Muhammadiyah prepares for congress

By Santi WE Soekanto and Wisnu Pramudya

JAKARTA (JP): Leading members of Muhammadiyah will gather tomorrow in Banda Aceh to prepare for their 43rd congress, bracing themselves to face a host of issues more important than the recent hullabaloo about who's going to be next chairman.

The 83-year old reformist Moslem organization will hold its congress from July 6 to July 10, with President Soeharto opening, and Vice President Try Sutrisno closing the Rp 2.6 billion (US$ 1.2 million) gathering.

Some 3,850 leaders and 20,000 supporters of the organization are expected to share in the bustle and festivities in the enchanting, historical capital of the Aceh province, through which Islam was first brought to the archipelago centuries ago.

The organizing committee has decided to hold a number of preliminary meetings on issues of national importance, such as education, the haj pilgrimage, and ways to revitalize Moslems' entrepreneurship, as well as gender-related programs for its women organizations, Aisyiyah and Nasyiatul Aisyiah.

The meetings are expected to tackle the nitty-gritty details of establishing programs for the next five years and have them ready for adoption by its congress.

One meeting of great importance: the tanwir (law making body) meeting will be held tomorrow, to select 39 candidates out of more than 100 registered chairman candidates. This list will be shortened further, to 13, during the congress; the last batch will then convene and decide among themselves as to who will be their top man.

Despite the similarly important nature of its other meetings, the issue of chairmanship has been overshadowing all other discussions. Analysts, activists, government officials and politicians have been busy contributing to the debate about whether incumbent Amien Rais should stay, or which leader is a better replacement.

However, there are identifiable patterns in the public debate over who will be entrusted to carry out the legacy of Muhammadiyah founder, KH Ahmad Dahlan.

The first of these themes has to do with whether the organization, whose original goal is to purify the practice of Islam in Indonesia, needs an intellectual leader more than it does a traditional ulema.

The question has emerged because, for the first time, Muhammadiyah's leadership is dominated by people who can be called intellectuals.

Chairman Amien Rais, for instance, holds a doctorate in political science from the Chicago University in the U.S. Though his education was Islamic, (he conducted his research at the Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt), he comes across more as what many people would call intellectual, rather than what is traditionally described as a turbaned ulema.

The fact that he's already a leading figure in the government- backed, and powerful, Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals enhances the image. It's very probable that the competition for chairmanship would revolve around this issue, because the current elites and chairman aspirants come from very diverse backgrounds.

Some of the most frequently mentioned names, such as Din Syamsuddin, Lukman Harun, Muqoddas, Syafii Maarif, Yahya Muhaimin, Sutrisno Muchdam, Rusjdi Hamka and Prodjokusumo, may disclaim interests to sit at the helm, but the fact that each one has a different background and supporters promises that the contest will be a lively one.

A number of people have tried to be helpful by delineating criterions for suitable figures to lead the organization. However, this has sparked even more debate because some people were offended at being pigeonholed.

Lukman and Din were upset because they were categorized by political observer Afan Gaffar as only seeking financial and political gains from Muhammadiyah. Amien, on the other hand, became uncomfortable because he was classified as a loyalist, thus considered to merit the top seat.

What's interesting from these discourses, for an observer to be able to predict who's likely to come out as winner, is that not one person mentioned appears to have adequate backing from the majority.

There are also related questions about whether Muhammadiyah will be able to keep its promise to stay out of politics, despite the many external attempts to drag it into the arena, or to independently keep its distance from the power circle, without necessarily having to be an opposition.

Government officials have repeatedly said they would not intervene in the organization's internal affairs, nor would they favor one chairman aspirant over another. Leaders of a political grouping have also said the same thing.

However, the claims and counter-charges have left the impression that the Muhammadiyah congress would indeed be marked with external pressures.

As one observer said, "The government might not interfere, but it would be likely that the ruling Golkar party and the Moslem- based United Development Party (PPP) wish to play their hands in the congress".

The fact that Din has a leading position on the Golkar executive board and Rusjdi Hamka is the chosen man of PPP leaders, to head the conflict-ridden Jakarta branch of the party, only fuels the speculations on external intervention.

A number of analysts, as well as Muhammadiyah leaders, have tried to explain the organization's position on the issues. One observer described the organization as a partner of the government, another said it could not be completely independent because its leading members, including Amien Rais, are much too close to the power center.

One observer predicted that this proximity would soon cost Amien his outspokenness. Amien, who grabbed nationwide attention in 1993 when he proposed public debates on presidential succession, would probably be meek.

Should Amien win the chairmanship election, the organization might also lose its independence, Nazaruddin Syamsuddin, from the University of Indonesia, said.

Congress participants would also have to deal with an issue which is even more important: the direction and approaches that Muhammadiyah should take in facing the next century.

Some people have said the socio-education organization used to deserve its label as a reformist--but not anymore.

In almost any of its activities, a critic said, the current Muhammadiyah has failed to come up with fresh, creative ideas. Even in its thousands of schools across the country, Muhammadiyah has not introduced a specific curriculum of its own, the way it used to.

"It's probably because general conditions now differ from the early years of Muhammadiyah, but this should mean that the organization has to come up with even brighter ideas," political observer Deliar Noer said.

As for its claim as a reformist, sociologist Mochtar Naim said that since independence in 1945, Muhammadiyah has never presented a drive toward reform. Instead, it now only copies whatever trends or policies are in force, he said.

"The strength of Muhammadiyah now lies in the fact that it has become a good follower," Mochtar said. "It's playing it safe. That's not the way to act if you're a reformer. In order to become one, Muhammadiyah should be brave enough to go it alone, to go against the current."

Amien said that the upcoming congress would be strategic in nature because it would be the last congress the organization will hold this millennium. It would discuss ways to prepare its members for the greater challenges that the 21st century will bring, he said.

With all these questions to be handled, it's obvious that the congress' participants will have their hands full next week.