Ini artikel yang pernah saya janjikan ke saudara hadeer. Saya taruh di
milis ini karena mungkin juga bisa buat baca-baca yang lain.
Artikel ini ditulis oleh Sander Thoenes, seorang foreign correspondent
untuk Financial Times berkebangsaan Belanda. Artikel ini ditulis untuk dan
dimuat di Christian Science Monitor (dimana Thoenes juga bekerja sebagai
stringer), salah satu well-respected koran nasional di USA (di samping The
New York Times, Washongton Post, LA Times, Chicago Tribune dan Atlanta
Journal and Constitution) based in Boston.
salam,
Ian
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SPECIAL TO THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
The leaders of the Justice Party put their money where their mouth is. The
soft-drink cooler in the party headquarters in Jakarta is unlocked,
relying
instead on a Koranic verse to admonish members to pay for each bottle they
take
out.
"If you pay the exact amount you already did justice," a sign reads. "Do
justice, since justice is closer to piety."
Islamic values colour the party programmes, slogans and banners of dozens
of
Muslim parties taking part in the first democratic elections in 44 years.
Although the campaign formally kicks off only six weeks before the poll on
June
7, the lampposts and trees of Jakarta are already covered with green
flags, the
colour of Islam, decorated with a wide variety of crescents, stars and the
Ka'abah, the most holy building in Mecca.
The Justice Party is among the most upfront about its devotion to Islam,
which
had been forcefully kept out of politics under the authoritarian rule of
former
president Suharto but has come back with a vengeance since he resigned
last
year.
"We introduce ethnics and morality into politics," said Nur Mahmudi
Ismail, the
party's president. "We want to teach citizens to understand their role in
building this society, to become honest, to become disciplined."
The Justice Party calls for a role in government for the ulamas, the
Islamic
scholars, removal of western-style laws that conflict with Indonesian
culture
and for censorhip of western arts entering the country. Mr Ismail believes
gay
activists should be jailed and defends laws that allow parents to block
their
daughter's wedding but not their son's. The party office has separate
waiting
areas for female and male visitors.
Many Indonesians, both in the Christian minority and the Muslim majority,
are
uncomfortable with the sudden prominence of Islam in politics. Some fear
it will
only divide the nation at a time when economic and political chaos has
sparked
religious and ethnic riots.
But the soda on sale in the Justice Party cooler is American cola and root
beer.
Its founding members teamed up through the internet while studying in the
United
States and Australia. Women make up more than half of the rapidly growing
party
rank and file. Like most Muslim parties in Indonesia, the Justice Party
goes out
of its way to prove it is moderate, tolerant and open-minded.
"No Muslim can suffice with relying on lessons from Islam and ignoring
other
lessons," its leaflet reads. "Justice should be done towards anyone
regardless
of race, skin colour or religion."
While some blame the recent wave of clashes between Christians and Muslims
on
the revival of religious politics, Mr Ismail insists it is the moral
vacuum
that is to blame. "The main reason is a lack of understanding of religion.
The
more you learn about religion, the calmer you are," he says. "Islam does
not
teach that everything of others is bad."
None of the parties advocate replacing secular law with the Syari'ah, or
Islamic
law, although Mr Ismail and others concede they would prefer to introduce
at
least some of the Syari'ah to the Indonesian legal system, which was
drafted
largely by the Dutch colonial government which ruled Indonesia until 1949.
"We must transfer the values of the Koran into the law," said Anwar
Haryono,
founder of the Crescent Moon and Start Party, shortly before his death
late last
year. "But those values can be acceptable to everybody. Not like in Saudi
Arabia
but more like Malaysia."
For his party, that means that women could still drive cars or become
president;
instead it wants banks to share profit rather than charge interest, and
courts
to focus on reconciliation rather than mere judgement.
The Crescent Moon and Star Party would not stand a chance if it tried to
market
Saudi-type Islamic values. Indonesians are among the world's most moderate
and
tolerant Muslims, blending traditional beliefs with Koranic dogma the way
they
mix and match western and Indonesian clothers. Muslim clerics have allowed
a
famous male singer to have a sex change and head an Islamic school for
orphans,
while a gay government minister sparked only jokes, not protest.
Instead of a sudden swing to fundamentalism, the high number of Muslim
parties
cropping up in Indonesia reflects the diversity of religious practices in
the
largest Muslim nation in the world. Some cater to traditionalist Muslims,
others
to nominal Muslims in Java who mix their Islamic beliefs with Hindu and
animist
notions, while the Justice Party and others appeal to the more educated,
modernist Muslims in cities and universities.
"We all have our niche markets," says Mr Ismail, unconsciously using
marketing
lingo.
But the preponderance of Islam in Indonesian politics also reflects the
search
for some unifying ideology in Indonesia, at a time when the economy is
teetering, law and order are breaking down and the government has lost all
respect. Mr Suharto had thousands of communists massacred and nudged Islam
out
of politics, effectively deideologising his country by imposing Pancasila,
an
amorphomous state dogma that was more symbol than substance. That lack of
guiding principles still reflects in the major party programmes, including
that
of the Justice Party, which are vague and interchangeable but for a few
details.
"There are no substantial differences," says Ahmad Syafi'i Ma'arif, acting
chairman of Muhammadiyah, one of the country's two largest Muslim
organisations.
"They all want to be leaders. They did not look at the Islamic doctrine
before
they entered politics. Political calculations are more important to them."
If intolerance proves a good sell, the moderation of Indonesias Muslim
parties
may well fade away, particularly if it is a veneer. While its program
appeals
for tolerane, the Justice Party has put some very intolerant slogans in
the
diaries it hands out as propaganda freebies.
"Whoever accepts a woman as leader will not be succesful," it reads,
and:"If the
Muslims are united we can face the others together."
"Religiously this country is very tolerant," said Mr Ma'arif. "But once
politics
enters religion it is very dangerous. They should be very careful when
quoting
the Koranic verses - it can dvide the Muslim community."
"It depends whether you are using religion for the party or working for
religion," counters Mr Ismail. He may be right, but like many of his
competitors, he has yet to prove whether Islam is a means or an end.
ENDIT
