Social control mandatory under Islam: Scholar

JAKARTA (JP): Social control checking the power of individuals and institutions in society is mandatory under Islam, noted Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid said yesterday.

This form of control prevents the management of matters that concern the interests of many people from relying simply on a person's good intentions, Nurcholish said during a symposium on religions and morality.

Social control to uphold community ethics is an absolute necessity because, no matter how good their intentions are, people are bound to be tempted to pursue their own interests, he said.

Nurcholish and four other speakers discussed the vast contribution of five religions -- Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism -- toward establishing public morality, spirituality and the work ethos in the last session of the symposium.

"No matter how good an individual's intentions are, he will always be tempted by vested interests ... Matters which concern many people, such as state affairs, should not be left to a person's good intentions only," Nurcholish told the 150 participants in the discussion, which was part of the ongoing Second Istiqlal Festival of Islamic arts and culture.

Good intentions, based on faith, are the main assets of a good society, he said. "In order to guarantee that the intentions of individuals, especially leaders, can be implemented perfectly, the community has to exert control."

The people who exercise the control must do so responsibly and maturely because they, too, have the potential to be trapped by subjectivity, he said. "Collective social control should be accompanied by collective efforts to foster maturity, patience and responsibility," he said.

"A relationship characterized by a balance and supervision of one another in society is a permanent rule of Allah, and, by that rule, security, peace and harmony are established," he said.

The symposium yesterday also featured scholars from the other four religions recognized in Indonesia.

Gedong Bagoes Oka, a Hindu leader, explained the elements in the Vedanta holy book which have become guidelines for Hindu people in their daily lives.

"Honest implementation of the teaching, especially by religious leaders, officials, intellectuals, and businessmen, will give birth to public morality and justice," Gedong said.

She quoted a passage from the book which reminds people that there is no such thing as personal possessions because everything that exists actually belongs to the creator.

"By adhering to the spirit of the passage, many problems we currently experience can be resolved, including poverty and oppression," she said. "This may sound utopian, but even as only ideals, they help us to think and to commit ourselves to equality and togetherness."

Gedong also spoke about Mahatma Gandhi and his thoughts challenging established teachings. "Religions or ideas do not have truth in them unless there are people who doubt them."

She also spoke against greed in society. "The earth produces enough for everybody's needs, but never enough for anybody's greed," she quoted Gandhi.

Alois A. Nugroho, a staff lecturer at the Atma Jaya Catholic University, explained that implementing the religion's values in daily life does not mean striving to seek exclusivity for the people in the community.

"Implementing the values of Christianity is never the same as hoisting the Catholic flag up high or building a strong fortress, or maintaining a group's privileges," he said.

"Implementing Catholic values in professional life does not call for the posting of Catholic people in strategic positions in connection with those professions, just because they are Catholic," he said.

Christian spirituality should be "centrifugal" in nature, that is, going beyond a person's self interests, Nugroho said.

"A spirituality which is oriented toward other people will contribute to improvements in people's welfare," he said. "This spirituality will contribute toward public morality, a morality which recognizes responsibility and respect toward people."

Other speakers yesterday were Th. Sumartana, who discussed Protestantism's contribution, and Oka Diputra, who explored the teachings of Buddha for the development of public morality. (swe)