Is slaying those attempting to topple Gus Dur permissible?

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)