Moslems being put to the test: Scholar

SURABAYA (JP): Moslems' recent growing clout in the domestic cultural and political arenas is a challenge to be faced, scholar Nurcholish Madjid said.

In a speech marking the 50th anniversary of the Association of Moslem Students (HMI) here Saturday, Nurcholish said if Moslems passed this particular challenge, they would fare very well. Should they fail, however, they would fall into complete disarray, he said.

"Moslems are presently being tested, with a good test, namely their growing strength in the national arenas of culture and politics," said Nurcholish, who is also former HMI chairman and currently a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.

In his speech titled Renewing the Nation's Political Culture, Nurcholish said Moslems should prepare for their test by holding fast to their religious values. He said the current important roles they play were not for the benefit of those in power but to help Moslems in as objective a manner as possible.

"If President Soeharto gave his blessing to ICMI (the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals), it's not because he pitied Moslems, but because Pak Harto read the situation well, namely that there is a resurgence of intellectual thinking among Moslems," he said.

"Moslems should take advantage of the situation, striving to increase their role in society while protecting their religious values. Otherwise, Moslems will be destroyed. If we tried to advance by abandoning the faith, then that means we betray Islam," he said.

Nurcholish called on the students, who make up the group of intellectuals, to take charge. "Take initiatives, especially when the opportunity is available," he said.

Separately, ICMI chairman B.J. Habibie denied charges that the influential organization was politicking.

Opening a meeting of local ICMI branches in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Saturday, Habibie said the organization had not been attempting to enter the domestic political arena as some people had claimed. Instead, ICMI has been striving to use a cultural approach to its activities, he was quoted by Antara as saying.

"I reiterate here that ICMI has not entered practical political activities. Instead, through a cultural approach, ICMI has been working to contribute more to national development," he said.

Established as a social organization in 1990, ICMI has grown in political stature and been often criticized for reportedly dabbling in politics.

"ICMI does not always use a structural approach, for instance through ministries, in its activities. Instead, it strives to build our villages through technological advancement," he said.

Habibie pointed out how for the first 20 years he was working under the President, he failed to develop Islamic traditional boarding schools (pesantren) as centers of technological development.

Things changed after he was elected ICMI chairman, he said. "Only then could I move freely toward introducing technology to the pesantren," he said. (25/swe)