A silent majority<\/p>\n
An eye-catching headline marked the front-page of The Jakarta
\nPost of March 27, reading Muslim majority urged to rise and speak
\nout. The report highlighted a discussion between foreign
\nambassadors and a group of prominent religious and community
\nleaders held in Jakarta on March 26.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah, as the second largest Muslim group in the
\ncountry, can congratulate itself on the fact that it was brave
\nenough to sponsor this unique event. The challenging theme of the
\ndiscussion read: Islam and the West working together for a
\npeaceful world. Judging from what has happened lately, the topic
\nseemed timely and well-thought out.<\/p>\n
Some of the ambassadors appeared to be forthright in their
\nviews, even to the extent of dictating a desired course of the
\naction to what was described as the Muslim majority. One
\nambassador reportedly warned that if the mainstream remained
\nsilent and permitted the minority of radicals to prevail, society
\nwould become disrupted and lose its sense of direction.<\/p>\n
Naturally, the envoys did not fail to comprehend the
\nfundamental axiom that Islam should not be equated with terrorist
\nviolence. As to the point that the majority should speak up and
\nno longer be the \"silent majority\", the envoys seemed to be
\nunequivocally united in their perceptions.<\/p>\n
However, at this point one characteristic should not be
\nignored, namely that the concept of civil society is still in its
\ninfancy here following decades under an authoritarian regime.<\/p>\n
The fact that paternalism still plays a dominant role in our
\nsociety cannot be denied. Without vocal leadership from the top
\nlevel itself, the (intellectual) majority may feel unable to
\nspeak out.<\/p>\n
Another phenomenon that reflects paternalism needs to be cited
\nhere. This is the frequent or common absence of a majority of
\nlegislators from sessions of the House of Representatives,
\nirrespective of the importance of the subject that is to be
\ndeliberated and decided upon by the House. By the same token,
\nthis shows that their moral sense of duty to the electorate
\nleaves much to be desired.<\/p>\n
S. SUHAEDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-silent-majority-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }