Muhammadiyah’s Moderate Way
The first response starts from a reading of the crisis and decadence of Islam caused by its submission to modern ideologies and institutions that contradict the Islamic worldview.
President Joko Widodo spoke at Muhammadiyah's 109th Milad virtual event from the presidential palace, Thursday (11/18/2021).
Founded on 18 Nov. 1912, Muhammadiyah has passed one century of existence. The birth of Muhammadiyah was one of the milestones of the Islamic modernism movement in Indonesia.
The modernization of Muhammadiyah can be explained as a process of double translation as outlined by Charles Kurzman in Modernist Islam 1840-1940: A Source Book (2002), namely from modern values into Islamic terms and from Islamic values into modern terms.
It is not easy to combine the religious dimension (Islam) and progress (modernism) at a time when religion tends to be left behind and subordinated. The year of Muhammadiyah's founding is within the time span that Kurzman used, 1840 to 1940, which was a crucial period for religion to respond to the spirit and challenges of the times. Ahmad Dahlan's response contained a moderate character (wasithiyah) because religion and progress can complement each other.
Also read:
> Ranking in Islamic Eeconomy Rises Indonesia Needs Consistency
> Integration of Islamic Boarding Schools and Fintech to Support Economy
This is different from the response that puts the two in an unbalanced position or even in the opposing positions (binary opposition). In the case of Islam, when referring to Abdullah Saeed’s Islamic Thought: An Introduction (2006), the responses in question are of the Islamic extremist (radical Islam) and the secular Muslim (secular Muslim).
For this circle, there is only one way to do it, which is to fight against all forms of modernity originating from the West, and make Islam the only alternative system.
The first response starts from a reading of the crisis and decadence of Islam caused by its submission to modern ideologies and institutions that contradict the Islamic worldview. For this circle, there is only one way to do it, which is to fight against all forms of modernity originating from the West, and make Islam the only alternative system.
This circle does not limit itself to a cultural agenda by emphasizing raising public awareness of Islamic behavior, but rather puts forward a political approach that culminates in the formation of an Islamic state, which is even directed at reaching a world scale (khilafah).
Pragmatic and secular
Muhammadiyah takes a different position from the views above, as well as views that tend to be pragmatic and secular in relation to the connection between Islam and politics and other public aspects.
President Jokowi was present and spoke virtually at Muhammadiyah's 109th Milad event from the State Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday, November 18, 2021.
The pragmatic and secularist views start from a basic assumption that Islam is a religion that only deals with the vertical relationship between humans and God, which is manifested through certain established worship practices.
Because Islam is understood to be null and void with provisions related to public affairs – politics, for example – the secular Muslim view takes a pragmatic attitude by taking for granted ideologies and systems from outside, which are the targets of criticism from the Islamist extremist view.
In terms of understanding the relationship between Islam and the dimensions of public life – politics, for example – Muhammadiyah takes a moderate path (wasithiyah), namely that there is an organic-substantive relationship. With regard to politics, for example, Muhammadiyah from its inception was more devoted to the formation of a "true Islamic society" or "main society", rather than an Islamic state.
Muhammadiyah's consistency continues to be maintained, which is shown by the organization’s attitude toward the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) through the concept of Dar al-'Ahd wa al-Shahadah (state of agreement and commitment) as can be read in the document Pancasila State as Darul Ahdi wa Syahadah, which was presented at the 47th Muhammadiyah Congress in Makassar.
In the document, among other things, there is an affirmation, "The Pancasila State is the result of national consensus [dar al-'ahdi] and a place of proof or testimony [dar al-syahadah] to ensure a safe and peaceful country
[dar al-salam] toward an advanced, just, prosperous, dignified and sovereign life in the shade of Allah's blessing."
It is also said, “Pancasila as the basis of the Republic of Indonesia is a state ideology that binds all the people and components of the nation. Pancasila is not a religion, but its substance contains and is in line with the values of Islamic teachings, which are ideological references in the life of a pluralistic nation.”
Therefore, "all Muslims, including Muhammadiyah, must be committed to making the Pancasila State a Dar al-Shahadah, or a country where they can testify and prove themselves in filling and building a meaningful national life toward progress in all areas of life”.
Muhammadiyah's attitude regarding the connection between Islam and public affairs becomes clear when referring to the document.
Agent of social change
This attitude does not mean that the Muhammadiyah movement is apolitical or anti-political. Muhammadiyah, in Alfian’s classic work, Muhammadiyah: The Political Behavior of a Muslim Modernist Organization Under Dutch Colonialism (1989), is referred to as a movement that has political power, in addition to being a religious reform movement and an agent of social change.
As a political force based on civil society on a large scale, as stated by Mitsuo Nakamura in The Crescent Rises over the Banyan Tree: A Study of the Muhammadiyah Movement in a Central Javanese Town, c. 1910-2010 (2012), Muhammadiyah takes a reciprocal-critical position and role before the government.
Muhammadiyah is a critical partner because, on the one hand, it has charitable business institutions, such as in the educational and health spheres, that are the government's concern, but on the other hand, Muhammadiyah carries out its function as a civil society representative, namely expressing criticism of government policies in a civilized manner.
In some areas where Islam is a minority, Muhammadiyah's charitable efforts are welcomed by the community through their proven involvement as a party of interest, which on the other hand, benefits Muhammadiyah.
The middle or moderate path taken by Muhammadiyah has proven not only to help prolong the life of Muhammadiyah until it enters the second century but also to strengthen its role in various strategic public sectors that are needed by the people, who are even able to break through primordial boundaries such as religion. In some areas where Islam is a minority, Muhammadiyah's charitable efforts are welcomed by the community through their proven involvement as a party of interest, which on the other hand, benefits Muhammadiyah.
Such a phenomenon indicates a mutual acceptance between the two parties, which at the same time emphasizes the inclusiveness of Muhammadiyah. Such a character is important to be reiterated because many people misunderstand Muhammadiyah as an exclusively puritan religious movement. Puritanism or "pure Islam" has indeed been the concern of Muhammadiyah from the very beginning of its establishment on the basis of readings on the contamination of the religious understanding and practice of Muslims by local beliefs and traditions that do not have a solid basis in Islamic sources.
However, the purification carried out by Muhammadiyah does not actually target an aspect of what in Islamic vocabulary is called muamalah (public life).
Regarding muamalah, Muhammadiyah chose an open attitude. Muhammadiyah also considers muamalah a dynamic area that it can change along with the times.
Syamsul Arifin
Syamsul Arifin, Professor at Muhammadiyah University of Malang
(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko)
