Islamic Politics And Nationalism In North Sulawesi (1920-1945): The Case Of Sarekat Islam

This paper focuses on the political and nationalist activities of Sarekat Islam in North Sulawesi in the period 1920-1950. During this time the Sarekat Islam movement adopted three models of action: exploiting political opportunities, setting appropriate goals, and mobilizing resources. This freed the Indonesian community from the Dutch political system, gave rise to a newly educated elite, and fostered a discourse of progress and the spirit of popular nationalism. In certain regions, especially in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, the Sarekat Islam movement encountered great success and there was largely an absence of internal conflict both among the member organizations / parties and between the broader community and Sarekat Islam. The paper argues that Sarekat Islam both laid the groundwork for increased political awareness and liberation and created political opportunities for the newly educated elite and the people of Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi. Research methods are based  primarily on library research, drawing on  books, journal articles, archives, newspapers and magazines, supplemented by non-written sources in the form of several interviews.