrasts the latter experience with life in Cairo, where some Southeast Asians were drawn to both reformism and nationalism. After demonstrating the close linkage between Cairene ideology and Indonesian nationalism, Laffan shows how developments in the Middle East continued to play a role in shaping Islamic politics in colonial Indonesia.

Michael Laffan obtained his doctorate from the University of Sydney, 2001. He is currently a visiting fellow with the International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden University, working within a project examining development of religious authority in twentieth century Indonesia. Michael Laffan is the winner of the ASAA President's Award 2002.

Introduction 1. An Ecumene in the 'The Lands Below the Winds' 2. Arab Priests and Pliant Pilgrims 3. The Hijazi Experience and Direct Colonial Visions of the heart of the Ecumene 4. Colonizing Islam and the Western-Oriented Project of Indies Nationhood 5. Reorientation among the Jawa of Mecca 6. The Jawa and Cairo 7. Islamic Voices from Singapore, Java, and Sumatra 8. Towards an Indigenous and Islamic Indonesia 9. Indonesia Visualised as a Fractured Umma below the Winds 10. From the Meccan Discourse of a Jawi Ecumene to the Cairene Discourse of an Indonesian Homeland