The Suriname Muslim Association (SMA) came into being in the year 1950 when the Khilafat Anjuman, the Anjuman Hidayat Islam (AHI), and the Akaidoel Islam united to establish this association under the leadership of Pakistani Maulana Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi. The Maulana was supposed to have been a guest of the SIV but upon learning that the Ahmadis had penetrated the SIV, he angrily severed ties with them and urged other Islamic groups to unite against the Ahmadis. In 1955, the SMA began building the Jama Masjid on the Kankanriestraat, and in 1957 it was opened. The opening was blessed by the visit of the son-in-law of Maulana Siddiqi, Dr. Fazlur Rahman Ansari. Maulana Siraj Ahmad from Pakistan became a teacher there and in 1960 Maulana F. R. Ansari Madrasa was founded which expanded to two schools in 1966. 1964 marked the first visit of Pakistani Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi, son of the late Maulana Aleem Siddiqi, and on a second visit to Suriname in 1967, Maulana Noorani and the leaders of the Ahmadis held a public debate.
Mr. Mohammed Islam Ramjan who was the last leader of the AHI became the president of the SMA and A. R. Nanhekhan was the assistant president. Karamatkhan Rahman who was second in command of the AHI was also given a leadership position on the board of directors of the SMA and so were A. William and J. Soebhan Khan. Ramdjan controlled the SMA from 1950 to 1973. By the year 1963, two madrassas were founded and named after the Pakistani Maulana F. R. Ansari and in 1963 a widow, Ms. Nirhoe donated a plot of land to the SMA. A second school was founded at the Hernhutterstraat, and also a mosque was built on land donated by two brothers Haji Deen Mohammed Zahoer and Imam Alim Mohamed Khodabaks. Internal division rocked the SMA when the land of the Khilafat Anjuman at Crommelinstraat was taken over by a new administration of the SMA. The Khilafat took the SMA to court which ruled in favor of the Khilafat Anjuman in 1968.16
The period 1970 to the 1980’s witnessed great division in the SMA, but then again, the division persists to date. Maulana S. S. A Qadri was pitted against the administration in 1972 and both sides traded insults and accusations. SMA’s Chairman, Haji M. Islam Ramdjan died and Haji I. Hussain Ali took control which sent Maulana Sayed Ali Qadri in 1973 running to Pakistan. Factions pitted against each other went to court to seek justice, and in 1974 a judge appointed an independent commission under the leadership of Mr. Budhulal to prepare and hold election. Haji Mohammed Amin Ashruf won and became the new chairman. The losing faction led by Haji Hussain Ali left the jamaat and called themselves the Suriname Muslim Federation (SMF). Suddenly, Chairman Mohammed Amin Ashruf died and the leadership went to Mr. Aziemoella Abdoel Bashier.17
From 1980-1990 division continued unabated and was marred by new tensions between Mohammed Junas Gaffar who was chosen chairman and Mr. Humphrey Nurmohamed left in defeat. A joint compromised was reached by Junas Gaffar and the Nurmohamed group to administer the organization, but it was futile. The Gaffar group left in 1982 over dissatisfaction. SMA was plagued again with internal strife as usual; making and breaking alliances where one faction was pitted against the other because they all want to be in control. By 1990, Chairman Haji Junas Gaffar left for Holland and in 1991 Haji M. I. Soebhan became the chairman, and again tension rose over land and masjid ownership that engulfed SMA. On an interesting note, around the same period a Catholic Nun, Maria S. Steward of Nickerie donated a parcel of land to the SMA to build mosque. Open conflict rose again in 1998 when under the leadership of Ms. Angelica Nanekhan members of the board and Chairman Michel Soebhan traded insults and accusations. Soebhan was accused of various irregularities, but the chairman survived and in 1999 called early election, not surprising, he won and today he remains the head of the SMA.18
The Indonesian Muslim
Since their arrival in Suriname from the Indonesian Island of Java (See Figure# 5), the Javanese have been the most disadvantaged group educationally and economically. They are vulnerable to evangelism which has made converts of them. The newer generations have quickly assimilated into the Surinamese society. Javanese were “outcaste minorities” like their Hindustani brothers but the Hindustanis were protected by the British Consul in Paramaribo and up until 1927 they were British subjects, on the other hand, the Javanese were unprotected.19 Javanese, according to Surparlan, author of the book, The Javanese in Suriname in an Ethnically Plural Society, had to strike a balancing acting of not appearing too Javanese or too Dutch. In the early period of indentureship many did not send their children to school unlike the Hindustanis, and today most Javanese youths of Suriname have embraced Dutch-Western culture. Many especially the children of the upper class have an identity crisis.20 From the last national census about 10,000 reveal that they do not know which religion they belong to. In various interviews with Surparlan many admit that they do not know what religion they belong to.
They are circumcised but don’t remember the grand slametan ceremony, and not all remember the imam guiding then to pronounce the kalimat sahadat (shahada) before the circumcision. Three reveal they don’t remember while two said they do. The Javanese are divided between traditionalist, reformists and in the center are the moderates. They have their own interpretation of the Quran and the sunna (teachings) of the Prophet Muhammad. Their Islam is a combination of indigenous practices going back to the Island of Java. The traditionalists combined agama djawa with Islam, while the reformists explicitly reject agama djawa as un-Islamic.21 Agama Kiwa, salametan and tajub are old pre-Islamic traditions. Most of them were kejawen Muslims.
Agama Djawa (Kejawan) Islam, which was dominant in Javanese villages, is a syncretic Islam which incorporated old Javanese beliefs, including Hindu-Buddhist elements. Another schism is the direction of prayer. While in Java they faced the West, Mekkah, to pray and did not realize that now being in Suriname they must face the East which has caused much feud among them, reformists within their own community and the Hindustani Muslims. They are divided also over the question of slametan, and tajub.22 Slametans and Tajub are “rituals ceremonies with food, social gatherings and feasts.”23 Reformists assert that these festivities are haram because they are sometimes sexual in nature, and involve alcohol and gambling, and extravagant spending of money that leads to the detriment of Javanese society.24
From 1890 to 1939, the Dutch began importing Javanese labourers to work the sugar and cocoa plantations of Suriname like their Hindustani counterpart. The Javanese arrived in Suriname without persons learned in religion. It was not until the beginning of the 1930s that partly through contacts with Hindustani Muslims some realized that the Kaaba was not located in the West, but to the northeast of Suriname.25 Subsequently, a number of Javanese Muslims started praying in that direction. This small group, led by Pak Samsi, encouraged people to change the direction of prayer from west to east. Since then, this small group has been called wong madhep ngetan (East-Keblat people). Later some became very critical of what was seen as the superstition and religious innovation (bidah) among the Javanese Muslims. The moderates do not openly criticize the practice of praying to the west as most of the Javanese Muslims continued to do; hence they are called wong madhep ngulon (West-Keblat people).26
There are no Arabs in Suriname and Arab missionaries seldom visit this country. Most of the Muslim teachers and visitors come from Indonesia, Pakistan or India. Yet, the Arabs are getting blame for the schism that exist between the sunnis and the ahmadis and between the traditionalist and the reformists Indonesian Muslims. But it’s the Hindustani Muslims who first came in contact with the Indonesians in Suriname when this issue of facing East or West became highly contested . “The Kejawen Muslims conceive the reformists as belonging to an 'Arabic Islam'. In their attempts to preserve their Javanese identity, the question of keblat occupies an important position.”27 But according to many eyewitness accounts, many Javanese at home pray towards but when visiting a mosque, Kejawen Muslims follow others and pray facing east.28 This small group argues that it is not the direction of West or East that is of prime importance, but rather the way one purifies his or her soul. They argue, “religious devotion is regarded as having no value when one hurts and offends others.”29
These differences have fractured the Javanese Muslims into different religious organizations. There are about
four major Indonesian Islamic organizations- Stichting der Islamitische Gemeenten, Sarekat Ashafia Islam (SAI), P.J.I.S- Shafiiten, and Federatie van Islamitische Gemeenten Suriname (F.I.G.S). More recently, the local Javanese Muslim community in Surinamese has come under the microscope of the United States’s “war on terror.” Suriname today, because of its close people to people religious ties to Indonesia and Pakistan is today under America’s CIA microscope because the alleged ring leader of the Bali bombing, Ali Imron Al Fatah spent a year in Suriname where he taught at an Islamic school among his countrymen. In November of 2003, after Suriname’s government confirmed that Ali Imron lived there for a year, the head of the MMS, Isaac Jamaluddin met with the US Ambassador to protest the stigmatization that Suriname was becoming a terrorist heaven. He noted that this will polarize the Surinamese community and give the local Muslims a bad image; as well, he reiterated that the Muslims want a continuation of friendly ties with the USA, the Netherlands, and with Asian, African and Arabic countries.30 The United States remain very unpopular in Suriname not only among the Muslims but in the general society. Scangzer of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, writes, “The Surinamese defense official insists that Washington "is lashing out in anger at the Muslim world after 9/11." Over breakfast, several prominent Muslims agreed with one Islamic leader when he said that the U.S. war on terror "is a war against the Muslim world."31 Collectively the Muslims have met local politicians and the academia. They remain cynical about American involvement in the Middle East. The government of Suriname refused to allow US soldiers to exercise in their country and for years ignored the request of the US Embassy in Paramaribo to close a major road in front the embassy they allege pose a security risk. Suriname ignored the request for years, but finally, after about five years, the United States will pay for the reconstruction of the road and a new community plan.
Javanese Islamic Organizations
Islam was used to mobilize the Javanese in the 1930s. The Persatuan Islam Indonesia (PII) which was founded in 1932 came into existence to unify the Javanese and to reform Islamic teaching. In 1935 the Sahabatul Islam was founded and it aimed to purge Islam of bidah (innovations) or un-Islamic practices.32 The Javanese became politically conscious after contact with the Hindustani Muslims. These latter two parities according to Surparlan were reformist’s parties.33 The PII built the first Javanese mosque in Paramaribo in 1933 which was named Nabawi. Most recently Indonesia has paid for the restoration of this mosque. The Sahabatul Islam (Friendship of Islam) came into being to reform Islam and the “Javanese sociocultural system in Suriname.”34 However, the organization and its leaders were disliked by the traditionalists. Members of this group stayed away from the traditionalist and were very much influenced by the reformists Muhammadijah movement of Java that whose crusade was to purge Islam of bidah.35 The Muhammadijah came to Suriname in the 1930’s. The PII and the Sahabatul have maintained friendly relationship, but “the PII was more gentle and refined in dealing with traditionalists” and because of this relationship the PII was been able to bring traditionalist into the reformist’s camps.36 Also, the Indonesian Embassy has been very active in teachings of Islam, and offering courses in Bahasa Indonesian and traditional dances.
The Muslim Marriage Act of 1940
The Muslim Marriage Act was part of the Asian Marriage Act that took effect on January 1st , 1941. It was a result of strong lobbying by the Suriname Immigrants’ Association since 1913. This plea got a sympathetic ear from the Dutch Social Democratic member of Parliament, H. van Kol who “urged the reorganization of Asian marriages since 1920.”37 Muslims have been living in Suriname since 1873 and up to 1941 their religious marriages were not registered by the government, and that led to “many problems regarding law of succession and registration of children.”38 It was in this context that the Dutch Governor, Kielstra who came from Indonesia in 1937 and very familiar with Hindu and Muslim traditions finally “proposed to legalize marriages performed according to the Muslim or Hindu religion.”39 The draft bill met “strong opposition in the Koloniale Staten,” (local parliament) Creole members feared the “asianization” of Suriname would lead to division of the country along ethnic lines. By decree of the governor, the Asian Marriage Act came into effect in 1941. This bold step taken by the Dutch governor giving special privileges to the Muslim and Hindu community by treating then as equals was a kind gesture. As well, it demonstrated that the Dutch were not interested in the civilizing doctrine. It was a rejection of “Dutcification,” and embracing of multi-culturalism. The decree consisted of two parts, the Muslim Marriage Act and the Hindu Marriage Act which legalized marriages performed by Hindu and Muslim religious leaders.
The Muslim Marriage degree concerned marriages among Muslims only and has drawn much debate since the 1990’s. Critics see this dual law as a violation of Suriname’s constitution and unfair to women. Non-Muslims have always had to register their marriages with the civil authorities, but cracks in the civil code because of the Asian Marriage Decree led to abuse of the laws by non-Muslims as well. The sentiments of the Muslims are encapsulated in an article found in al-Fajr, a Muslim newsletter, “the Muslim Marriage Decree should apply only to Muslims to prevent misuse by non Muslims for example “by passing the marriageable age or parental consent.”
There are sharp differences on the issue of divorce of Hindus and Christians as compared to Muslims, and this has been the bone of contention. Suriname’s Civil Code entitles every man and women to a divorce. Marriages of Hindus and Christians cannot be dissolved because they are regulated by their “religious books,” thus, a Hindu or a Christian must apply for a divorce based on Suriname’s Civil Code.43 On the contrary, the Islamic Marriages are regulated by the Quran (sharia) and “the legislator could insert a separate regulation regarding divorce into the Muslim Marriage Decree.”
Suriname’s Civil Code contains four grounds for divorce which is in stark contrast to Quranic laws where there are no specific grounds for talak (divorce).45 A Muslim man according to the Muslim Marriage Decree has many options for a divorce; however the wife has only two routes to a divorce:
1. She can apply for a divorce based on Article 4 of the Muslim Marriage Decree
2. She can apply for a divorce via a magistrate.46
With regards to the second case, the magistrate must abide with the Civil Code of Suriname to grant a divorce, however he is brief by an expert of Islamic fiqh who verifies whether divorcee is necessary. The role of this expert of Islamic Law is to save the marriage, and he must determine whether or not the couple can live peacefully, and then advises the magistrate if a divorce is necessary.
In the past decade the Muslim Marriage Decree has come under attack from international human rights groups, women groups, as well as Muslims who supports the integration or standardization of the country’s Civil Code. This they assert complies with the country’s constitution. Islamic organizations, SIV, MMA, and SMA presented a united case to the president of Suriname. They supported the modification of the Muslim Marriage Act in 1973 which became know as the Adhin Law (Marriage Law Revision Act 1973” which was ratified finally by the Surinamese Parliament in 2003. The Muslim intelligentsia who were part of the several commissions since 1973 to revise the Asian Marriage Act did not see it as an infringement of their religious freedom. In fact, they see it as an improvement of their country’s human rights record because the dual laws created cracks for abuse where women were at the receiving end. Revision included the age of marriage for both male and female to for male and for female, grounds for divorces, inheritance, guardianship or parental authority after divorce, maintenance or allowance; its further led to uniformity with the Civil Code of Suriname. Religious marriages of Muslims will now have to be registered with the civil authorities and divorce by a secular court. More or less the Muslim Marriage Act of 1940 was abrogated.
Castism Vanished Among the Hindustanis Casteism is deeply rooted in India and was very rigid from 1873-1916, the period that Hindustanis migrated to Suriname. This especially affected the backward states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where illiteracy, poverty, drought and communalism is rampant. Casteism has impeded India’s social mobility and has led to violent conflicts. Since 1873 when Hindustanis began arriving in Suriname from North India casteism began eroding amongst the Hindus. Most of the Hindustani that came to Suriname belongs to the schedule castes (dalits) such as ahirs, dhobis, telis, chammar or kurmis. Take for example Bihar, where the ancestors of many Guyanese, Surinamese and Trinidadians originated from, 64 percent of Bihar's population is composed of dalits who “nursed a justifiable historical grievance against the upper caste (13 percent), who dominated the economic, cultural and political structures”.
“The constant battle waged by the rural dalits in acquiring social dignity or "izzat" against the bloodthirsty and avaricious behaviour of upper caste landlords and rich farmers have been indefatigable and quite measurably successful.” However, in the Caribbean this evil disappear because these Indians had to survive outside of India in difficult circumstances. According to Moses Seesnarine who cited Smith, Jayawardena and Schwartz, foremost experts on the Indian diaspora, castism persist in East Africa but is less prevalent in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad.
The three month voyage from India to the Suriname played a major role in the disappearance of the caste system in Suriname. Hindustanis were recruited from various parts of India and were sent to the port of Kolkota where they stayed for up to three months before being shipped to Sri Ram Tapu (Suriname). There life long bonds and friendship developed. We get a first hand account of the journey from India to Suriname from Munshi Rahman Khan, an ethnic Pathan, from the Hamipur, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1898 at age 24 the left India for Suriname. At the depot Brahmins and khryastias quickly abandoned their traditions. The janau (sacred thread), tikka (sign on forehead) and the kanthimala were abandoned and many no longer acted in accordance to the rules and regulations of his or her caste or religion. They were not force to give up their traditions but voluntary many did before they came to Suriname. “The Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and others laughingly began to throw off their threads and necklaces into the river saying: 'Mother Ganges, we offer you our belongings, if ever we return, we shall adorn them again'.”52 Suddenly, according to Khan the Brahmins became sudras.
There was no longer an interest to maintain the “sanctity of caste and creed.”53 No longer were there differences between Brahmins, Kshtriyas, Vaishyas or sudras. Brahmin, Muslims, Chammar and Ahirs queue together and eat the same food, and neither was the Brahmin insulted to be fed by someone wearing shoes. They all shared the same plates and eat alongside each others. Hindus did not complain about eating next to a Muslim. These upper castes Hindus quickly kept company with lower castes women since many traveled single. Infidelity started prior to the departure to Suriname since they were shortages of women and mostly single men made the voyage. “The breach of religion did not end here and these people resorted to infidelity. “They also were very close and intimate with the untouchables, and ate, drank, and had fun with them, and
started relations with their womenfolk.”54 Brahmins eat meat, drank and sell alcohol like others. Some Brahmins who wanted to make the voyage lied about their caste since the authorities were not interested in recruiting Brahmins to the colony.
When the Indians arrived in Suriname they were forced to cooperate with each other. They were strangers uncertain of the future and they toiled the same sugar and cocoa plantations. The language and culture of Suriname was peculiar to them. Alienation from the motherland also helped in the demise of the caste system in Suriname. There was indeed tension between Hindus and Muslims but not at the level that we see in India at the beginning of the 20th century. To resolve religious differences among its members and to prevent Creole domination, the VHP, an Indian political party in 1949 adopted the following slogan to bridge the gaps with the other Hindustani religious group:
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isai
Sab hai bhai bhai
Bharrat mata sab ke mai
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christians
They are all brothers
India is the mother of them all55
Hindu -Muslim Tension
Hindu Muslim relationship going back to the motherland, Hindustan was cordial, antagonistic and bloody at different times and places. Most of the violence since the 1700s took place in North India, homeland of many Surinamese Muslims. Since the coming of Islam to India with the invasion of Muhammad bin Qasim of Syria, to the Ghaznavid invasions of the Punjab, India came under Muslim rule. This was followed by the Ghurid invasions and the Timurids led by Babur and culminated with Aurangzeb son of Shah Jehan. Muslims controlled India for over 500 years. They assimilated, becoming part of the social and political fabric of India. Their rule of India came to an end in the 18th century. Some see the Muslims as aliens who pillaged and conquered Hindus, while others see them as indigenous and that the seeds of division and communalism were planted as a result of the Islamic invasion.
Most communal riots centered took place when Muharram or the Eids coincided with Ramlila and Navratrhi, cow slaughter and according to Indian historian Dr. Yoginder Sikand the founding of the Hindu Mahasabha and the Hindu revivalist Arya Samaj fomented communalism.56 The most controversial feature of the Arya Samaj goal was “its work of shuddi, i.e., the reconversion of Hindus who have been converted to Islam or Christianity. The members of the Arya Samaj are often called “The aggressive Hindus” as they sought to bring back by coercion, threat and other means all those who had renounced Hinduism in favour of Islam or other religions.”57 With the rise of the Arya Samaj who advocated protection of the “sacred mother” (cow), other radical groups as well joined in the cry. The cow slaughter issue provoked Hindu Muslim riots in Uttar Pradesh in the 1880s and 1890s. As well, it was an issue during the Mughal reign. Mughal emperors such as Babar, Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb “imposed selective ban on cow slaughtering to accommodate the Jain and Brahmanical feeling for and veneration of the cow.”58 “In 1893, in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh anti-Muslims riots broke out.”59 Again in 1912-1913 in Ayodhya riots broke out over the “sacred cow.”60 From 1910 to 1918 major communal riots over the cow slaughtering took place in Ayodhya, Banaras, Nellore, Kanpur, Patna, Gaya, and Shahabad and what is today know as India’s “cow-belt.”61 These are the districts and cities where most Surinamese Hindus and Muslims originated from and the issue of the “sacred cow” was brought to Suriname which led to communal tension. The issue was persisted until the 1970s because Suriname’s Hindus were adamant that the colonial government of Suriname ban cow slaughtering by the Muslims on Bakra Eid.
When we look at Hindu/Muslim relationship in Suriname we have to take into consideration a few facts. Unlike Guyana, Trinidad and Fiji, Muslims are large minority in Suriname, something like 25%. They also maintained their mother tongue, Urdu or Javanese unlike these latter countries. The geography of Suriname played an important role in forging strong communication among Muslims. It was easy for ten powerful religious figures to oversee the religious and social affairs of the Muslims community throughout Suriname which has a good physical infrastructure. Guyana on the other hand, is divided by larger rivers and the British kept Guyana poor and dependent. Suriname on the other hand, was one of the richest countries in South America by gross national product. Economically, the Surinamese Muslims are well off. In stark contrast to Guyana or Trinidad, Muslim and Hindupoliticians of Suriname come from the masjids and the mandirs still speak their mother tongue; and unlike in Guyana are not afraid to admit that they represent their constituent. Nationally they advocatefor Islamic or Hindu issues and not behind the scene only. They keep strong ties to the religious institutions and many are practicing Muslims modeling good behavior: praying five times a day, refraining from pork and alcohol, and some keep beards and wear topis.
