Muhammadiyah Youth fails to respond to problems

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."