Simon Soon
Sheikh Omar Basheer was the imam of the Acheen Street Mosque. The house was sited within the compound of the mosque at 67, Acheen Street. After the riots, the government appointed four religious leaders - Tuan Haji Sheikh Omar Basheer, Tuan Haji Mohd Sirat, Khatib Abdul Kadir and Khatib Mohd Hanifah - to advise the Muslim community on the evils of secret societies. The government further directed the Sheikh to issue a fatwa preventing Muslims from joining any secret society.
This fatwa ruled that Muslims who had joined Chinese secret societies were being disloyal to their faith for several reasons, and were deemed no longer Muslims. First, these men were willing to leave and forsake their parents and relatives because of their loyalty to the secret society. Secondly, they undertook swearing by drinking blood mixed with wine. Thirdly, due to their blind loyalty to the secret society, they were prepared to give up everything they had, including their lives, for the victory and glory of the society. The fatwa stressed that all of these were against the tenets of Islam. The fatwa also added that 'an unfaithful Muslim who did not repent would not be buried amongst fellow Muslims when he died. Neither would the last rites be administered to him as required by Islam. As for his property, this could only be returned to him when he once again became a faithful Muslim. While he was still alive, other Muslims could not go to the feasts he held, and when he died others could not visit his house, not even when he fell ill. He was also not allowed to join the mosque congregation until he had repented.'
Sheikh Omar was also a leader of the Naqsyabandiah sufi order, which was introduced to Aceh by his grandfather, Hamid bin Bahaman. The main centre of activity in Penang was at the Madrasatul Suluk in Kampung Melayu, Ayer Itam. The growth of the Naqsyabandiah was an important factor that contributed to Sheikh Omar's willingness to issue a fatwa against the Red and White Flags Jama'ah in 1867, not on the grounds that these were secret societies per se, but they were also competing religious institutions for this new Sufi order.
Perhaps the rivalry also contributed to interethnic resentment. This survives in a 1904 record of a traditional Malay saying in the form of a pantun:
'Masok hutan rimba keliling,
Hendak chari rotan sega :
Dunya laksana tabut keling,
Luar kilat, dalam-nya berrongga'
In 1888, Sheikh Omar's son Haji Yahya opened the first Muslim's registrar's office in this building. Another son, Sheikh Zachariah became the Mufti of Penang. Sheikh Zachariah permitted this house to be used by the Madrasatul Al-Quran in 1917. When he passed on in 1926, he left it as waqf for his four grandsons, the sons of Syed Ahmad Almashor.
Image 4 - Terms and conditions of initiation into the Naqshbandi Tarekat.
Image 5 - List of Malays banned from joining the terekat due to their involvement with the Red or White Flag Jama'ah.
Image 6 - Sheikh Omar's diary entry on 1867 riots.
NOTES:
1904. A Malay Reader. 3rd Edition. Singapore: Education Office, 21.
Khoo Salma Nasution. 2007. Streets of George Town, Penang. Penang: Areca Books,
Mahani Musa. 2003. Kongsi Gelap Melayu di Negeri-negeri Utara Pantai Barat Semenanjung Tanah Melayu 1821-1940an, Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS, Monograph No. 36.
S.P 63/8 Surat Persendirian Haji Fathil Basheer. Riwayat Ringkas berkenaan hal ehwal Almarhum Sheikh Omar Al Nakshabandi Al Khalidia Al Nibbani, Arkib Negara Malaysia
