Nurcholish must share his thoughts with the world<\/p>\n
Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
A modest symposium was held recently on Nurcholish Madjid, one
\nof Indonesia's most revered Islamic scholars. Apart from
\ncelebrating the 66th birthday of the intellectual, the symposium
\nwas held in conjunction with the seventh anniversary of the
\nuniversity he founded, Paramadina Mulia University. Nurcholish
\nhimself was not present at the March 17 to March 19 event, held
\non the campus of Paramadina Mulia, having been discharged from a
\nJakarta hospital only last week after a long illness.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish certainly deserved to be the topic of discussion.
\nHis thoughts on Islam in Indonesia, while being extremely
\ninfluential, often amazed his compatriots with their boldness,
\nfreshness, depth and progressiveness.<\/p>\n
His farsightedness and reform mindedness have been widely
\nacknowledged since the 1970s. In the early 1990s, Nurcholish
\njolted his peers by coining the catchphrase: \"Islam Yes, Politics
\nNo\", in protest of the politicization of the religion. Around
\nthat time, Nurcholish, a former leader of the Muslim Student
\nAssociation (HMI), was deeply saddened to find that many of the
\nassociation's officials were involved in corruption. He asked for
\nthe association to be dissolved.<\/p>\n
His wide interests included Islam and Indonesian culture,
\npolitics, theology, democracy and modernization. Nurcholish's
\nprogressive thoughts were often met with fierce opposition,
\nespecially from traditionalist Muslims. But rather than
\nimpoverishing Islam in Indonesia, the discussions and arguments
\nbetween the two sides tremendously enriched it.<\/p>\n
During the symposium, his admirers agreed that Nurcholish had
\nlaid down a modern Islamic theology. A strong believer in modern
\nconcepts of democracy, a plurality of political ideas and civil
\nsociety, Nurcholish has argued that these issues are compatible
\nwith Islam and with Indonesia. Hence, he is credited with helping
\nto change the way people understand Islam.<\/p>\n
In sum, it is difficult to imagine Islam in Indonesia without
\nNurcholish. If Islam in Indonesia today looks more inclusive,
\ntolerant and gentle than in many other countries, this is because
\nof the contributions of people like Nurcholish. If younger Muslim
\nscholars are comfortable talking about civil society, human
\nrights and democracy, it is partly because of the work done by
\nNurcholish.<\/p>\n
Catholic priest Franz Magnis-Suseno made a very important
\nsuggestion during the symposium when he said that Nurcholish's
\nworks should be translated into English and Arabic. This should
\nbe possible considering that Nurcholish is an alumni of the
\nUniversity of Chicago in the U.S. World scholars, especially in
\nthe West, too often complain that although Indonesia has a lot of
\nIslamic scholars of high caliber, they have very seldom written
\nbooks. Indonesian scholars have made little impact on the global
\ncommunity of scholars in comparison to scholars from other
\ncountries such as India, Pakistan and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Magnis-Suseno said that Nurcholish's ideas on inclusive Islam
\nwere nothing less than thinking on a world level. Nurcholish
\nbelieves that what counts in God's eyes is one's state of mind,
\nwhich is submission to God, as religion is a mere formal symbol.
\nThis comes down to a belief that someone can be accepted by God
\nirrespective of their religion. This effectively nullifies the
\nwidely held belief in the Muslim world that anyone who is not a
\nMuslim is a kafir (non-believer).<\/p>\n
Political analyst Bachtiar Effendy said during the symposium
\nthat Islam was not just a local issue, but had become an
\ninternational one, citing terrorism and advancing technology as
\nexamples. Muslim leaders today, he said, must be prepared to
\nanswer questions related to these issues.<\/p>\n
The turn of the century saw the ascendancy of religious
\nissues, particularly relating to Islam. A pluralist country like
\nIndonesia, with a long intellectual tradition in its Muslim
\nboarding schools, is well placed to contribute a great deal to
\nglobal thinking on Islam.<\/p>\n
It is a challenge for young thinkers like Ulil Abshar-Abdalla
\nto bridge the divide in intellectual discourse between Indonesia
\nand the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer of The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nurcholish-must-share-his-thoughts-with-the-world-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }