The NU congress

The NU congress

Today, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is scheduled to start its
congress in Tasikmalaya, West Java. Without a doubt, it is one of
the year's most important political events and one of the most
interesting to watch.

What makes the event interesting is not only the fact that NU,
with a following of an estimated 30 million, is the biggest non-
governmental organization in this country. No less interesting is
watching to see how this organization will set out its future
course and elect its leaders free of the government's
intervention. In other words, its current meeting is a test for
Indonesian democracy.

Up to about a decade ago there was no shortage of people who
mocked the Nahdlatul Ulama for its apparent passiveness. Its
initial letters, NU, were said to stand for the Javanese phrase
nunut urip, which roughly means to passively follow in someone's
footsteps simply to continue to survive.

Obviously, this was a reference to the organization's
perceived inclination to support government policies in order to
ensure its political survival. There seems to be some truth in
this perception, judging by the way in which NU's policies in the
past were always in conformity with those of the government.

However, things started to change in 1984, when NU adopted the
Khittah of 1926, or basic guidelines, which stressed the
organization's determination to stay away from practical
politics. In that year, NU elected Abdurrahman Wahid, who is
popularly known as Gus Dur, as its chairman.

It has been under the leadership of Gus Dur that NU has
changed its image of docility and turned into an organization
that can be truly called independent. What is more, under Gus
Dur's leadership NU has managed not only to maintain this
independence, but even to enlarge on it. It is under his steering
that people, including the government, have begun to realize NU's
real and enormous potential.

A controversial figure, Abdurrahman Wahid is widely known, not
only for his intellectual capabilities, but also for his
democratic ideas. He was one of the first Moslem leaders in this
country to draw a line between religion and politics, stating
that there was no concept of an Islamic state in Islam. His Forum
Demokrasi, a small but influential group, has shown its
commitment towards speeding up the nation's democratization
process.

In past years, Gus Dur's outspokenness often offended many
people, including government officials, and sometimes even
confused NU members. His popularity among the public at large and
his impeccable family background as a grandson of NU's founder,
however, has so far ensured his political survival.

Weeks before the present congress, rumors began circulating
that the government would prefer someone else to lead NU. Some
newspapers even reported that certain NU branches have been
pressured not to re-elect Gus Dur. Still, Gus Dur's position
seemed unaffected by those pressures. Minister/State Secretary
Moerdiono's reported statement the other day, hinting that Gus
Dur still had a chance of retaining his position, was in fact an
important message that the government has no objection to the re-
election of Gus Dur.

We believe, however, that all of this will not stop other
parties from trying to stop or challenge Gus Dur. Yet, barring
any unexpected developments, it is likely that Gus Dur will be
re-elected as NU executive chairman for another five-year term in
office.

With NU remaining under the helmsmanship of so colorful and
genial a figure as Gus Dur, we can expect that politics in the
foreseeable future will not be too dull in this country. Gus
Dur's re-election also could help push forward the
democratization process in this country. Besides, as one expert
observed, NU under the leadership of Gus Dur may help to improve
the image of Islam in Indonesia and in the world.