Nahdlatul Ulama Moving Rightwards

Voices have been raised that the largest Muslim organisation in the country, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), is moving towards intolerance.

Nahdlatul Ulama, whose name means something like "the awakening of the traditional Islamic teachers and scholars", has recently demonstrated its support both for the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) fatwa which declares the Jamaah Ahmadiyah sect heretical and and for Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni's statement that the …

Comment by Karlira Kanakahuko: … Indonesia? To all Nahdlatul Ulama members, do you want …

Majelis Ulama

… in the job of encouraging them to repent. antara

Ikhwan Syam

On 3rd November Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) General Secretary, Ikhwan/Ichwan Syam/Sam, said that it appeared that intelligence services, either foreign or Indonesian, had constructed a "factory" to create and spread heretical forms of Islam, like Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah, in order to destroy Indonesia, and done in cooperation with former members of the Islamic State Movement, Negara Islam Indonesia (NII). …

Comment by Janma: Hasyim Muzadi of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) said on 3rd …

Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama

Another new political party, the Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama (PKNU), a split off from the PKB.

As if 27 new political parties were not enough, and hot on the heels of another new Muslim-based party, the Partai Matahari Bangsa, now comes the formation of the Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama (PKNU), the National Clerics' Awakening Party, or perhaps more correctly, the Clerics' National Awakening Party.

The birth of the PKNU is the result …

Old Traditions & Customs

… for the future of the island’s culture if fanaticism continues to rise unchecked. Will Java to itself be true?

Comment by Achmad Sudarsono: … you heard of the Nahdlatul Ulama ? I mean, honestly …

Khofifah Indar Parawansa

… election in July.

Khofifah Indar Parawansa.

Khofifah is the head of the womens' wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, the Muslimat NU, and only recently joined the PPP, jumping ship from Gus Dur's PKB.

East Java is not the PPP's strongest area and they had been hoping to run a joint ticket with another Islamic party, the Justice Party, Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS), in order to reach the 15% electoral threshold needed to compete, and give them a chance of victory, however slim, against the …

Youth Groups & Activists Running Amok

… expressed their disappointment on the furniture and windows of the building, smashing them.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Syaiful Bahri Ansori said although the PMII was nothing to do with the NU organisationally, people knew that PMII members tended to be NU members as well and he was worried and shocked at their behaviour. He also hoped the PMII organisers would improve their act. antara

Female Genital Mutilation

… MUI

Prof Dr Chuzaimah T Yanggo, the head of the Youth and Women's section of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), said of the United Nations:

What do they think they're doing, it's not their business. Religion cannot be interfered with by men.

He She said the Health Department had already agreed with the MUI that there was a right way, and several wrong ways, to carry out "khitan". The right way was to "open" the "upper part", the clitoris, a little, by making a small cut, …

Comment by Purba Negoro: … Mullahs, Imams and Ulama is hand-picked by the powerful …

US Military Intelligence

… megawati sby 2009
gp ansor banser
Ahmadiyah
danish consulate attack in surabaya
Nahdlatul Ulama organization
Nahdlatul Ulama organization oficial papers
nahdlatul ulema
muslim garis keras indonesia
meaning of mukmin
islamization soft in indonesia
pesantren al zaytun

These kinds of visits to IM are not uncommon, from American and also Australian government agencies, particularly from

pacom.mil (U.S. Pacific Command) …

Barongsai, & Cultural Assimilation

… people to celebrate the New Year in a simple fashion. antara

Islam

Meanwhile Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader and former president Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) said on 30th January that Imlek was a cultural celebration, not a religious one, and therefore Chinese people who were Muslim were not forbidden from taking part in it. antara

Assimilation

On 17th February President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) asked Chinese people to better mix in with society and not …

Communist Victory

… the guiding ideology of Indonesia. Soekarno stays in power.

The PKI strikes a deal with the Nahdlatul Ulama: Muslims still allowed to pray and practice in in private life in return for supporting the party. Some Kyais accept. Some violently object, joining a nation-wide widespread Islamic revolt against Jakarta, supported by the Muhammadiyah.

The ideological battle for the countryside that has been raging since the mid-1950s continues. By about 1970, the rivalry between Soekarno …

Comment by Murphy: … by Masyumi and Nahdlatul Ulama gained sympathy from …

Israeli Palestinian Conflict

… of 2007 five representatives of Indonesian Islamic organisations, including Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, travelled to Israel and met its president, Shimon Peres, their trip sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the LibForAll Foundation.

Shimon Peres said he was very happy to receive the clerics and hoped that some Indonesians would visit the country in May 2008, to pray for peace while celebrating the 60th anniversary of Israel's foundation.

Indonesian delegation in …

New Year’s Eve Parties

… New Year's Eve parties are inappropriate in Indonesia.

Sin

On 16th December Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) leader Amidan worried that New Year's Eve celebrations were often too "free" and that New Year's Eve would become known as a night of sin. detik

Ban

While Amidan didn't recommend banning such parties a member of the PKS (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera), Zulfikar, said the government could ban wild New Year's Eve parties, as long as they provided some alternative …

Comment by Antonio: The Majilis Ulama have no credibility in my eyes! …

Military Coup

… peace process in Aceh.

Indonesia was particularly blessed by the presence of organisations like Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, he said, because they created a strong civil society, and comparable nations like India, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, had nothing like them, and they likely placed a check on any soldierly aspirations to take power. kompas antara

Comment by Dragonwall: … organisations like Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, he …

Muslim Beliefs

… Citizen's arrest of Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah member in Sleman, Central Java. l6

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) leader Amidhan complained that the government was too weak in handling the problem of heresy. However he said militant Islamic groups that attacked heretics had to be reined in, and said policemen were often afraid of facing such groups. He urged people to not attack sect members. If Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah members were arrested it was not to put them in jail but to …

Mainstream

Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama duke it out in Banyuwangi.

While it's normally smallish, weird sects like Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah or fundamentalists like LDII that have their mosques attacked by mainstream, moderate Muslims, in Banyuwangi, East Java on 26th October members of the two main mainstream Islam groups, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), came to blows.

In Kaligung Rogojampi, …

Comment by Arema: … stronghold of the Nahdlatul Ulama, dozens of NU people …

Religious TV

… fasting month of Ramadan.

Boycott

In Sumenep, Madura, East Java, the local branch of the Nahdlatul Ulama vowed on 12th September to boycott all television during the hours of 5pm and 8pm, because watching television at these times interfered with Muslims' holy obligations. antara

The NU often threatens to boycott television, in the past over infotainment gossip shows.

SMS Gambling

The NU in Madura, and East Java as a whole, also in particular condemned the watching …

Humorous Sermons

Muslim preachers make too many jokes.

In Salatiga, Central Java on 29th August Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim Muzadi complained about the following things:

the NU was spineless, one push and it almost fell. At the grassroots the NU was strong but at the top things were lacking. NU management methods had to be fixed up.
NU members got into too many fights about politics and political parties, they were too interested in getting parliament seats or political …

PLTN Muria

… is haram for some.

Haram

Dozens of Muslim leaders from Jepara, Central Java branch of Nahdlatul Ulama gathered together on 1st and 2nd September and issued a fatwa declaring that nuclear energy is haram, or forbidden, because it is likely to cause more harm than good.

The government, for the past few years, has been planning to build several nuclear power plants, at least one of them in the Jepara district, at Mt. Muria (PLTN Muria). Under the government's plan, the project …

Priyo Budi Santoso

… from the religion department of Golkar met with leaders of the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), at the Istiqal mosque, Jakarta, to discuss how the MUI and Golkar could together develop strategies for ensuring religious harmony and preventing the break-up of the country into warring tribes.

Priyo Budi Santoso.

Priyo Budi Santoso of Golkar, who replaced the amorous Yahya Zaini as the head of the party's Religion section, says his party is worried …

Religious Laws

… Jusuf Kalla yet again voiced his contempt for religious laws at a meeting of the East Java Nahdlatul Ulama on 30th August, claiming that regents and mayors who enacted laws that required sharia observance were insulting God.

Jusuf Kalla.

Local Islamic laws reduce Islam and sharia to a lower level, insult God, and offend clerics

Kalla said people should abide by sharia because they fear God not the police. antara

Transnational Islam

Nahdlatul Ulama continues to feel under threat, from politicians, other Muslim groups, and transnational Islamic movements.

Nahdlatul Ulama leader Hasyim Muzadi said on 22nd July that all sections of his organisation, the largest Muslim body in the country, must be on alert against the continual attacks upon it. Speaking to a gathering of 1400 people in Madiun, East Java, he said: …

Comment by Shiva: … and Nahdatul Ulama Run Amok.

National Insults

Indonesia has suffered a great number of insults to its pride and integrity recently.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim Muzadi said on June 30th that Indonesia had recently suffered two terrible and embarrassing blows, the dancing resurgence of the South Moluccas Republic movement (Republik Maluku Selatan, (RMS)) in Ambon, and the banning of Indonesian Airlines from European airspace, and had to carry out some serious introspection to see what was wrong with the country. …

Comment by Shiva: … sense) status. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim …

Individualism

… blame, let the police handle things. Just go back to your normal activities.

Meanwhile again a Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) leader, Said Aqil Siradj, said he was very happy about the arrests of violent men who used Islamic symbols. He said there needs to be a new effort to teach people about true Islam, especially young people, so extremist groups do not find new recruits.

Said Aqil Siradj.

The many young people today who are enamoured with Islam could be easily fooled by the …

Sir Salman Rushdie

… Muslim leaders seeking reactions.

Sir Salman Rushdie.

First, on 21st June, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) chairman for Central Java, Ibnu Djarir, asked the government to seek an explanation from the British ambassador in Jakarta.

Britain has to understand the feelings of Muslims about "The Satanic Verses".

People who insulted holy books did not deserve to be called "Sir", he said. republika

Djarir's senior in Jakarta, Amidhan, complained:

For a long time …

Comment by Arema: … Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama, in perhaps one of his …

Hardline Islam

… Islam in the country.

On 9th June Ali Maschan Moesa, the head of the East Java branch of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said that today there were a great number of hardline Islamic groups in East Java which sought to establish an Islamic state or caliphate. He said this was disappointing and re-iterated NU's committment to Pancasila as the national ideology.

Ali Maschan Moesa

He also said that NU mosques, particularly in villages and out of the way places, were increasingly …

National Ideology

… Haedar Nashir.

Islamists often regarded mainstream Muslim organisations like Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) as essentially non-Islamic, Haeder added. okezone

Meanwhile former president (2001-2004) Megawati Soekarnoputri said on two occasions recently, the first on 30th May in Surakarta or Solo, Central Java, the second on 1st June in Ende, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), that the national ideology of Pancasila was increasingly being ignored.

Megawati Soekarnoputri.

In …

Militant Islam

Islamic preachers are increasingly teaching a hardline, militant Islam.

The head of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Hasyim Muzadi, said in Indramayu, West Java, on 31st May that since the post Suharto "reformasi" era Islamic clerics in Indonesia were increasingly likely to preach a "hard" type of Islam that was influenced by the culture of violence overseas, like in the middle east. Such hardline teachings were not appropriate in Indonesia, he said. (see also Militants.)

Clerics …

Pagan Rituals

… of Islam against accusations of paganism.

The leader of the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), for Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) province in the east of the country, Syaiful Muslim, warned Muslims, particularly those on the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa, to be on guard against beliefs brought by people from the middle east. Some forms of Arab/middle eastern Islamic rituals and theology were not appropriate for Indonesian culture and people, he said, and were far …

Comment by Achmad Sudarsono: … the Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, PKS, and, of course, …

Preachers in Politics

… of Islamic Boarding Schools, which is connected to the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Maftuh said that clerics' involvement in politics was only justified if they did so to improve the quality of education.

Maftuh Basyuni, pressing flesh.

The minister said Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, played a vital role in providing education for the poor.

A recent survey by the Islamic and Societal Research Centre found that Indonesians trusted …

Handphone 3gp Sex

… video is set in a Sumenep hotel room. okezone

On 16th May the head of the Sumenep branch of Nahdlatul Ulama, Abdullah Cholil, demanded that the city government crack down on the distribution of the video by carrying out an operation to check people's handphones for the presence of sex videos. He also called for a local law against pornography and indecency, containing specific punishments, to be enacted. okezone

The Education department of the town was quick to respond and said …

Holy Books Mix Up

… urged Muslims to stay calm and not be influenced by events.

Syamsul Huda of the Jombang Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) complained that the holy books mix-up was an insult to Islam.

We urge the police to take action and deal firmly with those responsible.

N. Hidayat of the Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia said in Jakarta that the matter was an example of Christianisation. eramuslim

Recently dozens of members of the Barisan Serba Guna Anshor (Banser), the para-military wing of …

Comment by Mohammed Khafi: … Jombang Majelis Ulama Indonesia, N. Hidayat of the …

Islamic Caliphate

… the prevalence of the non-legalistic Sufi form of Islam in the province, and the strength of the Nahdlatul Ulama organisation there, a group which has little interest in formalising Islamic sharia law. Nevertheless the East Java branch of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), Hizbut Tahrir being an organisation that is banned in many countries, continues to campaign for sharia.

On 29th April 2007 the HTI held a gathering of Muslim women at the Surabaya Womens' Building during which, says Iffah …

Wearing Jilbab

… there were a number of flag bearers who wore jilbab, without any problems. antara

Both Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah have condemned the Kediri events. tempo

Inter-Parliamentary Union

… MP's to visit, as a sign of Indonesia's outrage at Israeli human rights crimes. tempo

A Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader, Said Agil Siroth, said the NU had no problem with the visit. metrotv However Malik Haramain, the leader of the NU's youth wing, Gerakan Pemuda (GP) Ansor, "rejected" the visit and hoped the Indonesian parliament would lobby the IPU member states to pass a resolution condemning Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. antara

Chairman of the NU, Hasyim Muzadi, …

Shia Islam

… Unity Board (Badan Kesatuan Bangsa (Bakesbang)). antara

Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama travelled to Bangil on 22nd April to attempt to calm the situation. He met with dozens of senior clerics in the town and attempted to explain the history of various Islamic sects, starting with Khawariji Islam, and moving onto the Shia.

Hasyim asked NU people in Bangil and Pasuruan to be rational, the differences between Sunni and Shia could not be solved by fighting. What …

Comment by Robert: … the leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, said he wanted to be …

Baywatch Bikini Party

… place of sin.

Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson, not expected to attend.

As'ari, the head of Nahdlatul Ulama's youth wing GP Ansor, agrees and complains that bikini contests are not in accordance with local culture and Islam and reek of pornography and pornoaksi. He invited other Muslim organisations to join in the rejection of the event and to

wage war on sin.

The Event Programmer for Caesar Café, Ambarukmo Fajar, however claims that the "babes" at the party will be …

Anti Islam Video

… and Malang it was feared that such a sensitive matter would cause unrest in society. The Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) and the Batu branch of the Department of Religion first reported the case to the police. Then the Batu local government held a meeting with a local church body, the Badan Kerja Sama Gereja (BKSG), to get to the bottom of things.

The Batu office of the Nahdlatul Ulama pleaded with its followers to not react in a way that would discredit Muslims, while the Badan Kerja Sama …

Jimly Asshiddiqie

… and Indonesianness have to go together harmoniously.

Speaking to a gathering of the Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Jakarta last week Jimly said unfortunately there were many Indonesians who could not accept the concept that Islamicness and Indonesianness were two sides of the same coin.

Jimly Asshiddiqie.

People often applied a double standard in their lives, he said. Some people looked at Islamic law as the pinnacle of all law and disregarded or disrespected Indonesian law …

UN Resolution 1747

… the spirit of the Preamble of the Constitution 1945, which is against any form of colonialism.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim Muzadi, who has an abiding interest in middle eastern events, warned darkly that if war with Iran occurs then Indonesia will share in the responsibility for blood being shed. antara

Former chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais has joined the protest but has said he does not believe the House is serious in its plans to bring the …

Sunni vs Shia

Hasyim Muzadi plans to cool the Sunni vs Shia conflict in Iraq.

Hasyim Muzadi, the leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, says he wants to be the mediator in the Sunni versus Shia bloodbath in Iraq. In Jakarta in early April 2007 Hasyim will lead a conference which seeks to find the best solution to the conflict, a conference which will include participants from many Muslim countries in the world.

Hasyim Muzadi.

The most important thing is that we sit at one table. We would like to know …

Densus 88

The name of Densus 88 should be changed to Densus 5000, says Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

Densus 88, or "Special Detachment 88", of the Indonesian police force charged with anti-terror duties, Detasemen Khusus (Densus) 88 Anti Terror , has aroused the ire of some Muslims recently because of its increasing success in capturing terrorists and militants.

The head of the Mujahidin Council, (Majelis …

Comment by Syonan: … more, the Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama and …

Poso Fighting

… crackdown, however, saying it would fail to put an end to the real problems in conflict-torn Poso. Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take over the matter personally.

But the problem is, our President never takes over a problem. He will just set up a team. He should oversee this matter.

He said the Poso conflict has reached an "emergency" level since it involves armed civilians. Setting up a government team, he said, would not solve the …

Repent or Reform

… and keep away from the things which He has made forbidden. republika

Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) advises the people to repent their sins and always ask for the help of God, given that all the human means at the country's disposal, the knowledge, money, the bureaucracy and the security forces, had proven lacking in being able to overcome all the problems. Therefore there was no other way but to plead to the Almighty.

Hasyim said that he had found a relevant passage in …

Porn Sites

… detik

Separately on the 21st another moderate Muslim leader, Tholchah Hasan of the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), agreed, saying also that the Indonesian government had to follow the lead of Singapore and Malaysia and get tough on porn websites. Hasan said that today there were four million pornographic websites in the world, which could be accessed by children and caused untold moral damage.

Tholchah Hasan.

Hasan, who was minister of religious affairs under president …

Zakat

… collecting the money and one for observation. The current practises of social organisations like Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah will have to be coordinated with the government.

Religion of Peace

… and radicals misunderstand their religion, says a senior cleric.

Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) says terrorists and radicals who operate under an Islamic banner have just misunderstood the teachings of Islam, particularly in the area of war.

The concept of war and jihad have to be understood within the context of the time of Muhammad, he says. Muhammad never attacked anyone, he claims, he never started any wars but simply fought in self-defence. What's more, opines …

Comment by Fanglong: … all the members of Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah play …

Hamzah Haz Bows Out

… the leadership of the party need not come from the PPP's traditional sources of membership, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muslimin Indonesia (MI). What was important was that the PPP would remain a strong force, and to do this it had to open itself up, and not rely only on NU support. mediaindo

Teen Romance

… soap operas with stories of romance in high schools, says a religious leader.

The leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, complains of the prevalence of television soap operas, sinetron, that show teenagers, in school uniform, carrying on romances and puppy love affairs. Schools are places of education, he says, not for finding boyfriends or girlfriends, and television stations are contributing to the "poisoning" of the minds of the young generation.

Young Love, "Bawang Putih …

Comment by Rudy Hendra: … into the Nadhatul Ulama, he said something like that (to …

SmackDown

… have such wrestling shows banned from television. One supporter of the move is the Ikatan Pelajar Nahdlatul Ulama (IPNU), the students' wing of the largest Muslim association in the country. Its head, Idy Muzayyad, said in Jakarta on the 28th: antara

The IPNU is very concerned that there are victims caused by these types of violent programs. We ask that such programs be stopped so that the tragedy of Reza is not repeated.
(IPNU sangat prihatin dengan adanya korban akibat tayangan …

Sharia Warnings

… a collection of secular states.

However, Nassauer noted that the largest Muslim organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, was opposed to the introduction of formal shariah law.

It was good to hear from representatives from Nahdlatul Ulama, for example, that this important and largest Muslim organisation, not only of Indonesia but of the world, is obviously against the implementing of Shariah law.

NU & Suicide Bombing

Hasyim Muzadi of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) worries about the suicide bomber trend.

In the wake of this week's suicide bombing attempt by 36-year old Muhammad Nuh at an A&W restaurant in Jakarta the chairman of the NU, Indonesia's largest Muslim social association, is concerned about the phenomenon of suicide bombing and the tendency of young Muslims to idolise terrorists such as Dr. Azahari, a Malaysian …

Christian Police Chief

… in the city, replacing Rochiyanto.

The clerics, who came from such organisations as the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Forum Ukhuwah Islamiyah (FUI), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah, Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah (DDI), and included such figures as the chairman of the Cirebon MUI, Syarif Muhammad Yahya bin Syech, the chairman of the FUI, Professor Dr. Salim Bajri, and the principal of the Nurrusidik Islamic boarding school, Ade …

Sharia Complaints

… not on Islam.

Reverend Andreas Yewangoe.

Rumadi, a speaker from the Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, wondered why any region would need laws based on any particular religion. He said:

Regional law applies to all of the people, not to a certain group of people only.

In Aceh, Rumadi said, as well as in some other areas to a lesser extent, the adoption of sharia was done because people had a wrong understanding of it, they believed that sharia cannot exist without state …

Idul Fitri Confusion

… end of the fasting month on Monday the 23rd, as did Muslims belonging to the East Java branch of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). While according to the government, and the national office of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim group, Idul Fitri day was actually on the 24th.

Ali Machsan Moesa of the East Java NU admitted that his branch was at variance with the national body but explained that a team of 15 observers stationed at the Gebang beach near Bangkalan in Madura, East Java, had …

Ramadan Crime

… prostitution are said to increase during the month of Ramadan.

Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), says he is concerned that crime rates increase sharply as the celebration of Idul Fitri/Lebaran nears. He says the burdens and obligations of celebrating the holidays leads to more people robbing and stealing, doing things which are in fact against religion.

Hasyim Muzadi said the problem was rooted in poverty, crime had to be tackled by dealing with poverty first. …

School Religious Instruction

The Nahdlatul Ulama is complaining of restrictions on the amount of time that can be given over to Islamic religious instruction in schools.

The head of the education section of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Toyib I.M., says he is not happy with the decision by the Director General of Islamic Education in the Department of Religion to restrict the number of hours that schools can devote to …

Danish Cartoon Crisis II

… He said a government must know how to control its own people.

Amidhan of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) said that the airing of the cartoon videos showed the intolerance of the people concerned in Denmark and that freedom of expression should not allow people to insult others. Especially during Ramadan Muslims demanded respect, he said.

Din Syamsuddin of Muhammadiyah recommended that Muslims seek a legal path of redress for this insult, for example by taking the …

Freedom of Religion Report

… approximately thirty million followers, while the largest "traditionalist" social organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), claimed forty million.
Smaller Islamic organizations covered a broad range of doctrinal orientations. At one end of the ideological spectrum lay the Liberal Islam Network, which promotes an individual interpretation of doctrine. At the other end existed groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which advocates a pan-Islamic caliphate, and the Indonesian Mujahidin …

Decline of Islamic Vote

… on the results for the 1955 elections in which Masyumi, a modernist Islamic party, won 21% and the Nahdlatul Ulama, a traditionalist Javanese Islamic party, won 18%, see Islamist vs Secular Parties. A few other small parties of an Islamic bent also won some votes.

By 2004, according to the accepted logic, the overtly Islamic parties won only 20%, that is mainly the PPP, United Development Party, the PKS, Prosperous Justice Party, and the PBB, Crescent Star Party. Haz though fails to …

Papal Speech

… the speech, saying it not wise or appropriate. He hoped the Pope would correct himself.

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) head, Ma'ruf Amin, said it would be better if Benedict were more like his predecessor, John Paul II, in that the latter was good at building bridges between religions.

Ahmad Syafii Maarif, a former chairman of Indonesia's second largest islamic movement, the Muhammadiyah, said :

Whatever the circumstances, he as a pope should not have said things like that. …

Radical Islam & Women

Maria Anshor of the Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama says radical Islamic groups in Indonesia are an insignificant minority but that they threaten womens' rights.

Speaking at a conference in Helsinki, Finland, entitled Religion, Fundamentalism, and Gender under the auspices of an organisation called the International Peace Bureau (IPB), Maria Ulfah Anshor, a senior figure in the womens' wing of the NU, said that the …

Atheism

… only "official" religions are granted the protection of these two articles.

A leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and a member of parliamentary Komisi III, Masdar Farid Mas'udi, said that the whole issue was an extremely sensitive area and that additions to the law were needed to prevent conflict between religious groups and violent, mob actions by some. He said that the passing of the law by the parliament would unlikely occur before 2009 due to the fact that much political wheeling and …

Schools of Thought

Ma'ruf Amin of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia says that competing schools of thought within Islam have to be accepted with tolerance except when they are heretical.

Ma'ruf says that the role of the MUI is to basically harden or straighten out views within Islam that are too soft or lack firmness and to soften or moderate those opinions which are too hard or unbending. He marks out the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) as one group …

Preaching Moderation

The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is assembling the troops to combat the proselytizing activity of hardline Islamic groups, and also liberal ones.

In a meeting of about 150 NU proselytizers, or preachers, ( dai ) from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi at the Asrama Haji Pondokgede, in Jakarta on the 2nd, Ma'ruf Amin, who is also the chairman of the Fatwa Commission of the Majelis Ulama …

NU TV Boycott & Monitoring

Members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) are threatening to boycott television, unless they get their way on the gossip show issue.

At their last national conference the NU issued a fatwa forbidding their members, or nahdliyin, from watching a certain kind of television gossip show, or infotainment. Now the leader of the Central Java branch of the NU, Muhammad Adnan, is threatening stations that …

Strange Islam

… weird religious teachings.

Speaking in Medan on the 20th, the chairman of the PBNU, or Nahdlatul Ulama, said that strange religious teachings could lead to unease and unrest in society. Hasyim Muzadi made note of the case of Yusman Roy in Malang, East Java, a man who was convicted of blasphemy because he led Islamic prayers in two languages, Arabic and Indonesian.

Yusman Roy, blasphemer.

Another case, in Purwokerto, which seems to be similar to the Lia Eden affair, …

PKB IPO

… offering 49% of the party to the public, with the remaining 51% to be reserved for members of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the party's traditional support base.

51% is for the NU, the remainding 49% is for the public.
(51 Persen itu porsi NU, nanti sisanya 49 persen untuk publik.)

The plan is expected to be realised in 2007, as the PKB attempts to break out of its nahdliyin -East Java stronghold and become a bigger, more inclusive, national party.

We will "go public", to the point where …

Love Thy Neighbour

… polled respondents' support for various religious organisations. 71.7% of people supported the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), 59.1% were favourable to the Ulema Council (MUI), while 16.9% were admirers of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

August 27th, 2006.

The pdf of this survey has become available.

87.6% of respondents were Muslim, 10.4% Christian, 1.5% Hindu, 0.5% Buddhist. 39.8% Javanese, 14% Sundanese, 3.4% Malay, 3.9% Madurese, 3.7% Minang, 3.8% Bugis, 2.2% Betawi, 29.8% other. …

Infotainment Gossip Shows

The Nahdlatul Ulama's fatwa against television gossip shows.

At their national conference at the end of July the clerics of the NU determined that Muslims who make or watch celebrity gossip shows, or "infotainmen", commit sin and participate in the moral degradation of the nation. The issuing of the fatwa has drawn the support of a number of groups including the Press Board, the PPP, Partai …

North Jakarta Prostitution

The north Jakarta branch of the Nahdlatul Ulama has issued an ultimatum to places which provide access to prostitutes and gambling.

At a meeting of the north Jakarta branches of both NU and the MUI the owners of cafes/bars and restaurants in the area were ordered to stop allowing prostitutes to meet up with potential customers on their premises. Thus spake one Syaekhun, the head of the north Jakarta NU, in a meeting with …

Israel & Lebanon II

… the Indonesian Protestant Churches Council, (PGI) Andreas Dewangoe, chairman of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Amidhan, and Muslim spiritual guru Abdullah Gymnastiar alias Aa Gym, among others. Representatives of the UN however did not meet the group.

Andreas Yewangoe, of the PGI, said, according to Antara:

We condemn the Israeli aggression. Its actions are beyond humanity, they have to be stopped. We also call on religious communities in the world to pray for peace in the …

NU Conference

The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) have reaffirmed their committment to the secular state, among other goings-on at their national conference in Surabaya.

Opened by the vice-president Jusuf Kalla, who opens lots of similar events, the conference saw discussion of a wide range of topics, from the purely religious to the political and economic.

Secular

NU lawmaking body chief Sahal Mahfudz said …

Islamic Boarding Schools

Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) says Islamic boarding schools are not breeding grounds for terrorists.

The accusation that Islamic boarding schools are not breeding grounds for terrorists is without good reason because the western countries don't know about the boarding schools in Indonesia.
(Tuduhan terhadap pondok pesantren banyak melahirkan atau menimbulkan teroris sebenarnya tidak beralasan, …

Habib Riziq Beats a Retreat

… Garda Bangsa (see FPI, Garda Bangsa, & Gus Dur ), or a similar association connected to the Nahdlatul Ulama, because as Habib Riziq explained:

The FPI did not chase out Gus Dur in Purwokerto [Purwakarta]. Even Gus Dur himself said that he wasn't chased out [by us].
(FPI tidak pernah mengusir Gus Dur saat akan memberikan ceramah di Purwokerto. Bahkan Gus Dur sendiri juga sudah mengklarifikasi bahwa beliau memang tidak pernah diusir.)

and he made his plea for …

Bridge to the West

Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) says his organisation should act as a bridge linking Islam to the West, but only the European part of the West.

In preparing for the coming International Conference of Islamic Scholar (ICIS) on 20-22 June Muzadi said :

As an umbrella organisation for clerics the NU wants to be a bridge for Islam to the West by holding the ICIS.
(Sebagai wadah para ulama, NU …

Islamic State Fears

… from the issuance of halal labels for company products.

Neng Dara Affiah, of the Nadhlatul Ulama women's wing, Fatayat NU, said MUI's fatwa against mixed marriages dealt a great blow to religious tolerance in the country. Until firm action was taken against members of violent hard-line groups, the government was not properly protecting the rights of people from minority faiths, she said.

Some however are willing to stand up to oppose the emergence of an Islamic state. The Jakarta …

Radical Groups

… Yudhoyono (SBY) met with Maria Ulfah Anshar, the head of the Fatayat NU, the womens' wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama. Later Maria Ulfah said kompas to Kompas:

Wer'e both concerned about the growth of groups that attempt to undermine Pancasila. He (SBY) said that Pancasila is the basis of the country which the founders of the nation built. We have agreed that it is the national ideology and we have to protect it together.
(Keprihatinan kita bersama adalah munculnya beberapa kelompok …

Banning of the FPI

… Monday in the west Java city of Cirebon several hundred Gus Dur loyalists, members of the NU (Nahdlatul Ulama), demonstrated over the Purwakarta incident of a few days previously, and demanded that the authorities disband the Front Pembela Islam (FPI), as well as the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI) and the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).

Maman Imanullah spoke at the demonstration thus:

Islam is peaceful. It's not like the way they (FPI, MMI, HTI) show it as these days.
(Wajah …

FPI, Garda Bangsa, & Gus Dur

… and police to disband the FPI, Islamic Defenders Front is growing as the FPI and parts of the Nahdlatul Ulama are engaged in a running battle.

Hundreds of supporters of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid rallied on Friday to demand the government disband the militant Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), or the Front Pembela Islam, which disrupted an appearance by the former president at an interfaith meeting a few days ago. Gus Dur's fanatical supporters demonstrated at the National Police …

NU Mosques Subverted

A leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama says hundreds of his organisation's mosques have been taken over by fundamentalists.

Chairman of the Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), or central committee of the NU, Masdar F Mas'udi, while speaking out against violence and intimidation done by radical Islamic groups, made the interesting statement:

Recently hundreds of mosques built by NU people have been taken …

Inter Religious Harmony

… (FUI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).

The dialogue was arranged by the youth wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama, GP Ansor, and was attended by Catholic, Protestant, Confucian, Hindu, and Muslim representatives.

A number of demonstrators managed to enter the building and began making nuisances of themselves.

They were led by the chairman of the Purwakarta branch of the FPI, Asep Hamdani. About 15 people came in to try to break up the forum.
(Mereka dikomandoi Ketua FPI Cabang …

Debate on Morality Bill

… (RUU APP)" was organised and attended by members of the following Islamic groups:

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Persatuan Islam (Persis), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), Al Irsyad, Ikatan Da'i Indonesia (IKADI), Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR), Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS), Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia (DDII), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), and the Badan Kontak Majelis Taklim (BKMT).

Muslims rally in Jakarta.

The members and …

Evangelical Christianity in Surabaya

… groups would have put a stop to it long ago, however in East Java, the home of the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama, led by Hasyim Muzadi, matters of religion are often on a more relaxed footing.

Read the full article.

Hasyim Muzadi Interview

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is the largest Muslim body in the country and is chiefly responsible for the reputation of Indonesia as a place of moderate Islam. Its current leader, Hasyim Muzadi, gives his opinions on the sharia debate.

Voices have been raised of late that the NU has moved to the 'right' and is no longer moderate. An interviewer from Gatra magazine recently asked Hasyim Muzadi …

Preparatory Committee for the Application of Islamic Laws

… struggle to have much of an influence. This is likely due to the presence and strength of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in east Java. According to Ali Maschan Moesa, Chairman of the Regional NU Administrators for East Java, the NU feels that Indonesia's legal system has largely been finalized and that Islamic laws should only be implemented on a personal basis.

Ratna Ani Lestari

… after earlier failing to meet East Java governor Imam Utomo.

The delegation, which included Nahdlatul Ulama Banyuwangi chapter head Masykur Ali, the NU's Ali Hasan and Islamic Defenders' Front chairman Gus Hasan, ended up conveying their demands to the governor's assistant, Chusnul Arifin, because Imam was out of town.

The group then left for Jakarta to take their case to Home Affairs Minister M. Ma'ruf and parliamentarians.

Members of the delegation accuse Ratna, a Muslim by …

Islamic Mob Rule

… which brings together pro-democracy activists from the country's two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, as well as from NGO's and academia.

Speakers said Islamic hardliners were increasingly gaining sway over mainstream society, as they took advantage of an administration in Jakarta disoriented by newfound democracy and human rights issues. Weak government, combined with ineffective law enforcement, has allowed mobs to take the law into their own hands with no …

Islamist vs Secular Parties

… election for example consisted of:

Masyumi, the Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims
Nahdlatul Ulama, the Awakening of the Traditional Islamic Teachers and Scholars
as well as some smaller parties. The combined vote of these amounted to 48% of total.

Masyumi was banned in 1959 and the Nahdlatul Ulama withdrew from politics after the rise of Suharto in 1966. Under Suharto Islamic oriented parties were forcibly merged into one, the PPP. In the partially free elections held in …

Porn Battle Rages On

… a special body to enforce the law remained in existence she said.

Meanwhile the chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, has called for the bill to be passed, although he admitted compromises over the exact nature of the articles might have to be made.

On the opposite front Hasto Atmodjo of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says the proposed legislation should be relegated to the trash bin. He told the House of Representatives on Friday he feared the bill's …

Reactions to Pornography Bill

… the proposed new law against indecency and pornography.

A senior religious leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Mustofa Bisri, warns that those who support the bill have to take into account others' opinions:

The House should accommodate as many people's aspirations as possible.

He added that the bill offered no clear definition of what pornography is and therefore confusion would arise and people would be fearful.

Importantly, as I looked at in Indonesian porn and on the …

Youth Political & Religious Affiliation

… and make some attempts to reach out to non-Muslim voters. All search counts are approximate.

Nahdlatul Ulama/PKB

The NU is the largest Muslim social group, with about 40 million members and is rural, Java based. Its youth group is Gerakan Pemuda Ansor, GP Ansor. Ansor has a para-military wing called Banser. The party most closely associated with the NU is Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa, PKB, the National Awakening Party, which won 10% of the vote in the 2004 elections.

Search …

Ahmadiyah Lombok

… is a form of crime... We will search the perpetrators, detain them and bring them to trial.

Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi said:

Islam never teaches or instructs someone to perform violent acts against other people who have a different opinion, even if the person is a kafir (infidel).

Yes, Ahmadiyah deviates (from Islamic teaching), but solving the matter by using violence is not right. If the National Police could not (act against such attacks) or lack personnel, they …

Dedi Mulyadi

… not literally.

In response the Purwakarta branch of the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), sprang into action, holding an urgent meeting at which many leading religious figures attended. MUI Purwakarta boss Abdullah AR Joban, later accused Dedi of blasphemy against Islam.

This a serious matter. If it's allowed to stand we're worried the Muslim community will become upset/confused. If the Regent doesn't apologise we will report him to the police.

Apart …

People Not Voting

… to democracy. kompas

And on 6th August, the leader of the Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama (PKNU), Idham Khalid, said that abstaining was

haram

He advised PKNU cadres, as representatives of the party of "Islam Ahli Sunnah wal Jamaah", to inform the people that not voting was sinful in the eyes of God, because citizens must take part in the life of the country and state. antara

Ryan of Jombang

… arrested, there has been much speculation over what punishment is suitable for him.

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) leader Mar'uf Amin weighed in to the debate saying that even though Ryan seemed to suffer from some sort of mental disturbance he should be sentenced to death. inilah

An official psychiatric examination of Ryan however found that he did not suffer from any mental "disease", but suffered from a sexual disturbance (homosexuality) and had an ultra-sensitive personality. …

Comment by Pena Budaya: … Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) leader Mar’uf …

Political Acronym List

… Perjuangan, PKP

Partai Kasih Demokrasi Indonesia, PKDI

Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama, PKNU

Partai Kedaulatan

Partai Matahari Bangsa, PMB

Partai Nasional Banteng Kemerdekaan (PNBK) Indonesia

Partai Patriot

Partai Peduli Rakyat, PPR

Partai Pemuda Indonesia, PPI

Partai Pengusaha dan Pekerja Indonesia, PPPI

Partai Perjuangan Indonesia Baru, PPIB

Partai Persatuan Daerah, PPD

Partai Republik Nusantara, RepublikaN …

FPI - Laskar Kafir, dikuasai Mossad

… ijin dari kepolisian, dan salah satu anggotanya membawa senjata.

Tgk Faisal M Ali dari Himpunan Ulamah Dayah Aceh (HUDA) di Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) mengemukakan bahwa pemerinta perlu melihat insiden itu secara keseluruhan, bahwa penyebab dasar permasalahan adalah lemahnya penegakkan hukum di Indonesia, dengan belum dilarangnya Jemaat Ahmadiyah.

Pembicara Kepresidenan Andi Mallarangeng bagaimanapun juga tidak menerima semua pendapat tersebut, beliau menyatakan keterlambatan …

Comment by Rambutan: … tokoh msyrkt, alim ulama, dan pemerintah menegur dan …

Blaming the Victim & Others

… that one AKKBB person was carrying a weapon. beritasore

Tgk Faisal M Ali of the Himpunan Ulama Dayah Aceh (HUDA) in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) says the government needs to see the incident in a fully formed way, that the root cause is the weakness in the upholding of law in Indonesia, that it still had not banned the Ahmadiyah sect.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng was having none of it however, and said the delay in the publication of the SKB edict concerning …

Insiden Monas, FPI & AKKBB

Video tindak kekerasan Front Pembela Islam saat parade kebebasan beragama di Jakarta, dan tanggapan Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Video pemberitaan serangan Front Pembela Islam (FPI) terhadap Aliansi Kebangsaan Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan (AKKBB) yang berkumpul di Silang Monas, Jakarta menandai peringatan hari Kesaktian Pancasila tanggal 1 Juni. Sekitar 200 orang anggota FPI …

Comment by Amir alias Amink: … ada cuma tentang ulama dan umara atau variabel …

FPI & Aliansi Kebangsaan untuk Kebebasan Beragama

Video of the Front Pembela Islam attack on a religious freedom rally in Jakarta, and president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's response.

A video news report of the Front Pembela Islam (FPI) attack on a gathering of the Aliansi Kebangsaan Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan (AKKBB) marking Pancasila Day on June 1st at Monas square, Jakarta. About 200 FPI men beat and struck about 100 AKKBB …

Comment by Teng: … of Nahdhatul Ulama and hard-liners from the Islamic …