1885 (Kruijt and Damsté account)

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tagsyear, timeline, dutch, acehnese, colonial, military, aceh-war, atjeh, 19th-century, snouck-hurgronje, mekka, restoration-sultanate, indrapoeri
aliases1885 (Kruijt and Damsté account), 1885 Kruijt Damste, 1885 — Kruijt-Damsté account, Het jaar 1885 volgens Kruijt en Damsté

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1885, in the account of Kruijt’s brochure of 1896 and Damsté’s essay of 1936, was the year of Snouck Hurgronje’s six-month residence at [[Mekka|Mekka] (from 21 February 21 February 1885 to 5 August 5 August 1885) as the Muslim convert “Abd al-Gaffār”, of his expulsion from Mekka through the lies of the French vice-consul De Lostalot, and of his return to Europe on 19 September 19 September 1885; and, in Atjèh, the year of the restoration of the Sultanate attempt by Toeankoe Hasschim and the religious leader Tengkoe di Tirou — the year in which the Atjèhse resistance was institutionalised under the Sultan’s authority and the religious leadership of Tengkoe di Tirou, and in which those who openly took part in the struggle were henceforth called Muslemin.

The Snouck Hurgronje Mekka Residence (21 February – 5 August 1885)

The principal event of 1885, in Damsté’s account, was Snouck Hurgronje’s six-month residence at Mekka. On 21 February 21 February 1885, towards evening, Snouck Hurgronje began the journey from Djidda to the East, to Mekka. Three camels carried the baggage; a fourth “ship of the desert” was passenger-boat. The way climbed continuously, and at great intervals gendarme-posts were passed — sixteen in all, dividing the Djidda-Mekka route in approximately equal stretches.

Snouck Hurgronje lived at Mekka as a Muslim among the Muslims. He performed the obligatory religious devotions faithfully with them, and his appearance in public commanded respect. He associated with scholars and prominent Mekkans, and gained access to city and mosque archives, from which everything was still to be harvested for science. He saw and heard how, in the international companies that constituted themselves at Mekka, politics was done, instruction given and received; how, in deviation from the Islamic ideal, the practice of the Law developed. He listened to the heartbeat of the world of Islam, and understood how it was propagated to the most distant regions.

Then came the Temps of 5 July 5 July 1885 with the message that boded ill. The lies of the French vice-consul De Lostalot — that Snouck Hurgronje (as Abd al-Gaffār) and the German scholar Euting had been hunting the famous Stele of Teima for European archaeological ambitions — found their way first into the French and later also into the Turkish and Arab press. On 5 August 5 August 1885 Snouck Hurgronje was given notice that he had to leave Mekka immediately. Only a few hours were granted him to pack his trunks; and then the journey went back to Djidda, under the guidance of two Turkish police-soldiers.

On 19 September 19 September 1885 Snouck Hurgronje went aboard, to return to Europe. “De ironie van het door Allah vooruit bepaalde lot” (the irony of the fate predetermined by Allah) caused that day — the day the boat left the Arab coast — to coincide with the great feast-day of the pilgrims, with the [[Mekkaansche Feest|Mekkaansche Feest], on which Snouck’s dissertation had treated.

The Atjehse Restoration of the Sultanate (1885-1886)

In Atjèh, in 1885, under the concentration system of Demmeni (1884–1886), the Dutch retired into the concentrated stelling around Kota Radja to await patiently the enemy’s submission. The enemy, abundantly supplied from the coasts, prosecuted the war in his own way. Toeankoe Hasschim, guardian and father-in-law of the youthful pretender Toeankoe Mohamed Daoed, had the pretender declared of age and proclaimed and hailed as Sultan in the mosque at Indrapoeri. The court was arranged according to ancient usage, and notification of the accession was given to various courts.

Toeankoe Hasschim further wrote everywhere that the Hollanders had been driven back, that the war would be vigorously continued, and, in concert with the religious leader Tengkoe di Tirou — whose influence ever increased — sent the principal leaders to the coastal statelets to stir up the population, to embroil the well-disposed, to destroy Dutch influence, to call all to the holy war against the Dutch, and to collect money and men. Those who openly took part in this struggle were henceforth called Muslemin.

The Snouck Atjèh Interest

It was also in 1885 — during the six-month residence at Mekka — that Snouck Hurgronje’s Atjèh interest was first awakened. The Atjèhse pilgrims of the Djawa colony at Mekka had his particular attention; and the exiled Habib Abdoerrachman ez-Zahir — who had already on 8 Moharram 1302 (i.e. in October 1884) given him a recept for the pacification of Atjèh — was among the principal Atjèhse figures whom Snouck Hurgronje encountered at Mekka. The Atjèh interest awakened at Mekka in 1885 would culminate, after a roundabout course, in the Verslag of 23 May 23 May 1892.

People

  • C. Snouck Hurgronje — resided at Mekka, 21 February – 5 August 1885; returned to Europe, 19 September 1885.
  • De Lostalot — fabricated the lies that led to Snouck Hurgronje’s expulsion.
  • Toeankoe Hasschim — proclaimed the pretender Mohamed Daoed as Sultan at Indrapoeri.
  • Toeankoe Mohamed Daoed — the pretender proclaimed as Sultan.
  • Tengkoe di Tirou — the religious leader whose influence ever increased.
  • Habib Abdul Rachman El-Zahir — the exiled Habib who had given Snouck the recept for Atjèh pacification.
  • Demmeni — the Civiel en Militair Gouvernur who presided over the concentration.

Places

Events

Organizations

Concepts

Documents

See Also

Source

Drie Atjeh-mannen: Snouck Hurgronje — Van Heutsz — Van Daalen, door H. T. Damsté (September 1936). OCR-filename: 20260718_105749_DLP-111-Drie_Atjeh_mannen_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt, pp. 5–11.

De Atjeh-Oorlog: Kort Overzicht van Oorsprong, Verloop en Gevolg, door J. A. Kruijt. ‘s-Gravenhage: Loman & Funke, 1896. Chapter IX. OCR-filename: 20260716_140310_DLP-101-De_Atjeh_oorlog_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt, pp. 49–50.

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