Between Recognition and Restriction: Muslim Marriage in Legal Politics and Colonial Administration in the Dutch East Indies, 1882–1942

Abstract

This article examines the changes in the position of Muslim marriage in the legal politics and administration of the Dutch colonial in the Dutch East Indies in 1882–1942. The research problem departs from colonial policies that did not completely abolish the practice of Islamic marriage law, but gradually incorporated it into the institutional and administrative structure of the government. This study aims to analyze the changes in the legal position of Muslim marriage, the relationship between institutional recognition and administrative supervision, and the interaction between Islamic law, customary law, and colonial law. The research gap lies in the unintegrated discussion of the institutionalization of religious courts since 1882, the administrative arrangement of marriage in 1895–1933, and the change in jurisdiction in 1937 as a series of colonial legal politics. This research uses historical methods through heuristic stages, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The main sources include the various Staatsblads that regulated religious courts, marriage, divorce, and the authority of Islamic legal institutions in the period. The results of the study show that colonial politics towards Muslim marriage formed a pattern that can be termed as "controlled recognition". Recognition of Islamic legal institutions and practices took place simultaneously with the standardization of administration, supervision of religious officials, and restrictions on the authority of religious courts. Thus, colonial legal pluralism did not take place in an equal position, but rather in a hierarchical legal structure. These findings show that the history of Muslim marriage was part of the negotiation process between Islamic law, society, and colonial power.

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