NU clerics issue 'fatwa' to support Wiranto<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra, Pasuruan<\/p>\n
Several influential clerics of the country's largest Muslim
\norganization issued an edict on Thursday for its members to vote
\nfor Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahid in next month's presidential
\nelection.<\/p>\n
The edict stressed that Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) members should
\nnot abstain from voting in the July 5 election and that Muslims
\nwere prohibited under Islamic law, or sharia, from choosing a
\nwoman leader, except in an emergency.<\/p>\n
\"The sharia bans women from becoming leaders. But if Megawati
\n(Soekarnoputri) is elected president, we will support her,\" said
\nAbdullah Faqih.<\/p>\n
Faqih and a number of other influential NU clerics gathered in
\nthe East Java regency of Pasuruan, from which resulted the
\nedict's issuance.<\/p>\n
Other prominent mullahs from East Java in attendance were
\nChotib Umar from Jember, Idris Abdul Hamid from Pasuruan, Soleh
\nKasim from Sidoarjo and Lutfi Abdul Hadi from Malang.<\/p>\n
Dozens of other heads of NU-affiliated boarding schools across
\nJava and Solahuddin also attended the meeting, which appeared to
\nbe politically motivated, as it again raised the issue of a woman
\nleader ahead of the election. Megawati is making a reelection bid
\nalongside running mate NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi, who is
\nsuspended for the duration of the campaign period.<\/p>\n
The clerics are known for their loyal support of former
\npresident Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, who was ousted by
\nsupporters of Megawati in 2001. The nearly blind Gus Dur has been
\ndisqualified from the presidential race because of his poor
\nhealth.<\/p>\n
Faqih, leader of the Langitan Islamic boarding school in
\nTuban, East Java, said the NU mullahs had made a mature decision
\nin choosing to support Wiranto and Solahuddin.<\/p>\n
Solahuddin is Gus Dur's younger brother.<\/p>\n
It was not clear, however, whether Wiranto's poor human rights
\nrecord was included in the clerics' consideration. Wiranto has
\nbeen indicted by a East Timorese court for crimes against
\nhumanity in the 1999 Dili massacre.<\/p>\n
The mullahs have also decided to back Gus Dur's lawsuit
\nagainst the General Elections Commission for its ruling on his
\npresidential bid.<\/p>\n
Faqih hoped Gus Dur would change his decision to abstain from
\nvoting in order to protest what he and human rights activists
\nallege to be discriminatory treatment.<\/p>\n
\"We have issued a fatwa for people to use their right to vote
\nin the upcoming presidential election, as it will determine the
\nfuture of the nation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also called on NU members to maintain national unity
\ndespite rivalries among the political elite.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nu-clerics-issue-fatwa-to-support-wiranto-1447893297",
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