Muhammadiyah's Devoted Service to the Nation
Muhammadiyah has always held a place in the hearts of this nation’s leaders. Bung Karno once said, ‘The longer I know them, the more I love Muhammadiyah.’ At the 37th Muktamar in Surakarta 37 years ago, Soeharto remarked, ‘Who doesn’t know Muhammadiyah?’ Meanwhile, Jokowi stated during a Muhammadiyah anniversary, ‘Muhammadiyah never tires of building, contributing to the nation, and serving the country,’ and President Prabowo, in his address at the Tanwir and 112th anniversary reception in Kupang, noted, ‘Muhammadiyah cadres are everywhere, on the right, left, and centre.’
The journey of Muhammadiyah often invites admiration. Those outside the organisation frequently ask in wonder: how can a civil society organisation build so many charitable enterprises, spanning education, healthcare, the economy, and social services? The question is reasonable, for Muhammadiyah is not merely a religious organisation but a civilisational movement.
As an Islamic movement, Muhammadiyah is ranked among the world’s top ten wealthiest religious organisations by Seasia Stats. This record and its national contributions have never made Muhammadiyah arrogant, boastful, or puffed up with pride. Its abundant assets in education, healthcare, the economy, and social welfare instead reinforce its adage and jargon: ‘Criticised, it does not fall; praised, it does not fly.’
The Muhammadiyah movement is synonymous with the Javanese philosophy of ‘rawe-rawe rantas, malang-malang puntung,’ meaning working together in mutual cooperation to remove obstacles blocking the goal. Because of this, people who join Muhammadiyah’s mission merely to gain something generally do not last long.
Muhammadiyah grew to its current stature by championing the spirit that ‘the giving hand is better than the receiving hand.’ It consistently demonstrates a spirit of giving and leading from the front, resulting in many charitable endowment movements arising from its members’ awareness for the benefit of the community.
This philanthropic movement was championed and exemplified long ago by its founder, Kiai Haji Ahmad Dahlan, and continues to resonate today. Kiai Dahlan even endowed nearly every part of his house. His home’s rooms were used up for archives and books at the time, and part of his house became a school. There was almost no private space in his home because he was busy with missionary work nearly every day.
Muhammadiyah does not like to show off but prefers actions that have a real impact on national and social problems. Its religious movement and struggle have never been detached from the national movement. This concept aligns with what the late Buya Syafii Maarif often said: Muhammadiyah’s struggle must prioritise national interests, then the interests of the ummah, and only then the interests of the organisation. If the nation’s interests are put first, the interests of the ummah and the organisation will automatically be achieved.
In the context of national socio-politics, Muhammadiyah indeed does not wish to be trapped or fall into the pitfalls of practical politics. Although not directly involved in practical politics, Muhammadiyah has never been absent from national politics. In the constitutional realm, for instance, Muhammadiyah continues to push and act as an initiator in the ‘constitutional jihad’ movement. Many problematic laws detrimental to the people’s interests have been challenged at the Constitutional Court by Muhammadiyah. Additionally, Muhammadiyah participates in formulating and pushing agendas for laws that impact the welfare of the ummah and the nation. This constitutional jihad is important because it has a direct impact related to the people’s interests.
Muhammadiyah also continuously encourages democratisation in this country by promoting elections that are sporting, fair, and transparent. Thus, democratic values are firmly upheld to realise the noble ideals of this nation. An honest, fair, and transparent national leadership succession will drive the realisation of this nation’s ideals, free from corruption and rent-seeking politics that damage democracy.
In the economic field, Muhammadiyah has established the Saudagar Muhammadiyah network, as well as networks for farmers and fishermen, down to the smallest economic circles at the branch level to achieve economic independence. Building the welfare of its members from the branch to the central level remains a continuous focus for Muhammadiyah in its effort to liberate people from and eradicate poverty.
As a people’s economic movement, Muhammadiyah indeed needs to build the foundations of cooperatives. If Muhammadiyah cooperatives emerge and are strong from the grassroots to the centre, Muhammadiyah will at least become a pillar and hope for our society. In this way, Muhammadiyah’s economic pillar will truly become a fortress when this nation faces the onslaught of global crises.
Muhammadiyah’s economic assets, such as Tokomu, Suryamu, and Bulogmu, are also real and circular economic sector movements that must be continuously encouraged and developed. This is important because it is through a circular economy that the economic wheel can be sturdy and strong, sustaining missionary work at the grassroots level.
In education, although Muhammadiyah already has thousands of schools from primary to upper secondary levels, it needs to strengthen the identity of Muhammadiyah schools from the elementary level to higher education. Muhammadiyah schools must not only be winners in terms of buildings and facilities for processing their students’ excellent talents. Muhammadiyah must also be at the forefront in national exam rankings from primary to upper secondary levels. We can take pride that at the upper secondary level, the SMA Program Khusus Kottabarat Surakarta still ranks 189th nationally, even as it holds the top rank among Muhammadiyah schools in Indonesia.