New challenges for Muhammadiyah

New challenges for Muhammadiyah

Hadjid Harnawidagda, Jakarta

Muhammadiyah, the second biggest Muslim organization in
Indonesia, founded in 1912 in Yogyakarta by the late Kyai Haji
Ahmad Dahlan, will hold its 45th national congress or Muktamar in
Malang, East Java, early next month.

About two thousand five hundred delegates will be present at
the conference, and tens of thousands of non-delegates -- devout
Muhammadiyah members and supporters -- are expected to attend the
opening ceremony, accompanying bazaars, expositions and public
rallies.

It is a fact that, without proclaiming itself as a nationalist
organization, Muhammadiyah has pioneered the creation of national
awareness. National organizations founded before Indonesian
independence in 1945 usually concentrated their activities on the
island of Java. Muhammadiyah, on the other hand, had a strong
hold on the outer islands -- in West Sumatra, South Sulawesi and
Alabio and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan -- very early on.

Madrasah (Islamic elementary schools) -- muallimin for the
boys and muallimat for the girls -- in Yogyakarta attracted
students from across the archipelago. Through its schools,
Muhammadiyah introduced a new concept of education by combining
Islamic and secular subjects. This strategy was instrumental in
creating a new generation who received a more balanced education.

Muhammadiyah's congresses, which were held in Bukittinggi,
West Sumatra and Makassar in South Sulawesi in the 1930s proved
Muhammadiyah's contribution to the making of this nation. In
1928, national youth organizations declared the Youth Pledge,
which included the adoption of the Indonesian language -- which
was derived from the Malay language, spoken by a small Malay
ethnic group in Riau and its vicinity -- as the national
language. Yet Muhammadiyah had used the language long before the
declaration of the Youth Pledge.

Muhammadiyah's rational approaches to religious practices also
attract educated young people to associate themselves with this
organization, thus learning more about Islam. The modernized
madrasahs and Islamic schools run by Muhammadiyah, together with
the Hizbul Wathan Boy Scout Movement prepared the leaders of this
nation from local to national levels.

To give an example of the contribution of Muhammadiyah to
nation building we can mention that the late Gen. Soedirman, the
first commander in chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces, was a
Muhammadiyah leader.

The first president of this republic, former president
Sukarno, former president Soeharto, former prime minister Juanda
and dozens of prominent leaders of this country were associated
with Muhammadiyah in some way or another. Sukarno was officially
registered as a member of this organization when he was a
politician in exile in Bengkulu in the 1930s. So when he gave a
speech at the opening ceremony of Muhammadiyah Muktamar in
Palembang in 1958, and then in Jakarta in 1962 he made the much-
cited statement Sekali Muhammadiyah tetap Muhammadiyah (Once, I
joined Muhammadiyah, and I will always be a Muhammadiyah member).

In 1995, when Muhammadiyah held its congress in Banda Aceh --
Amien Rais was elected as its chairman here -- then-president
Soeharto won over the audience, when he opened the congress, with
his humble statement that he was also a member of Muhammadiyah
when he was younger.

When Muhammadiyah was founded about 90 years ago, its biggest
challenge was easily identifiable: To liberate Indonesia from
Dutch colonialism. Muhammadiyah, joining hand-in-hand with other
peoples of this nation has succeeded in rising to old challenges
and preparing the nation for independence.

Today, Muhammadiyah faces new challenges, its schools and
health care services need to be improved to meet the highest
standards. New forms of discrimination are prevailing, moral
decadence and materialistic hedonism are beyond description.

Will Muhammadiyah be an effective organization that can rise
to these challenges, or just another group of frustrated
grumblers or desperate protesters? Will the coming congress
formulate successful strategies? Millions of Muhammadiyah
members, and the Indonesian people as a body, await the results
of the congress.

Dr. Hajid Harnawidagda is a lecturer at the Hidayatullah State
Islamic University and a Muhammadiyah member since childhood. At
present he is the chairman of the Jakarta chapter of
Muhammadiyah's board for elementary and secondary education.