Ethical awareness basis of Islamic ideals

Ethical awareness basis of Islamic ideals

Religion is said to have been frequently abused in intergroup
friction but sociologist Abdul Munir Mulkhan from the Yogyakarta-
based Sunan Kalijaga Institute of Islamic Studies and a leader in
the Muhammadiyah organization also looks at perceptions among
devotees.

Question: Recently we've seen many groups saying they
represent Muslims involved in assaults against entertainment
sites which they say are sources of vice. How do you see this?

Answer: There are a number of Muslim communities that are
confused by the current rapid changes brought on by increasing
globalization. I call them "normative communities," meaning
communities which try to apply the Islamic normative laws as
stated in the syariah (standard of Islamic law).

So, personally, they cannot be blamed for the acts of violence
which they see as carrying out the teachings. The fault lies in
their leaders or ulema who should teach them how religious values
should be understood amid a rapidly changing social context.

Such communities cannot accept the reality that society is now
more open and permissive towards "non-Islamic" cultures.

They also see people from such cultures are more able to
realize their roles in life with a better social economic status.

Both factors are main reasons behind their violent prone
behavior towards symbols of more open and permissive cultures.

Q: But there are indications that some are used by hoodlums to
widen their territory...

A: It is open to debate on who's using whom. But I think such
community members are also using hoodlums to enforce the law
according to their belief. They use hoodlums because they know
that such attacks are illegal.

The above communities often justify their actions with the
argument that there are anti-Islamic groups aiming to destroy
Islam through such cultures. (For this purpose) groups of
hoodlums and even people with political interests are
accommodated.

Another factor is that it is easy to claim to represent
religious values because the values are abstract.

Moreover the origin of leaders from some of the groups are not
entirely clear, including their religious and social activities.
This adds to the increasingly unclear normative base of such
movements...

Q: So who is actually responsible for such phenomenon in Islamic
society?

A: This goes back to the elite in Islam; they should be more
clear in leading the ummah (Islamic community), in raising
awareness that the problem of vice (maksiat) cannot be destroyed
by violence because this leads to others' misery.

I think this is the result of politicizing religion which has
more or less affected the stance of the ummah in viewing
differences (in society), and in interpreting religious norms.

Q: Has weak law enforcement contributed to such acts of anarchy?

A: That is also a trigger... but the issue is not so simple ...
how can we expect strong law enforcement? In the West it is
possible because people's minimum economic needs have been met.

This is also an issue of the role of the state in protecting
its residents.

Q: Haven't entertainment spots become inevitable needs?

A: In the 1970s there was the suggestion that drinks containing
alcohol of a certain percentage be declared halal (allowed by
Islam); basically what is haram (forbidden in Islam) is (drinks)
which cause one to become drunk.

Therefore the traditional fermented cassava or glutinous rice
(tape) could have more potential to make consumers drunk because
of its higher alcohol content.

I think the concept of maksiat can be dynamic; basically it
means actions which are harmful to oneself and other people. This
includes entertainment which makes people forget their
responsibilities, which could be any form (of entertainment).

Q: How should we respond to maksiat?

A: We can resist it but we must provide an alternative. For
instance, we should provide solutions for a prostitute, so she
can overcome her economic problem in a halal way...

I'm sure everyone wants to live their lives with nothing to do
with maksiat, they just feel they are unable to do so and feel
reluctant (to change their ways) because others have such a
narrow vision of maksiat.

Q: Do all Muslims want the enforcement of syariah through
violence?

A: Election results suggest that the really practicing Muslims
are only about 25 percent. This relates to how Islam is
introduced among its followers. It also involves a review of the
history of about 23 years in the period when the Koran was
conveyed in several phases.

This was the development of society towards a normative
community.

I would prefer ethical awareness as the basis of Islamic
norms; the law is actually only the consequence of such ethical
awareness. Ethical enlightenment is the most important issue
here; as exemplified by commands to perform the prayers (shalat)
in the 11th year of the period of the Prophet Mohammad.

Islam teaches that those eligible to enter heaven are not only
those who practice Islam. When people don't understand the laws
they cannot be punished according to the laws; the degree of one
acting according to religion only applies to how far someone
lives according to the syariah.

Islam can also tolerate followers of other religions, and can
even tolerate ways in social structures which are not based on
Islam.

Q: Has the assault by the civilian groups enforced the image that
Islam is identified with armed conflict?

A: That is part of Islamic history of 100 to 200 years after the
death of Prophet Mohammad. The rule of Bani Abassiyah, two
centuries after the Prophet's death, saw the drawing up and
formalization of the syariah for the interest of the Islamic
government at that time.

Dissenting ulema and scholars, many of them Islam's great
intellectuals and philosophers, were eliminated.

Q: Could you elaborate on the need for a review of
interpretations of Islamic teaching?

A: The social teachings of Islam were constructed 1,000 years ago
when the social context was very different from today. A (review)
is needed to provide guidance on how people should live in the
modern world on the basis of Islam.

The issue is highly complicated now ... regarding theology,
many experts think the main Islamic thoughts recorded under the
rule of Bani Abassiyah was final.

All Muslims feel sure that the Islamic teachings are complete,
mainly in the arrangements of social and private life. But what
is widely neglected is how to apply those arrangements in a
growing social context.

Q: What would be an ideal Islamic society?

A: A society which is based on Islamic ethics or the universal
tasawuf values. These ethics include teachings on justice,
honesty, respecting other people's rights and so on.

Islamic thought should therefore be enriched by philosophical
thoughts, which should not be subject to suspicion.

Nowadays there are efforts to revive the original values of
tasawuf which do not necessarily involve tarekat institutions,
but which stress ethical relationships, and also relationships
between man and God, so that ritual differences will no longer
lead to conflict.

People will no longer feel restless in viewing skin deep
differences.

I think this is the right time to review the role of religion
in economic, social and political life, because society is
becoming more open. So leaders and ulema must be able to produce
radical concepts to seek solutions for civilization, to bridge
dialog between religious norms and rapid changes.

Religious thinkers must provide practical and pragmatical
religious ways, not those formulated 1,000 years ago. In other
words, how to make religious life simpler; those who can fast can
do so, and those who can't (need not).

Q: The Wahabiyah movement, which seeks to purify Islam, views
Islam in Indonesia as contaminated by traditions. Is purification
necessary?

A: The Wahabiyah introduced by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab tends to
distance itself from local traditions ... so sharp differences
have emerged between Islamic traditionalists represented by
Nahdlatul Ulama and modernists represented by Muhammadiyah.
Actually Muhammadiyah is not included in Wahabiyah although the
development of Muhammadiyah did involve the formalization of
syariah.

However, since the 1990s Muhammadiyah wished to return to its
roots, hence we're seeing more tolerant figures.

In my view the understanding of purification should be a
movement to return Islam to ethical values which are open,
accommodative, humanist and universal. (Asip A. Hasani)