Muhammadiyah's mission

After four days of sometimes heated debate and deliberations, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, ended its 44th congress in Jakarta yesterday with the election of a new executive board and readoption of Islam as its basic philosophical principle, while maintaining its basic essence as a non-political organization.

Under its newly reelected chairman, Syafi'i Ma'arif, the 30- million strong organization which was established in 1912 in the city of Yogyakarta by Ahmad Dahlan, a leading progressive Muslim scholar of the time, can be expected to keep its distance from political parties and remain committed to its original role as a non-political organization devoted mainly to the causes of education, health and the economic advancement of the indigenous Indonesian population.

To understand the importance and the wisdom of this decision, it is useful to remember that at the time Ahmad Dahlan founded the Muhammadiyah organization in 1912, the overwhelming majority of Indonesians -- with the exception of a handful of privileged bumiputera (indigenous people) -- were living in a state of backwardness and ignorance.

Ahmad Dahlan and his co-workers were among the very few Indonesians who saw the degrading nature of such a situation and understood that allowing it to continue would forever keep Indonesians an underprivileged class in their own country.

Under the old colonial system at the beginning of the last century -- and indeed up to the outbreak of World War II -- the best education and health care were the privilege of the Dutch and only a handful of Indonesians, mostly children of the colonial bureaucracy and the local aristocracy.

Thus Muhammadiyah began its work as a true agent of change. Together with nationalist-based organizations such as Taman Siswa, which was born also in Yogyakarta and spread from there to other areas of the country, Muhammadiyah began to set up modern schools and hospitals to bring "western" education and health care within the reach of the common Indonesian.

From this simple beginning the organization grew to what it is at present: Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization devoted to the advancement of the people. As in the early days, the work which Muhammadiyah has set itself to accomplish is still important. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that now, more than at any other time before, the challenges in this field are bigger than ever.

Muhammadiyah at present runs educational institutions from the lowest grades up to university level. There is hardly a city in this country where Muhammadiyah schools cannot be found. The same is true for hospitals, public health centers and other social welfare establishments such as elderly homes. It must be said, however, that the quality of those institutions often leave more than a few things to be desired.

Generally speaking, Muhammadiyah schools and social welfare establishments generally still do not enjoy the same good reputation that other religious establishments of the same nature do. This is a challenge that Muhammadiyah cannot afford to ignore. Together with the rest of the world, Indonesia has already entered the third millennium. New challenges await to be answered.

If Muhammadiyah is to effectively lead Indonesians -- Indonesia's Muslim population in particular -- into the new millennium, it will have to work hard to close the gap. It is encouraging in this context to note that a younger generation of leaders has emerged to lead the organization into the future. Having chosen to stay on its initial path, we are confident that Muhammadiyah under its new executive board will be able to lead the nation on the way to greater advancement in the years to come.