NU clerics issue 'fatwa' to support Wiranto

Indra Harsaputra, Pasuruan

Several influential clerics of the country's largest Muslim organization issued an edict on Thursday for its members to vote for Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahid in next month's presidential election.

The edict stressed that Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) members should not abstain from voting in the July 5 election and that Muslims were prohibited under Islamic law, or sharia, from choosing a woman leader, except in an emergency.

"The sharia bans women from becoming leaders. But if Megawati (Soekarnoputri) is elected president, we will support her," said Abdullah Faqih.

Faqih and a number of other influential NU clerics gathered in the East Java regency of Pasuruan, from which resulted the edict's issuance.

Other prominent mullahs from East Java in attendance were Chotib Umar from Jember, Idris Abdul Hamid from Pasuruan, Soleh Kasim from Sidoarjo and Lutfi Abdul Hadi from Malang.

Dozens of other heads of NU-affiliated boarding schools across Java and Solahuddin also attended the meeting, which appeared to be politically motivated, as it again raised the issue of a woman leader ahead of the election. Megawati is making a reelection bid alongside running mate NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi, who is suspended for the duration of the campaign period.

The clerics are known for their loyal support of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who was ousted by supporters of Megawati in 2001. The nearly blind Gus Dur has been disqualified from the presidential race because of his poor health.

Faqih, leader of the Langitan Islamic boarding school in Tuban, East Java, said the NU mullahs had made a mature decision in choosing to support Wiranto and Solahuddin.

Solahuddin is Gus Dur's younger brother.

It was not clear, however, whether Wiranto's poor human rights record was included in the clerics' consideration. Wiranto has been indicted by a East Timorese court for crimes against humanity in the 1999 Dili massacre.

The mullahs have also decided to back Gus Dur's lawsuit against the General Elections Commission for its ruling on his presidential bid.

Faqih hoped Gus Dur would change his decision to abstain from voting in order to protest what he and human rights activists allege to be discriminatory treatment.

"We have issued a fatwa for people to use their right to vote in the upcoming presidential election, as it will determine the future of the nation," he said.

He also called on NU members to maintain national unity despite rivalries among the political elite.