Muhammadiyah continues push for morality

Muhammadiyah continues push for morality

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in the
country, is certain to play a more active role in mediating and
moderating the current political and social problems both on
domestic and international levels because of its credibility and
independence, says its chairman.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the
organization's annual meeting in Denpasar, Bali on Friday, Ahmad
Syafii Maarif said that as a moderate and nonpartisan
organization, people still had trust in the organization.

Since its establishment in Yogyakarta in l912, Muhammadiyah
has always been regarded as a force of renewal and modernization
in the Islamic community. "We have been practicing 'high-
politics,' a political movement based on ethics, morality and
independence," Syafii claimed.

Domestically, Muhammadiyah can become "a balanced and unbiased
referee to help any disputing parties reach a compromise," he
said.

Internationally, Muhammadiyah can initiate international
gatherings among Islamic or non-Islamic countries to discuss and
mediate between the two parties.

But, more importantly, the organization wants to focus first
on national problems.

"We are now living in a period where people live in a social,
political and economic imbalances. Everybody is already sick and
tired of seeing political leaders bickering with each other...
They are like spoiled children," Syafii said.

What Muhammadiyah is urgently doing now is to aggressively
spread its campaigns on morality and ethics because figures in
political parties, legislative and executives are mostly
insensitive and "turn a deaf-ear to the needs of the people."

Syafii said that Muhammadiyah had also been tasked to reveal
the real portrayal of Islam and its people in Indonesia, as the
most populous Muslim country in the world.

"I can assure the outside world, that radical and extremist
Islam is not the mainstream movement in Indonesia. It is only a
small minority group within the entire Muslim population in the
country," Syafii said.

"Islam is a peace-loving religion...There is often
misunderstanding and misperception among those who believe that
the radical Muslims represent the entire Muslim community here,"
he added.

But, Syafii said everyone should understand why radicalism
emerged here in Indonesia and elsewhere in the world.

In Indonesia, most of these people are the energetic and
impatient youth who could no longer trust in the corrupt
government system and impotent legal and security apparatus.

"They are also sick of seeing hypocrisy shown by our political
leaders. They want instant change and abrupt action to stop any
irregularities in society. What they are lacking is they do not
equip themselves with intellectual instruments to articulate
their ideas and to explain the motivation behind their radical
actions," Syafii said.

"In the short-term, their actions might appear fruitful but
certainly not in the long-term ... This is very dangerous if we
idealize their actions. Militancy is always dangerous as it is
always viewed through a pair of black and white spectacles," he
said.

Our problems are now so complex that we cannot look at them as
black and white only, he added.

Syafii went on to say that two of Indonesia's largest Muslim
organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nadhatul Ulama (NU) had joined
hands together to create a more loving and peaceful face of Islam
through their religious, social and cultural propagations.

Syafii said more than 300 top executives from all of
Muhammadiyah's chapters in Indonesia were taking part in the
ongoing Tanwir (annual meeting) of the organization, which will
end on Sunday.

"There are two main objectives of this year's meeting,
internal and external ones," he said. "Internally, it is expected
that all participants will have a similar frame of mind of what
Muhammadiyah is fighting for."

"I really expect them to realize that the nation is facing
very serious problems, so it requires prompt but wise actions if
we want all of the organizations' ideas and policies to
materialize."

He also expected both members and executives of Muhammadiyah
would widen their radius of communication and open more dialogs
with people of different religious, social and cultural
backgrounds. "They should build better relationships, share and
seek solutions to the nation's problems with everybody, even the
atheist people," Syafii confirmed.

Conventional approaches to religious, social, and political
problems must be left behind to adjust to the fast-growing,
pluralistic society, he said.

Externally, Muhammadiyah will forcefully urge the government
to improve the living conditions of the people and to be more
focused on their programs.