Extremism taints image of Islam: Religious leaders

Extremism taints image of Islam: Religious leaders

A'an Suryana and Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Syafi'i Maarif, head of the country's second largest Muslim
organization, Muhammadiyah, expressed concern on Saturday over
fundamentalist Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI)'s campaign for
introduction of syariah or Islamic law.

He said that the campaign, echoing similar efforts waged by
other hardline Muslim groups, could tarnish the image of Islam in
Indonesia which is, he emphasized, caring and peace-loving.

Syafi'i was addressing Mujahiddin's plan to hold a two-day
seminar on syariah in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. Its leaders and
activists said they wanted to seek input for ideas about syariah
that they would propose to add to the 1945 Constitution.

The seminar, titled A Proposal for the Amendment of the 1945
Constitution Adjusted to Islamic Syariah, is expected to come out
with recommendations on Islamic law and the re-inclusion of the
Jakarta Charter, which has been demanded by puritanical Muslim
groups.

The constitution is being amended by the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) in Jakarta. Advocates have pledged to continue
pressing their demands for syariah, although most political
factions in the highest law-making body have refused it.

The 30 million-strong Muhammadiyah and the first largest
Islamic organization in the archipelago, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
which claims to have 40 million members, have also repeatedly
voiced their objections, too.

"The planned congress is full of political nuances; instead of
wasting resources to hold such talks, they should focus attention
on other, more crucial issues -- such as how to improve the
economy, clean up government corruption and better enforce the
law," Syafi'i told The Jakarta Post.

NU Secretary General Muhyiddin Arubusman questioned on Sunday
the need for such a forum but said it was still acceptable as
long as it was a "scientific discourse".

"For NU, the issue of Islamic law is no longer relevant for
discussion," he told the Post.

Muhyiddin denied his organization would send representatives
to attend the seminar.

Mustofa Bisri, a co-chairman of the NU law-making body, voiced
a similar opinion on Sunday, saying the seminar should not be
responded to seriously as it was being sponsored by Islamic
minority groups.

Nor should the media give the event wide coverage, in order to
avoid giving undue publicity to their campaign for Islamic law,
he said.

"The press should focus its coverage on events that are of
most significance to the public at large, unlike such a seminar,"
Mustofa, better known as Gus Mus, told the Post.

Syafi'i further said he feared that the talks would only
tarnish Islam's moderate face in Indonesia. "The congress will
create an incorrect and unsavory perception of Islam," he said.

"People may start to think that Islam is cruel, that it seeks
draconian laws that allow amputation," for crimes like theft,
said Syafi'i, whose organization, along with NU, represented
mainstream and majority Muslims in Indonesia.

Both organizations, which often differ in opinion regarding
matters about religious and social affairs, recently won
accolades for uniting to help keep the country intact and promote
Islamic tolerance.

Moderate Muslim leaders have expressed concern over the
radical groups' actions -- like raiding nightspots, especially
during the holy month of Ramadhan, while saying they are the
front line against prostitution.

However, many parties, including the esteemed Catholic scholar
Franz Magnis Suseno, have claimed that these groups only
represent minority Muslims.

Franz Magnis was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying on
Saturday that "I don't see mainstream Muslims seeking to create
an Islamic state" in Indonesia. "These noises are being created
only by small, radical groups."

Syafi'i said that the government should be held responsible
for the emergence of the Muslim radical groups. He added that the
government's failure to uphold justice and improve economic
performance had given rise to the mushrooming extremism.

"The government has failed to sweep away gambling dens,
prostitution, which has prompted the radical groups to take the
law into their own hands," he said. "Poverty is also another
cause of radicalism."

Syafi'i said Muhammadiyah planned to hold intensive dialogues
with the radical groups to promote the true face of Islam.

Despite Syafi'i's criticism of the seminar, vice chairman of
Muhammadiyah's Consultative Assembly Fahmi Muqoddas on Thursday
claimed his organization would send two delegates to the forum.

"We want to contribute our Islamic thoughts on how Muslims can
understand syariah properly, and how it can be realistically
applied, so that the Islamic law will not only be implemented for
the benefit of Muslims, but followers of other religions as
well," he said.

The recent meeting in Jakarta, which was attended by Syafi'i
and NU chief Hasyim Muzadi, was also meant to serve as a rebuke
to the sensationalistic coverage about Islam in Indonesia by the
Western media.

Islamic radicalism in Indonesia came to the fore in Western
countries following the U.S. government's allegation that a group
of Indonesians were among those involved in the terror attacks of
Sept. 11.

The U.S. has also named Indonesia as a country where Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist group has networks.