Muhammadiyah's new chairman and the future of its liberalism

Muhammadiyah's new chairman and the future of its liberalism

Ahmad Najib Burhani, Jakarta

No surprise! These were the words spoken by observers after
the naming of Din Syamsuddin, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)
secretary-general, as the new chairman of Muhammadiyah for the
2005-2010 period, replacing outgoing chairman Ahmad Syafii
Maarif. Undoubtedly, Din has a good reputation among
Muhammadiyah's members. He is well-known for visiting
Muhammadiyah branches and people, even in very remote areas. He
is also a popular figure at the national level and has a broad
international network.

One of the most surprising and interesting developments in the
45th Muhammadiyah Congress in Malang from July 3 through July 8,
2005, however, was the elimination of M Amin Abdullah, the
current rector of UIN Yogyakarta and Abdul Munir Mulkhan, a
professor at UIN Yogyakarta from the central board. In the last
term (2000-2005), both were members of the 13-strong central
board of executives. What does this indicate?

The exclusion of these two scholars can be said to be a sign
of the defeat of the liberal and moderate front of Muhammadiyah
and the victory of the radical front; changing the very face of
the second largest organization in Indonesia. It is well-known
that Amin and Munir are among the few leaders of Muhammadiyah who
seriously and openly support liberal ideas.

They also uphold the promotion of such ideas in Muhammadiyah
through the Network of Young Intellectuals of Muhammadiyah
(JIMM). Besides Moeslim Abdurrahman, these two are the mentors
and patrons of Muhammadiyah's youth in their struggle to change
this organization into a new social movement.

It has been predicted for a long time that the conservative
and fundamentalist front of Muhammadiyah would get the majority
vote. The congress has confirmed that this long-held prediction
was accurate. The names of the 13 elected executives would come
as a shock to anyone who believes that militant Islam is
nonexistent in this modernist movement.

This phenomenon shows that radical Islam is strong and is
growing in Muhammadiyah. Besides Din Syamsuddin, Yunahar Ilyas
and Dahlan Rais, who are known to be Muhammadiyah hard-liners,
took the fifth and seventh place among the 13 elected executives.

The leaders of Muhammadiyah for the 2000-2005 period,
particularly Ahmad Syafii Maarif, have always strived to
demonstrate that Muhammadiyah represents the peaceful, tolerant
and smiling face of Islam. To reassure people who are fearful of
radical Islam, the existence of huge number of radical Muslims at
the grassroots level of Muhammadiyah is often veiled, obscured,
or hidden. It is said that they only exist at the periphery.
Indonesian and foreigner observers often say that radical Muslims
in Indonesia are outspoken, but are actually few in number.

Syafii Maarif once said that as long as he is chairman of
Muhammadiyah, he guarantees that this movement would not endorse
the implementation of sharia in Indonesia. Now his leadership is
over, as is his pledge. Under the new leadership of Muhammadiyah,
we are still waiting for a new guarantee.

During the meeting it was proposed that Muhammadiyah should
issue a decree supporting the implementation of sharia. That is
why, nowadays, the former chairman of Muhammadiyah, Syafii
Maarif, looks pale and tormented.

In a similar vein, the idea to obstruct liberalism within the
movement was also prevalent in this congress. In the draft decree
there was a proposal to dissolve JIMM and dismiss its members, or
at the very least, to ask JIMM to delete the M for Muhammadiyah
from its name. Just like sharia, it is not a new demand. Some
radical members of Muhammadiyah consider JIMM a rebellious child.
Tabligh magazine, owned by the department of propagation of
Muhammadiyah, even called JIMM demonic.

In the past, the hard-liners in Muhammadiyah, such as Ali
Imran, Amrozi, Ja'far Umar Thalib and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, had no
place in the movement. They then left the organization and
established new movements or joined radical movements which
already existed in Indonesia, such as Hizbut Tahrir, Majelis
Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI) and Lasykar Jihad, or even joined
foreign movements.

They regarded this movement's attitude toward puritanism as
inconsequential and superficial, making it too slow and soft in
enforcing the 'puritan' agenda. They felt that their interests
were no longer catered to under Muhammadiyah's programs. As a
result, it can be noted that numerous people in radical movements
in Indonesia were originally members of Muhammadiyah.

It is true that it is too early to judge the future of
Muhammadiyah. However, the 45th congress can be seen as an
indication of a new era for Muhammadiyah.

The writer is a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences (LIPI), and a member of Pemuda Muhammadiyah. He can be
reached at najib27@yahoo.com.