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Sarekat Islam (Malay for Islamic Union or Association, in modern Indonesian Syarikat Islam) was an early Indonesian nationalist organization founded in 1905 under the name Sarekat Dagang Islam (Malay for Islamic Trader's Union). It began as a a cooperative of Javanese batik traders in the Dutch East Indies (predecessor of independent Indonesia).

Sarekat Dagang Islam
The Sarekat Dagang Islam or Sarikat Dagang Islamijah (Malay for Islamic Trader's Union), sometimes referred to as the Sarekat Islam, was founded on October 16 1905 by Haji Samanhudi in the Dutch East Indies city of Surakarta as an organization aiming to protect Javanese Batik trading interests, which were losing ground to Arab and especially Chinese batik traders, who were beginning to monopolize the industry in the early 1900s due to a new Dutch policy of allowing Chinese investment. Its foundation should be viewed in the context of the Dutch Ethical Policy, which starting in 1901 increased Western-style education to Indies natives, as well as the rise of other proto-Indonesian organizations such as Boedi Oetomo, a club of progressive Javanese aristocrats founded in 1908, or Jamiat Kheir. a Muslim educational organization founded by Batavia Arabs in 1905.

Sarekat Islam
As Sarekat Dagang Islam grew, it was reorganized under the name Sarekat Islam (Islamic Union). Sarekat Islam's general office was in Surabaya. Early prominent figures of Sarekat Islam included H.O.S. Cokroaminoto and Haji Agus Salim. H.O.S. Cokroaminoto had three famous students, who went on to play a dominant role in Indonesian politics: Soekarno the nationalist, Semaun the socialist and Islamist Kartosuwirjo. Haji Agus Salim joined Sarekat Islam in 1915 and promoted Islamic modernism. Some of Salim's students such as Kasman Singodimedjo, Mohammad Roem and Mohammad Natsir later became promintent Islamic and Nationalist leaders.