Cak Nur 'last of great thinkers'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid being hospitalized for months after undergoing a lever transplant last year in China, scholars and political analysts fear Indonesia might not see another intellectual of his stature emerge in the short term.

"After Cak Nur, there will be no more major thought, no more extraordinary thinkers, because every basis of epistemologycal and theological thought on Islam has been put in place by Cak Nur. The 'Big Bang' of Islamic thought is finished," said Ulil Abshar-Abdalla of the Liberal Muslim Network, speaking at a three-day symposium at Paramadina Mulya University that ended on Saturday (not Friday as reported earlier by The Jakarta Post).

Ulil, who delivered a paper titled What Next after Nurcholish Madjid? on Friday, said the challenge of the next generation of Muslim scholars in the country would be to kindle debate on specific issues that would lead to the creation of more specialists.

He referred to the matter of the recent controversy of a new compilation of Islamic law as an example of discourse on gender and interfaith relations.

"It was Cak Nur's idea that opened the possibility of interfaith marriages. He built the theological foundation for things that previously were very difficult to discuss publicly," he wrote in his paper.

Budhy Munawar-Rachman, director of the Center for Spirituality and Leadership, said all present and future issues relating to Islam had already been discussed in Cak Nur's books and speeches.

"Almost every topic on Islam and modernization being discussed today are just footnotes to Cak Nur's thoughts," he said.

Bachtiar Effendy, a political analyst, disagreed with both Ulil and Budhy's view that Islamic discourse was finished. He said more and more problems were coming to the surface in modern Muslim society.

"Muslim scholars today are being required to speak on so many issues, such as Islam and human rights, Islam and terrorism, Islam and technology, and many other issues. That is because currently Islam is more than just a local issue but has become an international issue," Bachtiar told The Jakarta Post after the symposium.

He said the fact that several Muslim groups were still demanding the implementation of Islamic law and the formation of Islamic parties was proof that major issues involving Islam and political affairs remained unsettled.

"If Cak Nur's ideas on the state and plurality were already complete, we would be holding more discussions about people's welfare instead. But look at what is happening now. We are still trying to convince people about the compatibility of Islam and democracy," Bachtiar said.

He said he had not seen any young intellectuals who could achieve the same popularity as Nurcholish, adding that rapidly changing political regimes might minimize the chances of young scholars achieving the same honors as Cak Nur.

"This era is different. How can you expect someone to stand out as a prominent figure during the democratic era, which allows intellectuals to speak their minds so freely? You must remember that Cak Nur's ideas were born under an authoritarian regime, when he was one of the few who had the intellectual capital and courage to speak out and write," Bachtiar said.

The three-day symposium highlights Nurcholish's contributions to the discourse on modern Islam, Islamic politics and plurality. The event was held to commemorate the 66th birthday of Nurcholish and the seventh anniversary of Paramadina University.

Nurcholish is currently being treated at Pondok Indah Hospital after having undergone a liver transplant in Guangzhou, China, late last year. (006)