Roots of the North Maluku conflict

Roots of the North Maluku conflict

By Ester Indahyani Jusuf and Desideria Utomo

This is the first part of an article on the conflict in North
Maluku.

JAKARTA (JP): The mass civilian killings in North Maluku have
begun to subside with the increasingly forceful action taken by
the government through the military. However, the dilemmas
haunting the people of North Maluku, which are far more tangible
than the superficiality of the conflict between two religious
groups, remain untouched and unsolved.

The history of the fierce resistance and rebellion of the
people of northern Maluku against external values is inextricably
bound to the development, prosperity and, later, the
deterioration of its sultanates. The sultanate dominion system in
northern Maluku emerged in the 13th century led by Sultan Cico
a.k.a. Masyur Malamo (1257-1277).

Surviving today are the Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo
sultanates. The four sultans are brothers, the youngest being the
sultan of Ternate. The official religion of the four sultanates
is Islam, which is also the dominant religion of the region.

Each sultanate is a member of a confederation, called Moloku
Kieraha, which was established as a union of the culturally
diverse sultanates by the Moti Confederation in 1322. Within the
first three centuries of its establishment, the Ternate Sultanate
ruled in northern Maluku. The other sultanates -- Jailolo, Tidore
and Bacan -- existed under the umbrella of Ternate.

Ternate sultanate was recognized as the most brilliant
maritime nation in North Maluku in the 16th century, during the
rule of Sultan Harun alias Jamil (1570-1583). The golden years of
the sultanate were reached during the reign of Sultan Baabullah
(1570-1583).

The latter is the most famous of North Maluku's sultans, hence
the immortalization of his name for the Ternate airport. The
influence of the Ternate sultanate encompasses West Seram, the
islands of Hitu, Buru, Buton and those of the Hoa Moal peninsula,
which together form the center of clove production in the
Indonesian archipelago.

From the 16th century on, sultanates in North Maluku -- led by
the Ternate Sultanate -- entered a new historical chapter: the
nationalist struggle against domination of the West, which was an
expression of patriotism, tied to Islamic allegiance and
solidarity. This new chapter emerged as resistance against the
Spanish and Portuguese attempts to dominate the sources of
spices, especially clove and nutmeg.

The Portuguese also set out to spread Christianity through
northern Maluku. The first theology school in Southeast Asia was
established in Ternate, inside the Santa Paolo fortress. The
efforts involved coercion and violence, with Portuguese
missionaries backed by full capacity armories.

In 1535, Portugal set out on a colossal mission to convert the
sultan of Ternate, Sultan Tabiriji, to Christianity to ensure his
submission to Portuguese rule. Portugal's Tristian d'Ataido
kidnapped Sultan Tabiriji and the queen mother, who were then
forced to convert. Upon his release, however, the Sultan
disclosed the Portuguese action and retained his Islamic
religion. The incident bolstered Muslim solidarity among people
of northern Maluku and sparked a major people's rebellion.

The outbreak of unrest throughout northern Maluku to Hitu and
Seram recurred in 1570, when Sultan Hairun was brutally murdered
by the Portuguese during a peace agreement meeting.

Muslim allegiance and solidarity, which served as the driving
force of the struggle against the Portuguese, subsequently
developed into the basis for the expansion of Islam to other
regions. During the rule of Sultan Baabulah, Ternate became the
center of Islam proselytization to the southern Philippines,
along the coast of Central and North Sulawesi, and Sabah.

The Dutch, who shared similar motives with the Portuguese,
ignited similar feelings of distrust among the people of North
Maluku. The people have a tradition of warfare and a deeply
rooted resistance against external values.

Ester Indahyani Jusuf is the chairwoman of Solidaritas Nusa
Bangsa, a private group campaigning against discrimination which
conducted a study on the conflict in North Maluku. Desideria
Utomo is a staff member of its research and development
department.