Islamic law biased on woman leader

Can a woman be a president in Indonesia? This question has been aired frequently these days as a woman-led Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) takes a lead in vote counting. Ahmad Syafii Maarif, acting chairman of the 28- million strong Muhammadiyah Muslim organization talks to The Jakarta Post about the issue.

Question: Is it true that Islam does not allow a woman to become a president?

Syafii: Classical fiqh (study of laws pertaining to ritual obligations) does forbid a Muslim woman to be the top leader of a nation. Yet the latest development says that such a prohibition is only an interpretative one as it is interpreted from the Holy Koran's An-Nisaa 47 article saying that men are the leaders of women. In Arabic, however, the word leader can be interpreted as protector, not just formal leader.

I myself do not mind to have a female leader as long as she fulfills all the criteria to be one. Firstly, she has to be mentally and spiritually healthy. Secondly, she should have a concept of what she is going to do, be fair and accepted by the people. And, of course, she has to have a relatively high intellectual capacity.

Q: Why then does such a regulation exist?

S: Classical fiqh was brought by men, therefore, it would not be free from men's bias. When Benazir Bhutto won the election in Pakistan, for example, all ulemas were against her. Yet, as she was elected by the people, there was nothing they could do.

As for Indonesia, I myself do not see it as a gender issue. It is more a matter of capacity. You see, the founding president Sukarno, who had all the criteria to be not just the leader of Indonesia but also the leader of a world stature, had failed. How could Megawati, his daughter, be successful? It is rational thinking, is it not?

Q: How does Muhammadiyah perceive the matter?

S: Muhammadiyah will never make a statement on it. We see it as a superfluous matter. What is all the fuss for anyway? Our principle is clear: we do not want to be at the subordination of any particular political parties.

Besides, we have the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) which will elect the next president. If you want to respect the rules of the game, do not ever think you will automatically become the president if you win the election. It is foolish. It is against the rules of the game. If you do not want any chaos to happen, you have to go back to the rules. Otherwise, it will end in anarchy.

People seem to have imagined they chose a president when they cast their votes to a particular party... that is true but it is not right. As long as we still abide by the 1945 Constitution, we have to uphold it. It is our consensus. Unless we make an amendment to it, we can not directly elect a president. We, therefore, have to make the rules first.

Q: Some view PDI Perjuangan's imminent victory in the elections as the Muslims' defeat, especially because many of its legislative candidates are non-Muslims. Your comment?

S: I think it is PDI Perjuangan which has less political sensibility. It's obvious that Muslims are the majority here (in Indonesia). The party, therefore, should have been proportional and objective in fielding their legislative candidate composition which would really reflect the community. That is also why the Indonesian Ulemas Assembly (MUI) and Muhammadiyah had reminded people of such a thing but it seems to have been unsuccessful.

I think PDI Perjuangan was also unfair in this case, in the sense that the party did not actively socialize its legislative candidates. I saw no such political will in PDI Perjuangan. I saw no political wisdom.

Q: Why do you think PDI Perjuangan is winning the election?

S: I think it is more because of the way people see Megawati as a symbol of the oppressed. There are conditions that make people sympathetic to her. For example, her persistent silence in facing all the oppression projects an image that she is a patient person.

Q: Other than going back to the Constitution, can you pick the best way of electing a president in the MPR out of the noisy debate on the issue?

S: I agree to the rector of Gadjah Mada University Ichlasul Amal who proposed the so-called stage-by-stage election. First, MPR selects presidential candidates, say 10 candidates. Then, the MPR screens them and narrows the selection down to only two or three. The one who gets the highest votes will be named president. The one who gets second highest will be vice president. It is indeed a very good idea. The question is, will the political parties accept it?

Q: Some say such a procedure will only halt Megawati from being a president...

S: People are free to make interpretations. Therefore, I think it is a good idea to have all the presidential candidates present their programs, their vision of the future, in front of the MPR. It is the 21st century. How come a presidential candidate does not have the guts to speak in front of the MPR. (swa)