MUI sets 'guidelines' for Muslims to vote

MUI sets 'guidelines' for Muslims to vote

JAKARTA (JP): The influential Indonesian Council of Ulemas
(MUI) and Muhammadiyah have called on Muslims to vote for
political parties which represent their community, field Muslim
legislative candidates of "noble conduct", and campaign for
reform.

The council's statement was issued on Tuesday and signed by
chairman Ali Yafie and secretary-general Nazri Adlani at the
Istiqlal Grand Mosque, while Muhammadiyah chairman Syafi'i
Ma'arif and secretary Muchlas Abror signed their statement in
Yogyakarta.

"Our message is basically for Muhammadiyah followers not to
choose parties which do not clearly fight for Muslims," Abror
told The Jakarta Post. "Parties that should be chosen are those
which are either Islamic or Muslim-based."

Abror denied the statement was a covert campaign for the
National Mandate Party (PAN), whose chairman, Amien Rais, once
led the 28 million-strong Muhammadiyah. PAN is not an Islamic
party.

"We allow Muhammadiyah members to choose any party as long as
the parties sincerely fight for the interests of the Muslim
community and for reform," Abror said.

Ali Yafie told Antara the message was not meant to sow hatred
between Muslims and those of other faiths. "Muslims are ready to
cooperate with everyone. We just want to provide the most
important guidelines for Muslims."

The council's statement referred to the Holy Koran (Sura Ali
Imran verse 28) which says: "Let not the Believers take for
friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than Believers. If any do
that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of
precaution that you may guard yourselves from them."

The council called on the Indonesian people, particularly
Muslims, to vote for a political party which they believed would
fight for the aspirations and interests of Muslims, the nation
and the country.

The council exhorted Muslims to choose from political parties
which fielded Muslim legislative candidates with good morality.

It said Muslims must also be wary of a possible revival of
communism, authoritarianism and secular power from political
parties contesting the June 7 polls.

Indonesian Muslims have different views about the government-
sanctioned ulemas council. There have been cases in the past when
Muslim groups thought the council was a mere government tool
because of its leaders' explicit support for former president
Soeharto, and because of its tardiness in coming to the aid of
Muslim women who faced harassment because they wore the jilbab
(head scarf).

There were other cases, however, in which the council of
ulemas' edicts received support, including the edict that
prohibits Muslims from attending religious rites of other faiths
such as Christmas.

Some observers have been alarmed over what they perceive as a
growing trend that polarizes Indonesians into two camps: Muslims
versus Nationalists and secularists.

The clash between Muslim students and supporters of the
nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri in Ujungpandang on
Tuesday was a case in point.

Via banners at a university campus, the students questioned
whether the predominately Muslim society was ready for a female
president. Megawati supporters ripped the banners, leading to a
clash that injured 11 people.

Ali Yafie, however, dismissed the suggestion that the
council's call was an attempt to undermine the chances of PDI
Perjuangan, which has many non-Muslim candidates, for the
legislative bodies.

On Monday, PDI Perjuangan deputy chairman Theo Syafei
approached at least seven nationalist-secular parties in a vote-
sharing deal with PDI Perjuangan.

The move was deplored by two PDI Perjuangan allies -- PAN and
the National Awakening Party (PKB) -- as a political setback,
because it smacked of political practices of 40 years ago which
pitted Muslims against non-Muslim groups. (swa/swe)