Award celebrates Muslim intellectual Ahmad Wahib<\/p>\n
Fifi Yulianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
His eye-opening idea on moderate Islam as an open, releasing and
\nunbinding faith probably won the hearts of many Muslim
\nintellectuals during his time. His insight has made him part of
\nthe Muslim intellectual circle in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Although not so well known among Indonesians, the name Ahmad
\nWahib is influential and respectable in the history of Islam
\ndevelopment in this country.<\/p>\n
To mark the 30th anniversary of Ahmad Wahib's death, the
\nMuslim Students Association (HMI) and the Freedom Institute and
\nthe Economic Social and Education Research Institute (LP3ES)
\njointly held an essay competition called the Ahmad Wahib Award,
\nthe winner of which would receive a cash prize of Rp 30 million
\n(US$3534).<\/p>\n
Zezen, an executive committee member, explained the reason
\nbehind naming the award after Ahmad Wahib.<\/p>\n
"Ahmad is a man who gave new meaning to Islam and on being a
\nMuslim here. Although he's not so famous and not many young
\npeople know of him, his ideas have provided new meaning to Muslim
\nthinking," Zezen said.<\/p>\n
Born to a staunch Madurese Muslim family in the small town of
\nSampang in 1942, Ahmad Wahib was fortunate to have been enrolled
\nat Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, where he could sharpen
\nhis young intellectual's mind.<\/p>\n
During his studies, Ahmad Wahib was involved in HMI, but he
\nwas not a typical conservative Muslim activist. Among his peers,
\nhe was known for his rebellious ideas. Young Ahmad Wahib was
\nhungry for the truth. He was dedicated in his efforts in seeking
\nand trying to formulate new ideas to develop Indonesian Islam.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Wahib later became known among a larger circle of
\nintellectuals after his diary was published posthumously as
\nPergolakan Pemikiran Islam (The Dynamics of Islamic Thoughts) by
\nLP3ES in 1981.<\/p>\n
Wahib is described in the book as a Muslim activist who
\nstruggled with a discourse on modern Islam in the Indonesian
\ncontext.<\/p>\n
He believed that every Muslim should contextually understand
\nthe Koran, saying, "We will understand the meaning if we know the
\ncontext," and that one of the biggest problems in Islam was that
\nits meaning was misunderstood.<\/p>\n
One of his main ideas is that a religion is a freedom that
\nevery human being is entitled to.<\/p>\n
"Religion is not an obligation ... it is a human right," he
\nwrote.<\/p>\n
He also said that "God is rational, so people can't find God
\nwith an irrational mind."<\/p>\n
The winner of the award, the first of its kind, was announced
\non Wednesday during the association's 56th anniversary
\ncelebration at Wisma Antara in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A young, talented writer, Muhammad Ja'far, won the award with
\nhis essay Surat Buat Tuan Wahib (A letter for Mr. Wahib), which
\nexplored the deeper meaning of Ahmad's ideas on Islam.<\/p>\n
Noted scholars Dawam Rahardjo, Moeslim Abdurrahman, Budhy
\nMunawar Rachman and Hamid Basyaib sat on the competition's jury.
\nThey selected Ja'far's essay, written as a letter addressed to
\nAhmad Wahib, as the winning composition as it did not only
\nexplore, but also critically questioned, Ahmad Wahib's thoughts.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/award-celebrates-muslim-intellectual-ahmad-wahib-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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