NU congress displays signs of renewal

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.