RI's Moslem community coming into its own

B.J. Habibie's election as vice president and the predominantly Moslem cabinet has fanned questions about the political map of Islam in Indonesia. Moslem intellectual Nurcholish Madjid, rector of Paramadina Mulya University, discusses the implications.

Question: Some people say the election of Habibie, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), as vice president will lead to Islamic fundamentalism?

Nurcholish: Many people in the United States believe Indonesia is moving toward fundamental Islam. But whenever a foreigner asks, I'd say: "Habibie is actually a guarantee that Indonesia will never move to Islamic fundamentalism... because Habibie is a liberalist Moslem."

There is a jealousy among some businesspeople toward Habibie, and they are manipulating the issue by suggesting that Indonesia is moving toward Islamic fundamentalism.

Habibie is unchallenged in technological capability. Many people don't know that Habibie made breakthroughs in aeronautic technology. He has become wealthy because of his patents for such breakthroughs. I heard that Habibie is the holder of a patent for a component of a U.S. fighter. That's one of the reasons why he always finds it easy to have a meeting with U.S. figures.

Q: Is President Soeharto's choice of Habibie as vice president and the appointment of mostly Moslems in his cabinet an attempt to garner more support from Moslems?

N: Pak Harto started implementing his Islamic policy in the mid- 1980s, when many Moslem intellectuals graduated from universities. He was really moving in line with the development of his own nation.

Previously, government policies disregarded the fact that Indonesia was a Moslem nation, and they were effective because Moslems were not well-educated then. Moslems are now getting more educated because more and more of them have gone to universities since the mid-1960s.

Q: Was there any pressure on Soeharto to include more Moslems in his cabinet?

N: There was never external pressure on Pak Harto. He sees the growing number of Moslem intellectuals capable of leading the country. On the other hand, some people had an illusion that they would be able to push Pak Harto from overseas to do what they wanted, but the United States, for example, was not interested in the religious affairs of other countries.

Q: How has the Moslem community respond to Soeharto's Islamic policy?

N: Moslems of the middle and lower classes are emotionally supporting him. If there is a serious problem confronting him, for example, they will stand behind him.

However, Moslems with high educational backgrounds, including ICMI members, are very critical of him. They are happy with his recent Islamic policy, but they are disappointed with his performance concerning social and civic morality.

Q: What is the prospect of relations between the government and Moslems in the future?

N: Indonesia is really a Moslem nation. It will no longer be relevant to confront Moslems with their non-Moslem colleagues. Even now, people in various organizations feel at ease using Islamic jargons or quoting Koranic verses in debates.

Q: Will this influence relations between the government and the Moslem-dominated United Development Party (PPP)?

N: No. PPP executives actually like Pak Harto, who is adopting an Islamic policy.

Q: Will this lead to jealousy with the Armed Forces?

N: No. The Armed Forces is experiencing a similar trend. Someone who was trying to prevent such a trend, which was identical to the development of psychological democratization, in the Armed Forces, has been flung off.

Q: So, you see the Moslem community developing stronger in the future?

N: Moslems in rural areas, particularly those under the Nahdlatul Ulama (socioreligious) organization, started studying at universities in the 1970s, Indonesia will witness a new phenomenon in the 2010s with the emergence of Moslem intellectuals with traditional backgrounds. NU chairman Abdurrachman Wahid has been paving the way for their emergence by introducing liberalist ideas.

NU people, who are now poorly represented in the political arena, will then become on par with their colleagues from the other Moslem organizations.

I also anticipate that by 2020 to 2025, the real Indonesian nation will be established. What I mean by the real Indonesian nation is one with objective, proportional and representative equilibrium in the political powers. All social segments at that time will be represented in the country's political arena.

NU, which has a large number of supporters, for example, is now very poorly represented in the political arena. None of its members has a license for press media publication. (riz)