Dutch Colonial Period Hajj Exam
Those returning from the pilgrimage are required to take exams. Those who pass the exam are allowed to wear the title and hajj dress.
Pilgrims from various regions in Indonesia have departed for Mecca to perform the pilgrimage. The departure of the pilgrims this year was divided into two waves. The first batch ends on 16 June 2023, while the second batch starts from 7 to 22 June 2023.
The pilgrimage has been a dream for Muslims in the archipelago since ancient times. M. Dien Majid wrote in Hajj in the Colonial Period, at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, pilgrims from various regions in the archipelago made up more than 40 percent of all pilgrims from various countries in the world. The great interest of Indonesian Muslims in performing the pilgrimage became the focus of the attention of the Dutch colonial government, which was worried that it could disrupt their status quo as rulers in their colonial territories.
Therefore, the colonial government drew up a number of regulations related to the implementation of the pilgrimage. Kees van Dijk in "Sarong, Cloak, and Pants: Appearance as a Means of Discrimination and Discrimination", contained in Outward Appearances compiled by Henk Schulte Nordholt and M. Imam Aziz, said that in the mid-19th century the Dutch had considered the possibility of banning the use of the title of Hajj and prevent those who have traveled to the Holy Land from wearing special garments, which are described as the “Mohammedan costume and turban”.
Dutch Colonial Period Hajj Exam
However, the Indian Consul decided otherwise. “Unable to forbid hajjis from wearing their Arabic titles and attire, the colonial administration developed laws to ensure at least that all those who called themselves hajjis (and who dressed in such fashion) had indeed traveled to the Holy Land,” wrote Van Dijk. As such, Muslims cannot "call themselves the name of the hadji and adopt his costume without ever setting foot in the Holy Land".
Based on the regulations contained in the Staatsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie 1859 number 42, people who return from the pilgrimage must take a kind of test held by the regent or regional head with equal status, and be assisted by one or more hajjis who have a good reputation. to find out if these people really went to Mecca. If these people pass the test, they will receive a certificate and be allowed to dress like a pilgrim.
Meanwhile, according to Dien Majid, if a person who takes the exam cannot prove that he has actually performed the pilgrimage in the Holy Land, then he is not entitled to receive a certificate and is not permitted to dress like a pilgrim. Not only that, the person is also threatened with fines ranging from f.25 to f. 100 for each violation.
Regulations related to the implementation of the pilgrimage compiled by the colonial government not only regulated the examination of the pilgrimage, but also required people who had just returned from the Holy Land to report to the local authorities when they first arrived to get a pass sign, which was valid for the next trip to the chosen place. In order to make this policy known to the public, the regulations contained in the Staatsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie 1859 number 42 were translated into Malay and Chinese.
Over time, the regulations related to the implementation of the Hajj, including the obligation to take the Hajj exam, have drawn attention from a number of parties, one of which is Snouck Hurgronje. According to E. Gobée and C. Adriaanse in C. Snouck Hurgronje's Advice During his Service to the Dutch East Indies Government 1889–1936, Snouck expressed his criticism of the Hajj regulations drawn up by the colonial government in 1859 to the governor general. He considered that the examination and awarding of haj diplomas were unnecessary, moreover every haj exam could be passed with good results by a non-hajjan, while a hajj who was rather stupid would only pass with difficulty.
In addition, Snouck also said that the habit of using Hajj clothes by people who have not performed the pilgrimage is not a crime. “Firstly, Hajj clothing is very difficult to define; and upon analysis, there was nothing left but his turban. However, this headgear has been worn since ancient times, apart from the hajjis, by native officials in the two religious holidays, and also by many of the princes who are still functioning, even though they are not hajjis. The turban is also worn by Hadramaut Arabs, most of whom have not yet performed the pilgrimage," he said. Therefore, Snouck believes that the wearing of "Arab head covering" is sometimes seen by the local community as part of a custom.
Regarding the use of the title hajj, Wim van den Doel in Snouck: Biography of a Scientist Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje writes that the Dutch scientist and orientalist thought that it was the colonial government that unknowingly gave the honorary stamp to the title hajj. According to Snouck, the title's value of the word hajj was largely due to false fears on the part of the colonialists that the government protected the title and defended its misuse. Thus, Snouck not only pushed for the abolition of the hajj examination policy, he also concluded that placing the hajj title and attire outside the law was the only rational step that could be taken by the colonial government until the policy was abolished in 1902.*
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