Gus Dur, the sleepy but alert scholar<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One needs only to attend a seminar featuring
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, the controversial scholar and leader of the
\nNahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization, to realize that the man
\ncan fall asleep anywhere.<\/p>\n
Sitting squeezed between the other speakers on a dais, or
\ncross-legged at a small gathering of Moslem students, it only
\ntakes Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, a few minutes to
\nstart to nod off. Some people say he sometimes even snores
\nsoftly.<\/p>\n
Many can testify, however, that the very second after an emcee
\nsays \"the floor is yours, Gus Dur\", the man opens his eyes and is
\ncompletely alert.<\/p>\n
Without even a rub of his eyes, he then picks up the
\nmicrophone and launches into a comprehensive, sharp and often
\ndebate-inviting speech on just about any subject. Politics, the
\narts, culture, religion, anything.<\/p>\n
After falling asleep in the middle of a session of the 1994 NU
\ncongress in Cipasung, West Java, he woke up and, as alert as
\never, addressed the congress of hundreds of ulemas. An ulema was
\nthen overheard saying, \"Told you, he's a wali!\"<\/p>\n
Wali are the respected Moslem teachers who propagated Islam in
\nJava over five centuries ago. They are said to have had magical
\npowers. The term is sometimes translated as Islamic saint.<\/p>\n
Controversy<\/p>\n
Following the almost daily press reports about Gus Dur over
\nthe past decade, it is obvious that the man is constantly
\nembroiled in controversy. He amazingly manages to emerge
\nunscathed.<\/p>\n
In the late 1980s, he was criticized for reportedly suggesting
\nthat the Islamic expression of Assalaamu'alaikum, meaning \"peace
\nbe upon you\", be replaced with the secular greetings of good
\nmorning and good day.<\/p>\n
In 1992, he was attacked for receiving a donation from the
\norganizer of the SDSB state lottery, an organization the Moslem
\ncommunity denounced. This incident not only created an uproar,
\nbut also drove K.H. Ali Yafie, an NU leader, to resign in
\nprotest.<\/p>\n
In 1993, he was criticized for his chairmanship of the Forum
\nDemokrasi, a loose group of government critics he helped
\nestablish, and for airing ideas which his opponents said
\nseparated him from the NU fold.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur has been walking alone, leaving the millions of
\ntraditional NU followers behind him,\" charged one critic.<\/p>\n
One of the most recent attacks concerned his remark that
\nIndonesia should consider opening ties with Israel after he met
\nwith a senior official in Isreal in 1994.<\/p>\n
A wave of street protests were launched by various Moslem
\ngroups in several cities. Most denounced Gus Dur as a traitor to
\nIslam and Palestine, and called him \"the henchman of the
\nZionists\".<\/p>\n
And yet, at the 1994 congress, it took him only an hour to
\nconvince the ulemas to accept the reasons he claimed justified
\nhis visit to Israel.<\/p>\n
The ulemas, mainly schoolmasters of pesantren (Islamic
\nboarding schools), later re-elected him chairman of the
\nTanfidzyah, the central executive board of the 30-million strong
\norganization.<\/p>\n
Even then, Gus Dur, the father of four from his wife Nuriyah,
\ndid not have time to bask in his victory. His strongest
\ncompetitor, Abu Hasan, persuaded a number of other disgruntled
\nulemas to form a rival board.<\/p>\n
Last week Abu and his supporters held an extraordinary
\ncongress to denounce Gus Dur's leadership. Abu was subsequently
\nelected chairman of the rival board.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur, who had never been on the pilgrimage to Mecca when he
\nfirst took up the NU chairmanship in 1984, cold-shouldered the
\nrevolt. \"Abu's board is nothing. It will soon disappear,\" he
\nassured.<\/p>\n
He also refused suggestions from various people, including
\nMinister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, that he reconcile
\nwith Abu.<\/p>\n
\"Get real. (My) board has been hijacked, and now I have to
\nreconcile with the hijackers? They should be punished instead,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Many observers have criticized the government's ambiguous
\nstance on the rival board. The government allowed Abu Hasan to
\nproceed with his activities, but declared its recognition of
\nAbdurrahman's board. Some observers said the internal conflict
\nwas fed by power holders concerned with Gus Dur's criticism of
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
\"The ambiguous stance is caused by a split in the political
\nelite,\" Gus commented.<\/p>\n
And yet, the grandson of hadratusyaikh (the great teacher)
\nK.H. Muhammad Hasyim Asy'ari, the founder of NU, is upbeat about
\nthe future of NU.<\/p>\n
The organization, the bulk of which is made up of farmers, is
\nan attractive political base for almost all interest groups.<\/p>\n
The following are excerpts from The Jakarta Post interviews
\nwith Gus Dur. Conducted on several different occasions, they
\ncover the future of the NU and its position in the current
\npolitical scene.<\/p>\n
Q: NU leadership seems to have been preoccupied with the
\nvarious external pressures against the organization. Does this
\nreduce efforts to breed new generations of NU leaders?<\/p>\n
A: Actually, the condition helps produce even better cadres
\nbecause they are really tested in the real game. They see for
\nthemselves (what's going on).<\/p>\n
Not only efforts to breed new cadres are getting better, but,
\nfrankly, we have even been successful in developing \"alternative
\ncadres\". Look at those who are outside the leadership board, who
\nare engaging in philosophical discourses on Islam, people like
\nUlil Abshar (a young intellectual in NU).<\/p>\n
It's funny, these people are from non-governmental
\norganizations, but are also active in NU. People like Muhammad
\nHikam (a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences)
\nand Rozy Munir (director of the Center for Institutional
\nDevelopment Research at the University of Indonesia).<\/p>\n
Debates between very conventional NU figures with these
\nreformist young people, like Ulil, have enabled both parties to
\nbe more mature and more accommodative. The talks never cease.<\/p>\n
Q: It seems that efforts to unseat you from NU have
\nintensified now that the 1997 general election nears. Do you
\nthink NU leaders after you will also survive?<\/p>\n
A: The assumption that NU will receive as great (an external)
\npressure as it has all this time is false. Why should there be?
\nRationally, it's going to be different.<\/p>\n
The government is surely aware of how big my audience is. They
\nknow that my charisma is greater than it was five or 10 years
\nago. Imagine, (NU held) five gatherings within 24 hours of each
\nother and in a radius of 15 kilometers... these gatherings were
\nall packed.<\/p>\n
Those with power know the potential of NU cadres. They know.<\/p>\n
I believe the campaign to undermine NU will dissipate. The
\nsupport for NU leaders will grow rather than diminish. No matter
\nhow you look at it, NU is needed for the general election. Our
\npolitics is growing more mature and NU increasingly becomes
\nsomething to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n
So, how will our future cadres survive? No, I'm not worried
\n(about them) at all.<\/p>\n
It is true that the biggest challenge that NU leaders have to
\nface is how to manage the increasingly diverse elements within
\nNU, so they move in unison. Therefore the organization needs
\ncollective leadership. The current leadership is actually not yet
\ncollective.<\/p>\n
Q: Will the heterogeneity of NU undermine its cohesiveness?<\/p>\n
A: Actually, NU is becoming stronger precisely because of its
\nheterogeneity. For instance, did you ever imagine that K.H. Ilyas
\nRuhiyat (the Rais Am, chairman, of the Syuriyah or law-making
\nbody) could agree with K.H. Sahal Mahfudz (Ilyas' deputy) on
\nvarious issues? For instance, about my closeness with Mega?
\n(Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the minority Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party).<\/p>\n
Even regarding politics, the NU leaders' policy is \"hands-
\noff\". Every NU member is free to choose his political venue.<\/p>\n
We are not heading towards a homogeneity. What's an artificial
\nhomogeneity for? So that we can become like Golkar?<\/p>\n
Q: Now that NU is approaching its 70th anniversary, has its
\nbase expanded from the pesantren?<\/p>\n
A: You're mistaken if you say the basis of NU is the
\npesantren. NU's first base was rich farmers, who used to send
\ntheir children to study in Mecca and other places. The pesantren
\nreceived support from these rich farmers. The pesantren then act
\nas a \"distributor of force\" and patronage -- the power source.<\/p>\n
Please notice that most NU leaders were not from pesantren.
\nK.H. Wahab Hasbullah (another founder of NU) had 400 hectares of
\nland. In later days, there were also groups from outside the
\npesantren, especially when NU became a political party. We call
\nthem \"non-pesantren\" functionaries.<\/p>\n
In South Sumatra the basis of NU is the ulemas. Pesantren is a
\nmore novel presence. Some NU leaders there established boarding
\nschools when they reached old age. Most of NU supporters in
\nSumatra are traders.<\/p>\n
Of course there are cadres from pesantren, but each with their
\nown basis, and they climb their own way up the leadership of
\npesantren.<\/p>\n
NU also has the support of the Indonesian Corps of Civil
\nServants -- this is a distinct power base. There are hundreds of
\nthousands of village heads who support NU.<\/p>\n
There are also professionals from outside the corps, like
\nbusinessmen, who support NU. I'm really not worried about the
\nfuture leadership of NU. This organization is the most prepared
\n(in grooming new leaders) compared to other organizations.<\/p>\n
Q: There are people who wish you were more accommodating
\ntowards the government. What is your comment?<\/p>\n
A: I don't have any problems with the government. The
\nperceived problems are something that \"people from outside\" blow
\nup. The government? Which government do they mean? All of our
\nprojects are working out just fine. If it's the government that
\nengage in (political) intrigues, count us out.<\/p>\n
How can there be a national reconciliation if I resign, as
\nsome people wish? From the beginning I was aware of the risks.
\nPeople will devise any means to get rid of me, including using
\nthe good name of President Soeharto and creating the illusion
\nthat I am standing against him. (anr\/sim\/swe)<\/p>",
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