Islam in West Sumatra
The cultural contact became more intensive in the 13th century with the rise of the Muslim Samudera Pasai Sultanate in the northern Sumatra, assuming control of the strait and advancing into east Minangkabau for gold mines and pepper production centers.
After the Strait of Malacca fell into Portuguese hands during the 16th century, Islam began entering the west coast of Minangkabau through coastal cities such as Pariaman.
This Sufi sect was disseminated by Ismail al-Khalidi al-Minangkabawi, and gained a strong foothold there, combined with the commercial advantage coming from its geographic proximity to the Strait of Malacca.
Tuanku Nan Tuo was a Sufi-oriented reformer who took a wasatiyyah (moderate) position; his syncretic approach between the orthodoxy and non-orthodoxy had successfully laid the foundation of sharia within the Minangkabau Sufi traditions.
Certain Minangkabau ulamas who were inspired by the newly-founded Wahhabism in Mecca intensified their scrutiny against the Pagaruyung kings who were deemed not fulfilling the sharia prescriptions and performing acts considered forbidden or heretical.
[10][11] Facing the situation, the leader of the padri group, Tuanku Imam Bonjol, began to embrace the indigenous cultures and agreed between the two parties to unite against Dutch colonialism.
[13]: 356 Rosters of Minangkabau ulamas who returned to West Sumatra after their education under al-Minangkabawi had formed a new generation of intellectuals, including Muhammad Jamil Jambek, who turned from a tariqa-oriented scholar into the avid critic of Sufism,[14] and Tahir bin Jalaluddin, known for his publication Al-Imam and its influence on Abdullah Ahmad's Al-Munir magazine.
Among the main contentions of the struggle are the allowance and the scope of ijtihad (independent thinking) and the aspects of hukum wasilah (rules of tawassul) deemed incompatible with Sunnah.
Among the important Minangkabau figures of the post-independence era is Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah (Hamka), who authored Tafsir al-Azhar in 1967, the first tafsir written in Indonesian and taking the vernacular Minangkabau and Malay approaches in interpreting the Qur'an,[17] and Mohammad Natsir, who led the Masyumi Party and Indonesian Islamic Dawah Council, contributing greatly to the propagation of Islamic orthodoxy in Indonesia.
[20] Surau is the traditional Islamic educational institution that originated around the West and South Sumatra regions; the assembly buildings exist for religious, cultural, and festive purposes, similar to Arab Zawiya.
[21] The tradition of surau preceded formal Islamic education, which employs orthodox theory and method brought from abroad, and it is considered to have a pre-Islamic root, which can be traced back to a Buddhist monastery founded near Bukit Gombak in 1356 by Adityawarman.
[22] Vernacular-style mosques in West Sumatra are distinguished by their multi-layer roofs made of fiber resembling Rumah Gadang, the Minangkabau residential building.
Another important religious institution, surau is also often constructed in vernacular Minangkabau style, with three- or five-tiered roofs and woodcarvings engraved in the facade.
