Fakih Usman (alternatively spelled as Faqih Usman; ; 2 March 1904 – 3 October 1968) was an Indonesian Islamic leader and politician of the Masyumi Party. He twice served as the Minister of Religious Affairs under the cabinets of Abdul Halim and Wilopo from January until September 1950, and again from 1952 until 1953. In his early years, Fakih was criticized by conservative Muslims for his involvement with the modernist Islamic Muhammadiyah organization, though he is remembered fondly by the group. Born to a merchant and his wife in Gresik, Dutch East Indies, Fakih studied with his father and at a series of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) until the 1920s.
In 1925 he became involved with the Muhammadiyah, rising quickly through the leadership until he became the head of the Surabaya branch in 1938. He was also active in local politics, in 1937, he became the treasurer of the Indonesian Islamic Assembly. He continued to be involved in politics and Islamic groups during the Japanese occupation and the ensuing national revolution. Following the end of war, he was appointed Minister of Religious Affairs. As minister, he oversaw educational and institutional reform, growing in prominence within the Muhammadiyah. He also served as deputy chairman of the organization under several different leaders before being chosen as its chairman in late 1968. He died several days later.
Early life
Fakih Usman was born on 2 March 1904, in Gresik, East Java, in what was then the Dutch East Indies. His father, Usman Iskandar, was a wood merchant, and his mother, a housewife, was the daughter of an ulama (scholar of Islam). The couple, who were of modest means, had four other children, and the family's lack of a noble background meant the children were ineligible to receive an education at Dutch-run schools. Instead, Fakih studied Islam from a young age, receiving much of his instruction from his father. At the age of ten, Fakih began studying at a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Gresik, finishing four years later. In 1919 he continued his studies at several pesantren outside the city, including ones in rural Gresik and in nearby Bungah.
Early career
Fakih's father helped him become a trader, although Fakih continued to study independently. When the modernist Islamic organisation Muhammadiyah opened a branch in Gresik in 1922, Fakih was one of the first to join. Extremely active in the group, he became the Gresik branch's leader within three years, and under his leadership the group was formally recognized by the central Muhammadiyah administration. Through his work with the Muhammadiyah in Gresik, Fakih became better known. He later transferred to the branch in Surabaya, a much larger city where, in 1929, he was chosen to sit on the city council.
He also remained active in commerce, running a construction material trade and shipbuilding shop. During this period he served on the local chamber of commerce. From 1932 to 1936 Fakih was a member of the Muhammadiyah's regional council, serving concurrently as the editor of the organisation's official magazine Bintang Islam and on the Legal Affairs Committee. As he became more active, Fakih began commuting regularly from Surabaya to Gresik, handling Muhammadiyah business in Surabaya and the wood company in Gresik; this commute was done in Fakih's personal car, a rare luxury at the time.
Studying Dutch in his spare time, Fakih continued to improve his knowledge of Islam by studying the thoughts of Muhammad Abduh. However, conservative Muslims disapproved of Fakih's work with Muhammadiyah, giving him the nickname ("Dutchman with the black arse"), and often throwing stones at his home. On 21 September 1937, Muhammadiyah, the conservative Nahdatul Ulama (NU), the merchants' cooperative Sarekat Islam, and several other Islamic groups – which for the past decade had been feuding – united to form an umbrella group: the Indonesian Islamic Assembly (, or MIAI), based in Surabaya. Fakih served as treasurer within the organization. In 1938, he was made the head of the Surabaya branch of the Muhammadiyah, replacing Mas Mansoer. Two years later he began working full-time with the MIAI, having been selected as the head of its secretariat in mid-September 1940. To take this position, he resigned as head of the Surabaya branch of Muhammadiyah and as a city council member.