Clerics, activists meet to save Nahdlatul Ulama

Clerics, activists meet to save Nahdlatul Ulama

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post/Cirebon

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics and activists began a three-day
national conference here on Friday, aimed at saving the country's
largest Muslim organization from being used by its top executives
for political gain.

"What we want to do is to try to rectify irregularities in
NU's existence which must stay away from practical politics,"
said cleric Yahya Masduki, who chairs the conference steering
committee.

The meeting, being held at an Islamic boarding school in
Ciwaringin district, Cirebon, West Java, is attended by several
important NU clerics including Mustofa Bisri, Malik Madani, Ilyas
Ruchiyat, Tuan Guru Turmudi, Habib Luthfi and former acting NU
chairman Masdar F. Mas'udi.

Also attending are representatives from across Indonesia,
including East, Central and West Java, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, South
Sulawesi, Lampung, South Kalimantan, West and East Nusa Tenggara,
and Bali.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who once chaired
the NU for 15 years until he assumed the presidency in 1999, had
confirmed his presence but did not show up on Friday.

Nor did current NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi attend the meeting.

"We have invited Pak Hasyim Muzadi and Sahal Mahfudz, but
until now, there is no assurance that they would come," NU
scholar and non-governmental organization figure Imam Aziz said.

Yahya said that the participants present here were those
willing to "make changes culturally" within NU.

"So far, NU has been used as a means for power struggle by its
elite members in the organization's structures," he added.

Yahya said the most blatant infraction of khittah (NU's 1984
decision to quit politics) was committed during the presidential
elections, in which Hasyim Muzadi joined the race as the running
mate of incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Imam Aziz concurred, saying the conference is designed to
ensure that the 40 million-strong NU adhere to its khittah.

"The message we want to present at the conference is to make
sure that NU members play a more dominant role than that of its
elite. So, they will be able to get the real benefit from their
organization," he added.

Similar views were aired by another NU intellectual Ahmad
Tohari and influential cleric Abdul A'la from Sumenep on East
Java's Madura island.

A'la said other khittah violations included the moves by NU
executives in provincial, regental and district levels to contest
the elections of governors, mayors and regents.

This shows that NU members have lost their independence
because their leaders have been tempted into practical politics,
he added.