NU opposes move to ban Al Arqam
NU opposes move to ban Al Arqam
JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Moslem
organization, appealed to the government yesterday not to outlaw
the Malaysian-based Al Arqam movement, at least not on religious
grounds.
NU's position was publicly announced yesterday after the Fatwa
Council, which issues the group's policy recommendations,
deliberated. The council members met with representatives from
the Al Arqam earlier in the morning.
"We didn't find any deviation in Al Arqam's teachings as
suggested by the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI)," Ma'ruf Amin,
secretary of the NU's Fatwa Council, said. "We appeal to the
government not to ban the movement on the basis of their Islamic
faith."
There has been increasing pressure on the government to ban
Darul Arqam, as the movement is better known in Indonesia, after
it was outlawed in its home country of Malaysia last week.
Arqam leaders in Indonesia have since offered to hold dialogs
with its critics and other Moslem organizations to give them a
chance to defend their existence in Indonesia.
The MUI, which has been campaigning for a government ban,
flatly rejected the offer. An umbrella organization for all
Moslem groups, MUI said Arqam's teachings deviate from Islamic
principles.
NU accepted the offer for dialog as did Pemuda Muhammadiyah,
the youth wing of the Muhammadiyah Islamic movement. Although the
dialog with Pemuda Muhammadiyah was adjourned, the group issued a
statement yesterday, stating that it is toeing the line taken by
its parent organization, Muhammadiyah, which supports the plan to
ban Al Arqam.
Ma'ruf, who sits on the MUI's Fatwa Council, personally
questioned the legality of MUI's decision to declare that Al
Arqam's faith was illegitimate.
He recalled that the Council decided on the issue through a
vote. "How could you decide such thing by voting," he remarked.
When asked about the possibility of the government banning Al
Arqam for reasons other than religious ones, Ma'ruf said, "That
is up to them. If the government bans it for political or
national stability considerations, for instance, it's up to them.
We give our recommendation based only on religious
considerations."
Disrupted
The dialog between Pemuda Muhammadiyah and Al Arqam was
disrupted by the presence of a mob of journalists. Both sides
decided to adjourn the meeting.
Ahmad Rafei, who heads the Al Arqam movement in Jakarta, told
journalists that Pemuda Muhammadiyah was ready for another
dialog.
"We have not yet reached any results as we were just making
contact when it was adjourned. Pemuda Muhammadiyah promised to
resume the dialog sometimes in the future," Ahmadi said.
Pemuda Muhammadiyah, however, issued a statement stressing
that it is consistent with the position of its parent
organization which suggests that there are points of
disagreements between Al Arqam and Muhammadiyah.
Muhammadiyah has been calling for a ban as far back as 1990
because it too believed that Arqam's teachings deviated from
Islamic principles
Muhammadiyah pointed out that these deviations become apparent
when reading the Arqam's mystical Sufi guide book Aurad
Muhammadiyah by Sayid Muhammad bin Abdullah As-Suhaimi, a Sufi
idol from Wonosobo, Central Java. The book has long been banned
here.
Muhammadiyah said it cannot accept Arqam's belief that Suhaimi
met with Prophet Muhammad in front of the Kaba in Mecca and
received Messages from the Prophet which he wrote in the Aurad
Muhammadiyah.
Meanwhile, NU Chairman Abdurrahman Wahid said yesterday that
Al Arqam's mystical practices could be approached with fiqh
(Islamic rules) which are based on logical analysis of the Holy
Koran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad.
Abdurrahman said he did not believe that As-Suhaimi met with
Prophet Muhammad. However, he said this should not be used as a
reason to ban the movement.
Commenting on the statement made by MUI Chairman Hasan Basri,
that he did not want to have a dialog with Al Arqam, Gus Dur
said, "If that's the way it is, then MUI cannot claim to
represent Indonesian Ulemas." (rid)