NU congress displays signs of renewal

By Ridwan M. Sijabat

KEDIRI, East Java (JP): As proceedings of the 30th Congress of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) reach their halfway point, all signs point to a political reawakening of the organization from its 25-year lethargy.

The election of Abdurrahman Wahid as president last month has sparked newfound political vigor and endowed senior leaders of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization with the confidence of embracing politics into their vision of NU in the future.

But at the same time, to outsiders, this confidence also reflects the delicate tightrope the organization must tread as it also claims loyalty to the 1926 khittah (statute) of not getting involved in practical politics.

Statements by Said Aqiel Siradj and Hasyim Muzadi, the two leading candidates expected to replace Abdurrahman as chairman on Thursday, reflect this dualistic vision.

Both maintain a strong commitment to strictly maintain NU's image as a socioreligious organization with a strong practical focus on elevating small-scale businesses.

Both pledge loyalty to the 1926 khittah, but at the same time each have underlined the need to play a proactive role in constructing a conducive climate for a true democracy.

NU was established by the late Wahid Hasyim, Abdurrahman's grandfather, along with two other influential ulemas in 1926. It developed into a power grassroots Islamic grouping and between 1950 and 1973 used its strong support base to delve into party politics.

It then slowly faded from the national political scene with the ascendancy of the New Order government which fused Islamic- based political parties into the United Development Party (PPP).

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and most of the 1990s it played a backroom role in politics and in most cases shied away from it altogether.

In 1984 with the election of Abdurrahman as chairman of NU, it declared its return to the 1926 khittah to stay out of formal politics.

But with the dawn of the reform era many NU figures became actively involved in politics and the National Awakening Party (PKB), which drew its support base from NU, was given the blessing by NU leaders and received the third highest votes in the June 7 general election.

Said Aqiel Siradj, deputy secretary of NU's legal affairs (Aam Suriyah) department, said during the congress here that NU should be consistent in its identity as a socioreligious organization, however this should not stop them from fighting for the political interests of the majority of Muslims.

Said saw the current era of reform as a momentum to develop NU, which now claims to have over 35 million members, including furthering it mission in the political, economic and education fields.

According to Said, NU should become a pillar of democracy in the reform movement to create a strong civil society. He said NU must maintain its distance from the government, political parties and other state institutions.

Despite Abdurrahman's ascendance, NU can continue to play a control function. With its independence, Said claimed, NU can correct the government's policies.

He cited several NU ulemas who recently criticized the President for his statements and opinions on Aceh as an example.

Said also said NU as a socioreligious (Jam'iyyah) organization should intensify its role in developing religious harmony.

However he remained adamant that NU should ensure that Islamic values be included in consideration of state institutions and affairs, as the state is overwhelmingly comprised of a majority of Muslims.

On the other hand, he also noted that NU must ensure that other religious communities be allocated adequate opportunities to play a role, thereby ensuring equity and religious harmony in a plural society.

"NU must be able to promote religious tolerance because Indonesia is not an Islamic or theocratic state," he said.

Another area of concern for Said was the need to overhaul the development and to improve the quality of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) which in turn could produce better equipped human resources.

"The development of pesantren is quite strategic in improving the quality of Indonesian human resources since most people are still living under the poverty line in rural areas. The education sector must be developed to improve people's political awareness," he said.

Interests

Meanwhile Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the NU chapter in East Java, said the current congress must formulate what he described as "inclusive substantialism" to promote harmony between religions and the state.

"This is urgent since certain religious groups have intentionally abused their faith to oppose the government in order to fight for their own political interests," he said.

He explained that many Muslim groups had fought to be exclusive and exerted violence in fighting for Islam to be accepted in a more formalistic nature by the state.

In his view, NU itself should uphold the principle amr ma'ruf nahi munkar, which would keep peaceful relations with the government.

"No religion has destructive goals or allows its followers to pursue violent means," he argued.

Hasyim said NU must strive to uphold democracy, help create a clean government, develop people's religious lives and promote national brotherhood.

"To minimize the threat of disintegration, NU must be in the front row in strengthening ukhuwwah wathoniyyah (the sense of nationhood), ukhuwwah islamiyah (religious harmony) and ukhuwwah nahdliyah (unity among NU supporters)," he said.

But NU observer Amin Syukur expressed some skepticism that the organization could truly maintain itself as a strong check against a government which is comprised of several notable NU figures, given the feudalistic culture of the organization.

"It is a serious challenge for NU to conduct its control function. The presence of influential NU figures in the bureaucracy, major political parties and the legislative bodies will make it difficult for NU to be critical," he said.

Amin, also a lecturer at the Islamic Teaching Institute (IAIN) in Surabaya, cited a simple example that students at Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) were discouraged from criticizing their ulemas and teachers.

The education system in pesantrens was that students were taught to comply with their ulemas and to imitate them, he said.

It would be very difficult for NU's next leaders to criticize the president because most of them were "his students" and were personally close to him, he said: "This is a challenge but also an opportunity simultaneously."

Robin Bush, who is conducting research for her doctorate program at the Lirboyo Boarding School, concurred and said NU should produce independent graduates and intellectuals in an attempt to phase out the feudalistic culture as well as to promote democracy in pesantrens and the organization.