Career, Sacrifice & Effort of KH Abdul Halim

In 1911, KH. Abdul Halim returned to his homeland. Upon returning to his homeland, he refused an offer from his in-laws namely KH. Muhammad Ilyas to become an officer in the priyayi. KH. Abdul Halim who felt he was not from a priyayi wanted to prove that by not being priyayi people could serve the community. His attitude was influenced by his teacher, Sheikh Ahmad Khatib, who also did not want to work in the colonial system and chose to continue to stay in Mecca.

This kind of character has actually been seen since at the Pesantren. As explained above, KH. Abdul Halim is used to being independent by selling a variety of daily needs. With this independence, KH Abdul Halim aspires to improve the future of Muslims. He began to make improvements to raise the level of society. This improvement effort is gone through education and economic structuring.

An organization in the field of economics and education was successfully founded by KH. Abdul Halim in 1911 was named Hayatul Qulub. This organization intends to assist members in compete with Chinese traders while inhibiting the flow of colonial capitalism. This organization did not last long. In 1915, the colonial government was banned, because it was considered to trigger riots. But he continued to carry out activities, even though they were not given an official name. In the field of education, he formed Majlisul Ilmi in 1912 and in 1916, he also built the Jam'iyyat I’anatul al-Muta’allimin school, which became the centre of modern Islamic education in the Majalengka area. To improve the quality of the school, KH. Abdul Halim is associated with Jamiat Khair and Al-Irshad in Jakarta.

 The organization later changed to Persyarikatan Ulama, was legally recognized by the government in 1917 with the help of Haji .Omar .Said Tjokroaminoto (President of Sarikat Islam). Meanwhile, in 1919 Kweekschool was established to create teachers and was finally converted into Madrasah Darul Ulum. In April 1932, KH. Abdul Halim established the Pesantren Santi Asromo, which was built far from the bustling city of Majalengka. The presence of the Pesantren Santi Asromo has succeeded in changing the Pesantren curriculum by leaving the traditional education system that only specializes in religious subjects.

 In 1937, KH. Abdul Halim was also elected as a member of the board of the Indonesian A'la Islamic Council ‘Majlis Islam A’la Indonesia’ (MIAI). Organizations that joined MIAI (Persyarikatan Ulama, Muhammadiyah, Nahdatul Ulama, Persis, Al-Ittihadiyatul Islamiyah, and other Islamic organizations) engaged in social, religious and educational fields, during the Japanese era they were forced to stop their activities, because all political parties and social associations must be disbanded and Japan does not allow the development of democracy. However, it did not take long for these organizations to be permitted by Japan to resume its activities. When MIAI was changed in 1943 to ‘Majlis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia’(Masyumi), KH. Abdul Halim continued to sit in its management.

 On 1st February 1944, Persyarikatan Ulama changed its name to the Umat Islam Association “Perikatan Oemat Islam”, with the change in the Indonesian Spelling of the Soewandi system (1947), the name became the Association of Muslims “Perikatan Umat Islam” (PUI). As for the organization founded in 1931 by KH. Ahmad Sanusi in Sukabumi was named Al-Ittihadiyatul Islamiyah (AII) which was renamed the Indonesian Islamic Community Association ‘Persatuan Umat Islam Indonesia’ (PUII) . The organization was an organization engaged in the social education sector, according to Mr. Syamsudin that the two organizations have the same vision and mission that is to unite Indonesian Muslims for the future but to stand in a different organization. Mr. Syamsudin brought the two organizations together at a meeting. The first meeting was in August 1951 and the second meeting was in November 1951. Then on April 5, 1952 the two organizations officially became one with the name of the Islamic Union ‘Persatuan Umat Islam’ (PUI) in Bandung to follow up on the ideals released by KH. Abdul Halim, KH. Ahmad Sanusi and also Mr.Syamsudin.

 During the Japanese invasion, KH. Abdul Halim was appointed as a member of Giinchuoo Sangi in (Badan Pertimbangan Pusat), in Jakarta and later was appointed as a member of Dokuritsu Zyunbi Choosakai (Investigation Agency for the Preparation of Indonesian Independence ‘Badan Penyelidik Usaha-Usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan’ ). After the Proclamation of Independence, KH. Abdul Halim was appointed as a member of the Central Indonesian National Committee ‘Komite Nasional Indonesia Pusat’ (KNIP) which functioned as a parliament and became a pioneer in the establishment of the Yogyakarta Islamic University ‘Universiti Islam Indonesia’ (UII). In 1951, KH. Abdul Halim was elected as a member of the West Java ‘Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah’ (DPRD) 1.

 In 1956 the election of the Constituent Assembly, KH. Abdul Halim was elected as a member of the Masyumi Party. Before that, precisely in 1940, he was with KH. A. Ambari facing Advisor for Hindian Affair, Dr. GF. Fijper in Jakarta to submit several demands concerning the interests of Muslims. During the Dutch military aggression, he also strongly opposed the establishment of the Pasundan State which was founded in 1948 by the Dutch. Effort and struggle of KH. Abdul Halim ended when he died on 7 May 1962.

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