MMI seminar on 'suariah' to ge ahead

MMI seminar on 'suariah' to ge ahead

A'an Suryana and Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Yogyakarta

Despite some objections from major Muslim organizations, the
Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI) will go ahead with its plan
to hold a seminar on syariah, or Islamic law, in Yogyakarta on
Tuesday.

The two-day seminar will be attended by 40 representatives
from at least 18 Muslim organizations, Harun of the organizing
committee said on Monday.

The seminar will discuss efforts to amend the Constitution to
include syariah. Some delegates plan to lobby for the law to be
implemented for all residents of the country regardless of
religion or nationality, however, others will discuss how to
apply it only to Muslim citizens.

The 30 million-strong Muhammadiyah has expressed concern but
will still send two representatives to the meeting, while the
largest Islamic organization, the 40 million strong Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU), has repeatedly voiced its objection to such a
campaign and will not send a representative.

Reiterating that "Indonesia is a plural society", Muslim
figures continued calling on all elements of the Muslim community
on Monday to respect all differences, including religious and
social ones, in order to promote harmony within society.

Noted Muslim scholar Ulil Absar Abdalla and the chairman of
Justice Party (PK) Hidayat Nur Wahid asserted that no group in
society has a right to impose their own will on others, saying
that this was a violation of human rights and the principles of
democracy.

The two Muslim figures made the remarks in response to MMI's
plan to seriously discuss the inclusion of syariah in the
Constitution.

Ulil said that he had no problem with the planned congress,
saying that "they have the right to do it."

"However, Indonesia is a diverse country, and Muslims should
respect the existence of other religious followers," he told The
Jakarta Post.

Ulil called on MMI not force its own will on people and that
the proposed syariah must not be included in the 1945
Constitution on grounds that such an amendment was
"undemocratic".

"Since we are a diverse nation, any proposal from any groups
should be discussed in a broader forum.

"The discussion needs consensus from others," said Ulil, the
chairman of Institute for Human Resources Studies and Development
(Lakpesdam NU), a research organization under the umbrella of the
NU.

Nur Wahid, whose party represents progressive middle class
Muslims, shared Ulil's view, saying that "amending the national
Constitution could only be carried out by the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), the state's highest body."

"If they want to do so, they should channel the results of
their seminar through the legislators," he said.

Nur Wahid regretted that Muslims, especially the small radical
groups, had so far merely emphasized their fighting in artificial
playing fields, but otherwise, they neglect to fight for the
implementation of the more substantive Islamic laws.

The small hardline Muslim groups, including the MMI, have been
so fighting for the inclusion of some parts of the Jakarta
Chapter, which has been demanded by Muslim puritanical groups,
and to insert a controversial rule, which would include
prohibiting females from the presidency.

"Syariah has many dimensions, such as bringing justice to the
fore, avoiding corruption, upholding the law, providing people
with wealth and prosperity and bringing out God's mercy," he
said.

Ulil said that syariah had been accommodated in many aspects
of the country's life, including in the matters of marriage, alms
and wealth inheritance.

Meanwhile, Nur Wahid confirmed that his party would not send
any delegates to the planned MMI seminar.

He cited that organizational concerns, namely "the party's
internal party session", would prevent them from sending
delegates to the seminar.