News

“Ulil emphasized his optimism that Indonesia has an opportunity to be the center of Islamic thoughts in the international field. He stated his objection on the result of research conducted by two scholars from Washington about how far Islam has colored Muslim countries. They viewed this from a variety of criteria such as recognition of minority rights, tolerance, pluralism, transparency of government systems, etc. In this research, Indonesia ranked under Malaysia. According Ulil, the rank of Indonesia should be much more above Malaysia, at least if we look at various developments that we have today. In addition, Ulil stressed his belief by quoting Fazlur Rahman’s statement that the future of the Islamic world actually exists in Indonesia, not in Saudi Arabia. ”

“When the word ‘renewal’ is associated with Islam, the renewal should not be Islam as a religion nor the Qur’an as a sacred book, but rather the renewal of the interpretation on both because a human interpretation of the Qur’an is not the Qur’an itself. It is just an interpretation upon it. Thus, changes of the interpretation of the Qur’an and of the religion are still possible. If the Qur’an is absolutely true, its interpretation still contains a lot of possibilities, including the possibility of mistakes. For that reason, as a product of Qur’anic interpretation, the truth of an interpretation is relative. “

Fundamentalism is not associated with a particular religion. It does exist in all religions, as said by Prof. Dr. Thomas Meyer (University of Dortmund, Germany) when he spoke about characteristics of fundamentalism. This point of view was expressed in a public lecture and discussion titled “What is Fundamentalism?” held by the Liberal Islam Network in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in November 22nd 2011. The event was attended also by Ulil Abshar-Abdalla who was invited as the second speaker for the discussion.

Ulil said that the pragmatism of the moderate Islamic parties is in conjunction with the fades of ideology in politics. Citing Daniel Bell’s work The End of Ideology, Ulil explained about recent developments wherein people are no longer concerned with the big narratives of ideology that fueled humans’ spirit but failed to solve their problems. The fades of ideology facilitate the party in switching its direction to adjust itself to the development of political conditions. The functioning democratic system in the governance invites the Islamic parties to join in the democratic political arena that necessitates them to follow and obey the democratic rules of game. Ulil argues that the emergence of post-Islamism provides a fresh air for Islam because it counters the accusations that Islam is incompatible with democracy.

Apparently, the space for dissemination of the ideas of Islam and liberalism has been narrowed by Indonesian Ulema Council / MUI’s fatwa that prohibits liberalism in the mid of 2005. Nevertheless, the campaign for the ideas of freedom within Islam has not disappeared at all, as indicated by the publication and discussion of a new book entitled Islam dan Liberalisme (Islam and Liberalism) by Budhy Munawar Rachman.

Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) has long been considered problematic. Besides it does not represent all elements of the Muslim in the country, the fatwa issued by MUI often generate negative impact in the society. For example, the MUI’s fatwa concerning the heretic status of Ahmadiyah and other sects has led to physical violence and violated the citizens’ rights of practicing their religion and belief. Although the fatwa is just a religious opinion and not legally binding, it is quite influential upon the majority of Muslims as well as the government.

Indonesia that is famous for the world’s largest Muslim population does not provide an answer that Islam is a religion that brings a message of peace and love. Especially nowadays we often hear and even see with our own eyes that the religious-based violence is increasingly, being done by individual or group. The actions of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which tends to vigilante, became one obvious example of how the violence has become increasingly entrenched part of this nation. Burning, fatwa apostasy, excommunication is a bit of those committed by those who claimed to be the most correct. This vigilante action cannot be accepted.

The idea of Islamic reform is still relevant. This discourse was discussed in a discussion by the title “The Reform without Apology” in Wisma Bina Marga, Bandung, 21/08/2010. The discussion was organized by the Muslim Students Association (HMI) of Bandung Branch in cooperation with the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNS). This discussion was intended to discuss the renewal idea of Ahmad Wahib, one of the leaders of HMI in 1960s.

When a paradigm shift occurs then the texts are viewed in different way. The texts that are perceived as normal by classical scholars become “abnormal” in the modern century. Muslim scholars who propose gender equality attempt to denormalize the texts. They must reinterpret the texts; otherwise, it would lead to inconsistencies in the understanding of religion.

“Moqsith reminded that an acculturation of tradition is an absolute necessity in da’wah (religious mission). Rigidity toward tradition will make a da’wah concept unacceptable. Look at how Muhammadiyah in previous eras was so strict on tradition. The position of tradition in da’wah, for Moqsith, is analogized to the need of body for nutrition. Refusing to compromise with tradition means to allow the body to be nutritional deficiency. However, it should also be remembered that too many compromises with tradition, such as NU’s da’wah, can spend the energy before getting to the original sources: the Qur’an and the Sunnah. If da’wah with so strict on tradition is analogized by malnutrition da’wah, da’wah with so many compromise with tradition is obesity da’wah, and this also means that the two is equally bad.”
For people who have explored Islamic thoughts, the term ‘Wahabi’ is not a new one. For the context of Islamic thoughts in Indonesia, Wahabi, the name is attributed to Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, at least became popular in the 80s era. However, due to unfavorable political conditions at that time, the Wahabi da’wah was widely heard in post reformation era.