The rise of Islamic protestantism in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
This goes beyond a simple case of an \"oddball\" preacher in Malang
\nleading prayers in Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia. The controversy
\nover the preacher from East Java performing prayers in two
\nlanguages is, unwittingly, part of the growing enlightenment that
\nrejects the traditional dogma of state-sponsored religion.<\/p>\n
It is not a challenge toward religion per say, but
\nprotestantism in response to the hegemony of organized religion
\nin Indonesia and the state's monopoly over religious
\nrighteousness.<\/p>\n
For over three decades the state ruled by proxy over the
\nmasses through state institutions and conservative clerics whose
\nwords and fatwa defined what was or what was not considered
\nvirtuous. Dissenters were branded heretic.<\/p>\n
Thirty years of totalitarianism reduced people's capacity to
\nthink, producing a society in love with its own enslavement. If
\neverything was so perfectly defined, what need is there for
\nreason?<\/p>\n
Reformasi is still wanting in its goal of creating a just,
\ndemocratic society, but at the very least it provides a window
\nfor free thought.<\/p>\n
This window has brought about revisionism in all areas of life
\nonce decreed sacrosanct. Authority over religion is quietly
\nraging a battle that is becoming 'bloodier' by the day.<\/p>\n
A group of young \"liberal\" Islamic thinkers like Ulil Abshar
\nAbdala were condemned to death, by fatwa, for challenging
\ntraditional conservatism.<\/p>\n
A draft Islamic Code of Law which included articles redressing
\nthe rights of women was struck down under pressure from theocons
\nand fear of \"inciting public unrest\".<\/p>\n
Most recently, Muhammad Yusman Roy of the Islamic boarding
\nschool Pondok I'tikaf Jama'ah Ngaji Lelaku was arrested for
\nleading prayers in Arabic and Indonesian.<\/p>\n
After the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued an edict
\nsaying prayers can only be conducted in Arabic, Roy had thus
\nallegedly violated Article 156 (a) of the Criminal Code on
\ndespoiling an organized religion. The crime carries a maximum
\npunishment of five years imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Strangely, the exclusive use of Arabic in Islamic liturgy has
\nbeen a matter of debate for centuries.<\/p>\n
Over a millennium ago two acclaimed Islamic philosophers --
\nAbu Hanifah (a Persian) and Syafi'i (an Arab) -- were already
\narguing this very point. The latter, not surprisingly, contending
\nArabic was the sole permissible language in prayers.<\/p>\n
In the 1930s, Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal (Kemal
\nAtaturk) instructed that the adzan -- the call to prayer -- be
\nread in Turkish.<\/p>\n
Repeated cases in Indonesia have also shown, there is an
\ninability to differentiate between Islam and Arabic tradition.<\/p>\n
The \"grand old man of the republic\", Haji Agus Salim, demanded
\nthe shroud between men and women participants in a 1927 Islamic
\nyouth conference in Yogyakarta be removed saying the separation
\nof the sexes in such a manner was not an Islamic, but rather an
\nArab tradition.<\/p>\n
Cleric Roy himself before he was arrested was not contesting
\nthe core tenets of Islam -- the belief in one God and fate, the
\nProphet Muhammad, shalat, and faith in the hereafter. His purpose
\nseemed simply to make religious text more accessible. To engage
\nin a more \"tender\" dialog with God.<\/p>\n
Under political duress Roy has apologized but remains adamant
\nabout continuing his prayers in the two languages, albeit only
\nwith his immediate family.<\/p>\n
Even the most conservative clerics would agree that Islam is a
\nreligion that encourages scientific and cognitive thought. Hence
\nit is ironic that militancy, not rationale and debate, prevails.<\/p>\n
As Salim has shown, debate was part of the healthy Indonesian
\nIslamic culture in the pre-New Order days. In the 1950s there
\nwere articles on the opposing views of Persis and Muhammadiyah
\n(two prominent Islamic organizations) on religious issues.<\/p>\n
The analogy of Martin Luther and his excommunication by Pope
\nLeo X in the 16th Century may be offensive to some Muslims, but
\nthe historical parallel is worth studying.<\/p>\n
No one here is hammering a list of demands on a church door.
\nNevertheless the social environment which permits free and
\nrational thought is challenging the parochialism of organized
\nreligion. It is neither an organized nor a conscious movement. It
\nis trend which stems naturally from humanity's desire to find
\nsequential truth based on reason, not doctrine.<\/p>\n
It is no threat to religion, especially Islam. It is however
\nintimidating to those who exploit religion as a means of mind
\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
Maybe Muslims in this country are undergoing their own initial
\nphase of religious enlightenment and reformation. A welcome end
\nresult would be a rational approach to religion which would
\neliminate religion from politics -- An end to clerics who forget
\nthat in Islam there is no such thing as a priesthood which has
\nstructural control over a congregation; an end to religious
\nclaims that women cannot become leaders; an end to politicians
\nwho can claim probity because they show themselves to be pious by
\nusing Islamic (Arabic) symbolism.<\/p>\n
\"Without doubt there can be no faith, for it only leads to
\nblind faith.\"<\/p>",
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