Prominent US Pastor Turns Out to Be the Younger Brother of a Famous Indonesian Cleric
In California, United States, there is a pastor named Willy Amrul. Few people know that this man is actually the younger brother of one of Indonesia’s most famous clerics, Buya Hamka.
His original name was Abdul Wadud Karim Amrullah, affectionately known as Awka. He is Hamka’s half-brother, as they have different mothers. Hamka was born to Karim Amrullah and Sitti Shafiah, while Awka is the son of Sitti Hindun, Karim Amrullah’s third wife.
Born into a family of prominent clerics, both grew up with a strong religious education from a young age. They both pursued Islamic education, both formally and informally. However, their life journeys took very different paths, partly due to the 19-year age difference.
Awka is recorded as being closer to his father than Hamka, who had left home at a young age. In his autobiography, Sumatran Warrior: Mighty Man of Love and Courage (2016), Awka recounts how he often followed his father in the struggle for independence, from Padang to Java.
He also witnessed his father’s death on June 2, 1945. After Karim Amrullah’s death, Awka made a major decision to leave Indonesia. In 1949, at the age of 22, he left for abroad.
“In early 1949, I left Indonesia and worked on a ship that sailed around the world, including the United States. I finally settled in San Francisco, USA, at the end of 1950 and worked part-time on a farm,” said Awka.
The reunion with Hamka took place in 1952, after nearly a decade of separation. At that time, their lives had changed drastically. Hamka had become a renowned speaker, teacher, and Muslim figure in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Awka had adopted a new identity with the Western name Willy Amrul.
Hamka recalled the meeting in his book 4 Months in America (1952):
“In San Francisco, lives my younger brother who has been separated for almost 10 years, who left for abroad after our father died. He is my brother, Abdul Wadud Karim Amrullah. In America, he uses a Western-style name, Willy Amrul.”
The meeting brought about major changes in Awka’s life. He got a permanent job at the Indonesian Consulate General in San Francisco. From there, he actively spread Islamic teachings at the Islamic Center in Los Angeles and helped establish the Indonesian Community Association in the US in 1962.
In his journey, Awka married Vera Ellen George in 1970 and was blessed with three children. The small family lived in devout Islamic teachings. Vera also converted to Islam. In his autobiography, Awka tells how he gave his wife a mukena, prayer mat, and prayer equipment to strengthen their family’s Islamic faith. They even lived in Indonesia for a while.
However, a major change occurred in 1981. Vera expressed her desire to convert to Christianity. This decision shook Awka’s heart.
“I had never experienced this before with Vera,” said Awka.
Faced with a major dilemma between faith and family unity, Awka eventually chose to follow his wife’s decision. They and their family were baptized in Kebayoran Baru.
“The Kebayoran Baru Baptist Church accepted my request for baptism. The church asked me to consider this step seriously,” Awka recalled in Sumatran Warrior: Mighty Man of Love and Courage (2016, 141).
Two years later, in 1983, they returned to the US. It was there that Awka decided to become a pastor in California.
Since then, he has been known among Christians as Pastor Willy Amrul. As a pastor, he actively provides religious teachings in church. His name is quite well-known. However, Hamka never commented on his brother’s decision. Because he had passed away earlier in 1981, before Awka converted to another religion.
Awka’s career as a pastor continued in the United States and Indonesia. He briefly spread Christian teachings in West Sumatra in 1996, before returning to settle in the US until his death in 2012.
(mfa/mfa)