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.