Only nine out of 20 invitees attend seminar on 'syariah'
Only nine out of 20 invitees attend seminar on 'syariah'
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Only nine out of 20 Muslim organizations invited to join a seminar on syariah (Islamic law) organized by the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) showed up at the opening ceremony of the two-day affair in Yogyakarta on Tuesday, a MMI executive said.
MMI Central Executive Board Chairman Irfan S. Awwas told The Jakarta Post that just 20 people representing 10 organizations had confirmed their participation, but only nine organizations showed up when the seminar opened on Tuesday evening.
Organizations attending the opening ceremony included Muhammadiyah, the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, Hidayatullah, Islam Defenders Front (FPI), the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), Al-Irsyad, the Preparation Committee for the Implementation of Syariah Islam (KPPSI), and the Alliance of Indonesian Islamic Party.
The Association of Islamic Students Alumni (KAHMI), which already confirmed its participation, did not show up for the opening ceremony, which was led by MMI Chairman Abubakar Baasyir.
"But it does not automatically mean that those who do not turn up reject the idea of including syariah in the 1945 Constitution," Irfan added.
The seminar, according to Irfan, was aimed at seeking support from as many Muslim organizations and political parties as possible for the inclusion of syariah in the Constitution. Their main aim is to place pressure on the 2002 Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to amend the Constitution so it is in line with Islamic laws.
"That's why we have not invited individuals to the seminar, just organizations," said Irfan.
"The more Muslim organizations that participate in the seminar, the easier it will be for us to claim that the idea (of formally including syariah in the 1945 Constitution) is supported by the majority of the country's Muslims," he added.
The first day of the seminar was scheduled to discuss articles of the 1945 Constitution considered to be in line with Islamic law and those that were not.
The second day is scheduled for a plenary session to come up with an agreement on which of the existing articles in the 1945 Constitution are worth maintaining and those that should be changed and adjusted to syariah.
"Hopefully, by the end of the seminar, we will be ready to decide on the matter," Irfan said.
Separately, Muhammadiyah's Central Executive Board chairperson Syafi'i Ma'arif told the Post that the presence of two representatives from Muhammadiyah's Tarjih Assembly could not be interpreted as the organization's support for the inclusion of syariah in the Constitution.
"It's a very simplistic conclusion. There is certainly no relation between the presence of someone in the seminar and the support of the organizations they represent," Syafi'i said, adding that the presence of Tarjih Assembly representatives in the seminar was mainly just to hear and discuss the matter.
"It will just be a discussion. The idea (of the inclusion of syariah in the Constitution) is OK, but it is obviously an unrealistic idea," he said, adding that just 10 percent of the MPR support the idea.
Syafi'i also said that it was not even clear for him what MMI was currently trying to include in the 1945 Constitution, as there were many interpretations of syariah, he said.
"I see that it is more important to regard the matter as the soul of syariah and how to realize it in daily life," he added.