1. Nation Multimedia (http://www.nationmultimedia.com)
Muslim democrats at work from Indochina to Tunisia, 7 February 2012
by Imtiyaz Yusuf
Non-separation between religion and politics in Islam is best understood within the frame of religious unity but political diversity in the Muslim world.
The Koran, while offering religious, socio-economic and political principles, does not provide a single model for it. Colonial rulers tried to implement separation between religion and politics in the colonised Muslim world by placing religion under the jurisdiction of the rajas, kings and sultans, or by establishing ministries of religious affairs and the office of the mufti - an official interpreter of Islamic religious law. But they did not succeed in separating religion and politics in Muslim societies. Hence, today we see the diverse roles Islam plays in the politics of different Muslim countries.
The post-colonial era also saw attempts by different Muslim political leaders and parties to democratise political practice during different authoritarian regimes. The political roles and sacrifices made by Nurcholish Madjid and Gus Dur (Indonesia), Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysia) and Rachid Ghannouchi (Tunisia) in this endeavour are significant examples.
Nurcholish Madjid (d. 2005) was an Indonesian Muslim modernist whose career as a scholar and activist started with his role in HMI - the Islamic Association of University Students in Indonesia. As a young Muslim activist during the authoritarian rules of Sukarno and Suharto, he realised that not much could be gained through Islamising the political system; rather, it would prove to be an obstacle. Hence, he proposed an "Islam yes, Islamic party no" strategy. For Madjid, Islam was not merely a political campaign but also a civilisational mission that is educational and cultural, embodying religious pluralism and democracy. As a leader of the reformasi movement in 1998, Madjid personally asked Suharto to step down, thus ending his 27 years of dictatorship.
Gus Dur or Abdurrahman Wahid (d. 2009) was a democrat and pluralist who offered an alternative model of Islamist political activity. He modernised the traditional Indonesian Muslim organisation, the Nahdatul Ulama (NU), in the areas of education and political theology. He contributed towards the formation of "Civil Islam" in Indonesia. Wahid was elected as the first president of post-Suharto Indonesia. The most important legacy of Gus Dur today is his commitment to reform, modernisation and democracy.
Wahid held the conviction that Indonesia’s stability should be rooted in the principle of unity in diversity and open politics, leading to the success of democracy in a Muslim majority country. He once remarked, "I am for an Indonesian society, not just an Islamic one." He believed that what mattered was not the question of whether there is scriptural compatibility between Islam and democracy, but whether Muslims have a political intent, ambition and capacity for democracy. He partnered Nurcholish Madjid in opposing the autocratic regime of Suharto. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called Wahid a "father of multiculturalism and pluralism".
As president, Gus Dur lifted the ban on the public use of the Chinese language, the practice of Chinese cultural tradition, and made the celebration of the Chinese New Year a national holiday, all of which were barred by Suharto. Wahid guaranteed full citizenship to ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. He also defended the religious freedom of Indonesian Christians. As president of Indonesia, Gus Dur received the Ahmaddiyah leader Mirza Tahir Ahmad, as his guest. Wahid defended the rights of the Ahmaddiyah to exist in Indonesia on the constitutional principle of freedom of religion. For Wahid, pluralism is not only an intellectual concept but a matter of practice. Wahid held that the koranic message of insaniyah - humanity - represents Islam’s universalism and respect for human rights and equality.
Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, twice acquitted on sodomy charges, is another steadfast Muslim democrat. He has been imprisoned several times for upholding justice and equality. As an ardent democrat, he calls for religious and ethnic pluralism in Malaysia. He is a naturally evolved Muslim pluralist inspired by Islamic teaching and its humane values.
As a student leader, Anwar founded the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) - the Muslim Youth Movement - in 1971. As deputy prime minister, he proposed the philosophy of "Asian Renaissance" in 1996 as a means for the "development and flowering of Asian societies based on a certain vision of perfection; societies imbued with truth and the love of learning, justice and compassion; mutual respect and forbearance; and freedom with responsibility. Faith and religious practice is not confined to the individual; it permeates the life of the community." Based on the teachings of Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, the Asian Renaissance holds that an Asian is essentially a persona religiosus.
Anwar is well read and an eloquent orator, with a creative mind. He is sincere to his faith and loyal to his country. He stands up for human rights and dignity, gender equality, democracy, good governance, acceptance of cultural diversity and sharing of common values. He is a citizen of the world.
Today, Anwar heads the multi-party opposition in Malaysia and calls for the equality of all Malaysians. In the last election, he upset the ruling UMNO’s dominance in the Malaysian parliament, and continues to pose a formidable challenge to it.
Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdah Party in Tunisia, is a democrat within Islamism. Imprisoned twice for calling for political pluralism and economic justice during Ben Ali’s authoritarian Tunisia, he lived in exile for 22 years. As a major party in Tunisia today, Ennahdah has formed a national unity government instead of one dominated by itself. The aim is to move Tunisia towards democracy and development.
As an original Muslim thinker, Ghannouchi stands for the guarantee of personal freedoms and holds that gender equality, democracy and pluralism are compatible with Islam. He opposes religious extremism. He once remarked, "Freedom comes before Islam and is the step leading to Islam." As a rationalist philosopher, Ghannouchi represent the aqalana - rationalist tradition - in Islamic thought, which upholds harmony between human reason and revelation.
Ghannouchi believes that Tunisia should be a religiously tolerant and pluralist society with gender equality. He is banned from entering Saudi Arabia and Iran because of his moderate views.
Contemporary Muslim democrats have lived under repressive regimes and have been imprisoned, but they remained undaunted by opposition to their convictions. The "Arab Spring" and other such events in the Muslim world are broad democratic and non-violent alliances made up of democrats, workers, youth, women and the subaltern who challenge authoritarian regimes. They seek good governance and not the establishment of theocratic governments.
・Dr Imtiyaz Yusuf is professor of Islamics and religion at the Graduate School of Philosophy and Religion, Assumption University, Bangkok.
2. Common Ground News (http://www.commongroundnews.org)
New research may hold key to Indonesia’s church-building controversy, 7 February 2012
by Testriono
Jakarta - In Bogor, a city in Indonesia’s West Java province, the Presbyterian congregation GKI Yasmin has been prohibited by the local administration from holding services in their church for years. Indonesia’s Supreme Court has ruled that revoking the church’s permit is illegal. However, GKI Yasmin and many churches like it have not been protected from a small but vocal minority in Indonesia that has tried to prevent churches from receiving building and worship permits – and in some cases has even organised mobs to attack churches and congregants.
The case of GKI Yasmin is troubling, but is not representative of the status of all churches across the country. Throughout Indonesia, there are churches that successfully receive permits to build churches and whose congregants worship peacefully in religiously diverse neighbourhoods. Those working to resolve the problems in Bogor can look to the positive examples of interfaith relations in communities that have overcome religious tensions.
A 2011 research report entitled “The Controversy of Churches in Greater Jakarta” was developed by a team of researchers from Paramadina Foundation, a Muslim civil society organisation focused on religious tolerance, along with several civil society organisations with similar missions. It sheds some light on the factors that result in constructive interfaith relations and situations in which churches successfully receive permission to build. The success stories — half of the 13 church building cases studied — demonstrate that there are three factors crucial for congregations to be able to build churches without fear. Churches, as well as religious and political leaders, can learn from these stories.
The first factor is support from the local government and police. These groups have the power to accept or to reject building applications and to stop mobs who want to disrupt the construction process. In the case of the GKI Terang Hidup church in Jakarta, for example, the local police facilitated dialogue between the church building committee and the groups resisting the church’s construction. The police also provided security and informed the surrounding communities about the process.
The second factor is support from religious elites in the surrounding area. For example, in the case of the St. Mikael church in Bekasi, West Java, the church building committee approached a local Muslim leader with a strong popular base in the surrounding community. The approach initiated good relations and changed his attitude to support the establishment of the church.
The third factor is successful dialogue with the Muslim community in the area to avoid misunderstandings and to emphasise that the church is not being built to facilitate proselytising to Muslims, but for the use of church members. All the successfully established churches studied were able to convince their neighbourhood communities that church construction was not meant to enable conversion of Muslims.
For instance, when the St. Albertus church in Bekasi, West Java was being constructed, the church building committee invited nearby communities, local government officials and police to a number of dialogues. This repetitive approach gradually convinced surrounding communities to support the establishment of the church.
These are key factors for preserving good relations between religious majority and minority groups – and should be publicised more widely. They can also apply to the successful establishment of mosques in Christian-majority communities.
It is also important for the committees to anticipate the responses of conservative Indonesian religious organisations, which in many cases have rejected the construction of churches. These organisations, though small in number, have consistently voiced their opposition in certain places and relied on mobilising community members in opposition to a church being built – often through violent means.
Fortunately, mainstream Muslim organisations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – the largest Muslim organisation in Indonesia – and its youth wing have always supported the right to establish houses of worship. Building a church with the support of the local branch of these organisations usually deters radical organisations from violently rejecting the church’s construction. These mainstream Muslim organisations should continue to demand that the local government and police guarantee the right to build houses of worship as well as to educate Muslims to actively support that right.
The central government should learn from this research how to mitigate conflicts caused by church construction and use them to uphold Indonesia’s constitution, which guarantees religious freedom.
・Testriono is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Islam and Society at the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta and Assistant Editor of its journal, Studia Islamika.
・This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 7 February 2012, www.commongroundnews.org. Copyright permission is granted for publication.
3．Union of Catholic Asian News (http://www.ucanews.com)
Cambodian maids raped, abused and jailed in Malaysia, 6 February 2012
The dangers for South East Asian women who seek domestic work overseas have once again been highlighted by a group of Cambodian women returning from Malaysia.
by Sen David and David Boyle
Cambodia
A Cambodian maid who reportedly gave birth in prison to a child conceived after she was kidnapped and raped in Malaysia, returned with her baby and 11 other alleged victims of vicious abuse yesterday.
The sobbing, visibly traumatised women arrived at Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday, one in a wheelchair because she was too weak to walk.
At least two had escaped attempted rapes while others were beaten and worked almost non-stop before they were thrown in prison as illegal immigrants, rights groups Licadho and the Cambodian Legal Education Centre said yesterday.
An 18-year-old victim recounted how she was repeatedly raped over a two-month period by a man after escaping from an abusive employer about 10 months ago, and then arrested when police raided the perpetrator’s house because her passport had been confiscated.
“She stayed in prison for seven months…the police kept her in prison until she delivered the baby,” he said, adding she was allowed to give birth in a medical facility before being taken back to prison.
When another of the women, who escaped an attempted rape, took the matter to a Malaysian court, she was promised legal support by the Cambodian embassy which never materialised and was thrown in prison for immigration violations, he said.
Full Story: Returning maids have horrific tale
Source: Phnom Penh Post
4. Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
PAS wants to stop Valentine’s Day celebration, 7 February 2012
by SIRA HABIBU (newsdesk@thestar.com.my)
PETALING JAYA: With Valentine's Day due in a week, PAS has again pledged to put a stop to the celebration.
Its leaders, including PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan at-Tantawi, said it must be stopped as it would lead to immoral activities.
His deputy Nik Abduh Nik Aziz wants the Government to place anti-Valentine Day's advertisements on television to discourage Muslims from celebrating the event.
“Every year we join forces with various Muslim non-governmental organisations to create awareness that celebrating Valentine's Day is against the Islamic syariat,” he said.
“We do not want the celebration to become a trend among Muslims,” he said, adding that ulamas worldwide forbid Muslims from celebrating the day.
“The best way to disseminate the message is through television.
“And the Government can easily do that as it controls the mainstream media,” he added.
Nik Abduh, a son of PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, said the movement had yet to meet to discuss its anti-Valentine's Day campaign this year.
Nasrudin said the movement was not out to punish those celebrating Valentine's Day.
“We are also not trying to assume the role of moral police. We are not enforcers.
“But, we want to help save the youngsters from falling into the Valentine's Day trap that promotes immoral activities,” he said.
Ahead of Valentine's Day every year, PAS Youth and various Muslim activist groups campaigned against young couples having unlawful sex and distribute leaflets to university students warning them against celebrating the day.
Islamic officials in Malaysia isued a fatwa in 2005 that the day is associated with “elements of Christianity”.
Last year, religious authorities arrested more than 100 Muslim couples over the celebration ban.
The roots of Valentine's Day celebrated on Feb 14 go back to ancient times, when people honoured an early Christian martyr named St Valentine.
It is traditionally a day when lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering sweets and chocolates and sending greeting cards. These days, they also use e-mails, Facebook and Twitter.
Many couples become engaged or get married on this day. For others, it is a day to fall in love.
MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said PAS had no right to impose its values on others.
“This is a democratic multi-racial country. We can't stop people from celebrating whatever event they wish to celebrate,” he said.
“Commercially driven events depend on supply and demand, PAS Youth should not interfere,” Wee said, adding that Chap Goh Mei was the Chinese version of Valentine's Day.
Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang challenged Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to check PAS Youth.
“Anwar should take action if he wants to show Pakatan Rakyat embraces moderation,” he said, adding that the coalition should take action against PAS Youth.
“It is not an issue with Muslims, but PAS Youth never fails to make an issue out of it,” he said.
（End）
