Sectarian Translation of the Qur'an in Indonesia: The Case of the Ahmadiyya

Paper presented in the workshop on "Qur'anic Studies in Contemporary Indonesia", organized by LP2M UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2 September 2015.

Ahmad Najib Burhani

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta

Abstract

Ahmadiyya translations of the Qur’an have some distinctive characteristics compared to the translations from Sunni Muslims. However, these translations, particularly Soedowo-Dutch translation of Muhammad Ali’s The holy Qur’an, have been influential in Indonesian Sunni community in the first half of the 20^th century. Against the opposition from the Muhammadiyah and the fatwa from Muhammad Rashid Rida of Egypt, which prohibited the use of Ahmadiyya translation, the Soedewo-Dutch translation was widely used by Dutch-educated intelligentsia as a main source to know about Islam. This article specifically answers the following questions: Why did Ahmadiyya translations of the Qur’an have a significant place in Indonesia? What was the appeal of these translations to Indonesian intelligentsia? What is the contribution of these translations to the study of the Qur’an in this country? This paper argues that the success of Ahmadiyya translation, particularly the Dutch version, during the revolution era is based on three reasons: language (Dutch is the language of intelligentsia), content (it fit with the need of intelligentsia who seek a harmonious understanding between religie and wetenschap), and form (the only available rendering of the Qur’an in modern form of publication). In the context of ideology, the reception of Muslim intelligentsia was mainly for their contribution in defending Islam against the penetration of Christian mission and the coming of anti-religion ideologies, particularly materialism and atheism, by strongly challenging their doctrines.

Keywords: Ahmadiyya, sectarianism, Dutch-educated intelligentsia, wetenschap, rationalism.