Gus Dur, the sleepy but alert scholar

Gus Dur, the sleepy but alert scholar

JAKARTA (JP): One needs only to attend a seminar featuring
Abdurrahman Wahid, the controversial scholar and leader of the
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization, to realize that the man
can fall asleep anywhere.

Sitting squeezed between the other speakers on a dais, or
cross-legged at a small gathering of Moslem students, it only
takes Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, a few minutes to
start to nod off. Some people say he sometimes even snores
softly.

Many can testify, however, that the very second after an emcee
says "the floor is yours, Gus Dur", the man opens his eyes and is
completely alert.

Without even a rub of his eyes, he then picks up the
microphone and launches into a comprehensive, sharp and often
debate-inviting speech on just about any subject. Politics, the
arts, culture, religion, anything.

After falling asleep in the middle of a session of the 1994 NU
congress in Cipasung, West Java, he woke up and, as alert as
ever, addressed the congress of hundreds of ulemas. An ulema was
then overheard saying, "Told you, he's a wali!"

Wali are the respected Moslem teachers who propagated Islam in
Java over five centuries ago. They are said to have had magical
powers. The term is sometimes translated as Islamic saint.

Controversy

Following the almost daily press reports about Gus Dur over
the past decade, it is obvious that the man is constantly
embroiled in controversy. He amazingly manages to emerge
unscathed.

In the late 1980s, he was criticized for reportedly suggesting
that the Islamic expression of Assalaamu'alaikum, meaning "peace
be upon you", be replaced with the secular greetings of good
morning and good day.

In 1992, he was attacked for receiving a donation from the
organizer of the SDSB state lottery, an organization the Moslem
community denounced. This incident not only created an uproar,
but also drove K.H. Ali Yafie, an NU leader, to resign in
protest.

In 1993, he was criticized for his chairmanship of the Forum
Demokrasi, a loose group of government critics he helped
establish, and for airing ideas which his opponents said
separated him from the NU fold.

"Gus Dur has been walking alone, leaving the millions of
traditional NU followers behind him," charged one critic.

One of the most recent attacks concerned his remark that
Indonesia should consider opening ties with Israel after he met
with a senior official in Isreal in 1994.

A wave of street protests were launched by various Moslem
groups in several cities. Most denounced Gus Dur as a traitor to
Islam and Palestine, and called him "the henchman of the
Zionists".

And yet, at the 1994 congress, it took him only an hour to
convince the ulemas to accept the reasons he claimed justified
his visit to Israel.

The ulemas, mainly schoolmasters of pesantren (Islamic
boarding schools), later re-elected him chairman of the
Tanfidzyah, the central executive board of the 30-million strong
organization.

Even then, Gus Dur, the father of four from his wife Nuriyah,
did not have time to bask in his victory. His strongest
competitor, Abu Hasan, persuaded a number of other disgruntled
ulemas to form a rival board.

Last week Abu and his supporters held an extraordinary
congress to denounce Gus Dur's leadership. Abu was subsequently
elected chairman of the rival board.

Gus Dur, who had never been on the pilgrimage to Mecca when he
first took up the NU chairmanship in 1984, cold-shouldered the
revolt. "Abu's board is nothing. It will soon disappear," he
assured.

He also refused suggestions from various people, including
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, that he reconcile
with Abu.

"Get real. (My) board has been hijacked, and now I have to
reconcile with the hijackers? They should be punished instead,"
he said.

Many observers have criticized the government's ambiguous
stance on the rival board. The government allowed Abu Hasan to
proceed with his activities, but declared its recognition of
Abdurrahman's board. Some observers said the internal conflict
was fed by power holders concerned with Gus Dur's criticism of
the government.

"The ambiguous stance is caused by a split in the political
elite," Gus commented.

And yet, the grandson of hadratusyaikh (the great teacher)
K.H. Muhammad Hasyim Asy'ari, the founder of NU, is upbeat about
the future of NU.

The organization, the bulk of which is made up of farmers, is
an attractive political base for almost all interest groups.

The following are excerpts from The Jakarta Post interviews
with Gus Dur. Conducted on several different occasions, they
cover the future of the NU and its position in the current
political scene.

Q: NU leadership seems to have been preoccupied with the
various external pressures against the organization. Does this
reduce efforts to breed new generations of NU leaders?

A: Actually, the condition helps produce even better cadres
because they are really tested in the real game. They see for
themselves (what's going on).

Not only efforts to breed new cadres are getting better, but,
frankly, we have even been successful in developing "alternative
cadres". Look at those who are outside the leadership board, who
are engaging in philosophical discourses on Islam, people like
Ulil Abshar (a young intellectual in NU).

It's funny, these people are from non-governmental
organizations, but are also active in NU. People like Muhammad
Hikam (a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences)
and Rozy Munir (director of the Center for Institutional
Development Research at the University of Indonesia).

Debates between very conventional NU figures with these
reformist young people, like Ulil, have enabled both parties to
be more mature and more accommodative. The talks never cease.

Q: It seems that efforts to unseat you from NU have
intensified now that the 1997 general election nears. Do you
think NU leaders after you will also survive?

A: The assumption that NU will receive as great (an external)
pressure as it has all this time is false. Why should there be?
Rationally, it's going to be different.

The government is surely aware of how big my audience is. They
know that my charisma is greater than it was five or 10 years
ago. Imagine, (NU held) five gatherings within 24 hours of each
other and in a radius of 15 kilometers... these gatherings were
all packed.

Those with power know the potential of NU cadres. They know.

I believe the campaign to undermine NU will dissipate. The
support for NU leaders will grow rather than diminish. No matter
how you look at it, NU is needed for the general election. Our
politics is growing more mature and NU increasingly becomes
something to be reckoned with.

So, how will our future cadres survive? No, I'm not worried
(about them) at all.

It is true that the biggest challenge that NU leaders have to
face is how to manage the increasingly diverse elements within
NU, so they move in unison. Therefore the organization needs
collective leadership. The current leadership is actually not yet
collective.

Q: Will the heterogeneity of NU undermine its cohesiveness?

A: Actually, NU is becoming stronger precisely because of its
heterogeneity. For instance, did you ever imagine that K.H. Ilyas
Ruhiyat (the Rais Am, chairman, of the Syuriyah or law-making
body) could agree with K.H. Sahal Mahfudz (Ilyas' deputy) on
various issues? For instance, about my closeness with Mega?
(Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the minority Indonesian
Democratic Party).

Even regarding politics, the NU leaders' policy is "hands-
off". Every NU member is free to choose his political venue.

We are not heading towards a homogeneity. What's an artificial
homogeneity for? So that we can become like Golkar?

Q: Now that NU is approaching its 70th anniversary, has its
base expanded from the pesantren?

A: You're mistaken if you say the basis of NU is the
pesantren. NU's first base was rich farmers, who used to send
their children to study in Mecca and other places. The pesantren
received support from these rich farmers. The pesantren then act
as a "distributor of force" and patronage -- the power source.

Please notice that most NU leaders were not from pesantren.
K.H. Wahab Hasbullah (another founder of NU) had 400 hectares of
land. In later days, there were also groups from outside the
pesantren, especially when NU became a political party. We call
them "non-pesantren" functionaries.

In South Sumatra the basis of NU is the ulemas. Pesantren is a
more novel presence. Some NU leaders there established boarding
schools when they reached old age. Most of NU supporters in
Sumatra are traders.

Of course there are cadres from pesantren, but each with their
own basis, and they climb their own way up the leadership of
pesantren.

NU also has the support of the Indonesian Corps of Civil
Servants -- this is a distinct power base. There are hundreds of
thousands of village heads who support NU.

There are also professionals from outside the corps, like
businessmen, who support NU. I'm really not worried about the
future leadership of NU. This organization is the most prepared
(in grooming new leaders) compared to other organizations.

Q: There are people who wish you were more accommodating
towards the government. What is your comment?

A: I don't have any problems with the government. The
perceived problems are something that "people from outside" blow
up. The government? Which government do they mean? All of our
projects are working out just fine. If it's the government that
engage in (political) intrigues, count us out.

How can there be a national reconciliation if I resign, as
some people wish? From the beginning I was aware of the risks.
People will devise any means to get rid of me, including using
the good name of President Soeharto and creating the illusion
that I am standing against him. (anr/sim/swe)