NU declares Second 'Wali Songo' movement
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), announced on Friday that it had embarked on a "Second Wali Songo movement" to spread Islam worldwide through peaceful means.
The movement was announced by NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi, who said that NU had started to send its best members abroad to spread Islam peacefully.
"We have started to send them abroad to study while, at the same time, we hope that they spread Islamic tenets and NU practices among citizens of countries in which they live," Hasyim was quoted by Antara as saying during a meeting with NU followers and leaders in Cilegon, Banten province.
According to Hasyim, NU hoped the mission would promote understanding in the outside world that Islam was a religion of peace and that there should no longer be violence in the world resulting from the manipulation of religions.
Hasyim said that the movement was modeled on the Wali Songo (Nine Messengers) movement in Java several centuries ago, when nine pious Muslim missionaries spread Islam in the vast island peacefully.
The nine rejected the use of violence to spread Islam; instead, they promoted Islam through peaceful means. They preferred not to take a direct approach in spreading Islam within a predominantly Hindu culture at the time; rather, they spread Islamic values by adopting Hindu culture, including the use of the wayang puppet show.
According to Hasyim, this style of mission should be revived, so that there would no longer be unnecessary violence that manipulated religion.
During the gathering in Cilegon, Hasyim also told some 500 NU members in Banten that he would send off 13 NU members to study in the UK under a scholarship from the British government. NU would also send 35 scholars to Australia, 30 to Germany and 40 to the U.S.
"They will carry the spirit of the Wali Songo to those countries," he said.
According to Hasyim, he believed that NU was unique and moderate, adding that he could not find a similar Islamic organization in any other Muslim country, including Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Qatar.
Having this uniqueness, NU could attract people in other countries to learn about the positive aspects of Islam, and NU in particular, so that it could promote peace worldwide, he said.
Hasyim continued that NU had amazed Western countries.
"For almost three years now they have been observing terrorists worldwide, and they have ended up with a conclusion that there is not a single NU member involved in terrorism."
"No wonder that they are eager to offer NU those scholarships," said Hasyim.
Hasyim also said that many Western countries were also amazed at the fact that NU had 50 million followers and that none were willing to resort to violence to attain the goals of the organization.
Regarding the relationship between NU and the state, Hasyim asserted that NU must be able to retain its autonomy from the state. "NU must be autonomous and it should be able to promote a civil society with its own power," he said.