On the basis of a recent survey by ICIP (International Center for Islam and Pluralism) on 20 odd boarding schools in Jawa Barat, it was concluded in a report by Hera Diani of The Jakarta Post that the pesantren is ‘no hive of tolerance’ ('Pesantren' no hive of tolerance: Survey, The Jakarta Post, 18 January 2006).
At the same time, the Executive Director of ICIP, Syafi’i Anwar, based on the same result of the survey, said in a seminar on “Deepening of Religious Understanding and Multiculturalism among Personalities in Pesantrens in Jawa Barat” held in Depok on 17/01/06, that respecting differences is not a new phenomenon among pesantren-based Muslims but in the current context of multiculturalism, a certain degree of conservatism is very much available among them. Thus, he concluded, to avoid the trap of a total conservatism among Muslims, this positive view over differences should be enhanced. (Perbedaan Bukan Hal Baru bagi Pesantren, Kompas, 18 January 2006)
Based on the reports quoted above, two opposite views are found in which Hera Diani clearly judged and concluded that there is no tolerance in the pesantrens while at the same time, the Executive Director of the ICIP himself acknowledged the availability of respect over differences among pesantren-based Muslims. And, he added, that it is homework for all of us to develop this tradition of openness and acceptance of differences.
In view of the current global perception of Islam as a religion of terror, such a report by The Jakarta Post will only support this proposition and further create confusion over Islam and Muslims in general.
Furthermore, this example of a partial judgment will only stir more controversy on pesantren as the breeding place of Indonesian terrorists and the misrepresentation of Islam in Indonesia. The fact that the terrorist attacks in Indonesia were conducted by a section of Indonesian Muslims cannot be used to generalize the Muslims in Indonesia in general as intolerance. Because majority of Muslims in Indonesia are known to be tolerant and opt for a moderate form of Islam in which Islam is regarded as more of a way of life than as a religion as such. Pesantren played a great role in shaping the moderate form of Islam in Indonesia.
The sufistic approach adopted by traditional pesantrens in teaching Islam to its students has resulted in their acceptance of differences in the society. The graduates of these pesantrens practice a moderate form of Islam. However, with the return of the Indonesian Muslim students from the heartlands of Islam like Saudi Arabia or Yemen, the face of Islam in Indonesia changes. These students brought home with them the conservative form of Islam. Their mission then is to purify Islam in Indonesia thus denying the Muslims in Indonesia the practice of Islam they learnt from the pesantrens.
It is now homework for the Indonesian Muslim to preserve the moderate nature of Islam in Indonesia by not succumbing to the pressure from the conservative and militant Muslims. Because if once they fail to preserve this status, then not only Muslims in general who will suffer but also other followers of different religions in Indonesia specially and in the world in general.
Thus, with the seeds of tolerance found in the pesantrens and the high need to picture Islam as a religion which is meant for humanity, a collective effort by all Muslims is necessary to fight conservatism and to promote liberalism and multiculturalism.
The following is the published form in The Jakarta Post, 26 January 2006
Intolerance in Pesantren?
On the basis of a recent survey by the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) on 20 odd pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in West Java, it was concluded in a report published in The Jakarta Post that the pesantren are "no hive of tolerance" ('Pesantren' no hive of tolerance: Survey, Jan. 18).
At the same time, the executive director of ICIP, Syafi'i Anwar, commenting on the results of the survey, said in a seminar titled: Deepening Religious Understanding and Multiculturalism among Personalities in Pesantren in West Java held in Depok on Jan. 17, that respecting differences was not a new phenomenon among pesantren-based Muslims but in the current context of multiculturalism, a certain degree of conservatism was prevalent among them. Thus, he concluded, to avoid the trap of a total conservatism among Muslims, this positive view over differences should be enhanced.
Based on the reports quoted above, two opposite views are found in which the Post's reporter clearly judged and concluded that there is no tolerance in the pesantren while at the same time, the executive director of the ICIP himself acknowledged that there was respect for differences among pesantren-based Muslims. And, he added, that it is homework for all of us to develop this tradition of openness and acceptance of differences.
In view of the current global perception of Islam as a religion of terror, such a report by the Post will only support this proposition and further create confusion over Islam and Muslims in general.
Pesantren have played a great role in shaping the moderate form of Islam in Indonesia. The sufistic approach adopted by traditional pesantren in teaching Islam to its students has resulted in their acceptance of differences in the society. The graduates of these pesantren practice a moderate form of Islam. However, with the return of Indonesian Muslim students from the heartland of Islam like Saudi Arabia or Yemen, the face of Islam in Indonesia has changed. These students brought home with them the conservative form of Islam.
It is now homework for the Indonesian Muslim to preserve the moderate nature of Islam in Indonesia by not succumbing to pressure from conservative and militant Muslims. Because if once they fail to preserve this status, then not only Muslims in general will suffer but so will followers of other religions in Indonesia in particular and in the world in general.
Thus, with the seeds of tolerance found in the pesantren and the high need to project Islam as a religion which is meant for humanity, a collective effort by all Muslims is necessary to fight conservatism and to promote liberalism and multiculturalism.
Published in The Jakarta Post, 26 January 2006.
Can be accessed through the following address:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060126.F05
Friday, January 20, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Moderate Muslims and the Challenge of Terrorism
The 21st century witnesses the domination of the term ‘terrorism’ in the lexicon of international politics. The terror menace gained much of its popularity in international arena in the post 9/11 attack of the WTC in New York by the so called Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
Indonesia as the most populous Muslim country in the world is, however, not spared from the similar attack of this asymmetrical warfare, an attack to the unguarded targets in the society. A string of terrorist attacks has been terrorizing the peaceful coexistence of the Indonesian people.
The fact that these terrors have not even spared the Muslim community, it is then not an incorrect judgment to describe that terrorism has become a global menace that requires global efforts by all communities in the world to work together to eradicate it.
As the biggest Muslim community in the world, Muslims in Indonesia need to work very hard to explain to the international community that Islam is a true peaceful way of life and not a religion of terror. However, this task becomes a huge challenge for the Indonesian Muslims because of the fact that the terrorists who claimed to be Muslims have waged this asymmetrical warfare.
The 9/11 attack in New York, the attacks on the important offices like the embassies in various parts of the world, the series of bomb blast in India as well as the ones in Indonesia that all have claimed many innocent lives have been conducted, or allegedly conducted, by Muslim terrorists.
These acts of terror clearly showed the hijacking of religion for some personal gains. And because of these actions by irresponsible personalities, Islam has been globally perceived as a religion of terror. The Muslims, the followers of Islam, are terrorists.
The perception of Islam as a religion of terror and Muslims as terrorists has not even spared the moderate Muslims in Indonesia who put Islam as a way of life that possesses a high degree of tolerance towards other groups or followers of other religions for the sake of creating a harmonious society in the midst of disparities and differences.
The facts that the home grown Islamic militants conducted the terror attacks in Indonesia further support this generalization in the perception of Islam and Muslims even though the real culprits are small sections of the huge Muslim population.
The Role of the Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) and the Muhammadiyah
As the biggest socio-religious organizations in Indonesia (NU with more than 40 million followers and Muhammadiyah with some 30 million followers), the organizations have a very important role to play in creating a tolerant society and a better understanding of Islam in Indonesia. Even though there are differences between the two organizations in their approaches towards Islam, their difference will not become a hurdle for establishing a global framework in the fight against terrorism.
NU is known as the more traditional Muslim group in Indonesia as compared to Muhammadiyah. It uses Sufistic and liberal approaches to teach Islam to the people. The flexibility of the approach adopted by the group has resulted in the spread of Islam among the people in the rural areas thus the NU enjoys popular supports among the lower middle class Muslims in Indonesia.
On the other hand, the more progressive Muhammadiyah uses a different approach in understanding Islam. It rejects Sufistic and liberal approaches of the NU and relies more on the scriptural understanding of Islam as it is written in the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith. It invites Muslims to learn more about Islam through the study of the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith and strives to ‘purify’ Islam in Indonesia. This approach adopted by the Muhammadiyah gains more popularity among the upper middle class Muslims who are mostly educated and live in the urban areas.
The differences in their approaches and support base in Indonesia, however, do not give any diversion to the representation of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance and the Muslims in Indonesia are moderate Muslims.
The Sufistic and flexible approaches adopted by the NU give an impression to the general public of the flexibility and tolerance in Islam. At the same time, the more puritanical approach by the Muhammadiyah gives a better understanding to the core of the Islamic teachings which is full of tolerance and respect of humanity.
By combining the approaches adopted by the NU and the Muhammadiyah, there is a bigger possibility of success in picturing Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance. Thus it will enable the Muslims in Indonesia to garner more supports from the followers of Islam as well as from the followers and the leaders of other religions in Indonesia and in other parts of the world as well to represent the true face of religion.
It is now a high time for the Muslims in Indonesia to wake up and to voice loudly their concern towards Islam and Muslims in the world. With the possible success of representing Islam as a tolerant and peaceful religion, the fight against terror by Islamic militants can be started from the very backyard of Muslims.
Indonesia as the most populous Muslim country in the world is, however, not spared from the similar attack of this asymmetrical warfare, an attack to the unguarded targets in the society. A string of terrorist attacks has been terrorizing the peaceful coexistence of the Indonesian people.
The fact that these terrors have not even spared the Muslim community, it is then not an incorrect judgment to describe that terrorism has become a global menace that requires global efforts by all communities in the world to work together to eradicate it.
As the biggest Muslim community in the world, Muslims in Indonesia need to work very hard to explain to the international community that Islam is a true peaceful way of life and not a religion of terror. However, this task becomes a huge challenge for the Indonesian Muslims because of the fact that the terrorists who claimed to be Muslims have waged this asymmetrical warfare.
The 9/11 attack in New York, the attacks on the important offices like the embassies in various parts of the world, the series of bomb blast in India as well as the ones in Indonesia that all have claimed many innocent lives have been conducted, or allegedly conducted, by Muslim terrorists.
These acts of terror clearly showed the hijacking of religion for some personal gains. And because of these actions by irresponsible personalities, Islam has been globally perceived as a religion of terror. The Muslims, the followers of Islam, are terrorists.
The perception of Islam as a religion of terror and Muslims as terrorists has not even spared the moderate Muslims in Indonesia who put Islam as a way of life that possesses a high degree of tolerance towards other groups or followers of other religions for the sake of creating a harmonious society in the midst of disparities and differences.
The facts that the home grown Islamic militants conducted the terror attacks in Indonesia further support this generalization in the perception of Islam and Muslims even though the real culprits are small sections of the huge Muslim population.
The Role of the Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) and the Muhammadiyah
As the biggest socio-religious organizations in Indonesia (NU with more than 40 million followers and Muhammadiyah with some 30 million followers), the organizations have a very important role to play in creating a tolerant society and a better understanding of Islam in Indonesia. Even though there are differences between the two organizations in their approaches towards Islam, their difference will not become a hurdle for establishing a global framework in the fight against terrorism.
NU is known as the more traditional Muslim group in Indonesia as compared to Muhammadiyah. It uses Sufistic and liberal approaches to teach Islam to the people. The flexibility of the approach adopted by the group has resulted in the spread of Islam among the people in the rural areas thus the NU enjoys popular supports among the lower middle class Muslims in Indonesia.
On the other hand, the more progressive Muhammadiyah uses a different approach in understanding Islam. It rejects Sufistic and liberal approaches of the NU and relies more on the scriptural understanding of Islam as it is written in the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith. It invites Muslims to learn more about Islam through the study of the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith and strives to ‘purify’ Islam in Indonesia. This approach adopted by the Muhammadiyah gains more popularity among the upper middle class Muslims who are mostly educated and live in the urban areas.
The differences in their approaches and support base in Indonesia, however, do not give any diversion to the representation of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance and the Muslims in Indonesia are moderate Muslims.
The Sufistic and flexible approaches adopted by the NU give an impression to the general public of the flexibility and tolerance in Islam. At the same time, the more puritanical approach by the Muhammadiyah gives a better understanding to the core of the Islamic teachings which is full of tolerance and respect of humanity.
By combining the approaches adopted by the NU and the Muhammadiyah, there is a bigger possibility of success in picturing Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance. Thus it will enable the Muslims in Indonesia to garner more supports from the followers of Islam as well as from the followers and the leaders of other religions in Indonesia and in other parts of the world as well to represent the true face of religion.
It is now a high time for the Muslims in Indonesia to wake up and to voice loudly their concern towards Islam and Muslims in the world. With the possible success of representing Islam as a tolerant and peaceful religion, the fight against terror by Islamic militants can be started from the very backyard of Muslims.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Urging Democracy in Myanmar
The comment by Hassan Wirayuda, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, on the need for Myanmar to move on into a democratic setup needs to be secrutinized.
He said, "Myanmar is disturbing the balance" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters in Jakarta. "And because of that we are asking it to show concrete steps toward democracy," Furhermore, he said that Indonesia's experience of moving from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one since the downfall of Gen. Soeharto in 1998 could be useful in helping to persuade Myanmar to introduce reforms.
Commenting on the internal matters of the ASEAN members by other members has not been a practice to be heard of since the beginning of the establishment of this group. However, time seems to be changing and it is becoming common nowadays that members of the ASEAN try to get more involved in the internal affairs of the other members of the Association. It seems that Indonesia's Foreign Minister is getting used to this new practice.
By blatantly urging the military junta in Myanmar to show concrete steps toward democracy, Hassan has represented the official view of the Indonesian government on Myanmar's internal affairs. His statement can be understood as an effort by Indonesia to assert its influence on the Association. It is trying to regain its diminishing superior position in the region. At the same time giving the Indonesian transition from an authoritarian regime into a democratic system of governance as an example for the current regime in Myanmar is another indication by the Indonesian government for its "success" in the tranformation process.
It is understandable that the sheer size of Indonesia in the region has urged the nation to regain the diminishing influence it once enjoyed in the region. Moreover, the current state of Indonesian government supports this perception. The improvement of Indonesia's economic and socio-political condition in the past few years justifies the move. And if Indonesia can maintain this condition, it will not take a long period of time for Indonesia to regain its lost position. However, it should be noted here that the "success" claimed by the current government is far from satisfying. The current democratic practice of cheks and balances between the executive and the legislative body seems to be eroding.
By proudly declaring the success of Indonesia's transformation into a democratic system, the government seems not to realize that the current state of balance between the executive and the legislative body is tilting toward the executive. The domination of GOLKAR in the DPR while at the same it has the biggest share in the government has left the opposition role to the PDI-P. Other parties have either become the member of the government or distanced itself from the status as an opposition, like PAN. Slowly, it is started to control the functioning of the DPR and making it as a mere rubber stamp body. And if this situation continues, Indonesia will again experience a different kind of authoritarianism: political party authoritarianism. Thus, before claiming itself as a champion of democracy, the Indonesian government should realize the danger it is facing in its own backyard. At the same time, the Indonesian people have always to be vigil all the time in order to be able to guard the process of achieving the Indonesian dream as has been stated in the 1945 Constitution.
The printed version of this opinion can be accessed in the English daily newspaper The Jakarta Post of January 16, 2006.
( http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060116.F05 )
Urging Democracy in Myanmar
The comment by Hassan Wirayuda, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, on the need for Myanmar to move to a democratic setup needs to be scrutinized.
"Myanmar is disturbing the balance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations", Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters in Jakarta, "And because of that we are asking it to show concrete steps toward democracy."
Furthermore, he said that Indonesia's experience of moving from an authoritarian regime to a democracy since the downfall of Gen. Soeharto in 1998 could be useful in helping to persuade Myanmar to introduce reforms.
Commenting on the internal matters of ASEAN members by other members has not been a practice since the beginning of the establishment of this group.
However, times seem to be changing and it is becoming common nowadays that members of ASEAN try to get more involved in the internal affairs of other members of the Association. It seems that Indonesia's Foreign Minister is getting used to this new practice.
By blatantly urging the military junta in Myanmar to show concrete steps toward democracy, Hassan has represented the official view of the Indonesian government on Myanmar's internal affairs. His statement can be understood as an effort by Indonesia to assert its influence on the Association. It is trying to regain its diminishing superior position in the region.
It is understandable that the sheer size of Indonesia in the region has urged it to attempt to regain the influence it once enjoyed in the region. Moreover, the current state of the Indonesian government supports this perception. The improvement in Indonesia's economic and socio-political condition in the past few years justifies the move.
And if Indonesia can maintain this condition, it will not take a long for it to regain its lost position. However, it should be noted here that the "success" claimed by the current government is far from satisfying. The current democratic practice of checks and balances between the executive and the legislative body seems to be eroding.
He said, "Myanmar is disturbing the balance" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters in Jakarta. "And because of that we are asking it to show concrete steps toward democracy," Furhermore, he said that Indonesia's experience of moving from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one since the downfall of Gen. Soeharto in 1998 could be useful in helping to persuade Myanmar to introduce reforms.
Commenting on the internal matters of the ASEAN members by other members has not been a practice to be heard of since the beginning of the establishment of this group. However, time seems to be changing and it is becoming common nowadays that members of the ASEAN try to get more involved in the internal affairs of the other members of the Association. It seems that Indonesia's Foreign Minister is getting used to this new practice.
By blatantly urging the military junta in Myanmar to show concrete steps toward democracy, Hassan has represented the official view of the Indonesian government on Myanmar's internal affairs. His statement can be understood as an effort by Indonesia to assert its influence on the Association. It is trying to regain its diminishing superior position in the region. At the same time giving the Indonesian transition from an authoritarian regime into a democratic system of governance as an example for the current regime in Myanmar is another indication by the Indonesian government for its "success" in the tranformation process.
It is understandable that the sheer size of Indonesia in the region has urged the nation to regain the diminishing influence it once enjoyed in the region. Moreover, the current state of Indonesian government supports this perception. The improvement of Indonesia's economic and socio-political condition in the past few years justifies the move. And if Indonesia can maintain this condition, it will not take a long period of time for Indonesia to regain its lost position. However, it should be noted here that the "success" claimed by the current government is far from satisfying. The current democratic practice of cheks and balances between the executive and the legislative body seems to be eroding.
By proudly declaring the success of Indonesia's transformation into a democratic system, the government seems not to realize that the current state of balance between the executive and the legislative body is tilting toward the executive. The domination of GOLKAR in the DPR while at the same it has the biggest share in the government has left the opposition role to the PDI-P. Other parties have either become the member of the government or distanced itself from the status as an opposition, like PAN. Slowly, it is started to control the functioning of the DPR and making it as a mere rubber stamp body. And if this situation continues, Indonesia will again experience a different kind of authoritarianism: political party authoritarianism. Thus, before claiming itself as a champion of democracy, the Indonesian government should realize the danger it is facing in its own backyard. At the same time, the Indonesian people have always to be vigil all the time in order to be able to guard the process of achieving the Indonesian dream as has been stated in the 1945 Constitution.
The printed version of this opinion can be accessed in the English daily newspaper The Jakarta Post of January 16, 2006.
( http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060116.F05 )
Urging Democracy in Myanmar
The comment by Hassan Wirayuda, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, on the need for Myanmar to move to a democratic setup needs to be scrutinized.
"Myanmar is disturbing the balance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations", Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters in Jakarta, "And because of that we are asking it to show concrete steps toward democracy."
Furthermore, he said that Indonesia's experience of moving from an authoritarian regime to a democracy since the downfall of Gen. Soeharto in 1998 could be useful in helping to persuade Myanmar to introduce reforms.
Commenting on the internal matters of ASEAN members by other members has not been a practice since the beginning of the establishment of this group.
However, times seem to be changing and it is becoming common nowadays that members of ASEAN try to get more involved in the internal affairs of other members of the Association. It seems that Indonesia's Foreign Minister is getting used to this new practice.
By blatantly urging the military junta in Myanmar to show concrete steps toward democracy, Hassan has represented the official view of the Indonesian government on Myanmar's internal affairs. His statement can be understood as an effort by Indonesia to assert its influence on the Association. It is trying to regain its diminishing superior position in the region.
It is understandable that the sheer size of Indonesia in the region has urged it to attempt to regain the influence it once enjoyed in the region. Moreover, the current state of the Indonesian government supports this perception. The improvement in Indonesia's economic and socio-political condition in the past few years justifies the move.
And if Indonesia can maintain this condition, it will not take a long for it to regain its lost position. However, it should be noted here that the "success" claimed by the current government is far from satisfying. The current democratic practice of checks and balances between the executive and the legislative body seems to be eroding.
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