Imam Bondjol

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Imam Bondjol

(born 1772, Kampung Tandjung Bunga, Sumatra — died Nov. 6, 1864, Manado, Celebes) Leader in a religious war that divided the Minangkabau people of Sumatra. A convert to reformist Wahhabi Islam, known in Sumatra as the Padri sect, he established the fortified community of Bondjol, from which he took his name, as a centre from which to wage holy war. The secular government called on the Dutch to help, but the Dutch were preoccupied with the Java War (1825 – 30), and Imam Bondjol's forces expanded the area under their control. The Dutch eventually turned their attention to the Padris and defeated them; Imam Bondjol surrendered (1837), and the Minangkabau territory was added to the Dutch colonial holdings.

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