Controversy on 'syariah' reemerges in Assembly

Controversy on 'syariah' reemerges in Assembly

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Controversy surrounding the idea to adopt syariah (Islamic law)
has resurfaced as the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
resumes deliberation on amendments to the 1945 Constitution.

Assembly legislators grouped in the Ad Hoc I committee for
constitutional amendments found on Thursday that the Indonesian
Council of Ulemas (MUI) followed in the footsteps of Muhammadiyah
in rejecting the proposal to formalize syariah.

Also attending Thursday's meeting were officials of the Islam
Propagation Council (DDI), who expressed their support for
syariah.

The meeting was part of an exercise to garner as many ideas as
possible from the public regarding the constitutional amendments.
The legislators are expected to complete their field mission on
Feb. 21.

"During the meeting, MUI deputy chairman Umar Shihab said the
current article on religious affairs in the Constitution should
be maintained because it already reflects the state's
acknowledgement of religious faiths," Hamdan Zoelva, one of the
legislators, said after the meeting held at Istiqlal Mosque.

Demands for the recognition of syariah have mounted since the
fall of the authoritarian New Order regime in 1998.

DDI, known as one of the Islamic hard-liner groups, insisted
that syariah deserved acknowledgment in the Constitution due to
the fact that the people of Indonesia were predominantly Muslim.

The demand for syariah, more specifically the seven words of
the Jakarta Charter, which obliges Muslims to abide by Islamic
teachings, had been ruled out by the country's founding fathers
nearly six decades ago for the sake of national unity.

"The inclusion of the seven words in the Constitution won't
disadvantage followers of other religions," said DDI Chairman
Hussein Umar.

In a similar meeting on Wednesday, leaders of Muhammadiyah,
the country's second largest Muslim organization, said it was not
necessary to formalize syariah in Article 29 of the Constitution.

Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim group in the country with
40 million supporters, has repeatedly opposed the inclusion of
syariah in the Constitution.

Despite the wide opposition to the proposal to adopt syariah,
the Assembly failed to settle the controversy in the last annual
session last year.

Other religious groups representing Christians, Hindus, and
Buddhists, had also raised similar concerns, saying the existing
article protects pluralism in Indonesia.

Responding to the controversy, legislators simply said they
were not in position to make a decision.

"We will bring the views of the public to a deliberation at
the Assembly in March," said Hamdan of the Crescent Star Party,
one of advocates of syariah.

Apart from meeting various religious organizations, members of
the ad hoc committee are scheduled to meet various sectors in the
society.

Commenting on this initiative, director of the Center for
Electoral Reform (Cetro) Smita Notosusanto said she doubted the
move would bear fruit.

"I am skeptical. Unless the Assembly demonstrates a
transparent decision making process, the hearing will be
useless," Smita told The Jakarta Post.

The Assembly also failed to complete amendments to some
articles relating to the electoral system.

It also shunned the call for the establishment of an
independent constitutional commission.