'Ideology is dead' in politics

'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.