Nahdlatul Ulama and the Framing of an Ideological Battle in the 2019 Indonesian Elections

ISEAS Commentary, 2019/26, 7 March 2019

At a seminar organised on 25 Feb 2019 by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Yenny Zannuba Wahid of the Wahid Foundation described a divide in Indonesia’s Islamic landscape in the context of the forthcoming 2019 presidential elections.

The divide is animated by two different ideological leanings supported by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and certain Islamist groups, particularly the banned Indonesian Hizbut Tahrir (HTI), respectively. The former is against the establishment of a caliphate, the adoption of syariah as positive law in Indonesia, the implementation of religion-based by-laws, and staunchly supports the principles of NKRI (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia).   In contrast, the latter champions the implementation of syariah law in Indonesia, transforming it into “NKRI Bersyariah”, and some of them even support the Islamic caliphate.

The NU believes that the Islamist groups, including the ex-HTI, are supporting and operating within the Prabowo camp.  It sees Hasyim Djojohadikusumo’s (Prabowo’s brother and founding member of Gerindra) statement that the Gerindra Party and Prabowo’s camp welcome any group to join them, including ex-HTI and ex-communist party (PKI) members, as indicative of that position.

In framing this election as an ideological battle, NU has been “cancut tali wondo” (fully and actively involved) in supporting Joko Widodo’s camp. The NU believes that more than just a regular election is at stake this time round, including Pancasila (the Indonesia state ideology that supports pluralism) and what is known as moderate Islam. In other words, there is fear that Joko Widodo’s loss could lead to the transformation of Indonesia into NKRI Bersyariah, or the government would implement an exclusive Pancasila, giving particular emphasis to the first pillar, Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (Believe in Only One God).

NKRI Bersyariah implies that all regulations in this “Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia” must comply with Syariah law. Furthermore, implementing an exclusive Pancasila would mean promoting orthodoxy to the point of not tolerating Penghayat Kepercayaan (native faith follower) and those that are considered deviant sects, like the Ahmadiyah and Syiah.

Besides the issue of the ideological battle, NU has also thrown its full support behind Joko Widodo because of the incumbent’s decision to choose Ma’ruf Amin, former rois ‘am (supreme leader) of NU, as his running mate. For NU, as both Hasyim Muzadi (former chairman of the NU) and Salahuddin Wahid (former president Abdurrahman Wahid’s brother and an influential leader of the NU) had lost previously as vice-presidential candidates, the stakes are high.  It would be catastrophic for NU’s standing to suffer a third loss.

What remains unclear is whether NU members are more likely to support Joko Widodo because of the ideological framing, or because they want to see Ma’ruf Amin become vice president. If it is the former, that will have a more deeply polarising effect on Indonesia’s Islamic landscape. If it is the latter, there is a certain degree of dissonance because Ma’ruf Amin used to be part of the groups that are now attacking Joko Widodo.

Dr Ahmad Najib Burhani is Visiting Fellow with ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute.

The facts and views expressed are solely that of the author/authors and do not necessarily reflect that of ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute.  No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission.

https://www.iseas.edu.sg/medias/commentaries/item/9191-nahdlatul-ulama-and-the-framing-of-an-ideological-battle-in-the-2019-indonesian-elections-by-ahmad-najib-burhani

Nasionalisme NU

Kompas, 1 Maret 2019, h. 6

Pusaka hati wahai tanah airku

Cintaku dalam imanku

~Mars Yalal Wathon~

Dalam artikelnya yang berjudul “Kematian Gus Dur dan Lahirnya Habitus Baru Kebinekaan Indonesia” (2016), Ahmad Suaedy menjelaskan bahwa penerimaan Pancasila dan kebangsaan secara penuh dalam tubuh NU (Nahdlatul Ulama) itu baru terjadi tahun 1984, yaitu ketika NU menjelaskan Pancasila dan kebangsaan dengan bahasa syariah. Namun, semangat itu kini telah menjadi, meminjam istilah Pierre Bourdieu (1984), habitus baru di organisasi ini. Sikap NU yang muncul belakangan ini terhadap Pancasila dan HTI (Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia) merupakan implementasi dari habitus itu.

Memperteguh momentum tahun 1980-an itu, pada 2013 yang lalu GP (Gerakan Pemuda) Anshor, sayap pemuda dari NU, menggali dan merekonstruksi mars Yalal Wathon (atau Ya Ahlal Wathon, Wahai Anak Bangsa) berdasarkan penuturan KH. Maimun Zubair, Rembang. Lagu yang menggelorakan semangat cinta tanah air ini sebelumnya hilang dari peredaran. Sebelum 2013, mereka yang lahir dan tumbuh dari keluarga NU pun hampir tidak pernah mendengar lagu ini dalam berbagai pertemuan dan kegiatan NU. Sekarang, lagu ini dinyanyikan hampir di setiap kegiatan yang diselenggarakan NU. Ini adalah fenomena baru yang mempertegas bagaimana nasionalisme itu tumbuh dan mentradisi dalam organisasi yang pada 27 Februari - 1 Maret 2019 ini melangsungkan Musyawarah Nsional (munas) serta konferensi besar (konbes) di Banjar, Jawa Barat itu.

Jika dirunut lebih panjang lagi, paduan antara keislaman dan kebangsaan dalam tubuh NU itu juga bisa ditemukan dalam berbagai slogan dan nama yang di pakai di lingkungan NU. Nama Garda Bangsa, pasukan pengamanan sipil di PKB (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa), dan Pagar Nusa, seni beladiri di NU, dan tentu saja dengan Resolusi Jihad pada 22 Oktober 1945 adalah monumen dan momentum penting yang mempertegas kebangsaan NU. Maka tak mengherankan jika organisasi ini terlihat sangat keras dalam melawan berbagai gerakan yang mencoba mengganggu negara-bangsa ini. Organisasi ini seperti terpanggil untuk “cancut tali wondo” melawan tuntutan pendirian khilafah dan keinginan beberapa orang untuk mewujudkan “NKRI Bersyariah”.

Semangat yang begitu tinggi dari NU dalam konteks kebangsaan dan keindonesiaan ini memang kadang menjebak beberapa aktivis NU untuk menjadi, meminjam istilah Kevin W. Fogg (2018), “Revisionist NU History”. Ini, misalnya, bisa terlihat dalam tulisan Yahya Cholil Staquf (2018) yang berjudul “Islamist politics in 'reformasi' Indonesia”. Dalam tulisan itu, Staquf menjelaskan bahwa pada tahun 1950an dan 1960an, Wahab Hasbullah dari NU berperan penting dalam menghalangi Masyumi yang berjuang untuk mengembalikan Piagam Jakarta dan menjadikan Indonesia sebagai Negara Islam.

Tentu saja klaim itu tidak berdasarkan pada data sejarah yang selama ini banyak tersebar, tapi lebih kepada semangat kebangsaan yang ingin menunjukkan betapa nasionalisnya NU. Pada kenyataannya pada waktu itu, NU turut serta mendukung upaya demokratis untuk kembalinya Piagam Jakarta dan upaya menjadikan Indonesia sebagai negara Islam. Tanpa harus “merevisi” sejarah seperti ini pun, peran NU dalam kebangsaan tak akan pernah diragukan.

Semangat nasionalisme yang tinggi dari NU itu tentu saja perlu semakin diperteguh dengan semangat menjadi tenda bangsa atau payung bersama. Hal yang mudah menggelincirkan organisasi besar seperti NU, dan juga Muhammadiyah, adalah merasa sebagai satu-satunya wujud dari Indonesia itu sendiri atau sebagai representasi paling otentik dari Nusantara. Padahal Indonesia tidak bisa direduksi hanya menjadi Islam atau Jawa saja, atau bahkan kelompok santri saja atau NU dan Muhammadiyah saja, karena bangsa ini adalah majemuk dari segi pemahaman keagamaan, agamanya, etnisnya, dan sebagainya. Semua pihak memiliki kontribusi dan peran tertentu dalam membangun dan merawat bangsa yang tak boleh dinafikan.

Upaya menjadi tenda kebangsaan atau payung bersama ini setidaknya sudah dimulai oleh KH Ma’ruf Amin yang lebih banyak mempromosikan Islam Wasatiyyah (Islam moderat) daripada Islam Nusantara yang khas NU. Ini yang perlu terus dikembangkan dengan, misalnya, menghindari klaim sebagai satu-satunya Islam yang benar atau keinginan menguasai seluruh kursi kabinet atau keinginan menjadikan Indonesia sebagai “negara santri”. Menjadi tenda bangsa bukanlah perkara mudah karena kadang harus membuat “uneasy alliance” dengan kelompok tertentu yang tak disukai atau tak seide. Tapi ini adalah konsekuensi dan tantangan menjadi negara dengan masyarakat yang majemuk.

Memang, banyak warga NU yang merasa bahwa mereka belum mendapatkan imbalan yang sepadan dengan kontribusi mereka dalam kebangsaan. Di gambar-gambar (relief) dan patung-patung museum yang terletak di kaki Monas (Monumen Nasional), misalnya, kontribubusi NU dalam masa-masa revolusi tak nampak. Ada satu atau dua gambar tentang pesantren, tapi tidak diasosiasikan ke NU. Sementara agama lain dan kelompok agama lain mendapatkan ruang yang lebih banyak.

Terakhir, NU adalah organisasi besar yang dengan pengikut yang berjumlah puluhan juta bisa memiliki pengaruh sosial dan politik yang sangat tinggi. Dengan kekuatannya yang besar itu, NU secara otomatis memiliki tanggungjawab yang besar terhadap negara Indonesia, baik dalam menjaga ke-bhinekaannya dan juga dalam kemajuannya. “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”. Selamat ber-Munas dan ber-Konbes!

-oo0oo-

*Peneliti Senior di LIPI (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia)

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The Nationalism of Nahdlatul Ulama

AHMAD NAJIB BURHANI

2 Maret 2019 · 11:16 IWST 

  

“My heirloom, O my homeland

The love of my faith.”

Mars Yalal Wathon

In his article “The Death of Gus Dur and the Birth of the New Habitus of Indonesian Diversity” (2016), Ahmad Suaedy wrote that Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) fully accepted Pancasila and nationalism only in 1984, when the country’s largest Muslim organization explained Pancasila and nationality using the language of sharia.

However, that spirit has now become – to borrow from Pierre Bourdieu (1984) – the organization’s new habitus. NU’s approach towards Pancasila and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which has emerged recently, is a manifestation of this habitus.

In developing the momentum from the 1980s, Gerakan Pemuda Anshor, the youth wing of NU, explored and reworked the song “Yalal Wathon” (“Ya Ahlal Wathon”, or “O Son of the Nation”) in 2013, based on the narrative of K.H. Maimun Zubair, of Rembang regency. The new song, which celebrates love of our homeland, was not in circulation before then.

Those who were born and raised in NU families had rarely heard this song at the many meetings and activities of NU before 2013. It became a new phenomenon that reinforced nationalism that eventually became a tradition of the organization, which held a national assembly and grand conference on Feb. 27-March 1, 2019 in Banjar, West Java.

Digging further, the Islam-nationalism combination in NU can also be found in its various slogans and names: Garda Bangsa, the name of the National Awakening Party’s (PKB) civil security force; Pagar Nusa, NU’s martial arts form; and of course, the Resolusi Jihad (Jihad Resolution) of Oct. 22, 1945, are important milestones that reinforce NU’s sense of nationalism.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that the organization is very firm in fighting the various movements trying to disrupt the nation-state. NU appears to have taken up the duty of cancut tali wondo (to use all available resources) against the demands to establish an Islamic caliphate and the wishes of some to realize a “Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) with sharia”.

The NU’s high enthusiasm for nationalism and Indonesian-ness has indeed entrapped its members in creating – to borrow from Kevin W. Fogg (2018) – Revisionist NU History. This, for example, can be seen in Yahya Cholil Staquf’s “Islamist politics in Indonesiab ‘reform’”(2018).

Staquf explains in his article that, in the 1950s and 1960s, NU’s Wahab Hasbullah played an important role in blocking Masyumi’s efforts to restore the Jakarta Charter and turning Indonesia into an Islamic country.

Of course, this claim is not based on the widely available historical data, but rather on a nationalistic spirit that yearns to demonstrate NU’s high sense of nationalism. In fact, NU was then supporting democratic efforts to revive the Jakarta Charter and to turn Indonesia into an Islamic country. Even without “revising” history like this, NU’s role in developing nationalism can never be doubted.

Nationwide umbrella

NU’s high spirit of nationalism must certainly be expanded into a nationwide umbrella, or a roof over the nation. What can easily derail large organizations like NU, and also Muhammadiyah, is growing to believe that it is Indonesia or the most authentic representation of Nusantara (the Indonesian archipelago). In fact, Indonesia cannot be reduced as simply Islamic or Javanese, or even a group of santri (strict adherents of orthodox Islam), NU or Muhammadiyah, because this nation is pluralistic in terms of religious understanding, religion, ethnicity, and so on. It is undeniable that all parties contribute to and have a specific role in building and maintaining the nation.

The initial effort to become a nationwide roof or umbrella already began with K.H. Ma’ruf Amin, who promoted Islam Wasatiyyah (moderate Islam), rather than the Islam Nusantara that is typical of NU.

This is what needs continual development by, for example, avoiding claims as the “true Islam” and the desire to control all Cabinet seats or to turng Indonesia in a “country of santri”. Being the nation’s roof is not an easy matter, which sometimes requires forming uneasy alliances with certain groups that it dislikes or those that do not share the same ideals. However, this is the consequence and challenges of being a country with a pluralistic society.

Indeed, many NU members feel that the organization has not been recognized for its contribution to nationalism. For example, NU’s contributions to the Indonesian National Revolution are not visible among the reliefs and statues of the National Monument (Monas). There are one or two pictures of Islamic boarding schools, but they are not associated with NU, and other religions and religious groups have been given more space.

To conclude, NU is a large organization with tens of millions of followers that can be highly influential both socially and politically. By default, this great strength means that NU has an equally great responsibility for Indonesia in maintaining both its diversity and its progress.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

(Ahmad Najib Burhani, Senior Researcher, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI))

https://kompas.id/baca/utama/2019/03/02/the-nationalism-of-nahdlatul-ulama/

https://kompas.id/baca/opini/2019/03/01/nasionalisme-nu/