Muhammadiyah Youth fails to respond to problems

Yogita Tahilramani and Edith Hartanto, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java

The Muhammadiyah Youth has failed to respond to the nation's crucial issues or contribute to solving the nation's economic, political or social problems, a Muhammadiyah leader said on Tuesday.

Head of the Foreign Affairs Institute of the Muhammadiyah central board Rizal Sukma said that the four million-strong Muhammadiyah Youth -- the youth wing of Muhammadiyah -- was clearly lacking in intellectual and analytical skills on national issues.

"The youth wing has no programs based on matters like political and electoral bills. During a recent debate among candidates for chairman of the Muhammadiyah Youth, they discussed about killing separatists, or hanging corruptors to death," Rizal told The Jakarta Post, during Muhammadiyah Youth's ongoing congress.

While outsiders question the relevance of the Muhammadiyah Youth, he said, people in the organization hardly ever discussed secular issues such as the amendment of the 1945 Constitution, political and electoral bills, health, human rights, the environment, labor or gender.

In comparison, he said, the youth wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Ansor, another influential organization that is more tolerant of local culture, was much more advanced and had reportedly established programs based on crucial national issues.

"For instance, people in the NU talk openly about the polygamy issue, because they consider it a serious dilemma practiced by members of the public. Forget about talking about it; the Muhammadiyah considers it wrong to dream about polygamy. The issue ends right there," Rizal said.

"Ansor has formed their own autonomous organizations under the NU, unlike the Muhammadiyah Youth."

The 30 million-strong Muhammadiyah has long since rejected all local concepts and thinking and even ways of life, which it deems to be antagonistic and not in line with Islamic teachings.

Since its establishment 90 years ago, the Muhammadiyah has established itself as a modern organization while maintaining its commitment to the Koran and the hadith.

The latter consists of documented accounts of the teachings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad that are not found in the Koran.

The NU is more tolerant and often adopts various pre-Islamic traditions when spreading Islam, mostly in Java.

Rizal, however, put his hope on the Muhammadiyah Students Association (IMM) and Muhammadiyah Teenagers Association (IRM).

"Muhammadiyah students and teenagers are more active, intelligent and more knowledgeable on the nation's problems than Muhammadiyah Youth," Rizal said.

The Muhammadiyah Youth, composed of middle-aged people, however, are bothered too much with local power plays without understanding the latest national issues, he said.

Harijanto Thohari, a Muhammadiyah activist, who is also a Golkar Party executive of the research and development department, said the youth wing must be able to sustain its political pluralism, in which every member is free to channel their individual political aspirations without involving Muhammadiyah into political matters.

Citing an example, Harijanto said many Muhammadiyah cadres joined political parties or became party advisors, such as law expert Ismail Sunny and Malik Fadjar, both advisors to Golkar Party. Others became members of PAN and PPP.

"But once we gather as Muhammadiyah members, we leave politics behind and keep Muhammadiyah away from politics," he said.

Rizal agreed, saying that the Muhammadiyah is training its young members to express their political aspirations without fear.

"They are allowed to join not only Muslim political parties, but other parties as well, which are not purely Islamic parties. The party with the largest support from the Muhammadiyah is the National Mandate Party (PAN)," Rizal said.

PAN is led by People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais, who is a former Muhammadiyah chairman and former Muhammadiyah youth wing chief as well.

Muhammadiyah's support, Rizal said, was now divided between PAN, the Golkar Party and Muslim parties, such as the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent and Star Party (PBB).

Consequently, Rizal said that Muhammadiyah was divided among those who believed in making social changes by the Muhammadiyah's puritanical methods of spreading Islam, and those who believed that good could be done by becoming a major influence in a certain political party.

"The latter is about people who believe that changes are feasible with the formation of policies, based on the core mission of the Muhammadiyah. One has to enter the political arena to make those policies. This has allowed people like Amien Rais and Muhammadiyah deputy chairman Dien Syamsuddin to come out of this "puritanical" organization."