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.
“Progressive 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, “are 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 ...
Credit to Ahmad Imam Mujadid Rais, Jakarta
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