Draft:Al-Sharif Qasim II

Sharif Qasim Abdul Jalil Saifuddin
Name	Sharif Qasim II
Other Names	Sultan Sharif Qasim
Personal Details
Religion	Islam

Sharif Qasim Abdul Jalil Saifuddin, known as Sultan Sharif Qasim II (Indonesian: Sultan Syarif Kasim) (1893–1968), was the twelfth and final Sultan of the Siak Sri Indrapura Sultanate. He was among the heroes who resisted for the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. He endeavored to persuade the sultans of East Sumatra to join Indonesia, and with his proclamation annexing his sultanate to the new republic in 1946, his reign came to an end. He donated his entire royal estate, amounting to 13 million Dutch guilders, to the Republic of Indonesia.

Lineage

Qasim ibn Hashim ibn Qasim ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Uthman ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'id ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Umar ibn Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Sakran ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf ibn Muhammad Mula al-Dawla ibn Ali ibn Alawi al-Ghayyur ibn al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, Sahib Mirbat ibn Ali Khali' Qasam ibn Alawi ibn Muhammad ibn Alawi ibn Ubaydallah ibn Ahmad al-Muhajir ibn Isa ibn Muhammad al-Naqib ibn Ali al-Uraydi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq ibn Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Ali Zayn al-Abidin ibn al-Husayn ibn Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Imam Ali was the husband of Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family.

He is the thirty-sixth descendant of the Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family.

Birth and Upbringing

He was born on December 1, 1893, in Siak Sri Indrapura, Riau Province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. From childhood, he began his education, which encompassed various dimensions including physical, spiritual, and general knowledge. Subsequently, in 1904, he was sent to Batavia, present-day Jakarta, to study law and governance. He was a student of Professor Snouck Hurgronje, a Dutch Orientalist who served as an advisor to the colonial government.

He was fifteen years old when his father, Sultan Sharif Hashim, passed away and he was proclaimed Sultan; however, he had not yet reached the age required to assume the throne. As he was still studying in Batavia, he did not immediately ascend to kingship, and certain court officials temporarily administered the government.

Accession to the Throne

On March 3, 1915, at the age of twenty-one, he assumed the title Sultan Sharif Qasim Abdul Jalil Saifuddin II and ascended the throne of the Siak Sri Indrapura Sultanate. Following his coronation in 1915, he promoted development within his realm. He also sought to improve the quality of human resources for the people of Siak Sri Indrapura through education, enabling them to compete with the Dutch. In 1917, he established the Hashimi Concord School, competing with Dutch schools that admitted students only from specific sectors, thereby making education accessible to all students from various regions. This school featured a curriculum combining Islamic principles and patriotism, including the teaching of general sciences. His wife, Sultana Latifa, assisted him in establishing a private school for women in Riau, opening a school named Latifa School in 1927.

Sultan Sharif Qasim II opposed the Dutch colonial government in the East Indies, and from the moment he assumed power in the country, Dutch pressure upon him increasingly intensified. He recognized that physical struggle against the Dutch resembled suicide; furthermore, the Siak Sultanate remained bound by an agreement signed by his predecessor in the past. In light of this, he deemed it necessary to build a military force, thus beginning to strengthen popular defensive fortifications and provide military training for the youth. He then openly demonstrated his resistance against the Dutch and refused to recognize the Siak Sultanate as part of the Dutch East Indies government. This prompted the Dutch to deploy special forces from the military police to his country.

During World War II in 1942, when Japan began occupying Singapore and the Malay Peninsula, advancing through West and North Sumatra, Japanese forces reached Pekanbaru and arrested several kings in Riau. However, they did not dare arrest Sultan Qasim II, as he displayed no resistance or rebellion. Over time, Japan began to seize power. Although Sultan Qasim no longer held authority, he continued to feel responsible toward his people, rejecting Japanese requests to dispatch Romusha labor forces to the Japanese occupation government. Following Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies, news of Indonesia's independence reached the Siak Kingdom in late August 1945.

His stance on Indonesian independence

Following the proclamation of Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, Sultan Syarif Kasim II declared his support for the independence of the Republic of Indonesia and convened a large public assembly with all dignitaries of Siak Sri Indrapura and Riau, pledging to defend Indonesian independence. He sent a telegram to Ahmad Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia, affirming that the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura stood firmly behind the new republic.

Shortly after the annexation of the Sultanate of Siak as part of Indonesian territory in 1946, he donated his wealth of 13 million guilders to the republican government—a sum undoubtedly not insignificant. Syarif Kasim presented this amount to Indonesia's first president, Ahmad Sukarno. He hesitated not in relinquishing his crown and nearly all his wealth, an act regarded as confirmation of the integration of the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, which he led, into the Republic of Indonesia. In his honor, the Indonesian government conferred upon him the title of National Hero on 6 November 1998. Pekanbaru International Airport was named Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in his memory.

Death

He died on 23 April 1968 in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau, at the age of 74.