Kompas -
January 12, 2009
Sleman – The
demarcation between political parties labeled as Islamic and non-Islamic
parties is becoming increasingly vague. This indicates that political identity
is no longer an issue in the future national life of the country.
This was
conveyed by Reform Institute Executive Director Yudi Latif during a national
seminar on the theme “The Concept of an Islamic Leadership in Response to the
Nation’s Problem” at the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) campus in the
Sleman regency of Yogyakarta, Central Java, on Sunday January 11.
The seminar,
which was organised by the UII Student Executive Institute also presented as a
speaker House of Representatives Commission VIII member Marwah Daud Ibrahim
from the Golkar Party faction.
Latif said
that this increasingly vague demarcation can be seen from the many Islamic
figures that have joined non-Islamic labeled parties or visa versa. “In
addition to this, many secular-nationalist parties are also currently opening
political wings inspired by Islam”, he said.
The weakness
of political identify, according to Latif, is also demonstrated by the low
level of support obtained by Islamic labeled parties in the elections. “In the
2004 elections, for example, at the very most, Islamic labeled parties only
garnered around 6 percent of the vote or less”, he said.
Latif
believes that the sustainability of Islamic labeled parties in the 2009
elections will very much depend upon their ability to differentiate their
definition of Islam. How is it that up until now Islamic leaders have yet to
demonstrate that they can bring justice or prosperity to the people.
“Despite the
majority of the population being Muslims and an administration filled with
Muslim people, the levels of corruption and poverty in Indonesia also remains
high”, said Latif.
In addition
to this, Latif emphasised that the future national leadership must be able to
present an image of national self-sufficiency. “We must begin to be conscious
about our identity and potential as a nation and direct change fully in accordance
with this identity and potential”, he said.
Conversely,
Ibrahim said that the concept of a genuine Islamic leadership is a leadership
in which all intentions, words and actions consistently follow the guidance of
God’s revelations. “What is happening at the moment, is large numbers of
Islamic leaders in their leadership are guided by lust,” said the presidential
candidate who took part in the National Integrity Assembly (DIB).
It is this
that results in the majority of the country’s Muslim population living below
the poverty line. “Almost 95 percent of the [world’s] Muslim population live in
poor countries, including Indonesia”, he said. Countries where the majority of
the population is non-Muslim meanwhile enjoy a level of prosperity and income above
20,000 US dollars per capita per year.
Ibrahim sees
this as ironic. How can this be so when Muslim countries have an abundance of
natural wealth, which is far greater than possessed by the non-Muslim
countries. This means there is a problem of management and leadership in the
Muslim countries. (eng)
[Translated
by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Islam and Non-Islam
increasingly vague – Political identity no longer an issue”.]
