Muhammadiyah youth wing to elect new leader

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The youth wing of Muhammadiyah, one of the most influential Muslim organizations in Indonesia, is scheduled to elect its new leader next week for the 2002-2006 period, amid fresh hopes that the election should single out a future statesman for the country's second largest Muslim organization.

Building a consensus based on its 90 years of existence, the organization hopes to play a more active role in mediating and moderating the current social and political problems both on the domestic and international level, because of its credibility and independence.

The election is scheduled to take place during a Muhammadiyah council meeting from July 7 through to July 11, at the Asrama Haji Sukolilo compound in the East Java capital of Surabaya. The current youth wing chairman is Imam Addaruqutni.

There are reportedly nine strong candidates.

The ones from East Java, according to the Muhammadiyah youth wing's official website, www.pemuda-muhammadiyah.com, are rector Suyoto of the Muhammadiyah University in Gresik, East Java, and the secretary of East Java's chapter of the United Development Party (PPP), Moh. Mirdasy.

Other nominees comprise one of the youth wing's central chiefs, Nadjamuddin Ramly; Muhammadiyah chiefs from Yogyakarta, Untung Cahyono and Solechan; a Muhammadiyah chief from West Kalimantan, Ikhsanuddin; Muhammadiyah officials from West Java, Sudar Siandes and Uum Umar Syarif and a Muhammadiyah chief from Central Java, Abdul Mukti.

Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif had said he hoped the election would produce a future statesman for the Muhammadiyah organization.

"The one who fills the post should not be tempted to involve himself directly in today's politics. He should instead help in mediating current political and social problems. He must have integrity ... it's not easy," Syafii had said, adding that he was not rooting for anybody in particular.

Muhammadiyah, established in Yogyakarta in 1912, has around 30 million members, making it the country's second largest Muslim organization after Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), another strong organization of 40 million members.

Known to be more tolerant, NU often adopts various pre-Islamic traditions when spreading the religion, mostly in Java.

Muhammadiyah in contrast, has been recognized as a "puritanical" movement that seeks to separate Islam from other elements that are against the Koran and Sunnah -- Prophet Muhammad's sayings and deeds outside the Koran.

"Pure" Islam and logic (al-aql in Arabic) have come to be Muhammadiyah's two most important policies.

Syafii, however, earlier said that Muhammadiyah should reconsider and redefine its policies to be more flexible in accommodating local cultures.

Muhammadiyah is therefore currently striving to intensify its "cultural propagation" to reach out to all people in the multiethnic layers of Indonesian society. Syafii defined the term "cultural propagation" as the dissemination of Islamic teachings in a sophisticated, nuanced form. This was one of many important outcomes of the organization's four-day annual meeting in Bali, in January this year.