A woman president

A woman president

From Gatra

After attending an amicable settlement of the Tanjung Priok case on March 7, Nurcholish Madjid, a noted Muslim intellectual, said that most ulemas, (Muslim religious teacher or scholar), did not raise any questions about a woman assuming the presidency. This is a strange statement indeed. All Islamic schools of thought -- Maliki, Hanafi, Syafii and Hambali -- state that a leader must be male. Experts like Al Ghazali and Al Mawardi are also of the same opinion.

Prof. Haasbi Ashiddieqy has noted a number of requirements for being a leader or an imam (leader of communal prayer), some of which include: being capable of ijtihad (making an individual judgment or interpretation), being politically smart, being capable of fighting a war and being able to run a public government. The leader must be fair, pious and responsible and must be brave in facing enemies. Then the leader's five senses and limbs must be complete and in perfect condition so they do not hamper his work. The leader must be a Muslim, male, adult and sensible. (see: "Science About State Affairs in Islamic Studies of Laws Pertaining to Ritual Obligations" by Haasbi Ashiddieqy, 1991: 86-92.)

There is a hadith, stating: A community will not be fortunate if they leave the state's leadership to a woman (HR Bukhari, Ahmad , Nasal and Turmudzi).

Recently, a lot of politicians and observers have been making odd comments. Previously, Muslim politicians rejected the notion of a woman president, arguing this was against their religious teachings, but now that the wind has blown to another direction, they have conceded that a woman can act as head of state. Now they refer to the constitution.

As a respected expert, Nurcholish should not have jumped to the conclusion so easily that most ulemas could accept a woman president. Which ulemas are they?

H.A. HUSAINI

Jakarta