Ali Maksum

Ali Maksum was an Indonesian Muslim religious leader and revivalist, who established the Muhammadiyah organization, which would become one of the largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, second only to the Nahdlatul Ulama. He was born in Kauman, Yogyakarta, as Muhammad Darwis, and he was the son of an imam of a local mosque, and traced his origins from the lineage of Muhammad. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage when he was 15 years old, and he lived in Mecca for another five years. There, he became involved with reformist thoughts within Islam, such as those of Ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida, and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. He returned to Indonesia in 1888, and changed his name to Ahmad Dahlan. In 1903, he went to Mecca again to deepen his religious knowledge, and he studied with Sheikh Ahmad Khatib, who was also the teacher of the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, KH Hasyim Asyari. He returned to Indonesia in 1905, and two years later, he joined the Budi Utomo organization. However, his supporters urged him to create his own organization. In 1912, he created the Muhammadiyah organization, as a means of realizing his reformist ideals. The organization was quickly joined by merchants and craftsmen. In 1917, he added a women's section named Aisyiyah, which played a significant role in modernizing the life of Indonesian women. Spreading to the Outer Islands, Muhammadiyah established a strong base in Sulawesi only a decade later after it was founded. It was one of a number of indigenous Indonesian organizations founded in the first three decades of the twentieth century, a time known as the Indonesian National Awakening, that were key in establishing a sense of Indonesian nationalism, and ultimately independence. Throughout the last year of his life, Ahmad Dahlan suffered from a number of health issues. In 1923, following the advice of his doctor, he took some time to rest at Mount Tretes, Malang, East Java, before finally returning to Yogyakarta, to attend an annual Muhammadiyah meeting. His health continued to deteriorate, until he died on 23 February 1923. His body was buried at Karangkajen grave. For his services, Ahmad Dahlan was inaugurated as a National Hero, according to Presidential Decree No. 657 of 1961.