Kahar Muzakkir: The Muhammadiyah Professor Who Helped Formulate Pancasila
Kahar Muzakkir: The Muhammadiyah Professor Who Helped Formulate Pancasila
The academic and prominent Muhammadiyah figure KH Abdul Kahar Muzakkir is one of Indonesia’s national heroes from the era of the national independence movement.
In the struggle for Indonesian independence, he was a member of the Committee of Nine (Panitia Sembilan) that formulated Pancasila as the foundation of the Republic of Indonesia. Kahar Muzakkir was subsequently designated a National Hero through Presidential Decree Number 120/TK/2019.
Kahar Muzakkir was born in 1907 in the village of Gading, Playen, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta Special Region. His father was Haji Muzakkir and his mother was Khadijah binti Mukmin.
Haji Muzakkir was known as a trader and religious teacher who was actively involved in managing major events at the Grand Mosque of the Yogyakarta Sultanate. His grandfather, Kiai Abdullah Rasyad, was a religious teacher at the Gedhe Kauman Mosque in Yogyakarta.
Kahar, a graduate of Muhammadiyah education in Kotagede, went on to pursue religious studies as a santri in Surakarta and Pacitan.
In 1924, he had the opportunity to deepen his Islamic education in Saudi Arabia. In 1925, when the Arab revolution broke out, he moved to Egypt to continue his studies.
During his 13 years in Egypt, Kahar became close to Sayyid Qutb, a Sunni Islamic scholar who followed the thought of Ibn Taymiyyah.
Besides studying, he frequently participated in national and international organisations related to the anti-colonialism movement alongside fellow students from Southeast Asia.
The Committee of Nine and the Jakarta Charter
According to the Muhammadiyah Central Executive’s website, Kahar Muzakkir returned to the archipelago in 1938 and led Madrasah Mualimin. He was also active in Muhammadiyah, serving on the central board of the Islamic organisation from 1946 to 1973.
During the Indonesian independence movement, Kahar Muzakkir became a member of the Committee of Nine, which drafted the foundations of the state and the Indonesian constitution.
The Committee of Nine was a small group of nine figures tasked with formulating the state’s philosophical foundation. It was established by the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPKI) on 1 June 1945, following Sukarno’s speech.
Chaired by Sukarno, the committee successfully formulated the Jakarta Charter on 22 June 1945. The Jakarta Charter became the precursor to the principles of Pancasila and the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution.
Contributions to Education
The Muhammadiyah Encyclopaedia 2.0, published by the Library and Information Council of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive (2022), records that Kahar Muzakkir formed the Planning Committee for the Islamic Higher School (STI) in Jakarta.
STI was established on 8 July 1945 in Jakarta. However, the conditions of defending independence made Jakarta inhospitable, and the capital had to shift to Yogyakarta. At that point, STI also relocated to Yogyakarta.
Subsequently, in 1947, STI was transformed into Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII).
Kahar Muzakkir was a Professor at UII in Islamic law and Arabic language.
Additionally, Abdul Kahar Muzakkir pioneered the establishment of the Muhammadiyah Tabligh Academy in Yogyakarta in 1958. The academy later transformed into FIAD Muhammadiyah, and eventually became Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY).
While serving as Director of Madrasah Mu’allimin Muhammadiyah, an educational institution integrated with Madrasah Mu’allimaat Muhammadiyah (a women’s educational institution), Abdul Kahar conceived the idea of higher education specifically for women.
This idea originated at the 1962 Aisyiyah Congress, where Abdul Kahar presented six arguments for the establishment of higher education dedicated to women.