Leaders told to bury the hatchet

Leaders told to bury the hatchet

JAKARTA (JP): The country's two largest Muslim organizations,
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have called on the members
of the political elite to bury their differences, unless they
want a battle between their supporters at the grassroots level to
erupt.

NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi said the recent series of violent
incidents in East Java and Jakarta and the conflict between the
supporters of the two Muslim organizations had a lot to do with
the conflict between their leaders in the political elite.

"It is the members of the political elite rather than the two
organizations who have triggered the violence and the conflict
between Muslims," he said at a hearing between Muslim mass
organizations and the House of Representatives' Commission VII on
religious and education affairs here on Monday.

Hasyim was of the opinion that the special session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in August was an appropriate
time for the members of the political elite to reconcile their
differences and reach a compromise in a bid to halt clashes
between their supporters nationwide.

"If the executive and the MPR fail to reach a political
compromise and to bring about reconciliation during the special
session, the conflict between the organizations' supporters will
likely escalate," he said.

The apparent conflict between the two giant Muslim groups is
a mirror image of the increasingly heated dispute between
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who chaired the NU before becoming
President, and MPR speaker Amien Rais, who once led Muhammadiyah.

Hasyim, however, claimed that so far there had been no
problems between the NU and Muhammadiyah and that the two
organizations had developed both formal and informal cooperation
to improve their ties.

"But, the two organizations' supporters have been involved in
serious conflicts after (leading) figures from their respective
organizations became involved in their prolonged political
bickering," he said.

He believed the long-standing dispute would die down if the
political leaders agreed on political compromise and
reconciliation.

"The conflict has forced ulemas and clerics to play a role as
fire fighters, although they are seeking no political advantage
from this," he said.

Throughout the history of Islam, Hasyim said, conflicts among
Muslims have been sparked by worldly matters such as politics and
not by religious matters.

Therefore, Hasyim said, the political elite must reach a
compromise and stop burdening the people, especially Muslims,
with their political squabbles.

"It is not fair to shift the burden to Muslim mass
organizations," Hasyim said.

Meanwhile, Din Samsyuddin, deputy chairman of Muhammadiyah,
said the conflicts among the people mirrored the conflicts among
the political elite who had their roots in religious
organizations, including NU and Muhammadiyah.

Din said both religious leaders and political figures should
make a clear distinction between religious organizations and
political parties.

"Amien Rais is a respected figure in Muhammadiyah but his
political activities in his capacity as chairman of the National
Mandate Party and speaker of the Assembly have nothing to do with
Muhammadiyah, whose main mission lies in the religious and
educational fields," he said.

Irsyad Junaidi, chairman of Al-Waisliyah, regretted the
prolonged internal conflict among Muslims, saying it could
threaten national unity unless a peaceful settlement was reached.

He also said that nationwide acceptance of religious pluralism
was a must for maintaining harmony among the followers of
different religions and, consequently, the people of the country.
(rms)