JP\/3\/PPNUI<\/p>\n
Renowned cleric leads another Nahdlatul Ulama-oriented party<\/p>\n
Rais Hidayat
\nResearch and
\nDevelopment Unit
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama,
\nwhich claims 40 million members, is far from homogeneous.
\nCommonly known as a rural-based organization with its main basis
\nin traditional Islamic schools (pesantren), it has seen major
\nshifts as its leaders have striven cautiously to adjust to the
\ntimes and as its younger generation has responded more
\nimpatiently.<\/p>\n
A \"play safe\" strategy under the New Order, which was watchful
\nof potential troublemakers, particularly among Muslims, did not
\nalways augur well for restless figures who differed from others
\non whether NU as an institution could formally participate in
\npolitics.<\/p>\n
NU members have always been courted, ahead of each general
\nelection, by Islam-oriented and secular political parties, while
\nits leaders have also joined or established parties themselves.<\/p>\n
Religious leader Syukron Ma'mun, 62, is one such figure. The
\nwell-known kyai from Madura, East Java, who has held a number of
\nposts in the NU leadership, set up the Nahlatul Community Party
\n(Partai Nahdlatul Ummah or PNU) to contest the 1999 election. It
\nfailed to pass the electoral threshold so he eventually declared
\nthe establishment of the Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party
\n(PPNUI) on March 5 last year.<\/p>\n
Syukron represents what has become a minority voice within NU,
\none that insists that Muslims as the majority must play a central
\npolitical role. It is also a voice that argues that sharia should
\nbe applied to complement the country's criminal code, given that
\nthe country's law alone has not curbed effectively today's evils
\nsuch as murder, rape and corruption.<\/p>\n
Such views have been drowned out by the other NU camp
\nregarding this issue, most notably represented by Abdurrahman
\nWahid. The latter camp says Islam is one of the country's assets
\nalong with other religions and their followers. But regardless of
\nthe debate, Abdurrahman did not shy away from presidential
\nambitions and became the country's fourth president, although his
\nNational Awakening Party (PKB) only came fourth in the last
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Despite advocating harsh corporate punishment such as the
\nsevering of hands for thieves or corruptors, Syukron's party does
\nnot advocate an Islamic state. This reflects the long discourse
\nwithin NU, which led to the organization's united stand in
\naccepting the Indonesian state. The interpretation of efforts to
\nachieve Islamisasi differs within NU, as not all agree that it
\nmeans making Islam a way of life at a national level, such as by
\nadopting sharia law, even if only to complement the criminal code
\nfor Muslims.<\/p>\n
Among NU figures with a long distrust of \"modernist Muslims\",
\nSyukron is not among them. He was a deputy chairman of the
\nAdvisory Council of the Jakarta branch of the Association of
\nIndonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) from 1997 to 1998. In 1999
\nhis party was among those supporting B.J. Habibie and Gen. (ret)
\nWiranto as candidates for the presidency and vice presidency.<\/p>\n
But if Syukron's party is relying on the support of NU members
\nit faces the daunting challenge of attracting anything like the
\npotential voters for Abdurrahman's PKB, as well as other parties
\ntargeting these members, including those within Syukron's home
\nprovince, East Java. The charismatic preacher, Zainuddin MZ, who
\nleads the Reform Star Party (PBR), also claims to be a follower
\nof NU.<\/p>\n
In 1999 PKB won 51 seats with over 13 million votes, while PNU
\nhad only five seats from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Lampung, West
\nJava, East Java and South Kalimatan, with less than 700,000
\nvotes.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the party, said executive Dhany Syafruddin
\nNawawi, is optimistic of more votes, with particular reliance on
\nNU networks in which Syukron has influence.<\/p>\n
These would include the Islamic Propagation Institute of NU
\n(LDNU), of which Syukron is chairman, the NU Community for
\nTarekat (Islamic mysticism) or Jatma, and the Islamic Preachers
\nAssociation (Persatuan Muballigh se Indonesia), which Syukron led
\nfrom 1995 to 1998, with 15,000 members.<\/p>\n
His party creed, Islam Ahlussunah wal-Jama'ah is similar to
\nthat of NU, and is understood to mean that Islam is a moderate,
\ntolerant and accommodating religion open to local culture and
\nenvironment. However, as seen above, interpretations differ on
\nwhat exactly this means -- and the results of the elections will
\nreflect, in part, voter preferences amid today's lively discourse
\namong Muslims -- both within and beyond NU.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp3ppnui-1447899208",
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