Parties court danger by politicizing religion

As the wind of reform blows, more than a hundred of parties blossom including those based on Islam. Komaruddin Hidayat, director for the development of Islamic colleges at the Ministry of Religious Affairs talks about these Islamic parties.

Question: How do you see the new political parties based on Islam?

Komaruddin: I feel concerned because such parties are actually based on communalism, not on the rational values of the religion. But they have been declared themselves to be parties under the flag of Islam. If they were based on the rational values of the religion, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) community, for example, should not have been represented by more than one party.

My concern comes from the fact that religion, which is really a source of principles for the raising of the dignity of human beings, has thus far been perceived as the cause of bloodshed in the country. Politically, religious ideology and sentiment, therefore, are often regarded as "ammunition" for social conflicts. Moslem figures are also regarded as unable to lead the country because they are perceived as undemocratic. But is there any evidence that figures whose religious belief is in the gray area are more democratic than their faithful Moslem rivals?

Q: Do you think that Moslem constituents will prefer supporting parties based on Islam?

K: Most citizens, whose economic and educational levels are still very low, will not be able to distinguish whether or not parties are based on Islam. They will just look at the leaders or the flags of the parties.

The People's Awakening Party (PKB), which has NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid as its main figure, for example, will be able to win support from NU followers even though it has been declared an open party.

The United Development Party (PPP), which has no prominent figures, is trying to attract constituents by changing its symbol from a star to the ka'bah (a symbolic place in Mecca which Moslems face during their prayers).

Q: Do you think that the Islam-based parties, if they win any general election, want to set up an Islamic country?

K: No. They have never been serious in developing Islam and they, therefore, have no obsession with having an Islamic country. They use Islam as their basis just because they want to make a strong reaction to the New Order government's long indoctrination of the state ideology Pancasila and because they want to win political support from citizens, the majority of whom are Moslem.

Amien Rais' National Mandate Party (PAN), which is open to followers of any religion, is actually more Islamic in terms of substance than the parties based on Islam because PAN is striving for the establishment of Islamic principles of democracy, clean governance, inclusivism, respect for human rights and protection of the minorities.

But because Amien has leapt ahead in terms of thinking which is farther forward than that of his fellow countrymen, his political participation will be useful for political education rather than winning votes. If he wants, in any case, to win a general election, he will have to be prepared for a "long run".

Q: Is it possible for the Islamic parties to abuse religion for their political purposes?

K: Because the politicians have established their parties without any deep thought and long-term vision, they, in the future, may make mistakes due to narrow-mindedness, without having any intention of abusing the religion.

They must remember that citizens with low levels of education and economy will be easily provoked by religious sentiments.

Q: Will the existence of several parties disunite Moslems?

K: No. But because most party leaders are communalist, they will waste their energy mostly on internal matters. As a result, they will not be productive (in nation-building) and Islam cannot fully function as a blessing for the nation.

Q: How can we encourage Moslem leaders to develop their religious affairs?

K: Religious affairs will improve in line with the improvement of governance and economy. As soon as clean governance and economic welfare are established, religion will not be used as a political tool or as an issue for social conflicts.

Q: Will Islamic parties set up coalitions among themselves?

K: Yes. Some coalitions might be made on a communal basis, meaning that alliances will be established among parties whose leaders are well acquainted with each other. Some other coalitions will be based on rational calculations.

Q: Do you see any fear among minorities if Islamic parties win a general election?

K: Oh, yes. So far they have an image that Indonesian Moslems are exclusive, communalist, irrational and lacking vision. If the government had not abused the interpretation of Pancasila, there would have been no such misperception of Islam.

Q: What do you say about the stance of the Armed Forces (ABRI) towards the Islamic parties?

K: ABRI and the Islamic parties apparently have a common concern in that the succession of the national leadership in this era of reform should be carried out constitutionally. (riz)