Nahdlatul Ulama untangles itself from politics

By Mitsuo Nakamura

CHIBA, Japan (JP): Originally, the Nahdlatul Ulama was non- political when it was established in 1926. The Khittah of 1926 (basic guidelines) defined the Nahdlatul Ulama as an Islamic religious organization devoted to religious education and the enhancement of the well-being of the Moslem community.

However, as an organization with vast mass-support in rural areas through pondok pesantren (boarding schools for traditional Islamic education), the Nahdlatul Ulama started to get involved in the process for the independence of Indonesia, through the World War II and also in various efforts for nation-building throughout the Sukarno era.

It first joined politics as a part of the United Moslem Political Party, Masyumi, from 1945 to 1952 and then became an independent political party of its own from 1952 to 1973. It appeared as one of the four largest parties in the general election of 1955, obtaining 18.4 percent of total votes.

After working with the Armed Forces under Gen. Soeharto, to usher in the New Order through the 1965-66 turmoil, the Nahdlatul Ulama started to lose legislative as well as administrative positions in the new political constellation dominated by the government's Golkar.

In 1973, together with other Moslem political parties, the Nahdlatul Ulama was finally fused into the United Development Party and kept at a distance from power centers. Under these circumstances, the Nahdlatul Ulama, or more exactly Nahdlatul Ulama elements in the development party, increasingly tended to channel grievances of the masses to the government, which otherwise had difficulties finding outlets.

Alarmed by this resilience or resurgence of Moslem militancy, the authorities adopted a number of policies to deter the revival of Islamic political forces. Hence, rising tensions and even open conflicts during the years between the late 1970's and the early 1980's.

The government was to put an end to this situation by requesting all social organizations, including religious ones, to accept Pancasila (Five Principles) as their Asas Tunggal (sole foundation). After intensive discussions among its members the Nahdlatul Ulama congress in 1984 decided to comply with this request, not passively but rather positively.

It declared that it would not aim for the establishment of an Islamic state at all but would operate in order to consolidate national unity in the framework of Pancasila. At the same time, it re-confirmed the identity of Nahdlatul Ulama as an Islamic religious organization, hence the return to the Khittah of 1926.

It also re-established the supremacy of the leadership of ulama (religious scholars) over politicians and organization activists.

Significance of the Nahdlatul Ulama's acceptance of Asas Tunggal Pancasila (sole ideology), combined with its return to the Khittah of 1926 was great. Of all Moslem organizations that finally accepted Pancasila as the sole foundation, the Nahdlatul Ulama's bold initiative helped open a new era of social harmony and national unity between the government and Moslem organizations and between Moslem and non-Moslem communities.

Implementation of the Nahdlatul Ulama's decision to withdraw from "practical politics" meant its departure from the United Development Party organization.

Only individual politicians of the Nahdlatul Ulama affiliation were to remain in the party. This process did experience difficulties with the development party under the leadership of John Naro. He took advantage of Nahdlatul Ulama's new move for the control of the development party's leadership by his own faction, causing the famous "deflation campaign" of the Nahdlatul Ulama against the development party in the 1987 election.

The development party's votes shrank significantly. Although the leadership of the development party has changed from Naro to Ismail Hassan Metareum, the Nahdlatul Ulama leadership is still uneasy with the development party. The Nahdlatul Ulama elements loyal to the Khittah of 1926 were excluded from its top leadership in the latest congress of the National Development Party held in August-September 1994.

Nevertheless, recent talks about the possible birth of a new political party by frustrated Nahdlatul Ulama politicians, a clear reversal of the Khittah of 1926, seem to be groundless since it is now so deeply rooted in the Nahdlatul Ulama organization.