The Jakarta Post, March 20, 2002
Muslim scholars warn 'syariah' revivalism
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Religious scholars expressed concern on Monday over mounting efforts by devout
Muslims to demand the imposition of syariah (Islamic law) in their respective regions
throughout the country.
The devout Muslims tried to use syariah as an alternative regime after learning that the
conventional government regime failed to deal with the economic and moral crisis in
the society, Azyumardi Azra said.
The effort to impose syariah, however, was challenged by Saiful Muzani, a PhD
candidate from the U.S. based-Ohio State University, who said that "the effort is
against democracy principle (in the country)".
"Judging from the fact that the government has failed to uphold the law and bring
economic recovery, several outspoken Muslim hard-line organizations have turned to
syariah as a sole elixir to deal with the problems," Azyumardi, rector of the State
Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), told reporters in a press conference.
The press conference was held in conjunction with the institute's plan to hold a
two-day conference titled "The Challenge of Democracy in the Muslim World."
Azyumardi said that Islamic revivalism had developed in the country after the reform
era, which was marked by the downfall of the Soeharto regime in 1998.
He said that the Muslim community, including the hard-liners, hoped that the reform
era would start the glorious era of the nation.
However, the hopes had faded away since the regime lost its authority before the
people, including in law enforcement.
He said impatient Muslim hard-liners then questioned the authority of secular law to
deal with the problem, and some of them, such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI),
often took the law into their own hands.
"What has happened in the capital, including discotheque raids by the FPI, is an
entry point for regions, under the autonomy drive, to impose syariah in their own
regions," he said.
He suspected that several parties in the regions had used syariah as a political
commodity to win people's votes.
A clear example was carried out by the United Development Party (PPP) in West
Sumatra, which had asked the local government to impose syariah law in the
predominantly devout Muslim region.
Makassar in South Sulawesi has also geared up to impose syariah.
Saiful said the implementation of syariah in a pluralistic society such as Indonesia
would only threaten religious harmony.
"If syariah is imposed here, it would subordinate other religious beliefs since we are a
pluralistic society," he said, adding that "democracy requires civil liberty, including the
practice of one's religious beliefs".
Saiful said that the two-day seminar, which was held by IAIN in cooperation with Ohio
State University, would be attended by international speakers.
They included noted Muslim scholars from Mali, Senegal and others, who shared their
concerns on why so few Muslim countries (11 out of 45 countries) were democratic.
The scholars will look for root causes as to why most Muslim countries were not yet
democratic and will provide solutions for it, he said.
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