Gus Dur, Abu Hasan advised to make peace
Gus Dur, Abu Hasan advised to make peace
SEMARANG (JP): Prominent Moslem leaders yesterday renewed their call for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid and his arch political foe Abu Hasan to make peace.
Cholil Bisri and Emha Ainun Nadjib said that like all other Moslems across Indonesia, Abdurrahman (known as Gus Dur) and Abu should have forgiven each other after the end of the Ramadhan fasting month.
"Gus Dur and Abu Hasan should apologize to all Indonesian Moslems because their enmity has caused unrest among the Moslem community," Cholil told The Jakarta Post.
Abu has been contesting the NU leadership since the organization's congress in Cipasung, West Java, in December 1994. He lost the election to the incumbent Abdurrahman.
After he was left out of the new NU executive board, he launched a campaign to unseat Abdurrahman from the NU leadership board.
First, he accused Abdurrahman of cheating in the election. Then, he threatened to take his rival to court for suggesting that he had accepted kickbacks. The threat was never carried out.
Their enmity heightened further when Abu Hassan organized a congress of his own and got himself appointed as an alternative NU chairman. Although he reportedly had the support of some government officials, his claim to the NU leadership was never recognized.
Cholil, leader of a prestigious Islamic boarding school in the Central Java town of Rembang, said the 30 million NU members across Indonesia are tired of the prolonged leadership conflict.
"All efforts to bring Gus Dur and Abu Hasan together have ended in failure," he said.
Emha Ainun Nadjib, also well-known as a political observer, reminded Abdurrahman and Abu that it is high time NU members focused on strengthening their Moslem solidarity.
"Indonesian Moslems, especially NU members, should stop their conflict," he said.
Instead Indonesian Moslems must fight for common objectives, including greater democracy. "To face the common challenges, the NU should not disintegrate. NU leaders should use their time and energy to prepare concrete programs to help members," Emha said
Amien Rais, who heads Muhammadiyah, another influential Moslem organization, said he opposed any idea to involve a third party as mediator in the NU internal rift saga.
He said he believed the NU senior leaders have the capability to resolve their own problem. "The presence of a third party, including the government, is unnecessary."
As chairman of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization, Abdurrahman Wahid has been courted by political parties ahead of next year's House of Representatives election.
He is known to have a close relation with the chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri although he is known to have maintained his Golkar membership.
He once served as a member of the People's Consultative Assembly representing Golkar.
Moestahid Astari, Golkar's deputy secretary, said yesterday he was optimistic Abdurrahman was still loyal to Golkar.
"Gus Dur has not rescinded his Golkar membership, so I believe he is still a Golkar man. There is no problem," Moestahid told journalists.
He said Golkar has nothing to worry about over Abdurrahman's close relations with Megawati. (har/pan)