Muhammadiyah: Between liberalism, radicalism and pluralism
Muhammadiyah: Between liberalism, radicalism and pluralism
Muhammad Nafik
The Jakarta Post/Malang
In villages across Java, you will rarely find Muhammadiyah
Muslims and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslims praying together in the
same mosque. It is even rarer to find them living peacefully
alongside members of different religions.
Many rural Muhammadiyah members refuse to pray with NU
members, despite the fact that they belong to the same religion,
the only difference being the organizations to which they are
affiliated.
NU members often show a similar reluctance.
Top leaders of the country's two largest Muslim organizations
frequently appear hand-in-hand in public, urging a similar unity
among their members. But these exhortations have changed little
at the grassroots level.
There continues to be a religious "competition" among rural
members of both organizations, which has developed into a fierce
political rivalry.
Muhammadiyah and the NU have failed to rid themselves of
differences in practicing Islamic rituals, and they have failed
to come together and work toward solving the intricate problems
faced by the nation.
The word "pluralism", so often thrown around by officials of
both organizations, remains missing at the grassroots level.
Muhammadiyah founder Ahmad Dahlan and NU founder Hasyim
Asy'ari established a close personal friendship.
That bond should have been the inspiration for developing a
wider relationship between the two organizations at all levels,
along with promoting interfaith dialog.
The NU's current chairman, Hasyim Muzadi, and Muhammadiyah
leader Ahmad Syafii Maarif have followed in the footsteps of
Dahlan and Asy'ari by forging a personal relationship, but lower-
level officials in both organizations seem unable, or perhaps
unwilling, to follow suit.
Muhammadiyah's reform movement is aimed mainly at purifying
Islamic practices in the country by removing all traces of
takhayyul (mysticism), bid'ah (local traditions) and churaffat
(traditional nonreligious beliefs). This puts the organization in
direct conflict with the NU, which continues to embrace and
respect local traditions as part of its principle of revitalizing
Islam.
Muhammadiyah, often identified more with middle-class
Indonesian Muslims and which claims to be the more modern and
moderate of the organizations, is now facing the challenge of how
to deal with its pluralistic members.
Some Muhammadiyah members embrace Islamic radicalism and are
pushing for an Islamic state, although this is not the
organization's policy.
At the same time, there is the "liberal" thinking of members
of the Muhammadiyah Young Intellectuals Network (JIMM).
Similar to the high-profile Liberal Islamic Network (JIL),
JIMM introduces its ideas in a nonconfrontational manner. Despite
that, JIMM faces strong opposition from both inside and outside
Muhammadiyah.
Critics often equate JIMM with JIL, which, they say, spreads a
deviant form of Islam by introducing liberal thinking in the
interpretation of religious teachings.
The ongoing six-day national congress of Muhammadiyah in
Malang, East Java, should create clear policies for dealing with
the internal conflicts in the organization between radicalism,
liberalism and pluralism.
With a new chairman to be elected during the congress, it is
hoped Muhammadiyah will take a more aggressive stance against
radicalism, while at the same time playing a greater role in
campaigning for pluralism.
In pushing for the reform movement, Muhammadiyah should not
stick only to fighting takhayyul, bid'ah and churaffat in
traditionalist Islam, but should move to be more progressive in
Islamic thinking.
The introduction of different modes of thought should not be
seen as a virus undermining Muhammadiyah.
Young Muslim scholars in Muhammadiyah are acquainted with
Western ways of thinking in understanding Islamic teaching. This
adds to the suspicion that their thoughts on Islam are not
genuine.
The conservatives accuse the liberal intellectuals of trying
to destroy Muhammadiyah and Islam.
Such misleading claims should be discussed within the
organization before they cause serious damage.
The organization's focus on education and charitable
activities needs to be maintained, but it should also not stop
campaigning for a more moderate, progressive and pluralist Islam.
In this sense, cooperative efforts by the NU and Muhammadiyah
to design and implement programs to combat endemic corruption
should be expanded to fight religious radicalism and
conservatism.
Compared to the NU, Muhammadiyah is less progressive and
aggressive in promoting a tolerant and peaceful Islam.
Remedying this will be one of the main tasks of Muhammadiyah
under its new leadership.