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.