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)