History of the Caliphate in Nusantara movie fits govt policy as it has historical perspective

Bogor, W Java (Indonesia Window) – The premiere of a film entitled “The historical traces of the Caliphate in Nusantara” (JKDN) by the Islamic Literacy Community (locally known as the abbreviation of KLI), which was aired online on Thursday (Aug 20), was taken down following a legal complaint from the Indonesian government.

“We had anticipated this happening beforehand. Therefore, the premiere of this film was not broadcast on YouTube, but via a special link on which those who want to watch should register,” the KLI advisor, Ismail Yusanto, told Indonesia Window in an interview here on Friday.

The JKDN movie tells about the early history of Islam entering Nusantara (the archipelago territories before Indonesia was established).

The movie shows a strong relationship between the Caliphate and a number of kingdoms in Nusantara, such as those located in Aceh, Sumatra, and Java.

The down of the movie’s link due to an objection from the government was unfortunate because, according to Ismail, the documentary film was prepared from a historical perspective.

“This film has complied with the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ policy which has removed the caliphate discourse from a chapter of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) to that of history,” he noted.

Ismail emphasized that the purpose of making the Caliphate film was to build people’s awareness about history objectively as it was produced through scientific research based on facts, empirical data, and views of historians, especially those who focused on the history of Islam in Nusantara and the relationship between the sultans and kings in the archipelago and the previous caliphs.

“This film has even received supports from historians as well as various researches, one of which is a dissertation that discusses the relationship between the Ottoman Caliphate in Turkey and the Demak Kingdom (Central Java province),” Ismail explained.

The Caliphate has strong historical roots with undeniable historical evidence in the form of documents that are still preserved today, he added.

Even though the JKDN premiere ran into obstacles, Ismail said, the community is preparing to launch the movie in an official format with an Indonesian subtitle which was expected to make it easier for the deaf to understand the film.

“We are also preparing English and Arabic subtitles because this film has a global theme and many people in the world also want to watch it,” Ismail said.

“The historical traces of the Caliphate in Nusantara” or in Indonesian so-called “Jejak Khilafah Di Nusantara” which premiered on the 1st of Muharram 1442 Hijri was directed by Nicko Pandawa along with a script writer and historian, Septian A.W, from the Islamic Literacy Community.

Reporting by Indonesia Window