Syafi'i promotes benign face of Islam

Syafi'i promotes benign face of Islam

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Being a moderate Muslim after the 9/11 terrorist attack is no
longer easy, especially when prejudices and mistrust run high.

The attack on the World Trade Center's twin towers was blamed
on terrorists who happened to subscribe to Islam. However, the
damage was done, the conduct of a small number of fire-brand
followers of twisted Islamic teachings, tarnished the whole image
of Islam. As a result, people now readily associate Islam with
white-bearded terrorism.

For the majority of Muslims who hold the view that Islam is a
religion of peace, their primary task now is to demonstrate that
Islam is not a religion of violence. Instead, Islam promotes the
use of benign measures for the implementation of its teachings.

Among Muslims who took up the task in the post-9/11 world is
M. Syafi'i Anwar, executive director of the International Center
for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP).

Founded in July 2003, the Center strives to build harmonious
relationships among various cultural and religious groups, based
on the principles of pluralism and multiculturalism.

"After the 9/11 terrorist attack and especially after the Bali
bombings, I was shocked by the misperceptions about Islam that
prevail among Westerners. Islam was perceived as intolerant and
to endorse the use of violence.

I got first-hand experience during my stay in Australia where
I did my Ph.D," Syafi'i told The Jakarta Post in a recent
interview.

While in Australia, Syaifi'i spent a considerable amount of
time visiting Christian communities there and made a presentation
about the friendly face of Islam. "I was invited by scores of
institutions including the Australian Rationalist Society and
church community there and I was overwhelmed by questions about
the wrong perceptions of Islam," he said.

Syafi'i went to the University of Melbourne in 1999 to pursue
a doctoral degree. Currently, he is still finishing his long-
overdue dissertation The State and Political Islam in Indonesia:
A Study of State Politics and Modernist Muslim Leaders' Behavior
under Soeharto's New Order Regime, 1966-1998.

When terror hit home with the Bali bombings, Syafi'i, who was
still doing field research for the dissertation, realized that
the task of promoting peaceful Islam must also be carried out
from within his home country.

In a country where Muslims are predominantly moderate in their
interpretation of Islamic teachings as represented by the two
mainstream Muslim organizations Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and
Muhammadiyah, hard-liner Muslim organizations, however, managed
to grab the public attention with their unsympathetic measures
such as raiding nightspots and conducting sweepings against
western tourists, thanks largely to the sensation-driven media.

"I accepted the offer of leading ICIP with one mission: to
develop progressive Islamic thinking so that the idea of
pluralism and respect for others can grow here.

"I was also interested in building a regional and
international network of moderate Muslim thinkers, an objective
that has become one of ICIP's goals," Syafi'i said, adding that
he had to pay for the decision to join the ICIP through the late
submission of his dissertation.

During the last year, ICIP has searched for and disseminated
authoritative texts supporting pluralism, tolerance, human rights
and democracy. It also has supported Muslim NGOs, activists and
intellectuals engaged in efforts to promote justice, democratic
participation and religious tolerance within the Muslim world.

Earlier in November, ICIP invited Muslim scholars in Southeast
Asia for a seminar that concluded with a statement that the
dissemination of Islamic teachings was not aimed at converting
those who already subscribed to other beliefs and in fact could
open up the possibility of interfaith dialog.

Syafi'i's activism is apparently the logical consequence of
his years of experience in promoting moderate Islamic thinking.

He was editor-in-chief of Islamic newsweekly magazine Ummat
between 1995 and 1999 and deputy chief editor of the Indonesian
journal of Islamic culture Ulumul Qur'an between 1989-1994.

Both were respected publications widely regarded as vehicles
to promote refined and non-simplistic Islamic thinking.

The springboard for his career in journalism was a spell at
the now-disbanded Islamic newsweekly magazine Panji Masyarakat.

"People at the ICIP national board persuaded me to take up the
institute's leadership after they learned about my background in
journalism. They thought that I could promote the idea of
pluralism more effectively through the media," he said.

Born 51 years ago, in Kudus, a Central Java city known for its
rich Islamic cultural legacy, Syafi'i was raised in what was a
mix between a Javanese and a devout Muslim family.

His father was an abangan Muslim -- a person who lives
according to near-atheistic Javanese tradition, as classified by
anthropologist Clifford Geertz -- while his mother was raised in
a devout Muslim family.

However, over time Syafi'i's father learned about Islam from
his wife and later became a pious Muslim, even more so than his
wife.

"Learning from that experience, I believe that with continuous
education, people who have the wrong perception about Islam can
change their views," he said.