The Hadrami Son from Ampel
He was born 100 years ago. Abdul Rahman Baswedan-usually shortened to A.R. Baswedan-was an Indonesian of Arab descent who lived in three special times: before, during, and after the Indonesian independence movement. He was the diplomat who hid the letter of recognition from the Government of Egypt in his socks in Indonesia's first diplomatic mission in 1945-something that embarrassed the Dutch government. A.R. Baswedan also rebelled against the values of the old generation. He struggled to the end with one goal: to integrate those of Arab descent with Indonesian society.
December 16, 2008
SONGKOK (a rimless fez-like cap) is the ridiculous symbol of isolation. They (Arab-Indonesian) do not want to wear Indonesian songkok or peci (black rimless hat). At first, they had the red Turkish-style fez, the tarbus with a tuft on the top. Later, when Italian products were banned, especially because of the fascist brutality in Tripoli, the tarbus (an Italian product) was also banned. They were piled up, soaked with kerosene, and then burned.
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