A silent majority

An eye-catching headline marked the front-page of The Jakarta Post of March 27, reading Muslim majority urged to rise and speak out. The report highlighted a discussion between foreign ambassadors and a group of prominent religious and community leaders held in Jakarta on March 26.

Muhammadiyah, as the second largest Muslim group in the country, can congratulate itself on the fact that it was brave enough to sponsor this unique event. The challenging theme of the discussion read: Islam and the West working together for a peaceful world. Judging from what has happened lately, the topic seemed timely and well-thought out.

Some of the ambassadors appeared to be forthright in their views, even to the extent of dictating a desired course of the action to what was described as the Muslim majority. One ambassador reportedly warned that if the mainstream remained silent and permitted the minority of radicals to prevail, society would become disrupted and lose its sense of direction.

Naturally, the envoys did not fail to comprehend the fundamental axiom that Islam should not be equated with terrorist violence. As to the point that the majority should speak up and no longer be the "silent majority", the envoys seemed to be unequivocally united in their perceptions.

However, at this point one characteristic should not be ignored, namely that the concept of civil society is still in its infancy here following decades under an authoritarian regime.

The fact that paternalism still plays a dominant role in our society cannot be denied. Without vocal leadership from the top level itself, the (intellectual) majority may feel unable to speak out.

Another phenomenon that reflects paternalism needs to be cited here. This is the frequent or common absence of a majority of legislators from sessions of the House of Representatives, irrespective of the importance of the subject that is to be deliberated and decided upon by the House. By the same token, this shows that their moral sense of duty to the electorate leaves much to be desired.

S. SUHAEDI

Jakarta