Muhammadiyah dan Kegelisahan Kaum Muda

Okezone.com, Kamis, 28 Juni 2012 09:26 wib



Apakah yang tidak dimiliki Muhammadiyah? Itulah pertanyaan budayawan Mohamad Sobary tahun 1990 silam, yang kemudian ia jawab sendiri dengan mengatakan, “persyarikatan yang didirikan KH Ahmad Dahlan pada tahun 1912 itu sudah memiliki hampir segalanya: Kewibawaan, kebesaran, popularitas dan prestasi. Selebihnya, ini yang terpenting, amal saleh yang tak mungkin tak terekam dalam disket Allah.” (Muhammadiyah dalam Sorotan, 1990: 236)

Pertanyaan yang sama bisa kita ajukan saat ini, pada saat Muhammadiyah memasuki usia satu abad. Dan jawaban yang sama juga bisa kita kemukakan saat ini karena selama satu-dua dekade  terakhir Muhammadiyah terus bergerak searah dengan perkembangan zaman.

Artinya, salah satu keistimewaan yang dimiliki Muhammadiyah adalah konsistensi dalam menjaga kewibawaan, kebesaran, popularitas, prestasi, dan amal saleh. Sejauh yang saya amati belum ada organisasi massa Islam besar yang bisa berjalan konsisten seperti Muhammadiyah di tengah godaan politik dan kekuasaan yang dahsyat, terutama pascagerakan reformasi.

Sejak didirikannya hingga saat ini, Muhammadiyah tetap konsisten melakukan amar ma’ruf nahi munkar, termasuk pada kekuasaan. Seruan-seruan moral yang diajukan tokoh-tokoh agama yang belakangan ini bergema, sumber utamanya dari Jalan Raya Menteng Raya No. 62, markas Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah.

Pada saat masyarakat menjerit soal tingginya harga bahan bakar minyak (BBM) dari markas yang sama didengungkan perlunya mengembalikan energi untuk kepentingan rakyat. Maka Muhammadiyah memelopori judicial review (peninjauan ulang) atau bahkan penghapusan Undang-Undang Nomor 22/2001 tentang Minyak dan Gas Bumi. Gunanya agar semua cadangan energi nasional tidak dikuasai asing (negara lain) dan dikembalikan fungsinya sesuai UUD 1945.

Itulah peran di bidang politik dan penyelamatan energi, di bidang-bidang lain seperti pendidikan dan kesehatan yang menjadi aksentuasi program gerakan Muhammadiyah tentu masih tetap berada di garda terdepan walau belakangan ini --pada era Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu (KIB) jilid 2—peran di kedua sektor ini seolah diabaikan pemerintah dengan cara mengeliminasi peran-peran konstruktifnya baik di Kementerian Pendidikan maupun Kementerian Kesehatan.

Selain di kedua sektor tadi, pemerintah juga kerap bertindak tidak proporsional terhadap peran-peran Muhammadiyah lantaran kritik-kritik tajam yang sering dilontarkannya. Tapi, percayalah, hal itu tidak akan mengurangi peranan Muhammadiyah dalam ikut serta memajukan bangsa ini. Usia Muhammadiyah jauh lebih tua dari Republik, dan peranan Muhammadiyah tidak akan mengecil hanya lantaran diabaikan oleh satu periode kepemimpinan pemerintah yang menguasai Republik ini.

Kalau pun kita nilai ada yang kurang dari Muhammadiyah, maka itu adalah peran sertanya dalam menjawab kegelisahan anak-anak muda saat ini yang semakin lantang menyuarakan perubahan. Semangat korektif yang banyak disuarakan Muhammadiyah belum menyentuh aspek penyiapan generasi muda dalam mengisi kekosongan kepemimpinan politik yang berkarakter baik di lembaga legislatif, yudikatif, maupun eksekutif. Padahal ketiga aspek inilah yang menjadi jantung penggerak setiap perubahan dan pembaruan yang berdampak bagi kehidupan masyarakat Indonesia secara menyeluruh.

Peranan Muhammadiyah, menurut saya, tidak cukup hanya dengan amar ma’ruf nahi munkar, dalam arti kuratif dengan cara mengoreksi atau meluruskan jalannya pemerintahan yang dinilai melenceng dari amanat dan harapan rakyat. Yang tidak kalah penting adalah bagaimana agar Muhammadiyah juga ikut menyiapkan kader-kader muda yang berkarakter, yang memiliki cita-cita luhur agar bisa berpartisipasi aktif dalam menjalankan roda kepemimpinan nasional.

Muhammadiyah memang bukan partai politik yang secara kelembagaan punya tugas pokok menyiapkan kader-kader bangsa untuk mengisi kepemimpinan nasional, namun demikian, tidak ada salahnya jika Muhammadiyah ikut terlibat aktif dalam sektor yang amat strategis ini. Muhammadiyah bisa mendidik dan menyiapkan kader-kadernya yang baik, dan menitipkan mereka pada partai politik yang dari segi visi, misi, dan platformnya tidak melenceng terlalu jauh dari visi, misi, dan khitah Muhammadiyah.

Kita menyadari, salah satu problem besar yang kita hadapi saat ini adalah regenerasi kepemimpinan politik nasional yang tampaknya masih belum bisa berjalan secara proporsional. Hal ini tercermin, misalnya, dari berbagai survei yang sudah dirilis secara terbuka, dri sederetan nama calon pemimpin nasional (terutama Presiden dan Wakil Presiden)  yang bermunculan, hampir seratus persen diisi kaum tua yang sejak lima atau sepuluh tahun lalu sebagian sudah diajukan sebagai calon Presiden atau Wakil Presiden. Kita tidak sedang mendikotomikan tua-muda, tetapi alangkah baiknya jika dalam proses regenerasi kepemimpinan nasional kita mengikuti hukum alam yang terus berputar sepanjang zaman.

Bisa jadi, dominasi kaum tua itu disebabkan kesalahan generasi muda sendiri, yakni karena: pertama, beberapa tokoh politisi muda yang sudah muncul di permukaan pada umumnya tidak imun atau bahkan terlibat secara langsung dengan skandal-skandal politik yang memalukan.

Kedua, karena generasi muda tidak cukup siap bersaing dengan generasi tua dalam memperebutkan kepemimpinan di tingkat partai politik; dan ketiga, secara generik anak-anak muda  memang dianggap belum  cukup siap menjadi pemimpin.

Ketiga penyebab ini bisa benar bisa juga tidak. Yang pasti, ketiadaan tokoh muda yang tampil menjadi calon pemimpin nasional (diakui atau tidak) memunculkan kegelisahan yang cukup dalam di kalangan anak-anak muda. Kegelisahan yang apabila dibarkan berkembang akan memberi dampak yang destruktif, baik bagi individu anak-anak mudanya sendiri maupun bagi lingkungan sosial dan bangsanya.

Muhammadiyah sebagai organisasi kemasyarakatan yang mumpuni bisa berperan aktif dalam menanggulangi kekurangan generasi muda itu dengan cara: (1)  menyiapkan generasi muda yang berkarakter, yang imun terhadap godaan-godaan scandalous yang belakangan ini banyak menimpa para politisi termasuk kalangan muda; (2) memasok kader-kader terbaiknya dalam berbagai partai politik yang sesuai dengan harapan masyarakat; dan (3) membekali generasi muda dengan modal kepemimpinan yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan zaman.

Dengan ketiga program ini, jika dijalankan secara sistemik dan berkelanjutan, besar harapan kita, regenerasi kepemimpinan nasional akan bisa berjalan secara baik, proporsional, dan objektif. Dan pada gilirannya, upaya-upaya apa pun yang berusaha untuk menghambat proses ini akan gagal di tengah jalan. Karena di tengah-tengah masyarakat sudah dipenuhi kader-kader yang berkarakter, yang siap mengisi dan memperbaiki setiap ruang kepemimpinan politik nasional, terutama yang rentan korupsi dan rentan manipulasi.

Jeffrie Geovanie
Politisi Partai NasDem

Retrieved from: http://news.okezone.com/read/2012/06/28/58/655108/muhammadiyah-dan-kegelisahan-kaum-muda

Muhammadiyah dan Keindonesiaan

Seputar Indonesia, Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Sungguh keliru jika menganggap Muhammadiyah tak memiliki sense of nationalism. Muhammadiyah lahir 33 tahun sebelum negeri ini terbentuk. Sejak berdiri pada 18 November 1912, Muhammadiyah sudah mengusung visi persatuan bagi kaum bumiputra.

Selama 33 tahun, jauh sebelum Indonesia merdeka, Muhammadiyah sudah turut andil menggagas konsep persatuan bangsa yang merdeka dan bermartabat. Bahkan, sejak tahun 1925, organisasi ini telah mengenalkan istilah ”Indonesia” untuk mengganti nama ”Hindia-Belanda.” Tetapi memang di kalangan warga Muhammadiyah sendiri muncul fenomena ahistoris terhadap sejarahnya sendiri, sehingga seakan-akan organisasi ini tampak independen, tak bersentuhan langsung dengan proses membangun nasionalisme keindonesiaan.

Persatuan Bumiputra

Sejak Boedi Oetomo berdiri 20 Mei 1908,KH Ahmad Dahlan sudah tergerak untuk membentuk sebuah perkumpulan yang bercitacita menyatukan umat Islam bumiputra. Boedi Oetomo adalah organisasi bumiputra pertama yang mengusung nasionalisme, sekalipun ruang lingkupnya masih terbatas (Jawa dan Madura).Atas jasa Mas Djojosoemarto, pendiri Muhammadiyah ini bergabung dalam organisasi intelektual bumiputra pertama yang mengusung nasionalisme tersebut.

Di mata KH Ahmad Dahlan, ikhtiar Boedi Oetomo memajukan kaum bumiputra menggunakan jalur pengajaran memang cukup mengesankan. Akan tetapi, pendiri Muhammadiyah ini menghendaki sebuah organisasi yang ruang lingkupnya lebih luas, yaitu umat Islam di antero Hindia-Belanda.Pada 1911,dalam pertemuan di Langgar Duwur,KH Ahmad Dahlan bersama murid-muridnya mendiskusikan rencana pembentukan perkumpulan yang di kemudian hari dikenal dengan nama Muhammadiyah. Nama gerakan ini pertama kali diusulkan oleh Kiai Sangidu.

Pada akhir Desember 1912, perkumpulan ini dideklarasikan di Loodgebow Malioboro (sekarang Gedung DPRD DIY). Dalam artikel ”Tali Pengikat Hidup Manusia” (Album Muhammadiyah Tahun 1923), KH Ahmad Dahlan menyadari akan pentingnya persatuan umat manusia. Menurutnya, latar belakang persatuan manusia disebabkan dua faktor, yaitu persamaan sebagai keturunan Nabi Adam dan kebersamaan sebagai makhluk yang hidup di dunia.

Sebagai keturunan Nabi Adam,sesungguhnya semua manusia sedarah dan sedaging. Sebagai makhluk yang hidup di dunia, sesungguhnya setiap manusia butuh kebersamaan dengan yang lain. Dua faktor fundamental inilah yang mengikat manusia untuk hidup bersatu dalam kebersamaan harmonis. Persatuan manusia, khususnya kaum bumiputra, merupakan gagasan utama KH Ahmad Dahlan dalam upaya meraih hidup merdeka dan bermartabat. Dokumen Soewara Moehammadijah No 1 Tahun 1922 memuat sebuah artikel penting dengan judul ”Kamardikan”.

Artikel yang ditulis dalam bahasa Jawa-Melayu dan mengulas makna ”kebebasan manusia” ini dimuat beberapa bulan sebelum KH Ahmad Dahlan meninggal dunia (Jumat 23 Februari 1923). Gagasan ”kamardikan” (kemerdekaan) di sini memang belum mengisyaratkan arti kemerdekaan bagi sebuah bangsa. Sebab, gagasan ini memang ditujukan kepada individu-individu (pembaca Soewara Moehammadijah) agar menyadari bahwa kolonialisme Belanda telah merenggut makna kemerdekaan hakiki yang dimiliki setiap orang.

Dengan demikian, kemerdekaan di sini baru sebatas kebebasan tiap individu untuk hidup mandiri secara bermartabat. Namun, gagasan ini cukup efektif untuk mempengaruhi kesadaran kolektif kaum bumiputra sebagai kelompok manusia dalam jumlah besar agar dapat hidup merdeka dan bermartabat. Proses ini jelas membutuhkan waktu yang cukup lama.Tapi jika kesadaran ini telah terbentuk, kaum bumiputra akan bangkit untuk merebut kembali kehidupan yang merdeka dan bermartabat.

Gagasan Nasionalisme

Dalam proses menuju kemerdekaan, sebuah bangsa akan terus melakukan proses identifikasi diri. Sebuah dokumen penting cukup menyadarkan warga Muhammadiyah, bahwa sejak awal 1925,pada cover Soeara Moehammadijah (bandingkan dengan ejaan dokumen tahun 1922) No 1 Tahun 1925 telah menggunakan istilah ”Indonesia” untuk mengganti nama ”Hindia-Belanda.”Tokoh yang memiliki andil besar dalam penggunaan istilah baru ini adalah Soemodirdjo, kepala redaksi (hoofdredacteur) Soeara Moehammadijah pascakepemimpinan Haji Fachrodin (1922-1924).

Soemodirdjo memang telah mengenalkan istilah Indonesia untuk mengganti nama Hindia-Belanda. Dia juga telah menulis sebuah artikel penting dengan judul, ”Anak Indonesia,Awas” (No 1 Tahun 1925).Tapi penggunaan istilah baru ini memang belum konsisten dalam penerbitan Soeara Moehammadijah tahun 1925. Sebab, beberapa artikel di dalam majalah ini masih sering menggunakan istilah Hindia-Belanda atau Hindia-Nederland. Tapi, Soemodirdjo telah mengawali proses identifikasi bangsa ini dengan menggunakan nama yang kemudian dikukuhkan dalam momentum Sumpah Pemuda pada 1928.

Memasukiperiodekepemimpinan KH Mas Mansur (1938–1940), Muhammadiyah melakukan langkah- langkah strategis yang cukup mendukung bagi proses pembentukan nasionalisme keindonesiaan. KH Mas Mansur tegas menentang kebijakan Ordonansi Guru dan pencatatan perkawinan oleh pemerintah Belanda. Pada 1937, lewat kongres XXVI,Muhammadiyah mencanangkan program perbaikan ekonomi bagi kaum bu-miputra. Lewat kebijakan ini,KH Mas Mansur menghendaki agar bangsa Indonesia kuat dan mandiri secara ekonomi.

Di bawah kepemimpinan KH Mas Mansur pula,Muhammadiyah menentang kebijakan Ordonansi Sidang dan mengganti semua istilah Hindia-Belanda dengan bahasa Indonesia (Melayu).Pada kongres XXVIII di Medan (1939),sekitar 11 tahun pasca-Sumpah Pemuda (1928), Muhammadiyah mendukung gerakan kebangkitan nasional yang dipelopori kaum muda di Tanah Air dalam menggunakan bahasa nasional.

Menjelangkemerdekaan(1942), Muhammadiyah kembali memainkan peran aktif dalam politik kebangsaan, khususnya pada periode kepemimpinan Ki Bagus Hadikusumo, adik kandung Haji Fachrodin (pahlawan nasional).Peran Ki Bagus Hadikusuma dalam Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (PPKI) cukup besar ketika merumuskan Pembukaan (Preambule) Undang-undang Dasar (UUD).

Pada mulanya,Ki Bagus Ha-dikusumo adalah tokoh yang sangat getol memperjuangkan Islam dalam konstitusi negara.Menurut HS Prodjokusumo (1983), peran Mr Kasman Singodimejo, juga tokoh Muhammadiyah, sangat besar dalam membujuk Ki Bagus Hadikusumo untuk merelakan penghapusan tujuh kata dalam Piagam Jakarta demi persatuan bangsa. Sejak tahun 1908 atau sekitar 37 tahun sebelum bangsa ini mengenal konsep nasionalisme keindonesiaan, KH Ahmad Dahlan telah menggagas perkumpulan yang akan menyatukan umat Islam setelah dia bergabung dalam organisasi Boedi Oetomo.

Sejak tahun 1925 atau sekitar 85 tahun sebelum bangsa ini mengidentifikasi dirinya, Muhammadiyah sudah menggunakan istilah Indonesia untuk mengganti nama Hindia-Belanda. Secara resmi, berdasarkan keputusan Kongres XXVIII di Medan (1939), Muhammadiyah telah mendukung gerakan kebangkitan nasional.

Bahkan,dalam proses kemerdekaan Indonesia,Muhammadiyah telah melibatkan dua tokohnya memperjuangkan rumusan Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia. Sampai sejauh ini, jika masih ada pendapat bahwa Muhammadiyah tidak turut andil dalam proses membangun nasionalisme keindonesiaan, maka itu suatu penilaian yang ahistoris. Jika warga Muhammadiyah sendiri tak memiliki sense of nationalism,maka itu suatu gejala amnesia sejarah!(*)

Mu’arif
Penulis buku
Meruwat Muhammadiyah (2005)  

Retrieved from: http://www.seputar-indonesia.com/edisicetak/content/view/364696/

The role of Aisyiyah in promoting family planning and reproductive health

Learning from success

Inquirer, Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 

By: Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer 

JAKARTA—Indonesia has been called the “smiling face of Islam.” Where the religion spread through much of the Middle East through military conquest, Islam in Indonesia (and in much of Southeast Asia) was brought in by Arab traders, proselytizing even as they were establishing commercial routes.

Which is not to say that Islam in Indonesia is “less Islamic.” I remember visiting the office of a judge in a Shariah court in Pakistan with women leaders from Southeast Asia. An Indonesian delegate remonstrated with the judge about his rather harsh interpretation of a point of law, and he asked: “What country do you come from? Are you even Muslim?” “Of course I am Muslim, I come from Indonesia!” she replied. “Oh, Indonesia,” said the judge with a smirk, “you aren’t real Muslims!”

We all left in a huff, and none was more irate than our Indonesian friend. Indonesia, after all, has the world’s largest Islamic population, and while Indonesian Muslims present to the world a gentle, smiling and tolerant face of Islam, they are no less religious, observant or loyal to their faith.

The women of Asyiyah-Muhammadiyah came to our Women’s Edition seminar to talk about the role of this faith-based organization in promoting family planning and reproductive health in Indonesia. Dr. Atikah Zaki, the health and social coordinator of the women’s branch of Muhammadiyah, came into the room dressed in a floor-length skirt, long-sleeved blouse and her head and neck covered in a scarf that reached down to her chest. Her two companions were dressed similarly. They were the very picture of Islamic modesty, as were most of the other women speakers.

And yet Zaki in particular was unabashed in her pride at the work that Asyiyah, the women’s wing of Muhammadiyah, was doing in promoting family planning among their members. While Muhammadiyah was founded as a faith-based organization by a very influential and famous ulama (Islamic religious leader) in 1912 in Yogyakarta, Asyiyah was founded just five years later, and its work of “upholding the status of women and promoting Islamic life” has only been enhanced by its promotion of family planning and reproductive health.
* * *

AS EARLY as 1968, just when the BKKBN, the national family planning coordinating board, was established, a national congress of ulama issued a fatwa (decree) declaring that Muslims could practice certain family planning methods without committing offense.

Today, Asyiyah and Muhammadiyah endorse the following family planning methods: the contraceptive pill, the IUD, and withdrawal (although this last is considered a “traditional” method that is unreliable), while forbidding the promotion of abortion, menstrual regulation and sterilization.

Despite the limitations, Asyiyah effectively promotes family planning through a network of 86 hospitals and hundreds of clinics, while teaching responsible sexual behavior (though I doubt if they use the term) in their network of 87 universities and over 4,000 schools. As part of the association’s commitment to look after the welfare of members, local leaders also conduct regular counseling sessions, mediating disputes between a husband and wife and even addressing such sensitive issues as domestic violence and premarital sex.

“We are just obeying the Prophet Mohammed,” explained Zaki, adding that “there is no difference of opinion on family planning with other Muslim countries.” Yes, but Indonesians promote it with a smile.
* * *

“LESSONS Learned from Success” was how the talk on the history of family planning in Indonesia and background on the BKKBN was titled. The note of braggadocio could perhaps be forgiven, since Indonesia is a “success story” not just on family planning but on how national leadership and grassroots popular support for a program can translate into economic gains and stability.

Although Indonesia’s family planning program was due to the strong backing and leadership of Suharto until his fall from power, said Eddy Hasmi of the BKKBN, through the decades the family planning program has gained “many stakeholders.”

And while in many countries population measures took hold only as a result of economic development and rising personal incomes, in Indonesia, he said, the opposite was true. A strong family planning program and a resulting plunge in family size and number of births enabled the Indonesian government to pursue development more aggressively.

But slowed population growth, said Hasmi, also “eased pressure on public services like education, health and infrastructure and raised standards of living.” Today, Indonesia is reaping the “demographic dividend,” with just 27 percent of the population under 15 (still economically dependent and nonproductive) compared to 43 percent in 1970, he added. The decade 1985-1995 was Indonesia’s “Golden Period,” when per capita income rose by as much as 70 percent, he rhapsodized.
* * *

A COMPLEX array of programs underpin present-day Indonesian family planning policies: joint public and private, and foreign and domestic manufacturing of contraceptive drugs and devices; a public-private partnership for high-quality reproductive health services under the symbol of the “Blue Circle”; strong legislative support for the program; the encouragement of qualified midwives in the private sector; and support from various sectors including religious leaders, educators, local leaders.

Of course, problems remain. What is puzzling is that despite the high family planning prevalence rate, maternal mortality remains high. The government is constrained from providing contraceptive services to unmarried youth. And HIV/AIDS is a growing problem. But we can certainly learn a lot from Indonesia’s lessons “learned from success.”

Retrieved from: http://opinion.inquirer.net/30117/learning-from-success

Muslim Puritans, Cultural Dakwah and Reformation

This is a random excerpt taken from: Chapter 5 (Muslim Puritans, Cultural Dakwah and Reformation) of Timothy P. Daniels. 2009. Islamic spectrum in Java. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. pp. 95-113.

How are local Muslims to apply principles, rooted in textual sources, they believe to be eternal and universal to beliefs and practices in current times? Where and how do they draw the line between forbidden and allowable cultural elements in events such as Sekaten and Gerebeg? Muhammadiyah, a revivalist and reformist organization often characterized by members and non-members alike for its rationalist approach, has witnessed its rationalism being pushed to new heights in emerging debates about interpretations of local culture, about the interface between Islam and culture. How are Muhammadiyah leaders, scholars, and local members dealing with efforts to make their organization more relevant to changes occurring in Indonesian and global society? How are they attempting to remake Muhammadiyah in the era of Reformation?

Finally, let us assess the possible effects of this conception of “cultural dakwah” as a “modernizing” and “rationalizing” force upon government/palace events, dangdut, and structures of inequality. Of course, we must note that this concept is still in formulation and there are many other social agents that will have an impact on these ceremonies, cultural arts, and social structure. Nonetheless, their intention of turning the “fetish of cultural difference” events into mere adat, hiburan or some other form of budaya devoid of “religious” meaning would definitely weaken the support and legitimacy of the sacerdotal local leadership of DIY. The political significance and authority of the Sri Sultan would gradually vanish and the palace would be turned into a mere symbol of traditional culture and not Islamic culture. This could serve to move in the direction of equalization eliminating some of the hierarchical feudal relations which still exist between ordinary people and royalty.

On the other hand, they would attempt to fill up the cultural form of dangdut with “religious” meanings, while removing the sensual goyang and fully clothing the female performers. This would make them more like Nasida Ria, Nida Ria and many other female bands from Central Java, especially Semarang, who sang songs full of religious meaning with a dangdut beat. However, the masses of “abangan,” upper and lower classes have largely lost interest in these groups, and rarely listen to “religious” music except during the month of Ramadan and other special religious occasions. Muhammadiyah activists would try to enter into a dialogue to change the behavior of youth who dance, often in a drunken stupor, in front of the stages interacting with the female performers. This imposition of an educated elite conception of proper “religion” upon budaya rakyat would constitute a suppression of the deviant-filled resistance of the masses against normative Islamic rulings and organizations and their perceived accommodation with the long, hard years of Suharto’s authoritarian regime. Furthermore, while the elimination of the goyang fetish could have the effect of raising esteem and respect for women curbing the exploitation of their bodies, it could also have a negative effect on economic benefits women receive as a central part of this entertainment labor force. Sexual minorities would also lose dangdut as a space of inclusion and acceptance. However, this depends, like other projections here, upon the form of cultural dakwah implemented, since some Muhammadiyah interpretations emphasize focusing on helping oppressed and marginalized groups in contemporary society just as K.H.A. Dahlan did during his times (see Mulkhan 2002, 41).

On a national level, cultural dakwah can serve to weaken the ideological basis for Pancasila and government-instituted Javanism as greater emphasis would be placed on agama over adat and budaya. This may serve to equalize the political playing field between Islamic and nationalist parties, reopening the debate over images and models of the nation. Similarly, Java as the center and Javanese as the preferred ethnic group would lose ideological supports as well with the enhanced stress laid upon Islam and Muslim identity; however, the question of the position of other religious groups in the broader diverse society would have to be addressed. From my field experience listening to Muhammadiyah religious scholars speak, I have a strong impression of their promotion of religious tolerance and mutual respect. For instance, in one sermon given at Masjid Agung Kauman, the Muhammadiyah speaker interpreted the chapter al-Kafirun (Q. 109/The Non-Believers) as holding the meaning for Indonesian Muslims that they must respect the rights of members of minority religious and ethnic groups. Clearly, Indonesian Muslims, often dismissed as “salafi” or “scripturalist,” make some interpretations of texts which project inclusive multicultural images of Indonesian society.

On a global level, cultural dakwah would seek to enter the world market with different sorts of cultural forms as commodities. Nasyid, kasidah, and “religious” dangdut could be developed, perhaps, as tourist objects representing Yogya as a “cultural city” and as products to be exported into other markets, Muslim and non-Muslim societies. In any event, Muhammadiyah’s conception of cultural dakwah could serve to use local cultures in such a way as to block some of the flows of Western cultural models and values, creating a kind of global “pluralism” in which local forms of culture would coexist with more dominant forms on a global level. Indonesian models of beauty, clothing, body style, and morals could be perpetuated alongside Western models, and instead of fetishizing difference as an exotic commodity, substantive differences in terms of economic and political models and values could be given greater opportunity to take root and grow.

Haji Rasul, Ahmadiyah, and Al-Qawloes-Shahih

Haji Abdul Karim Amarullah (ayahanda Buya Hamka)

'Rare book' menampilkan buku langka hasil karya "Dr. Abdoel Karim Amarullah". Beliau adalah ayah dari ulama besar dan sastrawan Angkatan Balai Pustaka, Buya Hamka.
Th. 1894 Haji Abdoel Karim Amarullah belajar agama kepada guru dan imam Masjidil Haram yaitu Syeh Ahmad Khatib di Makkah.
Salah satu hasil karyanya adalah buku langka disebelah ini berjudul 'Al-Qawloes-Shahih'.


H. Abdoel Karim Amarullah (gambar atas sebelah kiri) selesai menulis buku 'Alqawloesh Shahih' yang berisi kritik dan koreksi terhadap ajaran Ahmadiyah, pada 11 Februari 1926.
Gambar atas kanan adalah halaman awal, berisi keterangan dari buku langka tersebut, diantaranya isi buku, selesai ditulis dan larangan.
Masih menggunakan bahasa jaman dulu, kalau dibaca sekarang, bunyinya jadi aneh, misalnya : "Larangan. Tidak boleh ditjitak dengan tidak izin saja, Pengarang !! Kalau saja meninggal doenja pindah kekoeasaan kepada waris saja menoeroet agama soepaja ma'aloem".

Buku antik 'Alqawloesh Shahih', koleksi 'rare book' ini ejaan dan bahasanya agak aneh karena awalnya adalah ditulis menggunakan huruf Arab gundul atau Arab Melayu, langsung disalin dengan huruf latin biasa, agar lebih banyak masyarakat yang bisa membaca. Karena Ahmadiyah banyak tersebar di Jawa, ada rencana buku ini akan ditulis dalam bahasa Jawa bahkan akan ditulis dalam huruf Jawa sebab banyak masyarakat di Jawa terbiasa menggunakan huruf Jawa.
Buku langka ini 'didjoeal dan diterbitkan atas biaya oleh Datoek Nan Bareno alias Marah Intan, Djokjakarta (gambar atas kanan).

Buku antik yang dicetak di 'Drukkerij Persatuan Moehammadijah Djokja' ini sudah pernah diperbaiki dan diganti covernya menjadi hardcover ditempel dengan cover aslinya, berukuran 12.5 x 20 cm, 150 halaman.

i.gr. 03.00

Retrieved from: http://mmzrarebooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/haji-abdul-karim-amarullah-ayahanda.html

Muhammadiyah and The Making of “Progressive Islam” in Indonesia

This is a random excerpt taken from: Alexander R. Arifianto's "Faith, Moral Authority, and Politics: The Making of “Progressive Islam” in Indonesia and Turkey", paper presented at the 2012 Western Political Science Association (WPSA) Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, March 22-24, 2012
 
Muhammadiyah is a modernist Islamic organization that at times have expressed some revivalist and fundamentalist tendencies as well. It has expressed much less tolerance toward non-canonical Islamic teachings that are not prescribed in the Qur'an and the Hadith, as well as toward local religious customs and traditions that had predated the Islamic period in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah's leadership is based primarily on rational-legal authority, where individual leaders rose through the rank of the organization and gained influence largely based on their talents and achievements rather than through family connections or patronage. Because it is a rational-legal organization, Muhammadiyah's decision-making structure is also more hierarchical than NU, with the central leadership board able to design and enforce most major policy decisions within the organization and individual Muhammadiyah members at the grassroots level have little/no power to shape the formulation of these policies or to change them once they have been approved by the central board.

Given the strong support among the modernist Islamic intelligentsia of this period over these progressive ideas, many were expecting that the ideas would in time gain the support of key modernist Islamic groups in Indonesia, especially within the Muhammadiyah. However, the dominance of revivalist theology among the ranks of Muhammadiyah leaders and activists created a strong oppositional discourse among the revivalist who opposed these reforms, which is sustained through a strong internal culture within the organization to oppose alternative theological ideas that are contradictory to revivalist and Salafist theological teachings. Together, these have prevented progressive theological ideas from being implemented by the organization.
 
Despite his popular appeals among reform activists, Syafii Ma'arif (unlike his NU counterpart Abdurrahman Wahid) does not possess the charismatic as well as persuasive appeals that would have convinced rank-and-file Muhammadiyah members to change their positions about the reforms that were promoted by the progressive activists. The prevalence of literal interpretations of the Koran and the Sunnah among revivalist groups within the organization, and the prevalence of revivalist-oriented leaders in the organization's central leadership board that serve as counterweight to the voice of Ma‟arif and other progressive reformers within the Muhammadiyah. The prevalence of revivalists within the organization and the lack of a charismatic figure within the organization who could have served as counterweight to the revivalist's resistance, has served as another stumbling block for progressive reformers to successfully implement and institutionalize their reforms within the organization.
 
Muhammadiyah's reformers failure to successfully enact their reforms is also attributable to their failure to spread their reformist message beyond the relatively small amount of supporters who support these reforms in the first place. Unlike their NU counterparts, who tried to popularize their messages to the rank-and-file members (through Wahid's numerous popular sermons), their counterpart among the modernist and Muhammadiyah community tend to promote the reforms among a small group of activists who were educated at Islamic universities where progressive Islamic thought are promoted.

As a result, the attempt of progressive Muhammadiyah activists to engage in “reasoned reflection” activities to persuade the organization to adopt their reformist theology have encountered fierce resistance from their puritanist/revivalist rivals from within the organization, who already dominate the internal culture and the leadership rank within Muhammadiyah. Revivalists (represented by activists such as Yunahar Ilyas, Dahlan Rais (brother of former Muhammadiyah Chairman Amien Rais), and Mustafa Kamal Pasha) argue that organizations such as the Network of Young Muhammadiyah Intellectuals (Jaringan Intelektual Muda Muhammadiyah – JIMM), which became the vehicle for their efforts to introduce progressive Islamic thought within the Muhammadiyah, are trying to promote ideas that are not identical and are violating the organization's theological principles. Specifically, they do not share the positions taken by organizations such as JIMM that argue for equal citizenship rights irrespective of religious belief, human rights, religious tolerance and pluralism, and gender equality.
 
Revivalist critics of the reform argue that these positions represent liberal secularist principles, which sought to separate religion and the state realm, something revivalists argue should be rejected by Muslims who believe that there can be no separation between the two realms. Revivalists also reject the concept of religious pluralism, by arguing that pluralism advocates for the validity of truth for all religions. This is something many revivalists considered as a heresy (bid’ah), since for the revivalists, there is only one religion that represents God's ultimate truth for all humans, and it is Islam (Budiyanto 2009: 122-123, Boy 2009: 168-169). In their view, pluralist supporters only weaken the faith of young Muslims, which would threaten their salvation in the afterlife (Asyari 2007: 33). Revivalists also believe that local cultures and traditions could not be integrated into Muhammadiyah, since so there are too many heretical and superstitious (tahyul) elements within them that would only weakened the faith of pious Muslims (Asyari 2007: 28, fn. 16). Lastly, they criticize progressive activists for receiving financial assistance from international donors and foundations, which for the revivalists, prove that their agendas constituted Westerners' effort to weaken and replace Islam in Indonesia. In their mind,
 
I argue that the outcome of progressive theological reforms within the Muhammadiyah and its traditionalist counterpart, the NU, differs from one another because of several distinctive characteristics within these organizations. First, the internal culture of the NU, which has a long history of tolerating syncretic religious customs and theological thoughts borrowed from other Islamic sects (e.g, Sufism and Shiite traditions), are more receptive towards the reform advocated by progressive reformers within the organization in the area of democracy, human rights, and religious pluralism. Revivalist theology and the practice of purifying of non-canonical Islamic customs and traditions, are an integral part of Muhammadiyah's internal culture for the past century and this would not be amenable to a rapid ideational change, either from the inside or from the outside, anytime soon. And since revivalist theology tend to prevail among Muhammadiyah activists and leadership, they have significant resources to counter the efforts of the progressives to implement their reforms from within the organization and in the end, are able to marginalize the reformers by excluding them from the organization's key leadership positions.

WORKING DRAFT: Please do not cite or attribute without the written permission of the author.


Available at:
1. http://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/arifianto.pdf
2. http://asu.academia.edu/AlexanderArifianto/Papers/1365720/Faith_Moral_Authority_and_Politics_Progressive_Islam_in_Indonesia_and_Turkey_Chapter_2_

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Hilal and Halal: How to manage Islamic pluralism in Indonesia?

Indonesia Study Group

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
May 30, 2012
Seminar Room B (Arndt Room), Coombs Building, Fellows Road, ANU

Hilal and Halal: How to manage Islamic pluralism in Indonesia?

Nadirsyah Hosen (Faculty of Law, University of Wollongong)

Seminar abstract

The main aim of my presentation is to examine the tension amongst the Indonesian government and Islamic organisations in dealing with the plurality of interpretation within Islamic tradition and at the same time maintaining the unity and harmony of the Muslim ummah. I provide two case studies here: first, the issue of determining the first and the end of Ramadan and also 10 Zul Hijjah (for Ied al-Adha). Due to different methods of hisab (astronomical calculation) and ru’yah (sighting a new crescent), Islamic organisations (Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama and Majelis Ulama Indonesia) have produced different fatwas. At the same time, the Government should make announcement on which dates to begin or to end fasting. The questions are: which fatwas the Government should choose? What are the reactions of Islamic organisations that have different views with the Government decision? There is also tension in the society in celebrating different dates of Ied al-fitri and Ied al-adha. Second, in the case of halal certificate, Department of Health, Department of Religious Affairs, Department of Industry and the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) together with the Parliament are still examining who has the authority to investigate all the ingredients, to issue the fatwa, and to put halal label in the product. Currently, MUI issues a halal certificate based on the voluntarily application from the company. This might be considered as an unofficial law. Once the Parliament passed the bill, the practice might become compulsory. This will give effect that a particular interpretation of the halalness of meat and non-meat products will become the official law. How about other non-official interpretations? There is also a competition between Department of Religious Affairs and the MUI as the first thinks it falls into its authority, whereas the latter insists that a halal certificate is a written fatwa which falls into its ‘jurisdiction’. This question of authority reflects the tension and dilemma of the role of the Government, particularly the Department of Religious Affairs, in trying to regulate and facilitate Muslims affairs.

Enquiries

Indonesia Project (indonesia.project@anu.edu.au)

Retrieved from: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/blogs/indonesiaproject/2012/05/10/isg-hilal-and-halal-how-to-manage-islamic-pluralism-in-indonesia/

Call for Papers: International Conference on Muhammadiyah (ICM) 2012

Call for Papers

International Conference on Muhammadiyah (ICM) 2012

“Discourse on the Search for a Renewed Identity of Muhammadiyah for its Post-Centennial Era”

Date: 29 November – 2 December   2012.

Place: University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Malang, East Java, Indonesia.

Language: English only for written and oral presentation and discussion.

Description

Over the past 100 years, the progressive Muslim social movement Muhammadiyah has made significant contributions to the nation building of the Republic of Indonesia, mainly in the field of education, philanthropy, and social welfare. More than that, its contributions to the enhancement of the people’s sovereignty, national unity, social justice, and the uplifting of public morality for the nation have been countless. In spite of all this, some people have perceived that Muhammadiyah’s presence in the Indonesian public seems to be somewhat waning recently. Many factors seemed to have caused this. Muhammadiyah has been contested externally by the emergence of a number of Islamist movements since the fall of the New Order -- many of them with trans-national connections. Even more directly, Muhammadiyah has faced with the threat of infiltration by some Islamist forces, among others, by the PKS (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, Prosperous Justice Party). Internally, too, Muhammadiyah has experienced unprecedented conflicts because of the development of three contrasting orientations: The revival of ‘Salafist’ trend, the well-established mainstream, taking a moderate centralist position, and a more recent trend of ‘liberals’.

All in all, an image of Muhammadiyah in recent years has been less dynamic, less innovative, and less progressive compared to its fresh forward looking stance shown decades before. Thus, Muhammadiyah at the entrance of its second century is facing a number of serious challenges. The most essential among them seems to be the “rediscovery” or “reformulation” of its own identity.  Recent rapid, global grand-scale changes are demanding Muhammadiyah to seriously re-examine the meanings of its modernity, progressiveness and reformism in the post-modern contexts.

The ICM intends to survey and discuss the Muhammadiyah movement in search of new identity and direction. Can and will Muhammadiyah continue and even advance to be an organization of progressive Islamic social and religious movement well into its post-centennial era? How is it revitalizing the élan vital of the movement? These questions seem to require serious inquiries not only by Muhammadiyah activists themselves but also by those scholars who have been observing Muhammadiyah for many years.

Themes to Consider:

1. History: Modern History of Islam in Indonesia with Emphasis on the Early Period of Muhammadiyah Development
2. Ethnography: Realities of the Muhammadiyah Movement in Local Context
3. Education: Challenges of Globalization, Multi-Culturalism and Universalism
4. Philanthropy/Social Welfare/Social Business:  The working of LAZISMU, PKU, BMT, etc.
5. Reformism Revisited: The Working of Majelis Tarjih/Tajdid and Interpretation/ Application of Syari’ah
6. Women and Gender Equality
7. Youth and Radicalism
8. Domestic and International Politics: Democratization, the Challenge of Islamism, and World-wide Cooperation of Moderate Muslims
9. Conflict Resolution and the Enhancement of Intra/Inter-Faith Solidarity
10. The State of Art in Muhammadiyah Studies

Submission Details

If you want to give a presentation, please submit your proposal (around 250-300 words) and curriculum vitae to Mitsuo Nakamura (mitsuon@za.tnc.ne.jp) and Azyumardi Azra (azyumardiazra1@gmail.com) by 15 June 2012. Papers that have been selected will be notified by 15 July 2012. If accepted, the full paper must be submitted by 15 September 2012.

If you are planning to attend, please send an email to Soeparto (partoumm@yahoo.com) for preliminary registration at your earliest convenience.

Merevitalisasi Wawasan Nusantara Muhammadiyah

Oleh: Ahmad Syafii Maarif

Jika kita membaca AD (Anggaran Dasar)I Muhammadiyah tahun 1912, khususnya Artikel 2a, seakan-akan yang menjadi ranah dakwahnya hanyalah sebatas “residensi Jogjakarta,” bukan wilayah Hindia Belanda, yang kemudian menjadi Indonesia. Puluhan tahun saya sendiri berpegang kepada bunyi AD itu. Mungkin yang lain juga tidak berbeda, karena itulah fakta tertulis autentik yang jadi pegangan. Tetapi pendapat ini menjadi buyar samasekali setelah saya     membaca Khutbah Iftitah Kiyai H. Ibrahim, seminggu sepeninggal K.H. Ahmad Dahlan yang wafat pada 23/24 Feb. 1923.
 
Inilah kutipan terjemahan Khutbah Iftitah Kiyai Ibrahim itu yang disampaikan dalam bahasa Jawa: “Sesungguhnya tujuan Muhammadiyah itu akan mengajak setanah Hindia…, tetapi pada saat itu pemerintah tidak mengizinkan, yang diizinkan hanya Ngayogyakarta. Jadi sampai tahun 1919 Muhammadiyah dapat dikatakan hanya menjalankan kewajiban (dakwah) di daerah Ngayogyakarta saja.” (Lih. Imron Nasri dan Faozan Amar (penyunting), Kata yang Mencerahkan. Jakarta: Al-Wasat, 2010, hlm. 7). Keterangan Kiyai Ibrahim yang juga adik ipar Kiyai Dahlan ini sudah dengan sendirinya menyatakan bahwa Muhammadiyah sejak awal sudah membidik wilayah Nusantara sebagai sasaran dakwahnya yang pada waktu itu berada di bawah penjajahan Belanda.  Dalam ungkapan lain, gerakan Islam ini sudah memiliki embrio wawasan kebangsaan sejak masa dini. Tentu pada masa itu istilah nasionalisme belum muncul ke permukaan.

Ungkapan Kiyai Ibrahim “akan mengajak se tanah Hindia” adalah bukti bahwa teropong Muhammadiyah jauh melampaui wawasan BU (Budi Utomo) yang semula hanya untuk priyayi Jawa dan kemudian Madura. Sekiranya pemerintah kolonial memberi izin, maka dalam AD 1912 itu yang akan muncul adalah perkataan  Hindia Belanda, bukan “residensi Jogjakarta.” Saya tidak tahu mengapa pada awal dasa warsa kedua abad ke-20 para kiyai pendiri Muhammadiyah itu telah punya jangkauan wasasan yang jauh ke depan. Ini penting untuk diingat karena pada 1912 itu Perang Aceh yang telah menguras energi kolonial baru saja usai, berkat terutama lantaran jasa Snouck Hurgronje, seorang ahli Islam Belanda. Bolehjadi wawasan luas para kiyai ini juga disebabkan oleh pergaulannya dengan tokoh-tokoh BU, sekalipun golongan yang terakhir ini tidak menyebut Hindia Belanda sebagai sasaran gerakan pencerahan kulturalnya.
 
Sasaran dakwah Muhammadiyah yang semula dibatasi pada radius “residensi Jogjakarta” hanya bertahan dua tahun. Dalam AD 1914 telah berubah menjadi “Hindia Nederland” sebagaimana yang tertulis pada Artikel 2a. Tentunya sudah mendapat izin dari pemerintah kolonial. Dengan AD 1914 ini Muhammadiyah telah punya dasar konstitusional melebarkan sayap dakwahnya ke seluruh Nusantara. Memang Muhammadiyah adalah gerakan Islam yang taat hukum, sekalipun itu hukum kolonial. Adapun secara diam-diam melawan, itu adalah bagian dari siasat perjuangan  di bawah sistem penjajahan, sebagaimana diakui oleh orientalis Perancis G.H. Bousquet di era 1930-an. 
 
Sekarang kita berada pada awal dasa warsa kedua abad ke-21. Penduduk Indonesia kini telah melonjak menjadi 237 juta. Seiring dengan bergulirnya zaman secara dinamis, Muhammadiyah terus saja berekspansi tanpa perasaan lelah. Hindia Nederland secara kultural telah berubah menjadi Indonesia sejak tahun 1920-an dan secara politik telah tampil sebagai negara merdeka sejak tanggal 17 Agustus 1945. Banyak sudah kemajuan yang diraih, di samping yang kedodoran juga tidak kurang. Dalam Pidato 1 Juni 1945, Bung Karno berkata: “…di dalam Indonesia merdeka tak ‘kan ada lagi kemiskinan.” Sudah hampir 66 tahun merdeka, kemiskinan masih menghimpit sebagian besar rakyat kita. Untuk melawan kemiskinan ini Muhammadiyah belum banyak bisa berbuat. Jangankan Muhammadiyah, negara pun setengah gagal melakukannya. Tidak saja kita bergumul dengan kemiskinan, wabah korupsi pun seperti tidak mampu dibendung.
 
Muhammadiyah relatif berhasil mengisi dan mencerahkan hati dan otak rakyat Indonesia, tetapi belum banyak berbuat untuk mengisi perut manusia. Memang dalam AD fokus kiprah Muhammadiyah lebih tertuju kepada proses pencerahan dan pencerdasan. Dengan bekal dua nilai ini diharapkan kemiskinan bangsa ini akan jauh berkurang, tetapi pengalaman empirik mengatakan sebaliknya. Inilah salah satu tantangan terbesar bangsa ini dan sekaligus tantangan terberat bagi Muhammadiyah. Dengan wawasan Nusantara kita yang telah berusia satu abad, apakah belum sangat mendesak bagi Persyarikatan untuk berfikir keras menolong bangsa ini agar ke luar dari anomali moral dan pasungan kemiskinan yang dapat membuat orang menjadi mata gelap dan putusasa?

Retrieved from: http://www.maarifinstitute.org/content/view/873/76/lang,indonesian/