Moslems told to unite to improve their lot
Moslems told to unite to improve their lot
JAKARTA (JP): Poverty and incompetence seem to be the lot of
Indonesian Moslems despite their large number and growing
political clout, scholars agreed over the weekend.
Adi Sasono of the Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI), Anwar Harjono of the Indonesian Islamic
Propagation Council (DDII) and constitutional law expert Yusril
Ihza Mahendra said that Moslems should make education and other
efforts to build their human resource a priority.
The men were among speakers at Saturday's launch of the book
Di Sekitar Lahirnya Republik (Around the Birth of the Republic),
jointly written by Anwar Harjono and Lukman Hakiem.
The launch also marked the commemoration of the first congress
of Indonesian Moslems in November 1945.
Adi Sasono, who is also director of the Center for Information
and Development Studies (CIDES), said that poorer Indonesians
were more likely to be Moslem while richer people had a greater
probability of being non-Moslems.
According to 1996 statistics, 22.4 million Indonesians still
live below the poverty line.
Moslems make up 87 percent of Indonesia's population of 200
million. According to 1990 statistics, there were 6.4 million
Catholics and 10.8 million Protestants.
Adi also cited a recent study by the Ministry of Religious
Affairs which found that Islamic high schools ranked among the
lowest in Jakarta's 247 schools. There are 115 state-owned high
schools here, 88 Catholic and Protestant schools, and 44 Islamic
schools.
The schools were divided into three categories: top, middle
and low. Among the 10 best schools in the first category, eight
were Catholic and Protestant schools and the remaining two were
state-run public schools.
The situation is almost identical for the second and third
categories, he said.
In the second category, two Islamic schools -- Al Azhar I and
Al Azhar II, ranked 52nd and 63rd from 247 schools. In the third
category, Muhammadiyah Islamic schools ranked 164th and 178th.
"It appears that poor education achievement among Moslems goes
hand in hand with their poor economic achievement," Adi Sasono
said.
Anwar Harjono, who came to the book launch despite his ill-
health and being confined to a wheelchair, said Indonesian
Moslems need to work harder to build quality human resource.
He also called for unity among Moslems, despite differences
between groups and venues.
He suggested a five-point agenda for Indonesian Moslems to
meet in order to be able to face future challenges. They include
greater effort to build tolerance and respect for other Moslems
and prevent conflicts and disintegration.
"Differences in political position should be treated in a way
that supports the adage: 'opposition in opinion is a friend in
mental exercise'," Anwar said.
He also called for greater efforts to perform amar ma'ruf nahi
munkar (encouraging people to do good and preventing them from
doing bad).
"Moslems should behave as a social control for all
institutions, be they state institutions or other groups," he
said. (swe)