Sarekat Islam, formerly Sarekat Dagang Islam, was a Javanese batik traders's cooperative in Indonesia.
Sarekat Dagang Islam was founded by Haji Samanhudi, a businessman in Surakarta, in 1905[1] or 1912.[2] His business was trading in batik, the traditional cloth made in Java. Sarekat Dagang Islam, or Union of Islamic Traders, had as its goal the empowerment of local merchants, especially in the batik industry.
As Sarekat Dagang Islam grew, it was reorganized under the name Sarekat Islam. Sarekat Islam's general office was in Surabaya. Early prominent figures of Sarekat Islam included H.O.S. Cokroaminoto[2] 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 Kartosoewiryo. 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.