DIVERSITY

MONDAY, 29 MAY 2023

The author during an interview with Kiai Said Aqil Siroj.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) often promotes interfaith tolerance. Ironically, in several regions a number of NU figures patronized minority groups such as the Ahmadiyya based on the SKB regulations of three ministers (Minister of Home Affairs, Attorney General and Minister of Religion) on 9 June 2008 and statements of deviance. Why?

Rizal Aris, administrator of the Bogor Regency Jam’iyyatul Qurra’ Wal Huffazh Nahdlatul Ulama (JHQNU) experienced persecution by Bojonggede NU officials after speaking at the Siratun Nabi event at the Ahmadiyah Center in Parung Bogor in 2019. Rizal said to the Ahmadiyya Congregation, Rizal said, ‘Ahmadiyah is not misguided .’ Rizal’s opinion was recorded by someone. The video is widely circulated among nahdliyin, a term for NU members.

One evening, five Bojonggede NU officials came to Rizal at the Nanggerang Islamic Boarding School, Tajunghulur District, Bogor Regency. They asked, “What does Rizal think about Ahmadiyya?

“Ahmadiyah is Islam like other Muslims. The creed is the same, the Prophet is the same, the holy book (Al Qur’an) is also the same and the pilgrimage continues to Mecca,” said Rizal.

Not unexpectedly, Rizal’s answer resulted in a threat.

“Once again dealing with Ahmadiyah, we will burn this pesantren!”

A number of Islamic boarding schools owned by Rizal were damaged, banners welcoming new students were removed. “Watch out! if it is still related to Ahmadiyya there is a bigger action.”

I asked Rizal after the incident, what did you do? He sighed. Then he replied, “After one year I kept my distance from Ahmadiyya friends after that they were on good terms again.”

As a result of this incident, Rizal was marginalized by society; his lectures were rejected, sermon schedules were canceled, recitations were dismissed. None of this made Rizal falter.

“I am firmly convinced that Ahmadiyah is not heretical.”

NU is indeed not monolithic although the kiai or NU officials show a tolerant attitude. NU leaders in the regions could have shown a different attitude. As happened in Bogor. The climate of religious harmony in Bogor is difficult because there is an Ahmadiyya center.

History of Ahmadiyya and the heretical label

The Ahmadiyya religious community was founded in 1889 in Qadian India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The Ahmadiyya Congregation is a religious community that claims to be Muslim. Ahmadiyya is different from other Muslims regarding the understanding of Ghulam Ahmad as Imam Mahdi. In the Ahmadiyya tradition, there are two categories of prophets: the tasyri category in which the Prophet Muhammad is the last tasyri prophet; and ghairi tasyri, a group of prophets who do not carry sharia. He is divided into two: mustaqil, a prophet who stands alone, and ghairi mustaqil, who becomes a prophet because he follows other prophets. The ghairi mustaqil category is a prophet who carried out the sharia of the Prophet Muhammad. Ghulam Ahmad is a mustaqil ghairi.

Since it was first introduced in Indonesia, the Ahmadiyya conflict has continued to occur until it culminates in Ahmadiyah versus the Indonesian Ulama Council which is a group of Sunni Islamic organizations in Indonesia. The MUI, which declared itself to be the representative of Muslims throughout Indonesia-minus the Ahmadiyya, of course, at the Second National Conference (Munas) which took place in Jakarta on 26 May-1 June 1980, issued a fatwa confirming that the Ahmadiyya Congregation was a congregation outside of Islam, heretical and misleading. This fatwa was based on a fatwa issued by Rabithah Alam Islami-a forum of Muslim scholars belonging to the World Muslim League, which also issued the same fatwa against the Ahmadiyya Community at its annual conference in Mecca on 6-10 April 1974.

Fatwas from two institutions-MUI and Rabithah Alam Islami are based on three things that are considered deviant in Ahmadiyya teachings: 1) the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad; 2) differences in the interpretation of Al-Quran verses, that the Ahmadiyya Congregation’s interpretation is said to be deviant; 3) the concept of jihad in which the Ahmadiyya Congregation is said to have abolished jihad.

The fatwa that appeared during the New Order era did not cause widespread polemic among Islamic groups, but it became a problem when in 2005 the MUI again strengthened the fatwa given the increasing dominance of mainstream Islamic groups in the period after the fall of the New Order.

Rais Syuriyah PBNU Masdar Farid Mas’udi is of the opinion: Whether or not Ahmadiyah is deviant is a matter of terminology. Again the norm is ” To you your religion, to me my religion .” So everyone has the right to practice their beliefs.

In 2008, the Central Coordinating Board for the Study of Doctrine and Community Beliefs (Bakor Pakem) stated that Ahmadiyya was not a forbidden religion. Masdar in an interview with journalists stated that the decision was right to reduce acts of violence against members of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Muslim Congregation (JAI).

PBNU declares Ahmadiyah deviant?

The Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board issued an official position on Ahmadiyah. This decision appeared in NU Online in 2008. “Ahmadiyah is a deviant sect and left Islam because it does not recognize the Prophet Muhammad as the last prophet as explicitly stated in the Qur’an, As-Sunnah and ijma’ ulama. Even so, society should not act anarchistically towards the activities carried out by the Ahmadiyya group. Prohibition of Ahmadiyya beliefs and activities is entirely up to the government or law enforcers and not the authority of any individual or group.”

Monday, April 17, 2023. I met Mohamad Syafi Alielha (Savic). I asked about PBNU’s official stance on Ahmadiyya that appeared on NU Online in 2008. Savic replied, “PBNU has never issued an official stance on Ahmadiyya.” The issue of Ahmadiyya was brought up by kiai Ma’ruf Amin in response to the siege on the Ahmadiyya Center Mubarok Campus at the PBNU Syuriyah plenary meeting in Bogor in 2005.

The forum was attended by a number of NU clerics from various regions. Kiai Ma’ruf, Kiai Masdar Masudi and Kiai Said Aqil Siroj chaired the plenary session. Kiai Ma’ruf is of the opinion that Ahmadiyah has a different Al-Qur’an than Muslims because of that Ahmadiyya is considered heretical.

“If you go astray, well… you don’t have to follow it,” said Savic, repeating Kiai Ma’ruf’s words.

The clerics who were present agreed that Ahmadiyya was deviant with different Al-Qur’an accounts. The kiai do not fully know about the Ahmadiyya Congregation, they are only suggestions. “I joined the commission, so I know exactly. The Ahmadiyya debate is finished in the forum. That was the nature of the debate in the commission session and then it got tricky .”

NU, as the largest Muslim organization, has strong social and political influence, and the impact is huge. Because of that, NU has never declared Ahmadiyah heretical. NU cannot be judged by the attitude of one or two figures. If there is an official decision, it cannot be immediately addressed to NU.

“Once again, this is a personal view, not attributable to PBNU’s attitude,” said Savic.

What is your policy towards preaching Ahmadiyah in NU Online ? Savic replied: At NU Online , dynamic news is written by journalists. Friends used to cover the trial and the commission’s decision was then written down. The commission’s interests have not been hammered out. If a decision is brought to the plenary—responded to by the participants present—it is hammered and announced as a decision for the National Conference of the NU Conbes. Not up to that level, de facto by Kiai Said.

“This news was then referred to by many people as PBNU’s stance.”

The NU Ulama National Conference (Munas) and the NU Major Conference (Konbes) are the second highest deliberative forums after the Muktamar. The Alim Ulama National Conference and the NU Konbes are designed to produce strategic and fundamental decisions for the benefit of the people, the integrity of the nation and the state.

A series of violence against the Ahmadiyya Congregation

Ahmadiyah became the target of a violent attack in mid-July 2005 by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Islamic Community Association (PUI) when the National Jalsa Salana in Bogor ended the attack and closed the Mubarok Campus as the center of Ahmadiyya activities.

In the parade of hatred against Ahmadiyah, the state played a role in legitimizing violence with the emergence of the MUI Fatwa at the end of July 2005. On April 16, 2008, the Coordinating Body for Monitoring Community Beliefs, or Bakor Pakem, proposed a ban on Ahmadiyah teachings. In June 2009, the Minister of Religion Maftuh Basyuni, Minister of Home Affairs Mardiyanto, and Attorney General Hendraman Supanji signed a Joint Decree (SKB) which regulates the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority to ‘stop spreading interpretations and activities that deviate from the main teachings of Islam,’ including the spread of understanding that acknowledges the existence of the Prophet Muhammad SAW.

SKB Anti-Ahmadiyah following the June 1, 2008 attack on the Jakarta National Monument. That morning, Sriyana, an Ahmadi – the term for Ahmadiyah Muslims – together with the entourage headed for the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta.

Sri and her entourage arrived in Jakarta at 1 pm. According to the preacher’s direction, Sri and his entourage headed straight to join the other groups. About 10 to 15 minutes a group of people wearing white robes, black pants threw stones at Sri and his entourage. The crowds kept coming. Sri frantically ran and hid in a ditch.

“There can’t be an attack if you’re not prepared,” he said, then fell silent, wiping away tears.

Human Rights Watch reported that more than 500 Islamic militants against around 100 men, women, and children held a peaceful march in support of the Ahmadiyah Muslims at the National Monument, Jakarta. Video footage shows the attackers calling themselves the Islamic Defenders Army, chasing them, hitting them with sticks and rattan bamboo. More than 60 people were injured in the attack, some seriously.

The victims included several Muslim scholars and activists who openly defended the Ahmadiyya faith. The 4th President KH Abdurrahman Wahid was on his way to the parade location when the attack occurred. Visiting victims in hospital, he said: “This is not a jungle country. The police, like it or not, have to catch the perpetrators.”

The role of the state in “legalizing and perpetuating” discrimination against Ahmadiyah

The Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation was recognized as a legal entity in March 1953. Ahmadiyya relations were normal when General Suharto came to power. The MUI issued an anti-Ahmadiyah fatwa in 1980. Suharto ignored it. In 2000, President Abdurrahaman Wahid welcomed the high priest of Ahmadiyah, Mirza Tahir Ahmad, grandson of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to Jakarta. Gus Dur even appointed an Ahmadi Djohan Effendy as state secretary. In 2000, Gus Dur stepped down and was replaced by Megawati Soekarnoputri. He also did not ban Ahmadiyah.

The situation changed when the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The MUI’s influence grew rapidly. In July 2005 the Indonesian Ulema Council issued a fatwa ‘Ahmadiyah is heretical and misleading.’ This regulation was contained in the MUI Fatwa No. 11/Munas VII/MUI15/2005 concerning the Ahmadiyya sect which was stipulated in the 2005 MUI VII National Conference. The protests and MUI fatwa also demanded that the Ahmadiyah be disbanded. Ahmadiyah bases are frequently targeted including private homes, places of worship as well as physical attacks. Acts of intolerance are enriched by religious views or deviant expressions.

Savic agrees that rejection after rejection and up to anarchism against the Ahmadiyya Congregation and its supporters stem from the label ‘Heretic, Misleading’ which is used as a legal basis by the community. This impression gave rise to the Ahmadiyya Congregation not being able to grow in Indonesia, and the sentiment towards Ahmadiyya was quite high.

“Yes, the MUI Fatwa has also strengthened the negative sentiments of Muslims towards the Ahmadiyya Congregation.”

What is PBNU’s attitude in view of the increasing number of discriminatory regulations against Ahmadiyah and other minorities? Regulation is needed to regulate things that cause disputes, conflicts, or chaos in society. The NU kiai think that this regulation is needed. If not, the term ‘Who is strong wins will emerge ‘, although among activists and NGOs this regulation is criticized for being detrimental. If there is no regulation then it is like the law of the jungle. The NU paradigm is like this.

Unregulated liberal democracy in the context of religion is not entirely okay in a communal society like Indonesia. However, separate formulations must be found that guarantee especially minorities who are considered vulnerable and find it difficult to obtain their rights, said Savic.

What about regulations under laws such as governor regulations and regional regulations?

“Yhaaa… many people have to think about it, but what is clear when formulating it is to involve the disadvantaged parties so that the tyranny of the majority does not occur again,” said Savic.

Right to freedom of religion

The 1945 Constitution of Indonesia explicitly guarantees freedom of religion in article 28 (E). Based on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which Indonesia ratified in 2006, the state must respect the right to freedom of religion. This includes freedom to determine a religion or belief of one’s own choice, and freedom, either alone or in community with others, both in public and private, to manifest a religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching. Persons belonging to a minority group ‘should not be denied their rights in society, together with members of other groups…to adopt and practice their own religion.

Savic said the state interfered too much with religious practices in Indonesia. It is sufficient for the state to ensure, serve, and guarantee the constitutional mandate that all people have different beliefs and the same rights. The state must protect and facilitate. The most crucial thing is to encourage the awareness of state apparatus as enforcers of law and the constitution, otherwise there will be horizontal conflicts. Authority is in the state. Ormas educates its citizens to respect different choices. “The key is in the country,” said Savic.

The National Commission on Women noted that since the reform era in 1998, Indonesian citizens who often experience religion-based violence are the Ahmadiyya Congregation. These acts of religious intolerance have a lasting impact on the lives of women and children. One of the policies that made this happen was the establishment of a Joint Decree (SKB) of three ministers based on the Law on Blasphemy of Religion or PNPS Number 1 of 1965. During the New Order, this law was used to ensnare and shackle groups deemed ‘disobedient’ and ‘damaged public order’ by the New Order government. Now, in the Reformation era, the Joint Decree is again being used as a weapon to subdue the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation.

“Now there are fewer regulations like this,” said Imam Aziz, Special Staff to Deputy President Ma’ruf Amin. As with the SKB 3 Ministerial Regulation, it is only a response to the situation. It must always be updated based on the constitution so that it is decided not politically but legally.

“It must always be revised, including its existence must be continuously questioned.”

Imam said, the MUI Fatwa is not a legal law that has coercive legal force. That’s unconstitutional behavior. MUI fatwa is limited to the opinion of the community on a group, should not be taken as a legal basis for making a decision. Danger!

Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qaumas now also has a commitment to minority groups. There should be no different treatment and discrimination for all religions in Indonesia.

Late in the evening, Sunday 15 May 2023, I visited the Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Board for the 2010-2021 period KH Said Aqil Siroj at his residence in the Jagakarsa area, South Jakarta. I was invited to meet Kiai Said by his assistant after the routine recitation was over. About two hours of waiting, Kiai Said came out of the Islamic Boarding School Hall wearing a batik and blue sarong along with a black cap. His face looked happy even though he looked exhausted to meet the guests who came. I asked the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono government’s plan to issue the 2008 Joint Decree on Ahmadiyya. What did PBNU do at that time?

“At that time I was not yet the general chairman, but already at PBNU, I was invited to represent NU to meet the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Religion. In conclusion, Ahmadiyah is prohibited from preaching to invite other people to join their faith. The rights of Ahmadiyah are still given by the state.

Regarding the status of Ahmadiyah, not only NU, Al Azhar, Rabithah Al-Islamy agreed to say ‘Heretical’ because it violates a principle of believing that there are prophets and revelations after Muhammad, so it is forbidden to perform Umrah and Hajj.

It is common knowledge that intolerance and discrimination against religious and belief minorities have increased sharply in the 25 years since the Reformation, including the 2006 PBM regarding places of worship. According to Kiai Said, how should Indonesia overcome intolerance and discrimination?

Intolerance is clearly contrary to the life of the nation, but tolerance has limits. To what extent? Yes, respect different beliefs and their rights. But that doesn’t mean mixing up theology, as girls . “The Ahmadiyya are misguided, but we still respect their rights as long as they don’t preach.”

After the SKB was ratified, the Ahmadiyya violence increased rapidly, including the one that ended in death in Cikeusik. Finally, in Sintang, an area dominated by Christian Dayaks, the 2008 SKB was used by Muslim militants to put pressure on the Sintang regional government and to close the only Ahmadiyah mosque in Sintang. According to Kiai Said, why wasn’t the SKB revoked?

The presence of the SKB 3 Ministers is a middle way between being discriminatory or letting it happen. If allowed or allowed horizontal conflict will occur. The government also cannot expel the Ahmadiyya group from Indonesia. Ahmadiyah has the right to live in the country, but it’s just that they are prohibited from spreading their beliefs, so those who are being attacked are their education.

“I think this has been maximized, the government is wise not to ban Ahmadiyah. If the SKB is repealed there will be chaos again.”

“It’s maxed out. It’s maxed out.”

“You don’t need to revoke it, it’s good. Already good.”

source https://alif.id/read/sca/bagaimana-tokoh-nu-memandang-ahmadiyah-dari-aspek-kenegaraan-b247772p/