Only nine out of 20 invitees attend seminar on 'syariah'<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Only nine out of 20 Muslim organizations invited to join a
\nseminar on syariah (Islamic law) organized by the Indonesian
\nMujahidin Council (MMI) showed up at the opening ceremony of the
\ntwo-day affair in Yogyakarta on Tuesday, a MMI executive said.<\/p>\n
MMI Central Executive Board Chairman Irfan S. Awwas told The
\nJakarta Post that just 20 people representing 10 organizations
\nhad confirmed their participation, but only nine organizations
\nshowed up when the seminar opened on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
Organizations attending the opening ceremony included
\nMuhammadiyah, the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Hizbut Tahrir
\nIndonesia, Hidayatullah, Islam Defenders Front (FPI), the
\nAssociation of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), Al-Irsyad,
\nthe Preparation Committee for the Implementation of Syariah Islam
\n(KPPSI), and the Alliance of Indonesian Islamic Party.<\/p>\n
The Association of Islamic Students Alumni (KAHMI), which
\nalready confirmed its participation, did not show up for the
\nopening ceremony, which was led by MMI Chairman Abubakar Baasyir.<\/p>\n
\"But it does not automatically mean that those who do not turn
\nup reject the idea of including syariah in the 1945
\nConstitution,\" Irfan added.<\/p>\n
The seminar, according to Irfan, was aimed at seeking support
\nfrom as many Muslim organizations and political parties as
\npossible for the inclusion of syariah in the Constitution. Their
\nmain aim is to place pressure on the 2002 Annual Session of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to amend the Constitution so
\nit is in line with Islamic laws.<\/p>\n
\"That's why we have not invited individuals to the seminar,
\njust organizations,\" said Irfan.<\/p>\n
\"The more Muslim organizations that participate in the
\nseminar, the easier it will be for us to claim that the idea (of
\nformally including syariah in the 1945 Constitution) is supported
\nby the majority of the country's Muslims,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The first day of the seminar was scheduled to discuss articles
\nof the 1945 Constitution considered to be in line with Islamic
\nlaw and those that were not.<\/p>\n
The second day is scheduled for a plenary session to come up
\nwith an agreement on which of the existing articles in the 1945
\nConstitution are worth maintaining and those that should be
\nchanged and adjusted to syariah.<\/p>\n
\"Hopefully, by the end of the seminar, we will be ready to
\ndecide on the matter,\" Irfan said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Muhammadiyah's Central Executive Board chairperson
\nSyafi'i Ma'arif told the Post that the presence of two
\nrepresentatives from Muhammadiyah's Tarjih Assembly could not be
\ninterpreted as the organization's support for the inclusion of
\nsyariah in the Constitution.<\/p>\n
\"It's a very simplistic conclusion. There is certainly no
\nrelation between the presence of someone in the seminar and the
\nsupport of the organizations they represent,\" Syafi'i said,
\nadding that the presence of Tarjih Assembly representatives in
\nthe seminar was mainly just to hear and discuss the matter.<\/p>\n
\"It will just be a discussion. The idea (of the inclusion of
\nsyariah in the Constitution) is OK, but it is obviously an
\nunrealistic idea,\" he said, adding that just 10 percent of the
\nMPR support the idea.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i also said that it was not even clear for him what MMI
\nwas currently trying to include in the 1945 Constitution, as
\nthere were many interpretations of syariah, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I see that it is more important to regard the matter as the
\nsoul of syariah and how to realize it in daily life,\" he added.<\/p>",
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