Moslems warned against being used as political tool

JAKARTA (JP): Observers are warning the Moslem community against being exploited as a political tool to legitimize the status quo, as has been done in the past.

A. Dahlan Ranuwihardjo, dean of Faculty of Law at National University, and Komaruddin Hidayat, an executive of the Paramadina Islamic Foundation, said that Moslem leaders should no longer be "co-opted" by the government so it could gain legitimacy from the country's predominantly Moslem population.

"We should all learn from history... During the New Order, Moslems were used as a political tool by former president Soeharto to legitimize his regime and to enrich himself and his family," Dahlan said here Saturday during the second day of a two-day seminar on Islam and Chinese-Indonesians.

He said that many policies made by Soeharto were given an Islamic color as camouflage to maintain his power, while a majority of the people gained nothing.

He cited the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), which was established in 1990 to amass the Islamic community's support. From its inception, ICMI has been chaired by President B.J. Habibie.

Dahlan maintained that Islamic religious leaders should consistently hold to the teachings of the religion and play more of a role as social control.

Komaruddin argued that all religions, including Islam, should be put in a moral rather than in a political field because all religions in general have nothing directly to do with practical politics.

"Once Islam is involved in politics, it will certainly be used as a tool to fight for political interests, as has happened in the past," he said.

Dahlan claimed that currently, the majority of Moslems in the country do not fully support Habibie's government because it remains ambiguous in its commitment to the reform movement.

"Habibie has done something positive, to try to uphold the democracy, by releasing political prisoners and allowing a multiparty system for the coming general election, but his administration is still under the shadow of Soeharto," he said.

He questioned why Habibie turned down the people's demand to investigate the Soeharto family wealth.

Furthermore, Dahlan argued that if Habibie was committed to total reform, he should not make a law on freedom of expression, requiring people to have a permit if more than 50 participants want to rally. (rms)