Muslim leaders join call for peaceful proselytization

M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Muslim leaders joined the call for the dissemination of Islamic teachings (dakwah) on Monday, saying that teaching others about the religion had long been a principle of Islam in the country.

Muslim Abdurrahman of the second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, said on Monday that the dissemination of Islamic teachings meant telling others, regardless of their religious beliefs, of universal truths and virtues.

"In the times of Prophet Muhammad, dakwah was aimed at righting wrongs apparent in society -- namely the oppression of certain groups by others. That oppression happened to be carried out by those who worshiped idols, who were then categorized as heathens. But the primary message is propagating the universal truth," Muslim told The Jakarta Post.

Muslim said the distorted interpretation of dakwah as the conversion of those of other religious beliefs stemmed from a narrow interpretation of the Koran.

"To some, who interpret the Koran textually, Islam is perceived to be an institutionalized religion, and those who subscribe to other religions have to be brought to its fold. They don't interpret Islam -- which, in fact, means submission to Allah in a general way, and does not involve conversion," he said.

Muslim added that such a textual interpretation was also given to jihad. "The true meaning of jihad is striving for the truth in earnest. However, some interpret it as a holy war in the name of Islam," he said.

Muslim scholar Ayzumardi Azra of the Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University concurred with Muslim, saying that dakwah was in fact targeted at those who had already subscribed to Islam.

"In modern times, dakwah is directed at improving the conditions of Muslims themselves. It is aimed internally," he told the Post.

He said that the country's largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, had taken on such a role, by constantly focusing on education.

Azyumardi said that if dakwah was aimed at subscribers of other religions, the primary objective should be to build interfaith dialog.

A number of prominent Muslim scholars in Southeast Asia said in a joint statement that dakwah was not aimed at converting people of other religions, but rather could open up the possibility of inter-religious dialog.

They agreed that dakwah was actually an invitation to hear the message of Islam.

Despite the effort to paint a picture of moderate Islam in the country, secretary-general of the Indonesian Ulema Council Din Syamsuddin, said that the government should not review the joint ministerial letter between the home affairs ministry and religious affairs ministry on the construction of places of worship.

Emerging from a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Din said that the joint ministerial letter did not constitute discrimination against subscribers to minority religions.

"What we need is a regulation that could eliminate potential conflicts between people of different faiths, particularly pertaining to the construction of places of worship, and in the dissemination of religious teachings," Din said.

The letter, issued in 1969, has been seen as discriminatory by some religious groups, including Christians, as it requires them to secure approval from their Muslim neighbors before constructing a church.