Unfinished decolonization of Islamic education in Indonesia: The case of Muhammadiyah
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper examines Muhammadiyah as a pioneering movement in the decolonization of Islamic education in Indonesia. Founded in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan during the Dutch colonial period, Muhammadiyah emerged as a modern Islamic organization that sought to reform traditional Islamic education while strategically engaging with Western modernity. Rather than adopting a confrontational stance of political resistance against colonial rule, Muhammadiyah pursued cultural and educational reform to empower Muslim society. This study argues that Muhammadiyah’s educational reforms represent a form of epistemic decolonization—selectively appropriating Western educational structures while re-centering Islamic values and rational inquiry. Using historical and qualitative analysis, this paper explores the ideological foundations, institutional strategies, and long-term impacts of Muhammadiyah’s educational project, highlighting both its achievements and its persistent challenges in quality and relevance in the contemporary era.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
How to Cite
References
Abdullah, T. (1999). Historical reflection on civil society in Indonesia (Manuscript, pp. 4–6).
Alatas, S. F. (2006). Alternative discourses in Asian social science: Responses to Eurocentrism. Sage Publications.
Alfian. (n.d.). Muhammadiyah: The political behaviour of a Muslim modernist organization under Dutch colonialism. Gadjah Mada University Press.
Azra, A. (2004). The origins of Islamic reformism in Southeast Asia: Networks of Malay–Indonesian and Middle Eastern ulama in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. University of Hawai‘i Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
Carnoy, M. (1974). Education as cultural imperialism. David McKay.
Connell, R. (2007). Southern theory: The global dynamics of knowledge in social science. Polity Press.
Djaja, T. (1951). Pusaka Indonesia: Orang-orang besar tanah air (Vol. 2). G. Kolff.
Grosfoguel, R. (2011). Decolonizing postcolonial studies and paradigms of political economy: Transmodernity, decolonial thinking, and global coloniality. Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 1(1).
Hefner, R. W. (2000). Civil Islam: Muslims and democratization in Indonesia. Princeton University Press.
Maarif, A. S. (1985). Islam dan masalah kenegaraan. PT Pustaka LP3ES.
Mignolo, W. D. (2011). The darker side of Western modernity: Global futures, decolonial options. Duke University Press.
Nandy, A. (1983). The intimate enemy: Loss and recovery of self under colonialism. Oxford University Press.
Nilan, P. (2009). The spirit of education in Indonesian pesantren. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 30(2), 219–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690802700274
Noer, D. (1963). The rise and development of the modernist Muslim movement in Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period (1900–1942) (Doctoral dissertation). Cornell University.
Quijano, A. (2000). Coloniality of power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America. Nepantla: Views from South, 1(3), 533–580.
Rahman, F. (1982). Islam and modernity: Transformation of an intellectual tradition. University of Chicago Press.
Ricklefs, M. C. (2008). A history of modern Indonesia since c. 1200 (4th ed.). Stanford University Press.
Salvatore, A. (2016). The sociology of Islam: Knowledge, power, and civility. Wiley Blackwell.
Santos, B. de S. (2014). Epistemologies of the South: Justice against epistemicide. Paradigm Publishers.
Scherer, S. P. (1985). Keselarasan dan kejanggalan: Pemikiran-pemikiran priyayi nasionalis Jawa abad XX. Penerbit Sinar Harapan. (Original work published 1975)
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
Steenbrink, K. A. (1986). Pesantren, madrasah, sekolah: Pendidikan Islam dalam kurun modern. LP3ES.
Suminto, H. A. (1985). Politik Islam Hindia Belanda. PT Pustaka LP3ES.
van Bruinessen, M. (1994). Pesantren and kitab kuning: Continuity and change in a tradition of religious learning. In W. Marschall (Ed.), Texts from the islands: Oral and written traditions of Indonesia and the Malay world (pp. 121–145). University of Berne.
Wirjosukarto, A. H. (1962). Pembaharuan pendidikan dan pengadjaran Muhammadiyah dalam masa pembangunan semesta. Author.