Promoting pluralism is Muslims' job, clerics say

Promoting pluralism is Muslims' job, clerics say

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With pluralism put at risk in 2005, as illustrated by increasing
conservatism and interreligious conflicts, a scholar says that
Muslims as the majority in the country hold the greatest
responsibility in promoting pluralism.

Masdar Farid Mas'udi, who chairs the Association of Islamic
Boarding Schools and Community Development (PPPM), said that
Muslims could demand their rights only after they fulfilled their
obligations.

"Prophet Muhammad said 'the majority must care for the
minority, while the minority must respect the majority. That's
the basis of solid harmony.

"The past has been filled with suspicion of people from
different groups and religions. We have to end that negativity,"
he said while addressing a year-end gathering of Muslim clerics
on Wednesday evening.

Attended by Muslim scholars and clerics as well as several
Christian leaders, the gathering called for campaigns to spread
peace and fight terrorism by those using the name of Islam for
jihad.

Prominent scholar Ahmad Syafii Maarif, a former chairman of
the nation's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah,
urged Islamic organizations to continue promoting and spreading
the views of moderate Islam.

"The views that project Islam as a blessing for humankind
assure pluralism, and promote tolerance and inclusivity.
Pluralism is not only required to contain terrorist acts
perpetrated in the name of religion, but is also the main
prerequisite for democratization in the country," he said.

Syafii criticized Muslim groups that veered heavily toward
puritanism, saying they tried to deconstruct civilization in the
West without offering a better alternative.

He also blasted the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for fueling
anarchy, vandalism and undemocratic practices within society with
its controversial fatwas.

In July, MUI issued 11 fatwas, including the highly criticized
ban on religious teachings influenced by pluralism, liberalism
and secularism, as well as branding the Ahmadiyah Islamic group
as heretical.

"Indonesia is built on the pillars of pluralism and religious
tolerance. This only emphasizes the immaturity of Muslim
religious views," Syafii told the gathering.

The forum also criticized the government's measures in
combating terrorism, which particularly portrayed pesantren
(Islamic boarding schools) as breeding grounds for terrorists.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who formerly led
the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
said the government should stop interfering too much in religious
issues.

"It is inappropriate for the government to close down
pesantren, or ban a congregation considered heretical," Gus Dur
said.

It is up to people to decide whether a teaching is heretical
or not, he said, suggesting that legal steps be taken against any
group considered to be disrupting public order.

"It has to be clear, though, which party is the most
responsible for it. I think it would be the Supreme Court," said
Gus Dur, a pluralist scholar.

Christian scholar Frans Magnis Suseno said that it took
intensive communication between followers of different faiths and
cultures to build a feeling of togetherness as a nation.

"It's not easy, but religion must emphasize a positive
attitude and openness toward differences. Religion must put on a
friendly face, assuring safety to others to practice their
religion without fear," he said, referring to frequent attacks
and bans on churches in this predominantly Muslim country.