Official recommendations made by C. Snouck Hurgronje 1889-1936

Edited by E. Gobée and C. Adriaanse

In 1889, the Arabist and expert on Islam, Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) entered the service of the Dutch East Indies government as an adviser. He continued to be involved in the administration of the Dutch East Indies as adviser to the Ministers of Colonial and Foreign Affairs in The Hague, even after he was appointed Professor at Leiden University in 1907. In his capacity as government adviser, he wrote approximately 1400 official recommendations – some long, some short – concerning future policy. At first, they focussed primarily on Achin and Islam, however they quickly began to deal with a wider range of issues related to the administration, nationalism and religion. This three-volume work contains a selection of official recommendations made by him that were found at the Ministry of the Colonies.