'Ideology is dead' in politics

Asip A. Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Syafii Ma'arif hit the headlines recently when he said that there was no need to pit Muslims against nationalists.

"Islam-oriented political parties only gained less than 10 percent of the total votes in the 1999 general elections," the chairman of the second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah told The Jakarta Post in his office.

Syafii, who has been at Muhammadiyah's helm for four years, believes the same parties would gain smaller support in 2004 elections.

This is part of the reason why he made the controversial statement, he said, adding that ideology had rapidly become a non-currency in Indonesia.

But the main thrust of Syafii's argument was that Muhammadiyah no longer objects to the state ideology of Pancasila, following the lead of the largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

"If the two major streams of Islam in Indonesia have accepted Pancasila, then what else is there to argue? It is no longer relevant to talk about polarization between the nationalist and the Islamic camps," Syafii said.

During the Soeharto years, all organizations had to put forth Pancasila as their sole ideology which NU did in the mid 1980s.

With the killing off of the suspected communists following the 1965 assassinations of seven military leaders in Indonesia, Islam and the nationalists are the two remaining political forces.

Syafii's statement which came amid the rapid growth of Islam- oriented political parties would likely sway the widely-held view of Muhammadiyah being close to militant Islamist groups.

"Muhammadiyah is now closer to NU, or NU is closer to Muhammadiyah. I have been working more closely with Hasyim Muzadi now," he said.

Hasyim is the NU chairman who is very close to former president Abdurrahman Wahid who remains an influential NU figure having been at the helm of the organization for 15 years.

The relationship is now waning and Hasyim together with Syafii recently talked before the U.S. Congress presenting a more tolerant outlook of Islam here.

But how Syafii's stance fits in to the recent series of meetings between Muslim political leaders in Jakarta remains unclear.

Some say Syafii's maneuver was made to pave the way for the Islamic leaders who reportedly decided to support People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and Hasyim Muzadi as presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2004 elections.

Syafii, who was invited to the meetings but did not attend, still believes that the meetings have nothing to do with the creation of a political coalition or other short-term political goal as others have theorized.

"The meetings discussed the country's economic problems, the constitutional amendment and other things. It was more like a forum to streamline the views of those Muslim political leaders concerning the constitutional amendments," he said.

In today's Indonesia, many conflicts which appeared to be ideological clashes were actually rooted in social and economic interests, said Syafii who had a hand in forging the February peace deal to end Maluku's three-year-old Christian and Muslim conflict.

If ideology is no longer relevant in the Indonesian political arena, scholars will probably have to adjust to such a development.

"Ideological conflicts in our politics ended when first president Sukarno issued a 1959 Presidential Decree which reinstated Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Later, political conflicts were actually based on conflicts of interest," he said.

Syafii admits that he has undergone a drastic shift in his political thoughts. He abandoned his idea to establish an Islamic state after he obtained his Ph. D. on Islamic studies from the University of Chicago about 15 years ago, he said.

Now he is a frequent speaker at interfaith forums including one of two keynote speakers at yearly discussions organized by Basis cultural magazine published by Yogyakarta's Catholic foundation Kanisius.

"I will be the sole speaker during Atma Jaya's (a private, Catholic university) anniversary in Jakarta on June 4," the ethnic Minangkabau (West Sumatra) proudly said.

Syafii said he believed fewer and fewer Muslims now want to establish an Islamic state, as more Muslims can go to colleges and universities. Modern education, he said, can help people to be more rational in understanding religious teachings.

He expressed his grievances over the way the Acehnese implement the syariah law, which he considered "a simplification" of the syariat Islam.

"They simplify syariat Islam by ordering 'jilbab' (Muslim headscarves) for women or 'rajam' (death by stoning) as punishment for adulterers," he said.

He said the syariat Islam should be reformed as many parts of it were no longer contextual to the current condition.

The ancient 'syariat Islam' was the creation of Muslim ulemas' interpretation of the Koran and Al Hadits (the prophet Muhammad's wisdom), therefore it should be absolutely open to change.

The phrase 'Islamic State' did not exist in the Koran nor in Hadits and was only introduced by Egyptian Muslim Rasyid Ridlo in 1920s, he said.

Asked if he would enter politics after his five-year-term of Muhammadiyah chairmanship ended in 2005, Syafii said, "No! I will already be 70, if I live until 2005. Let the younger generation take over."

In his retirement, he said, he would spend his time writing more, promoting Islam as a tolerant and non-violent religion through articles and books.

"To help Muslim civilization grow normally without excessive suspicion toward others is a tough job because most Muslim countries experienced a bitter time of colonization. I believe that some day the tolerant and anti-violent Islam will surge as a winner, at least in this country," he said.