The future challenges for Indonesian Islam

• Hilman Latief The Jakarta Post
  

Yogyakarta   /   Fri, August 7, 2015   /  06:14 am

The muktamar (congress) of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah have drawn widespread attention from the public, including foreign observers and researchers, partly because the country'€™s largest Islamic organizations have in recent times represented Indonesia'€™s most important civil society organizations whose members and sympathizers have participated in shaping the moderate pattern of Indonesian Islam over decades.

Despite the fact that the two embrace different types of religious expression and practices, notably in daily rituals, they have shared a common concern about the presence of Islam in public life.

For example, Muhammadiyah and NU have rigorously supported democracy, social justice and welfare in Indonesian society through various religiously inspired social, economic and educational programs throughout the country.

It is interesting to note that while the elites of Muhammadiyah and NU have a very close relationship and have been able to exchange views concerning strategic issues, their followers at the grassroots level are still burdened by differences in practicing Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) and political orientation as well as in how to build mutual understanding.

Efforts to define and promote Indonesian Islam have highlighted the almost simultaneous congresses.

Muhammadiyah, has scrupulously studied and eventually put forward '€œIslam Berkemajuan'€ (Progressive Islam) as its tagline, while NU has identified itself as the guardians of '€œIslam Nusantara'€ (Islam of the Indonesian Archipelago).

Activists of the two organizations have published several books that underpin these self-identifications several months prior to the congresses.

In short, both Muhammadiyah and NU have attempted to convince the public about what Indonesian Islam should be like into the future.

As the election of leaders who will guide the two organizations in the next five years is part of the main agenda of the congresses, whoever assumes the top executive post of Muhammadiyah and NU will influence the dynamics of the Muslim groups in facing and responding to future challenges either in the domestic or international realm.

So far Din Syamsuddin and Said Aqil Siradj, the chairmen of Muhammadiyah and NU, respectively, have been successful in defining the organizations as '€œthe pillars of Indonesian civil society'€.

Muhammadiyah and NU, in some ways, remain on the right track by not being involved '€œtoo much'€ in political dynamics, although some individual figures of the organizations openly expressed their political aspirations in last year'€™s elections.

Of course Muhammadiyah and NU have different experience and roles pertaining to the relationship between organizations and political parties.

Being a '€œneutral'€ Islamic civil society organization is a wise road to take because not all their supporters and sympathizers would like to be politicized or mobilized for political reasons.

I do agree that the two organizations can play their '€œpolitical roles'€ by participating in any communal initiative to foster people'€™s welfare and public good.

In the second term of Din'€™s leadership, Muhammadiyah has been exposed internationally thanks to the group'€™s engagement in various peace forums, such as conflict resolution in Mindanao in South Philippines and Pattani in South Thailand. Din is also internationally renowned as a Muslim leader who consistently promotes interfaith dialogue.

With a different style, NU under Aqil Siradj has persistently championed moderate Islam in Indonesia.

Despite the decline in intellectual discourse among NU'€™s activists compared with the same period two decades ago due to massive involvement of NU figures in practical politics, there are still some activists who are relentlessly exploring the horizon and the cultural richness of Indonesian Islam.

Of course, the leaders change every five years, but the two congresses must generate lasting, influential and genuine ideas that will help Muhammadiyah and NU increase their contribution to the nation.

 The future path and pattern of Muhammadiyah and NU should not be personified by their leaders.

Indonesian Muslims are bracing for tougher challenges.

At home, welfare issues like poverty, social disparity and economic injustice; interreligious issues like intolerance, radicalism and majority-minority relations; public matters like corruption, political clientele-ism, natural disasters, will continue and will require both Muhammadiyah and NU to take the lead in addressing them.

Internationally, Indonesian Muslims cannot escape from the enormous impacts of global economic crises, wars and conflicts as well as the fight against terrorism.

Only if Muhammadiyah and NU come up with strategic plans and decisive formulas to answer those challenges, guide the new leaders and inspire their members, can the two organizations define the future of Indonesia Islam.
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The writer is head of research, publication and community development at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta, and member of the cadre division of the central board of Muhammadiyah. This is a personal view.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/07/the-future-challenges-indonesian-islam.html