Scholars call for jihad against corruption

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In order to properly observe the upcoming month of religious reflection, Muslim scholars called on the people to declare a moral jihad against corruption for their Ramadhan resolutions.

They said the holy month, marked by dawn to dusk fasting for Muslims, should be seen as the starting point for the world's most populous Muslim country to launch a moral jihad against the most villainous evil plaguing the nation: Corruption, nepotism and collusion, known locally as KKN, which has caused huge state losses and contributed to poverty and the prolonged crises.

"Instead of clamping down on nightspots, the nation should use this Ramadhan as momentum to declare a war on corruption, and restrain ourselves from doing anything that is remotely corrupt beginning with the holy month," Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

"The whole point of fasting is to exercise self restraint, and that must include shunning all forms of corruption."

He said that such a resolution could have a far-reaching impact if all Muslims implemented it.

Muslims account for nearly 90 percent of the Indonesian population of 214 million.

Azyumardi criticized the hardline groups who only focused their attention on forcefully preventing entertainment venues (particularly bars and discotheques) from operating during Ramadhan, which starts on Monday. The fasting month will last until Nov. 24, when Muslims celebrate the Idul Fitri holidays thereafter.

"If every Muslim really implemented such self restraint, they would not enter those places (that serve alcohol) during Ramadhan even if they were open," he stressed.

"What we have to refrain from is our own desires and not turn the blame on factors from the outside. That's the real Muslim way."

Many Islamic-based hardline groups across the country have demanded that their respective local governments ban all nightspots during the fasting month, branding the places "dens of sin".

One such group in Mataram, on Lombok island, has even gone so far as to urge the West Nusa Tenggara capital's authorities to close U.S.-franchised eateries McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken during Ramadhan.

Azyumardi suggested that the country's Muslim community should fully support the two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, who joined forces earlier this month to launch a moral movement against corruption.

"We need to keep the momentum on that going and really utilize this time during the holy month to put some teeth into their campaign," he urged.

Corruption eradication was the top priority of the reform movement's goals for the nation after the fall of Soeharto in May 1998. But surveys conducted by international and domestic institutions reveal that corruption is now worse than it ever has been as it affects not only the bureaucracy but the legislative body and judiciary as well as the most of the newly decentralized administrations throughout the country.

The most recent study conducted by Brussels-based group Transparency International still ranks Indonesia among the most corrupt countries in the world.

Some commentators suggested that the war against terrorism and other issues such as separatism have overshadowed the anticorruption drive.

Another Muslim scholar, Masdar Farid Mas'udi, agreed with Azyumardi, saying Ramadhan should result in concrete actions that benefited all people.

"A jihad against corruption should be our Ramadhan resolution," Masdar said.

He emphasized that it might be far from enough to make the resolution work just for one month. "But at least it could serve as a start for a better way of living," he said.

The two scholars also urged the country's leaders to embrace such a campaign and lead the war against corruption by example.