Hasan Basri re-elected as MUI chairman<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Moslem scholar Hasan Basri was re-elected for a
\nthird consecutive five-year term to the helm of the influential
\nIndonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) last night.<\/p>\n
A electoral team of seven, chaired by Minister of Religious
\nAffairs Tarmizi Taher, voted unanimously for Hasan Basri, a man
\nwho is widely praised for his skills in acting as a "bridge"
\nbetween the government and the Moslem community.<\/p>\n
Representatives of the 27 provincial branches of the MUI,
\nwhich the government established 20 years ago, had earlier told
\nTarmizi in a preliminary meeting in the congress of MUI that they
\n"insisted" that Hasan be re-elected.<\/p>\n
The electoral team, consisting of Tarmizi, Hasan Basri,
\noutgoing secretary Prodjokoesoemo and four other ulemas convened
\nfor about an hour and came up with the list of people who will
\neither advise or manage the council.<\/p>\n
The leaders of almost all major Moslem organizations in the
\ncountry were appointed members of the MUI plenary board,
\nincluding Amien Rais of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah and
\nChalid Mawardi of the Indonesian Propagation Council (MDI). The
\nname of Abdurrahman Wahid, the controversial chairman of the
\nexecutive board of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
\nwas conspicuously absent from the list.<\/p>\n
However, Ilyas Ruchiyat, chairman of the law-making body of
\nNU, was elected as one of eight vice chairmen of the executive
\nboard to support Hasan Basri.<\/p>\n
The other seven vice chairmen and chairwomen are intellectuals
\nQuraish Shihab, Ali Yafie, and Zakiah Daradjat; ulemas Ibrahim
\nHossen and Prodjokoesoemo; politician Ismael Hasan; and
\nbureaucrat Amidhan.<\/p>\n
Another important position in the MUI is that of secretary, a
\npost that went to Nazri Adlani, who replaced Prodjokoesoemo. The
\nvice secretaries are young scholar Ichwan Syam, bureaucrat Jimly
\nAsshidique and politician Din Syamsuddin.<\/p>\n
The treasurer of the council is Basyah Abdullah and his deputy
\nis Muhammad Syuraich.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi, in his speech after the election, praised the new
\nleadership of the council as being made up of people with various
\nskills and well-balanced, as it consists of both the older and
\nthe younger generations, as well as women scholars.<\/p>\n
"We have every element here," Tarmizi said. "We have the
\nelderly as well as younger members to show that there is a
\nprocess of regeneration taking place in the council."<\/p>\n
The council's plenary board also consisted of some surprises,
\nincluding the controversial Muhammadiyah leader Lukman Harun and
\nGolkar leader Abdul Ghafur.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi however denied that there were any surprises or that
\nthe government had had a crucial say in the elections.<\/p>\n
"Nobody ordered us to elect this or that person...We chose
\nthose only who have the character of ulemas because this is an
\norganization of ulemas," he said.<\/p>\n
He denied that the government had interfered in the elections
\nor that the council was not independent. "If you think that the
\nindependence of ulemas is shown by standing opposite the
\ngovernment, then you're mistaken," he told reporters. "Ulemas and
\numara (power holders or the government) are partners."<\/p>\n
The fourth day of the congress was filled with meetings of
\ncommissions in charge of various fields, including organizational
\nmatters.<\/p>\n
At a final plenary session yesterday, the congress announced a
\nnumber of religious edicts (fatwa) which some people have said
\nare rather weak because they do not "order" but merely "call on"
\nthe government and the public to do or not do certain things.<\/p>\n
Regarding what the congress described as violations of oaths
\nof office by government officials, for instance, the council
\n"calls on Moslems to be loyal to the oaths that they have taken
\nin accordance with Islamic laws".<\/p>\n
The five-day congress winds up this morning with a closing
\nceremony to be presided over by Vice President Try Sutrisno.
\n(swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hasan-basri-re-elected-as-mui-chairman-1447893297",
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