Transforming the writing of history: The new narrative of enlightenment within Muhammadiyah

RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs
Volume 47 Issue 2 (2013)

Harijanto, Christian; Chalmers, Ian

Abstract: This article seeks to account for a recent change in the method of history writing within the major Indonesian social organisation Muhammadiyah, namely a shift from chronology to historical narrative. Until recently, Muhammadiyah's history had always been written as a chronicle, a form with minimal moral import. But in 2010 Muhammadiyah published an historical account that takes the form of a narrative, a form with a beginning, middle and moral end. This historical account has been constructed around three ideas: the importance of individual enlightenment, that the founder of Muhammadiyah (Ahmad Dahlan) was the prototype of the enlightened individual, and that divine intervention served to monitor this process. Further, this article suggests that the change to a narrative form can be explained by shifts in the political balance within Muhammadiyah as it responds to a changing social context.

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To cite this article: Harijanto, Christian and Chalmers, Ian. Transforming the writing of history: The new narrative of enlightenment within Muhammadiyah [online].  RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 47, No. 2, 2013: 63-90. Availability: ISSN: 0815-7251. [cited 23 Apr 17].

Personal Author: Harijanto, Christian; Chalmers, Ian;  Source: RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 47, No. 2, 2013: 63-90 DOI:  Document Type: Journal Article ISSN: 0815-7251 Subject: Islam and politics--Historiography; Cultural pluralism--Religious aspects--Islam; Knowledge, Theory of (Islam); Muhammadiyah (Organization); Islamic renewal;