JP/3/PPNUI
Renowned cleric leads another Nahdlatul Ulama-oriented party
Rais Hidayat Research and Development Unit The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, which claims 40 million members, is far from homogeneous. Commonly known as a rural-based organization with its main basis in traditional Islamic schools (pesantren), it has seen major shifts as its leaders have striven cautiously to adjust to the times and as its younger generation has responded more impatiently.
A "play safe" strategy under the New Order, which was watchful of potential troublemakers, particularly among Muslims, did not always augur well for restless figures who differed from others on whether NU as an institution could formally participate in politics.
NU members have always been courted, ahead of each general election, by Islam-oriented and secular political parties, while its leaders have also joined or established parties themselves.
Religious leader Syukron Ma'mun, 62, is one such figure. The well-known kyai from Madura, East Java, who has held a number of posts in the NU leadership, set up the Nahlatul Community Party (Partai Nahdlatul Ummah or PNU) to contest the 1999 election. It failed to pass the electoral threshold so he eventually declared the establishment of the Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party (PPNUI) on March 5 last year.
Syukron represents what has become a minority voice within NU, one that insists that Muslims as the majority must play a central political role. It is also a voice that argues that sharia should be applied to complement the country's criminal code, given that the country's law alone has not curbed effectively today's evils such as murder, rape and corruption.
Such views have been drowned out by the other NU camp regarding this issue, most notably represented by Abdurrahman Wahid. The latter camp says Islam is one of the country's assets along with other religions and their followers. But regardless of the debate, Abdurrahman did not shy away from presidential ambitions and became the country's fourth president, although his National Awakening Party (PKB) only came fourth in the last election.
Despite advocating harsh corporate punishment such as the severing of hands for thieves or corruptors, Syukron's party does not advocate an Islamic state. This reflects the long discourse within NU, which led to the organization's united stand in accepting the Indonesian state. The interpretation of efforts to achieve Islamisasi differs within NU, as not all agree that it means making Islam a way of life at a national level, such as by adopting sharia law, even if only to complement the criminal code for Muslims.
Among NU figures with a long distrust of "modernist Muslims", Syukron is not among them. He was a deputy chairman of the Advisory Council of the Jakarta branch of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) from 1997 to 1998. In 1999 his party was among those supporting B.J. Habibie and Gen. (ret) Wiranto as candidates for the presidency and vice presidency.
But if Syukron's party is relying on the support of NU members it faces the daunting challenge of attracting anything like the potential voters for Abdurrahman's PKB, as well as other parties targeting these members, including those within Syukron's home province, East Java. The charismatic preacher, Zainuddin MZ, who leads the Reform Star Party (PBR), also claims to be a follower of NU.
In 1999 PKB won 51 seats with over 13 million votes, while PNU had only five seats from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Lampung, West Java, East Java and South Kalimatan, with less than 700,000 votes.
Nevertheless, the party, said executive Dhany Syafruddin Nawawi, is optimistic of more votes, with particular reliance on NU networks in which Syukron has influence.
These would include the Islamic Propagation Institute of NU (LDNU), of which Syukron is chairman, the NU Community for Tarekat (Islamic mysticism) or Jatma, and the Islamic Preachers Association (Persatuan Muballigh se Indonesia), which Syukron led from 1995 to 1998, with 15,000 members.
His party creed, Islam Ahlussunah wal-Jama'ah is similar to that of NU, and is understood to mean that Islam is a moderate, tolerant and accommodating religion open to local culture and environment. However, as seen above, interpretations differ on what exactly this means -- and the results of the elections will reflect, in part, voter preferences amid today's lively discourse among Muslims -- both within and beyond NU.