Muhammadiyah and interfaith discourse

Muhammadiyah and interfaith discourse

Hilman Latief, Kalamazoo, Michigan

It is interesting to note that the Muhammadiyah, the country's
second largest Muslim organization, played a key role during the
recent two-day interfaith dialog in Yogyakarta.

The dialog was sponsored by Indonesia and Australia and
gathered together religious leaders of the Asia Pacific to
discuss religious tolerance and moderation in the war on terror.

Along with the largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU), the Muhammadiyah represents Indonesian Islam, a
moderate, inclusive and pluralistic religion; the NU, however, is
perceived to be more representative of these characteristics.

The Muhammadiyah was established on Nov. 18, 1912, by Kyai
Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta, and is well-known among scholars as a
reformist Muslim group that focuses on modernizing Islam through
education and social welfare. Following the 43rd Muhammadiyah
Congress in 1995, its members became concerned with pluralism,
inclusivism and religious tolerance, and two opposing camps
emerged over the issues.

The pro pluralism and inclusivism camp is represented by
members of the Majlis Tarjih dan Pengembangan Pemikiran Islam, or
the Council on Law-making and Development of Islamic Thought,
while the con camp is represented by the Majlis Tabligh and
Dakhwah Khusus, or the Proselytization and Special Missionary.

The missionary has its own publication, the Tabligh, and it
seems that almost all of the articles in this magazine criticize
religious pluralism and inclusivism, emphasizing that these
issues were systematically created by and taken from Western
scholarship and non-Muslim communities. It is probably the only
Muhammadiyah publication that has a column on Christology.

The Muhammadiyah principle is based on those contained in the
Koran and the Hadith, a collection of narratives on the actions
and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad; however, the two opposing
camps each have their own interpretation of these works.

Aside from the debate on pluralism and inclusivism, the
Muhammadiyah's approach toward other religions can be traced back
to a national conference held in 1999 in Bandung, when it
strongly insisted that the government acknowledge Confucianism as
one of the official religions of Indonesia.

The heated discourse on pluralism and inclusivism among the
Muhammadiyah elite has also influences its younger members, who
have become more appreciative of moderate and modern concepts:
pluralism and interfaith dialog, non-violence, Sufism and
spiritualism, local cultures and multiculturalism, and conflict
resolution and civil society.

These great intellectual contributions of the new generation
of Muhammadiyah members will, of course, set a new course for the
organization, which will become more visible within the context
of a pluralistic society.

Indonesia's pluralistic society needs a religious inclusivism.
Many regional conflicts involving religious communities could
actually be prevented or minimized if society possesses an
environment open to interreligious dialog and social cooperation.
Religious pluralism is not merely tolerance of others, but it
also requires a constructive and active engagement with those who
are "different", a recognition that diversity can enrich our
lives.

The Muhammadiyah's involvement in the discourse on interfaith
dialog and religious tolerance implies that it is slowly but
surely approaching such ideas, shifting its puritan theological
orientation to a more open-minded religious consciousness.

Although its members do not all have the same definition for
religious pluralism, its programs on interfaith dialog are social
capital to deal with the pluralistic Indonesian society and
constitute a very great leap toward the achievement a civil
society.

Recently, instead of theological and theoretical debates, some
agendas and activities have been initiated by the Muhammadiyah
and other religious communities, such as holding interreligious
dialogs, promoting the peaceful coexistence of religious life and
supporting moderate, rather than radical, Muslim groups. The
Muhammadiyah is also very active in collaborating with religious
organizations to reduce corruption in politics and the economy.

Intense interreligious dialogs at both the elite and
grassroots levels will provide the crucial momentum to lead all
religious communities to be more mutually tolerant.
Muhammadiyah's role in this nation's journey is therefore much
needed by the nation.

The writer is a lecturer at the Muhammadiyah University of
Yogyakarta (UMY), and has a Masters from the Center for Religious
and Cross Cultural Studies, Gadjah Mada University. He is
currently a Fulbright student at the Department of Comparative
Religion, Western Michigan University, and can be reached at
hilman.latief@wmich.edu.