Peaceful Islam and Nurcholish's lasting legacy<\/p>\n
Greg Barton, Melbourne<\/p>\n
Indonesia, home to some of the most significant progressive
\nIslamic ideas in the modern period has lost one of its greatest
\nthinkers just when he was needed most.<\/p>\n
The untimely death last week of Nurcholish Madjid (66), a
\nleading advocate for a tolerant and peaceful understanding of
\nIslam, after a long struggle with Hepatitis, has been noted not
\nonly across Indonesia, where he was given a state funeral, but
\nalso around the world.<\/p>\n
He is remembered by many as the man who helped bring down
\nSoeharto, as the respected scholar who calmly walked into an
\naudience with the steely, authoritarian, great survivor and
\nboldly, but politely, told the old man that his time was up.
\nThat moment, however, will not be Nurcholish's lasting legacy.
\nHistory will remember him best for his profound rethinking of
\nIslam eloquently set forth in hundreds of thousands of words of
\nlucid prose.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish showed Muslims and non-Muslims alike that religion
\ndoes not need to be represented by political parties and defended
\nby political campaigns for it to shape the character of a nation.
\nHis great contribution lies in his deeply original and
\nsignificant contribution to our understanding of how best
\nreligious faith can contribute to our very plural modern world.<\/p>\n
Although trained in a madrasah as an Islamic scholar,
\nNurcholish transcended the boundaries of that intellectual
\ntradition and successfully combined traditional Islamic
\nscholarship, with its deep knowledge of the Koran, of Islamic
\njurisprudence and of Sufi mysticism, with critical modern
\nthought.<\/p>\n
The creative synthesis of intellectual traditions that
\nresulted gave him the tools to systematically rethink how Islam
\nshould be lived in the modern world. Specifically, by employing
\nmodern approaches to hermeneutics in the pressing task of
\nijtihad, or reinterpretation of the Koran, Nurcholish was able to
\ndemonstrate how best the core teachings of Islam can be applied
\nin this modern age, congruent with, but not limited by,
\ntraditional understandings of Sharia, or Islamic law. He argued
\ncogently that true godliness, in an individual and in a nation,
\ncome from inner transformation not from external force or
\nimposition of law.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish rejected as profoundly mistaken the conviction of
\nmodern Islamists that Islamist parties, and the imposition of
\nSharia via state legislation, hold the key to achieving societies
\nand states that are more truly Islamic.<\/p>\n
Instead he argued for, and put into practice, the power of
\neducation to transform the individual, and through them the world
\naround them. His Paramadina foundation (which taught tens of
\nthousands of evening and weekend seminar attendees the basics of
\nIslam according to progressive and liberal perspectives) and the
\nrelated Paramadina school and Paramadina university (which strive
\nfor high quality modern secular education) reflect this vision.<\/p>\n
Central to his understanding of education and the pursuit of
\nknowledge is the role of dialogue and open exchange both within
\nthe Islamic ummah and between ummah, or religious communities,
\nincluding between the 'Muslim world' and 'the west' and between
\nMuslims and followers of other faiths.<\/p>\n
Although we should, by now, be well aware of the power of
\nreligious ideas and religious thinkers to influence society and
\ninspire social movements we continue to underestimate their
\ninfluence, especially within the Muslim world. Sadly, if we do
\ngive them consideration then we tend to think only of the
\nnegative examples that interrupt our studied indifference.<\/p>\n
Since that fateful September day four years ago we have been
\nobliged to pay attention to thinkers such as Sayyid Qutb and his
\nmodern followers in al-Qaeda, Jamaah Islamiyah and elsewhere, and
\nto their embracing of what Samuel Huntington famously dubbed a
\nclash of civilizations mentality.<\/p>\n
What we don't yet properly understand, but now need to begin
\nto recognize, is that it is progressive Islamic intellectuals
\nsuch as Nurcholish Madjid who have are persuading many, directly
\nand indirectly, towards a very different, less materialistic,
\nless political and wholly more peaceful understanding of how
\nfaith can change the world.<\/p>\n
Many people, Muslim leaders included, feel uncomfortable with
\nlinking terrorism with a 'struggle of ideas'. Terrorists such as
\nthose behind the London bombings, they argue, are simply
\ncriminals and have nothing to do with Islam because anyone who
\nuses the violent means of terrorism cannot be a true Muslim. The
\nproblem with this line of reasoning is that it ignores the
\nsociology of religious movements.<\/p>\n
Ideas matter and writers have great power. If the powerful,
\nmodern, ideas of jihadi Islamism are not met in the marketplace
\nof ideas with an equally vigorous, contemporary, articulation of
\npeaceful Islam then 'the center of gravity' of public discourse
\nwill inevitably slide towards those ideas that appear most
\npowerful and relevant to the modern world.<\/p>\n
The progressive interpretation of Islam developed by
\nNurcholish Madjid and his friends, such as former president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, represents a powerful alternative to jihadi
\nIslamism.<\/p>\n
The writer is associate professor in Politics at Deakin
\nUniversity in Melbourne, Australia, and is author of Abdurrahman
\nWahid: Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President, Sydney: UNSW Press,
\n2002; and Indonesia's Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and the soul of
\nIslam, UNSW Press, 2004. He can be contacted at
\ngregjbarton@gmail.com<\/p>",
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