Anti-Aswaja movements tend to be more systematic

Nahdliyin (NU followers) should stand guard against any movements posing threats to the teachings of Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah (Aswaja) in Indonesia. To meet their goal, the movement allegedly financed by foreign donors have increasingly launched their more systematic approaches.

The remark was made by Secretary of Advisory Board of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Muhyidin Arubusman before some 200 ulemas at a meeting of the Ulema Forum of Aswaja in Pesisir Selatan regency, West Sumatra province on Monday (31/3).

"Their movements are conducted systematically including through such political party," Muhyidin said without naming a certain party. NU Online's Bagindo Armaidi Tanjung reported.

Muhyidin then called on ulema and Nahdliyin clrcles to keep preserving tradition and maintaining the line of thoughts of the Aswaja. NU young generation, he added, could be such a target rejecting the Aswaja.

"Many NU cadres studying in certain countries have viewpoints opposing to the Aswaja," he said, adding that the cadres were easily trapped into the viewpoints.

The former secretary general of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) was of view that the anti-Aswaja movements tended to take advantage of mushola or worship places founded by Nahdliyin.
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At the same time Buya Sheikh H Ibnu Abbas Al Yaqieny, the initiator of the ulema forum said, "we won't allow the Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah to again and again be put aside. It's been long enough the Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah put aside."

Buya Ibnu Abbas, who is also the chairman of the PKB Advisory Board of West Sumatra expected ulema and religious figures to both preserve and maintain the Aswaja principles in their own community. All this, he said, was aimed at avoiding NU young generations from negative impacts enable to change their moderate religious thoughts.

The forum was held on the sidelines of the 24th anniversary of Buya Sheikh Abdul Munaf Bakrin being considered as one of prominent and outstanding ulemas in West Sumatra. He died on 31March 1984.

Health minister to dedicate Japanese funded polyclinic in Jombang

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari on Wednesday (April 9) is scheduled to inaugurate a Japanese funded polyclinic of Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School in Jombang, East Java province, a spokesman said.

Arvil Syahadat, information officer at the Japanese Consulate General in Surabaya told Antara here on Tuesday (8/4) that the poly-clinic was funded under a Japanese government`s grant worth US$82,341, the equivalent of Rp 745 million.

The construction of the polyclinic was started in December 2007 and took four months to complete, he said.

The inaugural function will also be attended by Japanese Consul General in Surabaya Shoji Sato, and head of the Tebu Ireng Islamic Boarding School Solahuddin Wahid.

Arvil said the Tebu Ireng polyclinic is only one of several humanitarian projects realized with a Japanese government`s grant under the Grant Assistance for Human Security Projects program.

To date the Japanese government, in this case its Consulate General in Surabaya, has provided 32 grants for small scale projcts in the provinces of East Java, Nusa Tenggara and Kalimantan.

Aswaja should meet its social relevance

Any principles of Islamic teaching on ahlussunnah wal jamaah (Aswaja) adopted by NU followers (Nahdliyin) should experience the process of contextualization and meet its social relevance.

The concept of kulliyatul khoms (five Islamic universal principles), namely the protection of religious freedom, the protection of life, the protection of mind, the protection of property or property rights, the right to enter into marriage and the protection of reproductive rights.

The concept has so far been viewed in mere individual level without searching for its social relevance. Whereas any policies like fuel oil price hike, privatization, liberalization would, directly or indirectly, threaten the realization of the purposeful concept.

The issues was taken up at a workshop on strengthening the role of syuriyah (advisory council), held by Yorgakarta's NU Regional Board (PWNU) and participated by some 60 NU young clerics at the Istana Hotel, Tegalrejo, Yokyakarta on Monday-Tuesday (19-20/5).

The workshop was aimed at strengthening the teachings of Aswaja, social analysis, and mapping any contemporary social problems.

Secretary of the PWNU, Drs HA Zuhdi Muhdlor, M. Hum, said the materials discussed were conflict resolution, social analysis mapping, contemporary Islamic movement and other relevant themes.

"The forum (halaqah) of the NU young clerics has produced some social analysis and recommendation that ought to be followed up by NU board members in all levels," he said.

While Organizing Committee chief, KH Tamyiz Muharram, MA, said the forum raised such favorable expectations for all participants had enthusiastically formulated action plans that would be followed up in each NU branch board and even by involving clerics in villages.

The participants were divided into 8 small groups to deepen and discuss materials on social analysis, conflict resolution, food and energy crisis, human rights, social, economic, and political mapping, the kulliyyatul khoms, mabadi'ul khoirul ummah, fikrah nahdliyyah, and so on.

"This training tries to develop paradigm on thinking and organizing based on real problems in society so that any teachings of Aswaja would experience the process of contextualization and meet its social relevance and intellectual," Tamyiz said.

He further added that the forum was not only focusing merely on religious texts, but it also exploring in-depth and comprehensive social reality. Though the forum, Tamyiz said, the participants were optimistic syuriyah would systematically and organizationally function without basing on religious ritual functions.

In the meantime, one of the training facilitators, Mustafied, handling the topic of social analysis and the kulliyyatul khoms, said the dialectics of participants was very dynamic. The analysis on reality combining social analysis tools and (religious) texts, he added, had raised critical findings.

Mustafied gave an example in analyzing the government's plan to raise fuel oil prices that he viewed as instrument for extensively exploiting oil resources "in which 80 percent of Indonesia's oil companies has been managed by foreign companies."

In the perspective of the kulliyyatul khoms, he said, the fuel oil price hike must be rejected for increasingly impoverishing people and having potential to threaten the principle of khifdhul mal (the protection of property).

Concerning the Cash Assistance Program (BLT), Mustafied said that it would not educate people and have potential to degrade their dignity and self-respect. The program would again threaten the principle of khifdhul irdh (the protection of dignity).

Gus Dur: NU will never establish Islamic state

Former General Chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) KH Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid recently said that the Indonesia's biggest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) would never establish an Islamic state in the country.

Gus Dur made the statement as meeting with a number of United States senators to convey the national and Islamic missions of the Nahdliyin-based organization.

Gus Dur who is also the chairman of the Advisory Board of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said since ten years before Indonesia's independence NU had again and again decided that Muslims had no such obligation to establish an Islamic state.

"In 1935 or ten years before Indonesia's independence the NU's 9th Congress held in Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan) decided that Muslims were not obliged to establish Islamic state. For that reason, we have seen many religions in Indonesia," Gus Dur told reporters in the PKB's headquarters, Jln. Kalibata Timur Jakarta on Wednesday.

He was of view that Indonesia's stand on religion was very clear as affirmed in the nation's ideology, Pancasila.

As reported scores of the US senators meeting with Gus Dur during his US visit were Robert Wexler, Suemyrick, Joe Rockefeller, Christopher Bone, the influential senator in making US foreign policies.

During his visit in the country, Gus Dur also received Medal of Valor for his struggle for world peace and tolerance. The medal was given by Simon Wiesenthal Foundation.

Other figure receiving the same medal is former bishop of Anglican Church of Canterburry, UK.

The Indonesian former president received the medal on Award Night in Los Angeles. In the meantime Gus Dur also held talks and had a dinner with Hollywood's producers like Rocky's Robert Chartoff.

The award night was attended by some 1000 people. Amongst the attendees were Hollywood actors such as, Will Smith, Ron Howard, and Jeffry Katzenberg.

Gus Dur on the sidelines of his US visit had a great time to hold talks with US Vice President Dick Cheney in the White House.

Gus Dur also explained his meeting with Temple University to immortalize his name as center for inter-religious dialogue studies.