Daya Tahan Peradaban Muhammadiyah

Fauzan Anwar Sandiah

Kajian sosiologis dan antropologis mengenai etika Muhammadiyah belum banyak dilakukan. Beberapa karya yang termasuk ke dalam studi semacam ini antara lain: Ahmad Najib Burhani dengan dua bukunya Muhammadiyah Berkemajuan (2016), Muhammadiyah Jawa (2016), dan tentu saja karya MT. Arifin Muhammadiyah Potret yang Berubah (1990). Sebagian karya-karya yang lain menyinggung Muhammadiyah dalam konteks politik kebudayaan dengan mendirikan lembaga pendidikan, perpustakaan umum, dan penerbitan majalah (Ali, 2016). Sebagian lain memotret perilaku keagamaan orang-orang yang berafiliasi dengan Muhammadiyah (Kim, 1996).

Modernisasi dan Islam Berkemajuan
Satu hal yang menghubungkan berbagai karya-karya tentang Muhammadiyah tersebut adalah ketertarikannya untuk menjelaskan bagaimana gerakan ini berkembang dan memperbaharui diri. Bagian diskusi semacam ini sangat penting bagi Muhammadiyah karena merupakan usaha untuk memahami salah satu transformasi gerakan sosial-keagamaan tertua di Indonesia (berdiri tahun 1912). Diskusi seputar transformasi Muhammadiyah tidak saja berkaitan dengan perubahan-perubahan internal komunitas ini, melainkan juga informasi berharga tentang proses modernisasi Islam di Indonesia.

Buku Etika Muhammadiyah dan Spirit Peradaban karya Zakiyuddin Baidhawy dan Azaki Khoirudin merupakan salah satu buku yang berusaha menunjukkan betapa pentingnya peran gagasan modernisasi Islam abad ke-20 terhadap bentuk-bentuk Islam kolektif kontemporer di Indonesia. Gagasan modernisasi Islam adalah kunci penting untuk memahami transformasi pemikiran Islam di Indonesia. Gagasan modernisasi Islam tentu tidak terjadi untuk agama ini saja.

Talal Asad (1993), antropolog studi agama-agama mengemukakan bahwa agama-agama pada dasarnya adalah fenomena transhistoris dan transkultural, di mana nyaris tidak mungkin memisahkannya dari proses-proses sosial serta medan diskursif yang membentuk wacanan tentangnya kecuali melalui domain Kuasa (dalam pengertian Foucault). Etika adalah konsep penting untuk memahami jembatan antara ide dan gagasan yang dipengaruhi oleh agama dan dampaknya terhadap proses-proses sosial. Etika pertama-tama harus dilihat sebagai simbol, terdiri atas relasi-relasi antara objek atau kejadian, serta membawa dampak intelektual, instrumental, dan emosional.

Gagasan hari ini tentang Islam modern nyaris dapat diterima oleh tipe budaya beragama mana pun. Tidak terelakkan lagi misalnya bahwa Islam berkaitan dengan proses budaya, politik, dan ekonomi masyarakat. Tumbuhlah berbagai eksperimen memodernkan Islam melalui institusionalisasi ajaran-ajarannya. Kajian mengenai Islam pun tampaknya sangat ganjil dan aneh jika dibagi berdasarkan cara Geertz melakukannya; abangan, santri, dan priyayi (Asad, 1993). Kendati demikian, penting untuk mengingat bahwa varian modern Islam juga sangat dipengaruhi oleh medan diskursus kajian agama pada masa-masa developmentalisme tahun 1970-an yang diawali oleh kelompok MIT di Indonesia.

Oleh karena itu menjadi demikian menarik upaya buku Etika Muhammadiyah dan Spirit Peradaban untuk memperlihatkan cara kerja diskursus dalam perkembangan gerakan sosial-keagamaan. Cara itu antara lain ditempuh dengan menunjukkan bagaimana gagasan Islam “kemadjoen” ala Ahmad Dahlan seolah-olah muncul kembali menemukan konteks simbolnya dalam perkembangan Muhammadiyah masa ini. Etika “Islam Berkemajuan” yang dipopulerkan beberapa tahun belakangan ini sebagai pemodelan dari “Islam Modern”, “Islam Inklusif”, dan “Islam Progresif” adalah tubuh dari diskursus yang lama terpelihara, dan memberi orientasi terus menerus bagi Muhammadiyah.

Etika Muhammadiyah: Dari Teologi ke Etos
Satu hal yang penting untuk dicatat dari buku Etika Muhammadiyah dan Spirit Peradaban terletak pada upayanya merumuskan apa sebenarnya etika Muhammadiyah itu. Tidak hanya jawaban, tapi juga pertanyaan tentang hal ini tampaknya luput begitu lama, terutama dalam konteks penyelidikan antropologis. Padahal sebagaimana terlihat dengan sangat jelas, suatu bentuk etika tengah beroperasi dalam cara Muhammadiyah berkembang.

Pertumbuhan amal usaha Muhammadiyah di berbagai tempat di Indonesia selain karena didorong oleh perkembangan sosial, ekonomi, dan revolusi teknologi, juga berkaitan dengan kehadiran diskursus yang telah lama hidup dalam kesadaran beragama aktivis Muhammadiyah secara khusus dan masyarakat muslim secara umum. Bentuk-bentuk kesalehan sosial memperoleh petunjuk dari bangunan etika Muhammadiyah yang selalu mendorong pada partisipasi-partisipasi sosial. Jika dilacak secara historis maka etika “Kemadjoen” hidup dalam kesadaran beragama enterpreneur muslim, dan perlahan diterima sebagai kesadaran beragama mainstream karena perkembangan kapitalisme di Indonesia.

Basis etika “Kemadjoen” itu antara lain bersumber dari dua surat di dalam al-Qur’an, surat al-Ma’un dan surat al-‘Ashr. Surat al-Ma’un berisi perintah untuk berderma, memperluas jaminan sosial kaum miskin, dan relasi tak terhindarkan dari hubungan antara kesejahteraan dan probabilitas menjadi pribadi yang shaleh. Pesan surat al-Ma’un sangat penting bagi pedagang muslim untuk membentuk solidaritasnya mengimbangi perdagangan kolonial, melalui penggunaan kapital yang terarah.

Kaum pedagang muslim awal abad ke-20 dihubungkan oleh diskursus tentang betapa pentingnya solidaritas berbasis agama untuk merespon dunia modern sebagai dampak globalisasi kolonial. Kaum pedagang muslim saat itu merupakan salah satu kelompok yang sadar bahwa modernisasi tak terhindarkan karena melihat sendiri sirkulasi perdagangan tanpa henti telah mengubah struktur sosial dan politik. Kaum pedagang muslim telah memungkinkan ilmu pengetahuan memperoleh perantaraan.

Kaum pedagang atau kelas menengah awal muslim di Indonesia ini adalah kelompok yang paling mungkin memperoleh pembaruan-pembaruan informasi tentang perkembangan Islam di berbagai tempat di Asia, Afrika, dan sebagian tempat di Eropa. Mereka mulai melakukan kerja-kerja literasi dengan menerbitkan buku dan mengadakan diskusi-diskusi, mendorong terciptanya jenis publik Islam modern (Casanova, 1994). Surat al-Ma’un hidup di dalam publik Islam modern yang dilakukan oleh Ahmad Dahlan dan beberapa muridnya. Melalui publik Islam modern (penerbitan majalah, konferensi nasional, korespondensi, dan khutbah-khutbah), gagasan-gagasan Islam dan perubahan sosial menjadi sangat mungkin berperan hingga saat ini.

Surat al-Ashr berbeda dengan Surat al-Ma’un yang menunjukkan konsekuensi kesejahteraan individu terhadap kesejahteraan sosial. Surat al-Ashr menunjukkan pentingnya kesadaran terhadap perkembangan zaman, dan respon atas perkembangan zaman sangat berhubungan dengan kualitas kesalehan. Surat al-Ashr sebagai basis teologis dari etika Muhammadiyah tampil untuk memberi penekanan mengenai kesadaran zaman, di mana diskursus keagamaan tak terelakkan lagi harus menjadi bagian dari diskursus sosial baru yang terbentuk begitu cepat oleh intensi perdagangan, rezim Hindia-Belanda, dan bersatunya kaum pedagang-ulama-intelektual.

Artinya, surat al-Ashr menjadi penting bagi kelompok muslim yang berupaya untuk merespon perkembangan sosio-ekonomi abad ke-20. Ahmad Dahlan saat itu berhasil menjadikannya perbincangan publik melalui komunitas pengajiannya. Etika beragama dan kualitas kesalehan memperoleh makna baru melalui ruang publik Islam.

Konsep kunci ketika membicarakan soal ruang publik Islam modern adalah berubahnya Islam sebagai wacana keagamaan yang diatur oleh otoritas keagamaan, menjadi Islam sebagai wacana keseharian di mana setiap penganutnya diberi kesempatan untuk memperluas maknanya. Peran penting Ahmad Dahlan untuk perkembangan wacana Islam modern sebenarnya terletak pada kemampuannya menciptakan ruang publik Islam modern.

Ahmad Dahlan melalui Muhammadiyah menyelenggarakan penerbitan majalah yang hingga kini terus terbit, kemudian pertemuan rutin antar anggota Muhammadiyah, serta praktik kesalehan yang melembaga seperti mendirikan sekolah dan rumah sakit. Etika Muhammadiyah secara tidak langsung lahir dari kesempatan memperluas makna Islam di dunia yang terus berkembang.

Kesalehan dan Peradaban
Apa yang menghubungkan antara etika sebagai prinsip kesalehan sosial dan spirit peradaban sebagai doktrin sosial Muhammadiyah? Pertanyaan tersebut selama ini dijawab melalui keberhasilan agenda tajdid Muhammadiyah, suatu kondisi struktural dan sistemik yang memberi ilham bagi perkembangan gerakan (Darban & Pasha, 2000; Nashir, 2010; Mulkhan, 2010).

Jawaban atas pertanyaan penting ini jarang dieksplorasi sebagai kesadaran keberagamaan Islam modern yang telah menjadi bagian penting bagi infrastruktur pembangunan ekonomi Negara-negara berpenduduk muslim. Kuntowijoyo (1985) misalnya mengajukan jawaban bahwa integrasi antara iman sebagai kesalehan individual dan dorongan modernisasi (spirit peradaban) menjadi diskursus struktural Muhammadiyah.

Penekanan yang sangat tinggi terhadap peran struktural ini berusaha dijembatani oleh buku Etika Muhammadiyah dan Spirit Berkemajuan dengan memperlihat peranan diskursus dan peran keagenan dalam Muhammadiyah. Sehingga spirit peradaban dapat berperan sebagai doktrin sosial Muhammadiyah dan berhubungan langsung dengan perkembangan sosial di mana ide-ide tentang kedermawanan sosial modern sudah diterima sebagai manifestasi keagamaan. Selain itu, dengan meminjam Max Weber, praktik-praktik kesalehan tertentu telah mendukung berkembangnya infrastruktur ekonomi, menciptakan relasi tak terhindarkan antara keduanya.

Melalui buku ini kedua penulis berargumen bahwa Muhammadiyah sebagai gerakan keagamaan modern dapat bertahan sejak masa Kolonial melalui relasi timbal balik antara “Etika Muhammadiyah” (pelestarian diskursus; “Kemadjoen”, Islam berkemajuan) dan “spirit peradaban” (arah perkembangan global, situasi ekonomi-politik, kemajuan ekonomi, perkembangan sains). Intinya, mengapa orang-orang Muhammadiyah berhasil melanjutkan tongkat estafet keorganisasian yang berusia seabad lebih ini, karena orang-orang Muhammadiyah menganggap bekerja adalah implementasi paling tepat untuk menghayati apa itu Islam. Perilaku fisik adalah kunci dari praktik keagamaan, tidak sekedar perilaku ritual (terdiri dari kewajiban agama individual; sholat, atau puasa).

Pemahaman ini ikut membantah dasar asumsi teorikus sosial tentang agama sebagai sekedar keyakinan yang dibuat-buat untuk merasionalisasikan praktik hidup yang ditentukan (misalnya Frazer dan Geertz). Agama juga tidak semata-mata membantu langgengnya kekuasaan dan industri sebagaimana dijelasan oleh Weber. Ada yang kurang dari penjelasan tentang agama dari Geertz dan Weber. Kenyataannya, agama yang dihayati sebagai bagian dari proses pelatihan diri atau yang diistilahkan dalam buku ini, sebagai pembentukan “etika Muhammadiyah” itu terjadi secara pedagogis.

Sebelum lebih jauh, ada baiknya juga dua istilah dalam buku ini saya jelaskan. Pertama, istilah etika itu mengacu pada nilai-nilai yang membentuk perilaku seseorang atau kelompok. Etika memberikan bahan acuan apakah suatu pilihan itu “baik” atau “buruk”. Dalam buku ini, istilah etika Muhammadiyah berarti nilai-nilai yang membentuk cara pandang, perilaku, dan imajinasi orang Muhammadiyah tentang bagaimana seharusnya Muhammadiyah merespon perkembangan zaman. Kedua, pengertian spirit peradaban berarti serangkaian nilai dan semangat bekerja orang Muhammadiyah membentuk peradaban.

Etika Muhammadiyah menurut buku ini dibentuk melalui dua basis teologis, yakni etos al-Ma’un dan etos al-Ashr. Kedua etos ini memberikan inspirasi bagaimana etika Muhammadiyah mengimplementasikan konsep-konsep “menjadi kelompok yang menyeru pada kebaikan dan mencegah kemungkaran” (al-Ma’un) dan “demi waktu” (al-Ashr). Etos al-Ma’un sebagaimana dijelaskan dalam buku ini, mengacu pada praktik “welas asih” (kasih sayang) atau filantropi. Sedangkan etos al-Ashr mendorong terbentuknya kesadaran waktu atau kesadaran untuk melibatkan diri dengan perkembangan zaman.

Etos al-Ma’un memberi fondasi bagi model asketisme atau kesalehan intelektual, sedangkan etos al-Ashr memberi fondasi bagi institusionalisasi kesalehan. Dalam praktiknya, etos al-Ma’un memberi inspirasi dalam cara berpikir orang Muhammadiyah mengenai praktik beragama yang menghubungkan antara praktik spiritual dan praktik sosial. Sedangkan al-Ashr memberi inspirasi orang Muhammadiyah dalam memberi wujud setiap praktik sosial itu ke dalam konteks zamannya masing-masing.

Spirit peradaban dalam buku ini dijelaskan melalui suatu konsep yang sudah dikenal lazim dalam menganalisis gerakan sosial, yakni institusionalisasi (pelembagaan). Spirit peradaban berarti semacam hidden transcript dari mengapa orang Muhammadiyah mendirikan sekolah, rumah sakit, perguruan tinggi, dan meluaskan gerakannya ke berbagai bentuk. Melalui buku ini, kedua penulis hendak menyatakan bahwa gagasan Islam berkemajuan dalam konteks tertentu selalu berhasil menemukan bentuknya karena mampu menyesuaikan diri dengan perkembangan masyarakat muslim Indonesia.

Makna modern sebagai sifat gerakan Muhammadiyah tidak terletak pada cara organisasi ini mentransformasi institusi sosial tradisional menjadi modern, tetapi pada caranya hidup dari kelompok-kelompok muslim yang punya kemampuan mentransformasi kondisi sosial. Buku ini pada satu sisi turut berhasil memperlihatkan bagaimana potret kerja Muhammadiyah melalui aspek struktural dan agensi (keagenan).

Keberhasilan Muhammadiyah membangun kesalehan kolektifnya terletak pada kemampuannya memfasilitasi dan turut menjembatani berbagai perkembangan sosial dengan diskursus prinsip dan doktrin Islam. Ahmad Dahlan misalnya berhasil menghubungkan antara tauhid (ajaran Keesaan Tuhan) dan cara memanifestasikannya di dalam struktur sosial yang senantiasa berubah-ubah.

Buku Etika Muhammadiyah dan Spirit Peradaban secara sepintas tampaknya sangat dipengaruhi oleh pemodelan strukturasi ala Giddens (1984) di mana etika dan spirit peradaban adalah konsekuensi dari terbentuknya sarana-sarana pengungkapan diri anggota Muhammadiyah. Sarana-sarana pengungkapan Islam “kemadjoen” sebagai tindakan sosial anggota Muhammadiyah terartikulasi melalui kedermawanan sosial dan tindakan sosial itu sendiri dalam konteks rekonstruksi wacana Islam.

https://islamberkemajuan.id/daya-tahan-peradaban-muhammadiyah/

Jejak Muhammadiyah di Papua Barat

Di Sorong, Papua Barat, terdapat sejumlah karya kemanusiaan Muhammadiyah. Karya itu berupa sekolah, perpustakaan, dan pendampingan untuk meningkatkan keterampilan. Warga pun menyambut gembira & menyebut tempatnya sebagai ”kampung Muhammadiyah”.

JEJAK MUHAMMADIYAH DI PAPUA BARAT
Jejak Muhammadiyah di Papua Barat
HARIS FIRDAUS 18 Januari 2019 · 03:30 WIB

KOMPAS/HARIS FIRDAUS
Sejumlah anak suku Kokoda menari dalam acara peresmian rumah baca di Kampung Warmon Kokoda, Kabupaten Sorong, Papua Barat, Sabtu (12/1/2019). Acara itu dihadiri Ketua Umum Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir. Pembangunan rumah baca merupakan salah satu program Muhammadiyah untuk memberdayakan masyarakat suku Kokoda di kampung tersebut.



Di Sorong, Papua Barat, terdapat sejumlah karya kemanusiaan Muhammadiyah. Karya itu berupa sekolah, perpustakaan, dan pendampingan untuk meningkatkan keterampilan. Warga pun menyambut gembira dan menyebut tempatnya sebagai ”kampung Muhammadiyah”.

Puluhan warga berkumpul di jalan menuju Kampung Warmon Kokoda, Kabupaten Sorong, Papua Barat, Sabtu (12/1/2019) siang. Diiringi irama alat musik tradisional, mereka menari dan bernyanyi. Sinar matahari yang menyengat tak mengendurkan semangat mereka.

Siang itu, warga Kampung Warmon Kokoda menyambut kedatangan rombongan Ketua Umum Pimpinan Pusat (PP) Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir dan Ketua Umum PP Aisyiyah Siti Noordjannah Djohantini.

Dalam rombongan, turut serta sejumlah pengurus PP Muhammadiyah dan Aisyiyah serta sejumlah rektor perguruan tinggi Muhammadiyah.

Haedar dan Noordjannah hendak melihat program-program yang dijalankan Muhammadiyah di Kampung Warmon Kokoda yang dihuni 185 keluarga dari suku Kokoda, salah satu suku asli Papua Barat. Di kampung yang berlokasi di Distrik Mayamuk itu, sejak beberapa tahun lalu, Muhammadiyah telah berkiprah.

Ketua Majelis Pemberdayaan Masyarakat PP Muhammadiyah Nurul Yamin mengatakan, Muhammadiyah masuk Kampung Warmon Kokoda pada tahun 2012.

Sejak saat itu, sejumlah program pemberdayaan masyarakat dilakukan Muhammadiyah. Misalnya, membangun sekolah dasar (SD) agar anak-anak suku Kokoda bisa mendapatkan pendidikan layak.

Muhammadiyah juga melakukan pendampingan agar warga Kampung Warmon Kokoda bisa mendapatkan penghasilan dengan bertani, beternak, dan mencari ikan di laut.

”Kami mendampingi saudara-saudara kita di Kokoda agar bisa bertani, beternak, dan menjadi nelayan,” ujar Yamin.

Program pemberdayaan tersebut kian membesar setelah Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) secara rutin mengirimkan mahasiswa untuk menjalani program kuliah kerja nyata (KKN) di Kampung Warmon Kokoda sejak 2016.

Para mahasiswa menjalankan sejumlah program, termasuk mengembangkan Rumah Baca Mahardika Kokoda untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan warga setempat.

Seorang mahasiswa UMY yang ikut menginisiasi Rumah Baca Mahardika Kokoda, Nafis Nidhomi (23), mengatakan, rumah baca dirintis tiga tahun lalu. Awalnya, bangunan rumah baca bersifat semipermanen, tetapi lama-lama rusak. ”Tanah di sini, kan, gambut. Jadi, bangunan rumah baca mulai ambles,” ujarnya.

Prihatin dengan kondisi itu, para mahasiswa UMY yang menjalankan KKN di Kampung Warmon Kokoda mencari bantuan dana untuk memperbaiki bangunannya.

Mereka mendapat bantuan dana dari Bank Syariah Mandiri. ”Pembangunan permanen rumah baca dilakukan pada Juli-September 2018,” ujarnya.

Menurut Nafis, selain menyediakan buku-buku bacaan, Rumah Baca Mahardika Kokoda juga dimanfaatkan untuk menggelar sejumlah kegiatan, misalnya pemutaran film, pembacaan buku cerita, dan kegiatan belajar membaca untuk anak-anak. Untuk menambah ragam kegiatan, pengelola rumah baca bekerja sama dengan berbagai komunitas literasi di Sorong.

Kampung Muhammadiyah

Tokoh masyarakat Kampung Warmon Kokoda, Jalil Namugur, mengatakan, warga suku Kokoda menetap di kampung itu sejak tahun 2000. Sebelumnya, sejumlah warga tinggal di Kota Sorong, tetapi diminta pindah karena lahan yang mereka tempati adalah milik pemerintah. ”Kami digusur, tetapi pemerintah tidak menyiapkan lahan bagi kami.

Akhirnya kami membuat permukiman di sini,” katanya. Menurut Jalil, warga suku Kokoda di Kampung Warmon Kokoda memeluk agama Islam secara turun-temurun. Karena itu, kedatangan Muhammadiyah disambut dengan baik.

Apalagi, Muhammadiyah menjalankan banyak program yang terbukti bermanfaat untuk membantu kehidupan warga di lokasi baru.

Kepala Kampung Warmon Kokoda, Syamsuddin Namugur, menyatakan, Muhammadiyah banyak memberi kontribusi kepada kampung itu sehingga hubungan warga dengan Muhammadiyah menjadi sangat dekat. Bahkan, Syamsuddin menyebut Warmon Kokoda sebagai ”kampung Muhammadiyah”.

”Ini adalah ’kampung Muhammadiyah’ karena masyarakat bersyarikat di Muhammadiyah. Kami di Papua Barat, ingin mewujudkan cita-cita Kiai Ahmad Dahlan (pendiri Muhammadiyah),” katanya.

Pulau Arar

Selain di Kampung Warmon Kokoda, Muhammadiyah juga menjalankan pengabdian di wilayah lain di Papua Barat. Salah satunya Pulau Arar, Distrik Mayamuk, Sorong.

Di pulau itu, Muhammadiyah mendirikan taman kanak-kanak (TK) pada 2008, SMP pada tahun 2009, dan SMA pada 2012. Sebelum ada tiga sekolah itu, di Pulau Arar hanya ada satu SD Inpres.

Kepala Kampung Pulau Arar, Nurdin Rumaur, mengatakan, sebelum ada SMP dan SMA Muhammadiyah, lulusan SD di pulau itu harus ke Sorong. Mereka mesti naik perahu untuk ke sekolah. Karena sejumlah masalah, banyak lulusan SD di Pulau Arar tak melanjutkan pendidikan.

Kini, sejumlah lulusan SMA di Pulau Arar kuliah di perguruan tinggi di beberapa kota di Jawa. ”Kami berterima kasih banyak pada Muhammadiyah sehingga kita punya anak-anak banyak sudah kuliah. Ada yang ke Jakarta dan Surabaya,” kata Nurdin.

Haedar menyatakan, Muhammadiyah akan terus hadir di Papua Barat untuk berbagi ilmu dan mendorong kemajuan di wilayah tersebut. Muhammadiyah juga mendorong peningkatan kualitas sumber daya manusia di Papua Barat, termasuk mendirikan perguruan tinggi dan sekolah di provinsi itu.

”Saya yakin dengan kesabaran, ketulusan, kecerdasan, serta modal sosial dan rohaniah yang kuat, kami akan terus hadir di bumi Papua untuk berbagi ilmu, berbagi peran. Dengan demikian, seluruh warga bangsa bisa makin maju,” kata Haedar.

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Dua Menyemai Damai

Muhammadiyah's 'progressive Islam': Guideline or tagline?

• Ahmad Imam Mujadid Rais The Jakarta Post
  

Jakarta   /   Mon, August 3, 2015   /  06:14 am

Muhammadiyah, the country'€™s second largest Muslim organization, will hold its 47th national congress (muktamar) in Makassar, South Sulawesi, this week. The congress will set up a new agenda for the next five years, including electing a new leader who will replace two-time chairman Din Syamsuddin.

Muhammadiyah'€™s challenges and plans include internal consolidation of leadership, bureaucratic improvement and dealing with external issues of globalization, poverty and lack of education, low quality of human resources and the upcoming integrated ASEAN economic community.

In response to such challenges, Muhammadiyah'€™s central board in the past years reformulated its movement through the notion of Islam berkemajuan, a hot topic among its members and activists.

 '€œProgressive Islam'€, a loose translation of Islam berkemajuan, is clearly a part of the efforts to cope with challenges among its followers and among Indonesian Muslims, challenges which include poverty, injustice and human resources.

The translation itself is still problematic. Amin Abdullah, a former rector of the UIN Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, described in 2011 the slight differences between Islam berkemajuan, which emerged in the early 20th century, and Islam progresif as understood by academics. But let'€™s just focus on the similarities.

Since the establishment of Muhammadiyah in 1912, its founder Kyai Haji (revered cleric and haj) Ahmad Dahlan fully understood that Islam is compatible with the idea of being progressive, and that Islam encourages its followers to be the best and reach the highest quality of life in political, economic, social, cultural and religious terms.

The idea of being progressive is deeply entrenched in Muhammadiyah'€™s history. During the colonial period, shortly after Muhammadiyah'€™s establishment, meetings held by Ahmad Dahlan with his students included proposals to build hospitals and orphanages.

One student, the future cleric KH Syuja, had laughed, saying it was impossible at the time. He later acknowledged confidence in the plans: Dutch people who built hospitals and orphanages, he wrote, '€œare ordinary people who also eat rice. If others can do it, I am sure we can do it too.'€ History has recorded the program as a brilliant achievement for a new-born Muslim organization at the time.

 The idea of fastabiqulkhairat (competition in goodness) also deeply inspired Muhammadiyah'€™s activities. As a former chairman of Muhammadiyah, Buya (revered ulema) Syafii Maarif said, doing good deeds through the establishment of massive numbers of Muhammadiyah schools and clinics is not the main focus of the organization '€” it is their quality and thus continued improvement.

According to Muhammadiyah'€™s manifesto at its 46th national congress of 2010 in Yogyakarta, Islam berkemajuan should sow the seeds of truth, goodness, peace, justice, welfare and prosperity.

Islam upholds human dignity of both men and women without discrimination '€” and inflames awareness against war, terrorism, violence, oppression, backwardness and all forms of destruction and degradation of life such as corruption, abuse of authority, crimes against humanity and exploitation of nature.

Attempts to summarize the spirit of Islam berkemajuan based on the teachings of Ahmad Dahlan and the writings of his students and companions reveal five features of the concept.

First is pure faith (tauhid), the central doctrine in Islamic teachings. Muslims committed to tauhid should have high social, intellectual and spiritual awareness. They should be optimists and hard working honest persons with no fear except of Allah. They should have the conviction that life is part of worshiping God.

Secondly, he or she should have a deep understanding of the primary sources of Islam, the Koran and the Prophet'€™s sayings or hadith.

Third, there should be an institutionalization of charity aimed to solve problems based on the scripture and hadith. For instance, the establishment of hospitals and orphanages are part of the practice of surah Al-Ma'€™un. The establishment of Muhammadiyah itself is proof of faith as mentioned in surah Ali Imran: 104: to organize others to do good deeds, and prohibit them from committing sins.

Fourth, focus on the present and future. Islam berkemajuan prefers to solve present problems and prepare for the future rather than praise the glories of past Islamic kingdoms. Thus, Muhammadiyah should be well-prepared to overcome current problems and benefit the most from today'€™s developments. Globalization and an integrated ASEAN economic community, for example, provides benefits such as through trade, science and global citizenship, though with negative impacts such as trafficking in persons, drug abuse, conflict and insecurity.

The rapid development of information and technology also provide tools for Muhammadiyah to contribute through innovations and creativity for Indonesia'€™s development.

Fifth is a focus on being moderate and cooperation-oriented. Amid the resurgence of sectarianism and violent extremism the spirit of Muhammadiyah in its early years were open-mindedness, moderation, tolerance and promotion of dialogue among different groups and beliefs.

For example, in one gathering Ahmad Dahlan invited a leader of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) to explain the purpose of the party and their responses toward social and economic problems at that time. At Muhammadiyah'€™s first hospital Ahmad Dahlan himself asked for the assistance of a Catholic physician, since the Muslim community at the time had no doctor.

These examples show that openness and cooperation in social matters is a part of Islamic teaching apart from egalitarianism and self-confidence to promote ideas and beliefs.

Overall, in its post-centennial era, Muhammadiyah must play a pivotal role to make Indonesian society more developed and prosperous. The spirit of Islam berkemajuan becomes a guideline for Muhammadiyah elements to be more proactive, responsive and provide solutions to current problems. To this end Muhammadiyah needs a modern and responsive management, led by strong and capable leaders, comprising a self-confident chairman and solid collegiality among its 13 leaders '€” along with a strong vision for the future. Otherwise, the notion of its progressive Islam will be a mere tagline rather than concrete action.
____________________________

... the spirit of Muhammadiyah in its early years were open-mindedness, moderation, tolerance and promotion of dialogue ...
_____________________________

The author is a secretary at LAZIS Muhammadiyah, the organization'€™s alms body, and a researcher at the Maarif Institute for Cultural and Humanitarian Studies. He graduated with a Masters of International Relations from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/03/muhammadiyah-s-progressive-islam-guideline-or-tagline.html

Challenges to 'progressive Islam'

• Azis Anwar Fachrudin The Jakarta Post
  

Yogyakarta   /   Thu, July 30, 2015   /  07:05 am

Next week, at almost the same time, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the largest and second largest Indonesian Muslim organizations respectively, will hold their congresses or muktamar. While the major theme of NU'€™s congress is Islam Nusantara, Muhammadiyah'€™s is Islam Berkemajuan (progressive Islam). The latter proposed concept has received comparatively less attention.

The notion of progressive Islam is desperately needed to confront this century'€™s challenges because it emphasizes the idea of progress. While Islam Nusantara is a concept to legitimize the cultural identity of the development of Islam even before the birth of Indonesia, progressive Islam stresses that we cannot overcome today'€™s problems by solutions relevant only to the middle ages. Islam Nusantara seeks to preserve our traditions surrounding Islam, whereas progressive Islam stresses the need to be up to date with the concerns of our contemporary lives.

Progressive thought is very much needed for today'€™s Islam, particularly given the extremist views which are more or less a transferral of medieval Islam to the 21st century. The medieval form of Islam is a setback, or indeed, a regression. A fundamentalist and literalist interpretation of the scriptures and the Islamic traditions bring about an historical gap and a kind of irrelevance.

The world no longer has a caliphate like the old Muslim empires, modern countries are nation-states, and global discourse is filled with '€œsecular'€ ideas such as democracy, human rights and pluralism. The Islamic classical tradition has no exact response to these developments. Some Muslim scholars try to find precedents in classical texts and reinterpret them through a new perspective. This process constitutes a re-reading of Islamic tradition.

Many of today'€™s Muslims are still confused about how exactly the relationship between Islam (as a religion) and the modern state should operate. Across the world we see efforts to promote the formalization of sharia as the dominant legal system.

Indonesia is no exception, as shown not only by the ambitions of some Muslim organizations, but also by the actions of certain regional governments. Indonesia as a state has also been involved in defining the boundaries of '€œorthodoxy'€, as reflected in the blasphemy law, through which the state defines those it considers deviant and then treats them like second-class citizens.

This relationship between Islam and the state should be overcome by '€œprogressive Islam'€. If the state really embraces freedom of religion, polemics in defining whose beliefs are true and whose are deviant or infidel will become antithetical to the soul and character of the nation. Islam must move away from these pre-modern polemics.

Certainly, a progressive state of mind necessitates a moving away from polemical statements, which are often unempirical and unverifiable.

Another problem that must be seen in the light of progressive Islam is how Muslims should deal with what many call '€œsalafism'€. As an ideology, salafism tends to look to the earliest Muslim generation (salaf literally means '€œthat which precedes'€) to determine and regulate how Muslims should live their lives. Salafism is essentially a kind of imitation, and what salafists are imitating is medievalism. Salafism tends to rely strictly on the scripture and the prophetic traditions to get to the '€œpure'€ Islam, an Islam believed to have remained unpolluted by '€œun-Islamic'€ cultures prevailing across history.

Salafism is to some degree shared by followers of Wahhabism and the Muhammadiyah. This shared root explains why salafism seems to attract Muslims from Muhammadiyah more than those from NU. While NU was initially founded in response to Wahhabism, Muhammadiyah was founded to eradicate local customs considered syncretic or containing idolatry (shirk). In the 20th century, followers of local traditions were stigmatized with the appellation TBC, an abbreviation of takhayul (superstition), bid'€™ah (herecy) and churafat (myth).

In this respect, Muhammadiyah was built in opposition to NU, and if this view is still embraced by Muhammadiyah, its Islam Berkemajuan conflicts with NU'€™s Islam Nusantara, an opposition that may reinvigorate the modernist-vs-traditionalist polemics of the last century that engulfed many Indonesian Muslims. To be progressive is to move on from the old polemics.

Yet Muhammadiyah is actually detached from Wahhabism. Muhammadiyah was initially founded based on inspiration from the Islamic modernism promoted by the renowned Egyptian Muslim reformist, Muhammad Abduh, who died in 1905. Abduh propagated reform for Islam. Abduh'€™s salafism was different from that of Wahhabism. While the latter tends toward literalism, Abdul embraced modern science in opposing superstitious beliefs and he reinterpreted the holy text based on context.

Muhammadiyah should emphasize its links to '€œAbduhism'€ as opposed to Wahhabism. To be progressive, Muhammadiyah needs to increasingly promote the non-literal reading of scripture to get to the spirit of Islam, not merely the form. To borrow from president Sukarno, what we need today from Islam is its '€œfire'€, not its '€œashes'€.

And to keep alive the flame of the fire, it needs fuel. You might suggest that the fuel could be critical reason or modern science. You might also suggest that the fuel is the culture that NU is trying to preserve.

Instead of being in opposition to one another, Islam Nusantara and Islam Berkemajuan complement each other.
___________________________

The writer is a graduate student at the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.

 https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/30/challenges-progressive-islam.html

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.
___________________________

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

Insight: Muhammadiyah and Indonesia's international identity

• Rizal Sukma The Jakarta Post
  

Jakarta   /   Tue, August 4, 2015   /  04:17 pm

This week, Muhammadiyah, the oldest and second-largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, will hold its 47th congress in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The congress is significant for at least two reasons.

This will be the first congress it has held since it turned 100 years old. For Muhammadiyah, it also means it needs to discuss the key challenges it is likely to face and what sort of institution-building steps it needs to take in order to overcome these challenges. In other words, during the congress, Muhammadiyah will have to decide what direction it will take over the next 100 years.

During the congress Muhammadiyah will elect new 13 leaders, of which the position of chairman always attracts the most attention. The current chairman, Din Syamsuddin, cannot run again as he has served for two consecutive periods. Finding someone with the same qualifications as Din to lead Muhammadiyah will be a huge challenge. Din has indeed had a huge impact on the organization.

In fact, under Din, Muhammadiyah has played a role beyond its traditional domain of education, health, social welfare and da'€™wah (preaching of Islam). It has expanded its role from a national player to an international actor. That international role has served as an important aspect that has not only shaped Indonesia'€™s international identity but has also defined the country'€™s international standing within the community of nations over the last 10 years.

Indeed, the last decade was a difficult period for Indonesia. In the post-9/11 world, many in the West increasingly saw Islam as the source of the problem. Mutual suspicion ensued. As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia was faced with a set of complex challenges. The key challenge at that time was how to prevent a '€œclash of civilizations'€ and present Indonesian Islam as a moderate voice seeking to bridge the perception gap between the West and the Muslim world.

The Indonesian government embarked on a foreign policy that sought to project the image of a moderate, tolerant and progressive Muslim country. Together with democracy, then foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda presented moderate Islam as a key asset in Indonesia'€™s foreign policy. The use of public diplomacy has been instrumental in projecting Indonesia as a moderating voice within the Muslim world and between the Muslim world and the West.

Without the support of Muhammadiyah leaders, it would not have been possible for the Indonesian government to achieve such public diplomacy objectives. It was Muhammadiyah leaders, together with other moderate Muslim leaders in other organizations such Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) who played an instrumental role in presenting the moderate face of Indonesian Islam in the international arena. It was Muhammadiyah leaders who traveled around the world, engaged in many interfaith dialogues with various religious communities abroad and explained about Islam.

Muhammadiyah'€™s role in shaping Indonesia'€™s international identity, however, went well beyond active participation in government-sponsored interfaith dialogues. There are two other areas where Muhammadiyah'€™s international engagement has been visible.

First, on its own initiative, Muhammadiyah played an active role in peace-building initiatives in the region. For example, Muhammadiyah is active in contributing to the peace process in Mindanao in the Philippines and in southern Thailand. These sort of activities and involvement abroad have clearly strengthened the image of Indonesian Islam as rahmatan lil alamin (blessing to the world).

Second, since 2005, Muhammadiyah has started to strengthen its capacity in disaster relief and management. Its expertise in this area has improved tremendously since then. Muhammadiyah has been involved in disaster relief efforts outside the country, most recently in Nepal. For Muhammadiyah, helping those in need in a post-disaster environment is a duty. Again, from this kind of work, Muhammadiyah is seen as an embodiment of Indonesia'€™s Islam strongly anchored in the tradition of respecting universal humanitarian values.

Din has been the key mover in these three areas of international engagement. Without his personal interest and engagement '€” with the support of growing numbers of young Muhammadiyah leaders such Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, Abdul Mu'€™ti, Rahma Hussein, Hilman Latief, and Fajar Ul-Haq '€” it would be difficult to imagine how interfaith dialogue, peace-building and disaster relief could have become a new core of Muhammadiyah'€™s contribution to Indonesia and the world.

Chairman Din will soon hand over the leadership of Muhammadiyah to a new leader. We hope the next leader will demonstrate the same passion and vigor to preserve Muhammadiyah'€™s role as the bastion of moderation in Indonesia and the world.

We salute chairman Din and welcome the next new chairman.
______________________

The author is executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and head of the international cooperation division of Muhammadiyah'€™s central executive board 2005-2010 and 2010-2015.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/04/insight-muhammadiyah-and-indonesia-s-international-identity.html

Discourse: Muhammadiyah and modernizing Islam

• Haeril Halim The Jakarta Post
  

  /   Mon, August 3, 2015   /  04:33 pm

Outgoing Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin has emphasized that the new leadership of the organization to be selected during its 47th national congress in Makassar on Aug. 3 to 8 must continue Muhammadiyah'€™s vision of Islam Berkemajuan (Progressive Islam). Din talked to The Jakarta Post'€™s Haeril Halim about the concept and what the organization has achieved in the past decade. Here are the excerpts of the interview.

Question: What has Muhammadiyah achieved under your 10-year leadership?

Answer: Muhammadiyah has a strategic vision until the year 2025. Every five years, we meet at a national congress to align periodic programs with the 2025 vision.

According to observers, there are some things that can be seen as good progress in the past 10 years. We have shifted attention from quantitative to qualitative approaches in the services we provide, such as building high-quality schools in a number of regions that have produced students with outstanding achievements at the national and international level.

Muhammadiyah has also strengthened its humanitarian role with the establishment of the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center [MDMC] in 2005, an agency that actively helps regions in times of disaster. The organization, which establishes cooperation with other institutions from other religious groups, has also reached out to other countries to take part in humanitarian work, including the Philippines, Palestine and Nepal.

In addition, in the last three years, we have stepped up efforts to apply the amar maruf nahi mungkar [doing what is right and rejecting what is wrong] principle by focusing on fixing around 115 regulations [we deem] unconstitutional that could make the country stray from its primary goals. For example, correcting oil and gas as well as natural resource regulations. We call it a constitutional jihad.

We have also developed good relationships with other religious groups through interfaith dialogues at the domestic and international level.

What roles should the upcoming new leadership of Muhammadiyah take on in society?

It should continue the efforts of the previous leadership and should also focus on creating strategic partnerships with other groups.

How do you view today'€™s Indonesia, especially under President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s administration?

Muhammadiyah is responsible for contributing to efforts to create a better future for the country. We are aware that we are not involved in practical politics, but we could do what we call shaping political ethics for future leaders of the country through education. This is what we call '€œallocative politics'€.

Our stance is firm when we think the government commits a wrongdoing. The country is currently facing distortion and deviation from its national goals, so we want to correct all things that are broken through a political movement, but it in this case it should be understood as a '€œbehavioral'€ approach, not practical politics.

It is best to focus on the country'€™s economy and law enforcement. Muhammadiyah always pushes for better law enforcement in the country.

The economy is the prime engine of the development of a country. Muhammadiyah is aware of the importance of human resources. That is why we encourage a qualitative approach in the education sector.

What is Islam Berkemajuan?

Since its establishment, Muhammadiyah has campaigned for '€œIslam Berkemajuan'€ [Progressive Islam], a concept initiated by Muhammadiyah'€™s founder, KH Ahmad Dahlan. Progressive Islam pushes for advancement as emphasized in many of verses of the Koran. This concept is important especially when we want to open our eyes to see empirical facts that Muslims at certain levels have yet to make meaningful progress.

This concept goes beyond time and space as well as religions. It is not specifically made by Muhammadiyah for Muslims in Indonesia only but for all people in the world regardless of any attributions.

This concept also strengthens cultural ties to deepen our tolerance of others by emphasizing that Islam is a moderate religion. We could say that Islam Berkemajuan is the vision of modern Islam and moderate Islam.

Its implementation can be seen in the establishment of a disaster management unit that helps people regardless of their religion. The humanitarian agency has helped the victims of flooding in Wasior in Papua and victims of natural disasters in Maumere in Flores. We all know the two places have a Christian-majority population. The MDMC also works with Christian organizations in the regions.

Many say that condemnation is not enough to protect beleaguered minority groups like the Ahmadiyah and Shia from violent attacks in the future, what concrete actions does Muhammadiyah want to take to help minority groups?
Extremism and intolerance occurs in all religions, not just in Islam. We can see that the supporters of violent acts are a minority in terms of numbers and the majority disagrees with their acts. This means the percentage of tolerant people is far greater than that of campaigners of violence.

The fact that violence in the name of religion still occurs should be our concern. Any violent act must be rejected. In addition to campaigning to reject violence in the name of religion, Muhammadiyah is also stepping up efforts to remind its followers not to be influenced to commit violent acts.

The government must be present to uphold the law and we always push the government to do so. This is not about a minority versus majority issue because the point is Muhammadiyah always stands up for whoever is attacked.

The government should embrace all elements in society, including NGOs to establish tolerance among religious people in the country.

What challenges does Muhammadiyah face ahead?

Any challenge the nation faces is a challenge that Muhammadiyah faces too. The world is damaged due to a number of issues revolving around such things as energy, food and the environment. The most imminent challenge is the ASEAN Economic Community, which will impact Indonesia.

How has Muhammadiyah contributed economically to the country?

Muhammadiyah is known as an organization that consists of people from the middle class, including traders and entrepreneurs across Indonesia. They are a vocal part of the economy. Muhammadiyah followers have made great contributions, especially in helping the growth of the populist economy. We are aware that economically, Muhammadiyah followers are not as strong as the growing
conglomerations.

We will not give up just because we cannot compete with the conglomerations in building the economy. We have started to establish micro finance institutions as investment bodies. There are around 350 micro finance institutions as of today in addition to 14,000 schools, 192 universities, 400 health institutions and social agencies such as orphanages and senior citizens'€™ houses owned by Muhammadiyah.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/03/discourse-muhammadiyah-and-modernizing-islam.html

A leader for Muhammadiyah's global opportunities

Ridho Al-Hamdi
The Jakarta Post

Makassar   /   Wed, August 5, 2015   /  06:06 am

The nation'€™s second-largest modernist Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, is from Aug. 3 to 7 holding its first post-centennial national congress since its establishment in 1912. With significant roles in improving health and economic empowerment in the country, in its second century Muhammadiyah should increase its role at the international level.

In April this year a study by the Pew Research Center reported that Islam was projected to have the fastest growth of all religions from 2010 to 2050, when it would be the world'€™s second-largest religion with almost 30 percent of the world'€™s population or 2.76 billion followers.

Meanwhile, by 2050 Christians would have an estimated 31.4 percent of the world'€™s population with 2.92 billion devotees.

Nevertheless, Islamic extremism is a growing global trend, as seen by the spread of the Islamic State (IS) movement in Iraq and Syria and Boko Haram in Nigeria. Unresolved political tensions in the Middle East and North Africa show that the future of democracy in Muslim countries is unlikely to be stable in the years ahead.

This strengthens perceptions in the West that Islam and Muslims are not encouraging democracy.

Since 2005, Muhammadiyah has been led by the scholar Din Syamsuddin for two periods until 2015 and thus the congress will choose a new leader for the next five years. Din'€™s legacy includes first, the success of internationalization of Muhammadiyah'€™s religious propagation.

Second, its boldness in criticizing the government and evaluating its unfair policies.

Third, its capability to become a mediator in various conflicts of both national and international levels.

Fourth is the success in regeneration in its internal networks.

Fifth is the focus of the three pillars of Muhammadiyah in its second century: disaster management, philanthropy and economic empowerment.

A number of problems nonetheless have to be evaluated. First, the weakness of ideological commitment and organizational discipline.

Second, the weakness of Muhammadiyah movements at the grassroots levels.

Third, the lack of integration among its institutions, such as among its schools, universities and hospitals. These three problems have led to infiltrations among Muhammadiyah adherents. For instance, extremism, which encourages violence in the form of suicide bombs and terrorism on behalf of jihad.

Thus Muhammadiyah must focus on two main policies: strengthening internal networks and expanding the dakwah or propagation mission on the international level. In networking Muhammadiyah should concentrate on three agendas. First is the improvement of religious or Koran reading classes with references to the Koran and the Prophet'€™s sayings or hadith, which many devotees seem to have neglected.

Second is the commitment of Muhammadiyah'€™s elites to improving the organization from the national level to the grassroots. Third is the courage of its leaders to execute organizational discipline and to counter all sort of extremist values.

Meanwhile, expanding the dakwah should include providing scholarships for Muhammadiyah'€™s activists and lecturers to study abroad.

Second is establishing special Muhammadiyah branches in numerous countries because of its abundant human resources overseas.

Third is the arrangement of dakwah tours to foreign countries during every Ramadhan.

Fourth is empowering Indonesian migrant workers, particularly in countries and regions with large numbers of these migrants such as Malaysia, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, the Middle East and North Africa.

Fifth is the organization of international youth leadership exchanges.

Muhammadiyah definitely has been addressing distinctive past, present and future challenges. The three last leaders revealed different features as seen from Amien Rais, Syafi'€™i Ma'€™arif and Din Syamsuddin. Nonetheless, today'€™s national and global developments leads to certain characteristics needed by the new leader of Muhammadiyah.

First, the leader should have an international vision, to disseminate Islam'€™s peaceful teachings amid extremist movements. Second, the leader should be an intellectual ulema with sophisticated religious knowledge.

As one of the most influential Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah needs a leader who can present the substance of Islam and provide enlightenment to social problems.

Third, the leader should have strong capability in organizational management. Muhammadiyah today has more than 12,000 village boards and nearly 4,000 sub-district boards, as well as abundant human and natural resources in education, health, the economy and community empowerment across the country. All these assets require a leader competent to overcome the various differences among them.

Fourth, the leader must have the ability to interpret the teachings of the founder, Ahmad Dahlan, to cope with challenges in Muhammadiyah'€™s second century.

The notion of Islam berkemajuan (loosely: progressive Islam) has to be contextualized precisely in current circumstances.

The future of Muhammadiyah depends on its community or ummah '€” thus congress participants have the responsibility to evaluate and create the policy, agenda and strategy of the organization.
__________________________

The writer chairs the Muhammadiyah special branch of Germany and is researching political parties and good governance for his Phd in political science at the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/05/a-leader-muhammadiyah-s-global-opportunities.html