Is slaying those attempting to topple Gus Dur permissible?

JAKARTA (JP): Executives of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization, will discuss whether it is permissible to slay those who attempt to topple President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid

NU deputy chairman Achmad Bagdja said on Monday the issue would be discussed by the organization's law-making body during a meeting on Wednesday in Sukabumi, West Java.

The issue is going to be discussed at the request of NU members at the grassroots level.

Gus Dur served as the organization's chairman for 15 years before he was elected president in 1999.

"The results of the meeting will be given as a political recommendation to the President," Bagdja said.

The chairman of NU's East Java chapter, Ali Maschan Moesa, said in March NU members and supporters were waiting for guidance on how to respond to the activities of those opposed to the President.

He said NU members believed the President's opponents must be confronted and were questioning if attempts to topple Gus Dur could be categorized as bughot, or rebellion against a legitimate government. Islamic law allows the killing of those involved in bughot.

In Surabaya, East Java, hundreds of NU members reportedly have registered for a jihad to defend Gus Dur until the death.

Achmad, however, said NU would not to issue a decree authorizing the jihad.

NU deputy secretary-general Masduki Baidlawi said for an activity to be classified as bughot, it had to meet three criteria: the presence of an armed group, actions against a legitimate government and the establishment of a government and legal system in opposition to a legitimate government.

He said the killing of those involved in bughot was allowed. "The blood ... is halal (allowed for Muslims)," Masduki told The Jakarta Post by phone.

NU deputy chairman Solahuddin Wahid, who is also Gus Dur's brother, said the Indonesian legal system did not recognize bughot and the country did not follow Islamic law.

"We have to be careful in discussing it. Bughot is part of Islamic law ... only a country which fully imposes Islamic law can allow (the killing of those involved in bughot)," Solahuddin said.

According to Masduki, it was necessary to discus bughot because of ulemas' concern with the nation's current political and security situation.

"Separatist actions such as in Aceh and Irian Jaya are threatening the unitary state," Masduki said.

"If demands (to separate from the country) are the result of the ineffectiveness of the government, let us find out whether (the ineffectiveness) is due to the government's internal problems or external ones," Masduki said.

The government can improve its performance if problems are internal, Masduki said. However, the fighting among the political elite is an "external matter that has eroded the government's capabilities".

"The political elite, who never stop condemning the President, have been preventing the government from carrying out its duties," he said. (02)