Muslim scholars warn 'syariah' revivalism

Muslim scholars warn 'syariah' revivalism

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Religious scholars expressed concern on Monday over mounting
efforts by devout Muslims to demand the imposition of
syariah (Islamic law) in their respective regions throughout the
country.

The devout Muslims tried to use syariah as an alternative
regime after learning that the conventional government regime
failed to deal with the economic and moral crisis in the society,
Azyumardi Azra said.

The effort to impose syariah, however, was challenged by
Saiful Muzani, a PhD candidate from the U.S. based-Ohio State
University, who said that "the effort is against democracy
principle (in the country)".

"Judging from the fact that the government has failed to
uphold the law and bring economic recovery, several outspoken
Muslim hard-line organizations have turned to syariah as a sole
elixir to deal with the problems," Azyumardi, rector of the State
Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), told reporters in a press
conference.

The press conference was held in conjunction with the
institute's plan to hold a two-day conference titled "The
Challenge of Democracy in the Muslim World."

Azyumardi said that Islamic revivalism had developed in the
country after the reform era, which was marked by the downfall of
the Soeharto regime in 1998.

He said that the Muslim community, including the hard-liners,
hoped that the reform era would start the glorious era of the
nation.

However, the hopes had faded away since the regime lost its
authority before the people, including in law enforcement.

He said impatient Muslim hard-liners then questioned the
authority of secular law to deal with the problem, and some of
them, such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), often took the law
into their own hands.

"What has happened in the capital, including discotheque raids
by the FPI, is an entry point for regions, under the autonomy
drive, to impose syariah in their own regions," he said.

He suspected that several parties in the regions had used
syariah as a political commodity to win people's votes.

A clear example was carried out by the United Development
Party (PPP) in West Sumatra, which had asked the local government
to impose syariah law in the predominantly devout Muslim region.

Makassar in South Sulawesi has also geared up to impose
syariah.

Saiful said the implementation of syariah in a pluralistic
society such as Indonesia would only threaten religious harmony.

"If syariah is imposed here, it would subordinate other
religious beliefs since we are a pluralistic society," he said,
adding that "democracy requires civil liberty, including the
practice of one's religious beliefs".

Saiful said that the two-day seminar, which was held by IAIN
in cooperation with Ohio State University, would be attended by
international speakers.

They included noted Muslim scholars from Mali, Senegal and
others, who shared their concerns on why so few Muslim countries
(11 out of 45 countries) were democratic.

The scholars will look for root causes as to why most Muslim
countries were not yet democratic and will provide solutions for
it, he said.