NU declares Second 'Wali Songo' movement

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.