'Syariah' won't rid corruption, say scholars<\/p>\n
Asip A. Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Two noted Muslim scholars, Nurcholis Madjid and Solahuddin
\nWahid, rejected on Sunday a proposal that the country adopt
\nsyariah (Islamic law) to rid the country of its deep-rooted
\nproblem of corruption.<\/p>\n
Nurcholis said adopting syariah would not guarantee that
\ncorruption would be reduced.<\/p>\n
\"The mosques are always full of people praying. This means
\nthey are complying with syariah, but then, after leaving the
\nmosque, they do whatever they want to do, and corruption keeps on
\noccurring,\" he said, responding to a proposal coming from one
\nparticipant at a siminar here on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The proposal came from Irfan S. Awwas, secretary-general of a
\nsmall Muslim group, the Mujahidin Council, which has openly been
\ncampaigning for the adoption of syariah in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Nurcholis, however, said that Muslims should not seek the
\nimplementation of syariah as it was against the nation's
\npluralistic character.<\/p>\n
The implementation of syariah, he said, would create problems
\nnot only for non-Muslims but also Muslims themselves because
\nMuslims in Indonesia followed different traditions.<\/p>\n
Pakistan should serve as a good example of a pluralistic
\ncountry that had tried to implement syariah. The country had
\nbecome bogged down in a seemingly interminable quarrel among
\nMuslim groups over whose interpretation of syariah should be
\nenshrined in the country's laws.<\/p>\n
Solahuddin also disagreed with the proposal, and said that the
\nintroduction of syariah would only mire Muslims in an endless
\npolemic.<\/p>\n
He said that the Aceh case would serve as a good lesson for
\nIndonesia as to whether the implementation of syariah would
\nreduce corruption and bring benefits.<\/p>\n
\"Let's be patient and see what the outcome of Islamic law will
\nbe in Aceh,\" he told the seminar at the Jogja Expo Center, which
\nwas hosted by the Gerakan Jalan Lurus (The Straight Path
\nMovement).<\/p>\n
Also speaking at the seminar were political analysts J.
\nKristiadi and Harry Tjan Silalahi, former Astra International
\npresident Teddy P. Rachmat, and Gadjah Mada University rector
\nSofian Effendi.<\/p>\n
Nurcholis noted that Muslims in Indonesia would be better
\nserved by lending their support to the country's official
\nideology of Pancasila as it was in tune with the country's
\npluralistic nature.<\/p>\n
Pancasila, he said, contained the principles of divinity and
\nsocial justice so that there was no reason for Muslims to reject
\nit.<\/p>\n
He said Pancasila represented a national agreement that fitted
\nin with the country's pluralistic nature. Ignoring it, therefore,
\nwould cause the country to collapse.<\/p>\n
\"A nation that goes against its own principles will soon
\ncollapse,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He noted that the most glaring problem in Indonesia was the
\nabsence of a strong commitment among the people to do good things
\nfor society and other people in line with the principles of
\nPancasila.<\/p>\n
\"Without this commitment, the nation will fragment and
\neventually this will ignite civil war,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/syariah-wont-rid-corruption-say-scholars-1447893297",
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