Perspekif Orientalisme Tentang Islam di Borneo (Orientalism Perspective About Islam in Borneo)

Abstract

Western Orientalists works about Islam in Borneo can be divided into two groups, first, traveler, priest or journalist like Horace St. John and Snouck Hurgronje. Some of them can speak and write in Malay. Snouck Hogranje was one of the influential authors who contributed to the formation of many Dutch policies in Indonesia. The second group is the imperialist leaders comprising administrators or colonial officials such as Stamford Raffles, Spenser St. John and Hugh Low who made a policies but they also sometimes write a books that refered by travelers. James Brooke as an example makes Raffles works as a reference to understand the Malays and the situation in the archipelago. There are orientalists who elaborate or do an objective research about people of Borneo. Otherwise, there are many unobjective interpretations, bias, prejudice about ruling system, socio-cultural system, the Malay-Muslim community and Islam itself to discredit Islam and the indigenous population. One of the most prominent perspectives on Islam in Borneo is the use of the term "mohammadenism" to refer to Islam. This concept is also used in official meeting of colonial governments such as Sarawak State Council. Base on this premise, this work will describe an orientalist view of Islam in Borneo based on historical sources.