Bali, wahidinstitute.org
Dozens of kyai (religious teachers) and religious leaders from all over the archipelago, including Makassar, East Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Lombok, Bali, Central Sulawesi and Jakarta attended a workshop and meeting (Bahstul Masail) on the themeStruggling with Islamic Law, International Law and the Indonesian Constitution over Freedom of Religion and Belief. The event was held by the WAHID Institute over four days, Wednesday-Saturday (27-30/08/2008) in Hotel Aston Inn, Tuban, Bali.

The Executive Director of the WAHID Institute, Ahmad Suaedy, said the Bahstul Masail was a continuation of the past series of events. The meeting intentionally focused on the theme of law and religious freedom because religion has been central to the process of post-New Order social change. “I would even equate the current situation with the military’s position during the New Order. Then there was military bureaucratization, now it’s religious bureaucratization,” he explained.

In addition, Suaedy said, it was important for the WAHID Institute to facilitate the event because of the institute’s background in pesantren society and village Islam. It thus has a very strong connection with Indonesian local culture. Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) and pesantren concern for local traditions and social dynamics is quite well known.

“But we’re only at the stage of daily interaction, we haven’t got to more detailed and in-depth research, let alone scientific consent or theology,” he said.

As a result, Suaedy said, they wished to promote finding a cultural and socially dynamic relationship with the Islam of Indonesian society. This issue has also caught the attention of KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), but he is only at the stage of forming an intellectual statement, and is not yet ready for deeper and more detailed discussion. “At the moment we want to be more progressive than before, in re-examining the national constitution, international law and dynamics of Islamic law,” he said.

Historically, Suaedy said, Muslims have responded from within a religious framework to issues of human rights, including, for instance, the response of the member-nations of the Islamic Conference Organisation (OKI) in the form of the 1990 Cairo Declaration. However, this response is still incomplete as it is limited only to political conceptions.

“It has not been implemented in OKI member-nations themselves. So we planned these series of events as one part of the process for Indonesians, and it will be distributed later to all member nations. It is very important for us,” he stressed.

Suaedy hopes that the results of the workshop will not only be useful for Indonesian Muslims, but also in the search for Indonesia’s true character, as a response to the human rights dynamics at the international level, and as a fulfillment of the 1990 Cairo Declaration.

On the second day, the Executive Director of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) KH Masdar F Mas’udi was elected speaker on the topic Islamic Doctrine on Freedom of Religion and Faith. In his speech Masdar said that the theme was a classic one, and would always be so. “There is no one, agreed-upon formulation. Society will certainly disagree, and thus the issue of religious freedom will come and go. Sometimes it’s flexible, sometimes narrow,” he said. “There is a psychological aspect influencing religious freedom,” he added.

For this Director of P3M, freedom of religion is very closely connected to religious choice. Masdar then explained the theory of guidance. He said that the theory suggest we do not have a specific religion, nor do we choose one. Instead, if someone is born into a Muslim family then they become Muslim.

“But if Mr Malik (KH A Malik Madani MA, a participant, ed.) was born in Latin America, I think we would not know a Malik Madani who has such a strong belief in Islam. In fact, take Gus Ubaid (KH Ubaidillah Shadaqah, a participant, ed.). If born in Europe, I think he’d be a fanatical Christian,” he explained to laughter.

So, Masdar asked, is this guidance determined by Allah (The Almighty) or the social environment? For Masdar, this guidance is not given from lauh al-mahfudz (the place in heaven where Allah’s original work, the Qur’an, is stored) or the seventh heaven without taking the social and cultural environment into consideration. Consequently, Masdar tends to understand religious belief as a social construction, a product of one’s social environment and traditions followed.

“And all religious adherents see their religion as being God’s guidance. Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, they all do,” he said.

Then what is the problem with religious freedom? For Masdar, the problem is when someone, in the name of their religion, disseminates his belief to others, and does not keep it for himself. If kept for himself, it does not disturb anyone or anything. But if disseminated to others, it causes social problems. As a consequence, leads to categorizations and when religion establishes its own group, it can then be perceived as a threat.

“This is not an issue of religious freedom, but a social problem. The effects are many: political, social, economic and so on. This is a problem of freedom related to religion. Of course it will lead to disturbances,” explained this candidate for the head of PBNU.

Masdar believes that religious interpretation alone is not enough to resolve the problem. There must also be a comprehensive social approach. This also includes making compromises with others outside of one’s religion. He believes so because, if religion is forced by any other party, then the religion has no values.

On the subject of guidance, seen by Masdar as a social construction, KH. Ubaidillah Shadaqah from Ponpes al-Itqan, Semarang, Central Java begged to differ. For himself, his Islamic identity was not a social construction, but rather a rational choice.  He admitted that his grandfather was an NU figure, and so too was his father. “So I chose IPNU (the association of NU affiliated students, ed.). This is because man has freedom. I followed the tradition of my parents,” he said.

When his father was still alive, and Kyai Ubaid did not pray, he would be beaten. Nevertheless, now, after the death of his father, no one orders him to pray.  “At first I was forced, but now it’s my own choice whether I pray or not. It is an absolute choice. And I choose to pray,” he explained.

He said that had he prayed for the reason of adapting to his environment, his soul would not be at peace. The consequences would be that his heart, as masdar al-af’al (a source for all action) would look for another calming alternative. “But because my heart has already found this in praying, it means I choose praying and Islam,” he explained.

“So my religion is a choice, and this guidance is what I have chosen, not because of force or social processes,” he added.

To reinforce his argument, Kyai Ubaid then told about a Christian youth from his area who claimed to have dreamt about meeting the Prophet (PBUH), who taught the verse idza zulzilat al-ardhu zilzalaha. At the time, not one kyai approved of the claim, because they considered the youth as an infidel. They thought the prophet could not possibly have appeared in the dream of an infidel. Yet it was the dream that started the youth on a search for the truth, which led to the youth embracing Islam.

For Kyai Ubaid, dreams are natural, and can not be controlled. A person who wants so much to dream about meeting his lover, for instance, that they write the name of their lover on the back of their pillow, has no guaranteed that their desires will be realized. “This (religion, ed.) is purely Allah’s guidance, not a social construction,” he said countering Masdar’s argument.

At the end of the very interesting Bahstul Masail participants made several recommendations, including, first, the importance of reinforcing inclusive religious theology for adherents.

Second, the importance of improving wellbeing and law enforcement, as a guarantee to implementing religious freedom in Indonesia.

Third, the importance of understanding inclusive religious life by internalization of national issues into educational curriculum and religious teaching staff.

Forth, the importance of establishing the values of ukhuwah insaniyah (unity) and ukhuwah basyariah (unity based on humanitarian purposes) as universal values in religion.

Fifth, Human Rights mechanisms, both those formulated by the UN and the OKI to which Indonesia has sworn to uphold, must be seen as ’aqdun (an agreement). The parties involved in such agreements must abide by them (aufu bi al-‘uqud). They are commitments formed together and become treaties that must be observed.

Sixth, the 1990 Cairo Declaration mentioned syariah (Islamic law) dictums. Thus explanation is needed as to what is really meant by “Islamic law” in the declaration.

Seventh, the government has the task not only to regulate society, but also to ensure that society is civilized.

Eighth, Islam prioritizes not the establishment of an Islamic state, but the implementation of Islamic interests as far as is possible.