Muhammadiyah Chairman Urges National Elites to Set Example in Preserving Unity

General Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive Board Haedar Nashir has urged national elites to become role models in preserving unity. He delivered this message amid differences in determining Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah.

“Provide an example to the people that the elites are capable of becoming uswah hasanah in creating unity, peace, tolerance, and progress. We still have various backwardnesses that require collective hard work from all components of the nation,” he stated while delivering the Eid al-Fitr prayer sermon at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (UMY) in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), as reported by Antara on Friday (20/3/2026).

Haedar reminded the ummah not to sharpen differences regarding the Eid al-Fitr celebration. He asked all parties to exercise restraint.

“We do not need to sharpen differences, especially to justify ourselves by blaming others. Both in the context of citizenship and government, all parties must exercise restraint,” he said.

Furthermore, he invited religious figures and national elites to avoid statements or words that could potentially stir unrest in society. According to him, Eid al-Fitr should be observed with devotional worship and clarity of soul and mind.

“Observe Eid al-Fitr with devotion, whether celebrating on 20 or 21 March, or even earlier, so that we do not get trapped in the desire for differences that actually crack unity,” he said.

He is optimistic that the Indonesian nation possesses maturity, so differences in determining major religious days are handled reasonably and do not become a source of conflict. He also hopes that in the future, the Islamic world will have a single global calendar to minimise differences in determining major religious days.

“In the future, insyaallah, those differences can be minimised if there is openness of heart and mind, and based on high scientific knowledge,” he stated.