NU striving to modernize organization

NU striving to modernize organization

TASIKMALAYA, West Java (JP): Thousands of Moslem leaders in
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) are trying to bring the organization up to
date by holding discussions on contemporary issues.

In the fourth day of its 29th congress here yesterday,
participating ulemas debated such matters as the relationship
between religion and the state, environmental degradation and
Islam's stance on scientific advancement.

The commission in charge of discussing scientific
advancement, for instance, agreed to issue an edict which
prohibits surrogate motherhood and to allow the use of animal
organs, such as pig livers and heart valves, for organ
transplants in "emergency states".

Despite the controversial nature of the issues, discussions
yesterday went smoothly since much had already been debated in
preliminary meetings.

For issues not covered by the ulemas'kitab kuning (literally
yellow book), reference books on religious laws established by
great ulemas centuries ago, the commission invited comments from
experts.

Dr. Mohammad Thohir, director of Moslem Hospital in Surabaya,
and Dr. Suryanto, an expert on genetic engineering, also based in
Surabaya, were invited to provide explanations to the ulemas.

On environmental issues, the representative from Central Java
provincial branch called for review of the government's plan to
build nuclear plants in the province.

"The planned plant does not promise real benefits for the
public," the representative said. "Taking examples from other
countries, nuclear power presents more threats of environmental
damage."

Agreed

The commission in charge of discussing those contemporary
issues agreed that environmental problems are not only political
and economical in nature, but a "theological issue" as well.

Attention and efforts to prevent environmental damage, the
commission agreed, should be seen as religious edicts to be
observed by Moslems, either individually or collectively.

Another commission, in charge of NU programs in the coming
five years, agreed to increase efforts to improve human resource
development. It plans to set up, among other projects,
leadership training programs, libraries and financial assistance
for small enterprises.

These efforts to be responsive to contemporary issues,
according to some observers, are what the organization needs in
order to strengthen itself and inspire greater loyalty among its
members.

Kacung Marijan from the Airlangga University in Surabaya,
Dutch-expert Dr. Martin Van Bruinessen, and Abdul Azis from NU,
all believe that the emerging younger intellectuals will be the
organization's driving force.

"Ideally, NU also needs to establish a solid organizational
structure so that it can thrive, no matter who is at its helm,"
Kacung said.

Van Bruinessen said in a discussion Saturday that a process
of "secularization" is forcing the organization to deal with
issues previously uncovered.

"The Kyai (the Moslem leader) used to be placed at a very
exalted place..now, there are university graduates who are more
informed than those kyai," he said.

The great numbers of NU, 34 million members, mostly farmers in
rural areas, can no longer be protected by the kyai from the
onslaught of new information. "These farmers do not first
transform from rural citizens into a urban society citizens, but
go directly towards being a world citizen because of parabola
disks," he said.

In such situations, Van Bruinessen said, the organization
needs to have "political" characteristics, in the sense of
representing the interests of its masses more effectively.

Abdul Azis, however, believed that NU leaders have to deal
with resistance from its members who want to cling to old
patterns and programs.

Kacung seconded Azis' opinion, saying that the younger
members of NU will help bring the organization more up to date,
but that the whole organization has to figure out how to deal
with the resistance.

"Those farmers in the rural areas are usually the ones left
behind by leaders with too sophisticated ideas," he told The
Jakarta Post.

"Which is why I support the organization's decision to return
to Khittah, its original mission as a social and religious
movement," he said.

The organization should act more like a moral force and not
be attached to any political groupings. A ramification of this
decision, however, is that NU should strive to be more
independent financially to enable it to fend off party interests
in turning its millions of members into a power base.

Without improvement of its economic potential, Azis said, NU
may eventually lose direction and also the trust of its
followers. (swe/pet/wahyu muryadi)