Progressive Islam: A Social Study of Tan Malaka’s Islamic Thought

Tan Malaka, 1897- 1949, was an Indonesian Muslim, Marxist, philosopher, teacher, and founder of the Persatuan Perjuangan (Struggle Front), a coalition of groups negotiating the terms of Indonesian independence in the1940s. He was awarded the Government designation of National Hero in 1963. This book offers new findings regarding Tan Malaka’s Islamic thought, and discusses how to analyse his works and legacy. These findings are novel and significant.

Tan Malaka, as a left-leaning Muslim who embraced critical thinking, is still seen as a controversial figure in Indonesia and the wider world. Today, he is often discredited in history books. In fact, his Islamic ideas can provide answers to problems or themes in the discourse of Islamic studies today.

The scope of this book falls within the scope of Islamic Philosophy, Islamic Political, and Social Science Studies. In other words, interdisciplinary. The specific purpose of this book is to fill in the gaps of analysis and new findings regarding Tan Malaka’s Islamic thought. As well as providing new discourses in Islamic Political.