Discuss Islamic jurisprudence with care, scholar warns

JAKARTA (JP): A scholar warned Muslims against disputing Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) in an indiscriminate way for fear it will undermine the strength of Islam.

"The concept of family in Islam, for example, is very strong. Family is the last bastion, once it is broken, Islam will be weakened," Dr. Nazaruddin Umar said in a discussion on Saturday.

Nazaruddin was commenting on a newly published book launched at the discussion and written by young scholar Syafiq Hasyim which he described as "extraordinarily" bold in refuting the fiqh, a set of rules in Islam many Muslims take for granted.

"To descralize marriage, for example, would expose Indonesia to the penetration of Western culture," he said.

Nazaruddin called on Muslims to apply care in discussing the fiqh.

"We will have to be able to differentiate whichever subjects we deem necessary to 'deconstruct' with those which are not," he said.

Issues like gay marriage or homosexuality, for example, can not be accepted, Nazaruddin said.

Syafiq, who was not present at the discussion as he is pursuing his studies in the Netherlands, virtually turns gender biases in Islam upside down in his book titled Hal-hal Yang Tak Terpikirkan Tentang Isu-isu Keperempuanan Dalam Islam (The Unthinkable: Issues on Women and Islam).

While describing the book as an "extraordinarily" good book Nazaruddin added that Syafiq restricted himself by only criticizing issues such as the concept of politics, worship, patriarchy and inheritance without offering any constructive alternatives or solutions.

Nazaruddin ranked Syafiq book as highly as Haj Husein Muhammad's book titled Fiqh Perempuan which was also launched at the discussion.

"The two books are, in fact, complimentary. What is lacking in Syafiq's book can only be found in Kyai Husein's book," he said in the discussion jointly organized by Rahima and the Ford Foundation.

Rahima is a newly established center for training and information on Islam and women's rights.

Other speakers in the discussion at the Jakarta Media Center included Dr. Badriyah Sayumi (a lecturer at the State Academy of Islamic Studies in Jakarta), women rights activist and writer Julia Suryakusuma and Muslim intellectual Ulil Abshar-Abdallah. The discussion was moderated by Farha Ciciek, a women activist and external director of Rahima.

Badriyah reminded the audience that fiqh was written with common sense and was bold enough to differ from what is commonly accepted. However, as time goes by, the book of fiqh has often been regarded as something sacred.

"Only within a period of half-a-century have we suddenly lost our faculty of logical reasoning," she said.

Ulil said fiqh owed its freedom of thinking because it was written outside the tradition of power.

However, he said, it was not always easy to read.

"Reading it one can feel like he or she is entering a labyrinth. It can be very confusing," he said.

Therefore, Ulil said, there were those who sought to get totally rid of fiqh and only resorted to the Koran and hadiz (sayings of the prophet).

"But this would amount to finding one's own fiqh. It does not solve the problem," he said.

Syafiq's book, Ulil said, reflected the work of an irritated santri (Muslim scholar).

"But an irritation which was based on love (of the fiqh)," he said.

Ulil said he believed fiqh should be continually reviewed because, unlike in Christianity, divine revelation in Islam came not just once but on successive occasions.

Julia who claimed to be a secular Muslim and was ignorant about the Koranic language said she was happy to learn that there had been corrective efforts in Islam.

"And it is most encouraging because the corrective efforts were started by Muslims themselves," she said.

She said the notion of Islam, though, often scared her.

"Islam often conjures up pictures of violence although one could ask which sections of the Islamic community are condoning violence?" she said.

She questioned the claim that Islam represents a human face and humanity.

Looking back through recent history she asked: "Why did Islamist politicians respond favorably when former president Soeharto embraced Islam during the early 1990s?" she asked.

"Because Islam has a political ambition," she said. (hbk)