JP\/4\/nu<\/p>\n
Clerics, activists meet to save NU<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics and activists began a three-day
\nnational conference here on Friday, aimed at saving the country's
\nlargest Muslim organization from being used by its top executives
\nfor political gain.<\/p>\n
\"What we want to do is to try to rectify irregularities in
\nNU's existence which must stay away from practical politics,\"
\nsaid cleric Yahya Masduki, who chairs the conference steering
\ncommittee.<\/p>\n
The meeting, being held at an Islamic boarding school in
\nCiwaringin district, Cirebon, West Java, is attended by several
\nimportant NU clerics including Mustofa Bisri, Malik Madani, Ilyas
\nRuchiyat, Tuan Guru Turmudi, Habib Luthfi and former acting NU
\nchairman Masdar F. Mas'udi.<\/p>\n
Also attending are representatives from across Indonesia,
\nincluding East, Central and West Java, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, South
\nSulawesi, Lampung, South Kalimantan, West and East Nusa Tenggara,
\nand Bali.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, who once chaired
\nthe NU for 15 years until he assumed the presidency in 1999, had
\nconfirmed his presence but did not show up on Friday.<\/p>\n
Nor did current NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi attend the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"We have invited Pak Hasyim Muzadi and Sahal Mahfudz, but
\nuntil now, there is no assurance that they would come,\" NU
\nscholar and non-governmental organization figure Imam Aziz said.<\/p>\n
Yahya said that the participants present here were those
\nwilling to \"make changes culturally\" within NU.<\/p>\n
\"So far, NU has been used as a means for power struggle by its
\nelite members in the organization's structures,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Yahya said the most blatant infraction of khittah (NU's 1984
\ndecision to quit politics) was committed during the presidential
\nelections, in which Hasyim Muzadi joined the race as the running
\nmate of incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Imam Aziz concurred, saying the conference is designed to
\nensure that the 40 million-strong NU adhere to its khittah.<\/p>\n
\"The message we want to present at the conference is to make
\nsure that NU members play a more dominant role than that of its
\nelite. So, they will be able to get the real benefit from their
\norganization,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Similar views were aired by another NU intellectual Ahmad
\nTohari and influential cleric Abdul A'la from Sumenep on East
\nJava's Madura island.<\/p>\n
A'la said other khittah violations included the moves by NU
\nexecutives in provincial, regental and district levels to contest
\nthe elections of governors, mayors and regents.<\/p>\n
This shows that NU members have lost their independence
\nbecause their leaders have been tempted into practical politics,
\nhe added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp4nu-1447899208",
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