Abdul Halim

Kyai Haji Abdul Halim, known as KH Abdul Halim Majalengka (1887–1962) was an Indonesian Islamic scholar and nationalist figure. He founded a number of Islamic organizations in the Dutch East Indies, including the Hayatul Qulub and the Persyarikatan Ulama and was a member of several national consultative councils during the transition to Indonesian independence in the 1940s. He was declared a National Hero of Indonesia in 2008 by then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Biography

Dutch East Indies Abdul Halim was born in the village of Ciborelang in Majalengka Regency, West Java, Dutch East Indies on June 26, 1887. His name at birth was Otong Syatori; his father was Haji Muhammad Iskandar and his mother Haji Siti Mutmainah. In 1908, he married Siti Murbiyah, daughter of Kyai Haji Muhammad Ilyas. During his time there he also befriended other students of his generation, such as Mas Mansoer, who would also later return to the Indies and play an important role in Islamic educational reform.

During the 1910s, after returning to Java, Abdoel Halim founded a number of Islamic organizations, including Madjisul 'Ilmi (1911), Hayatul Qulub (1912) and Persyarikatan Ulama (1916).

In the following year, he was also appointed to the Central Indonesian National Committee, a consultative body set up to advise the president of Indonesia as the country was gaining its independence.