Suing Gus Dur a big mistake

Suing Gus Dur a big mistake

From Merdeka

About in the middle of the fasting month Ramadhan, Abdurrahman
Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, was reported to be threatened
with defamation due to comments he made during a discussion. Gus
Dur, however, was serious concerning this matter and demanded
that the case be settled in court.

It was a big mistake to hastily label Gus Dur as a slanderer
and to threaten to take him to court.

The first thing to realize is that Gus Dur is a religious
leader and heads the big Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU), which maintains traditional values. He often presents his
strong opinions in public, which are beyond these traditional
norms. He is able to give excellent arguments in public debates,
in lectures and in writings. As an intellectual, he is committed
to establishing an open society, although not without risk.

Gus Dur has not done anything taboo. He is a shepherd of the
nahdliyin (members of NU) and is always ready to defend the
truth, even if it means going to court.

Situbondo and Tasikmalaya are known to be NU bases, so it is
but fair for Gus Dur to search for the "intellectual" masterminds
of the recent riots that happened in those towns. Also, Gus Dur
has been wise enough to ask for an apology if there were any NU
members being involved in the riots. To apologize is very
characteristic of NU.

But further investigation has indicated that the riots were
engineered not by an NU member, so the real culprit must be
found. NU knows no violence in settling problems. NU has always
been gentleman-like in its conduct.

Some are questioning Gus Dur's quality as an ulema. This is
insulting. An ulema is not appointed by a decree. He leads ulema
groups and lives among them.

IRFAN HASSAN BADJEBER

Jakarta