Gus Dur vows to be tough on jihad issue in Maluku<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Opposition to calls for a jihad in Maluku found
\nsupport on Wednesday when President Abdurrahman Wahid vowed to
\ntake stern measures against those who answered the call.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a meeting with leaders of the Assuryaniyah
\nAttahiriyah Muslim foundation at Bina Graha presidential office,
\nAbdurrahman described the calls as an attempt to disturb his
\ngovernment and force him to resign as the country's leader.<\/p>\n
\"I do not care whether they want a jihad or not, or anything
\nelse, but as soon as the safety of the state and people are
\nendangered we will take action,\" the President said.<\/p>\n
\"I am being stabbed from behind,\" he said, expressing his
\ndisappointment with the mounting pressure his government has come
\nunder, which he said detracted from efforts to resolve the
\nproblems in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, particularly pointed
\nto the demonstration held on Sunday to demand a quick settlement
\nto sectarian conflicts in Maluku.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Muslims gathered near the National Monument to
\nair their anger over the killing of Muslims and the destruction
\nof mosques in Maluku. They pledged a jihad if the government
\nfailed to stop the violence immediately.<\/p>\n
Speakers at the rally, including People's Consultative
\nAssembly Speaker Amien Rais and United Development Party (PP)
\nchairman Hamzah Haz, voiced their support for the demonstrators'
\ndemands. Amien said during the rally he had given the President a
\ndeadline of two weeks to resolve the conflict.<\/p>\n
Amien and Hamzah, through the \"axis force\", played a major
\nrole in lifting Abdurrahman to the presidency last October.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said the rally was attended by some 20,000 people,
\nnot the one million claimed by organizers.<\/p>\n
\"It was described as a gathering of a million ummat, but
\nactually only 20,000 were present, so it is no doubt that they
\nare just seeking to create problems,\" Abdurrahman said.<\/p>\n
\"The power is not in their hands. They are nothing. The real
\nmajority now is PDIP,\" the President said, comparing the
\npolitical strength of rally organizers with the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle, which won the general election in
\nJune last year.<\/p>\n
\"They just wanted to show their strength to force me to resign
\nfrom my position. There is no problem.\"<\/p>\n
Separately, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) said it
\nwould never support a jihad in Maluku.<\/p>\n
Acting MUI chairman Amidhan said after a plenary meeting on
\nTuesday that a holy war could backfire on the nation.<\/p>\n
\"MUI will never agree with the outcries for holy war and
\ncannot see the use of such action,\" Amidhan said, adding that the
\ncouncil would propose a peaceful settlement to the violence in
\nMaluku.<\/p>\n
Amidhan said MUI would call on Muslims across the country to
\ngive moral support to their fellow Muslims in Maluku who fell
\nprey to the violence.<\/p>\n
Criticizing the President's statement that the people of
\nMaluku should resolve their problems on their own, MUI urged the
\ngovernment to put an end to the year-long communal clashes.<\/p>\n
Amidhan said 2,086 Muslims in Maluku had died since last year,
\nbut added that the council would check the data before officially
\nannouncing it to the public.<\/p>\n
MUI has also been working with other religion organizations
\nsuch the Indonesian Communion of Churches in an attempt to reach
\na reconciliation in Maluku.<\/p>\n
Sociologist and Maluku native Tamrin Amal Tomagola said a
\njihad in Maluku was unnecessary because the conflict originated
\nfrom a dispute among local political elites.<\/p>\n
He suggested the government replace all top government
\nofficials in Maluku, including the governor and deputy governors,
\nwith people from outside the province.<\/p>\n
A political observer at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta,
\nSamsu Rizal Panggabean, said the calls for a jihad would only add
\nto the strife in Maluku, and could possibly cause the violence to
\nspread.<\/p>\n
\"I fear such a call will trigger further conflicts in other
\nareas, such as cities in Java or in Jakarta,\" he said. \"It's like
\npouring oil on a burning flame.\" (04\/44\/edt\/prb\/rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-vows-to-be-tough-on-jihad-issue-in-maluku-1447893297",
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