Moslems warned against being used as political tool

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)