Shari'a and Politics in Modern Indonesia

9. FATWA AND POLITICS IN INDONESIA

168 Nadirsyah Hosen© 2003 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 9 FATWA AND POLITICS IN INDONESIA Nadirsyah Hosen The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate how Indonesian fatawa (plural for fatwa) gave response to politics and government policies from 1926 up to 1998. It also shows how political situations influenced the issuance of fatawa and, at the same time, how fatawa influenced the Indonesian political atmosphere. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, ijtihad in Indonesia was performed by individual ulama. In the second quarter of the twentieth century, the practice of ijtihad as performed by the ulama in groups began. In 1926, traditionalist ulama founded the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization, and it began issuing fatawa as early as during its first congress. The modernist Muhammadiyah organization, which was founded in 1912, did not concern itself with fatwa until 1927 when it created a special committee called Majelis Tarjih to deal with religious issues in general and Islamic law in particular.1 Although fatawa issued by certain individual ulama could still be observed, the tendency was for more and more ulama to identify themselves with one of those two poles: the NU or Muhammadiyah. A new development emerged when the Council of Indonesian Ulama (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, or MUI) was established in 1975. Both the traditionalist and the modernist ulama are represented in the MUI through which they issue joint fatawa.2 Unlike in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Indonesia does not have a grand mufti. Fatawa are issued collectively by Islamic organizations. The characteristics of Indonesian collective ijtihad (ijtihad jama’i) are as follows: firstly, before issuing fatawa, each organization holds a meeting attended by their ulama and — if necessary — other scholars. They discuss the subject, and the conclusion of the meeting is issued as a fatwa from that particular organization. Secondly, the characteristics of pluralism, which makes Indonesian fatwa unique, can be seen. Indonesia has many 168 Reproduced from Shari’a and Politics in Modern Indonesia, edited by Arskal Salim and Azyumardi Azra (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003). This version was obtained electronically direct from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Individual articles are available at Fatwa and Politics in Indonesia 169© 2003 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore Islamic organizations such as the NU, Muhammadiyah, and the MUI, each of which consists of separate branches in more than twenty provinces. It is possible that a fatwa from one organization may differ from those of other organizations. It can also happen that a fatwa issued from the national organization is different from one given by the provincial organization. Again, a fatwa from one provincial branch may be at variance with a fatwa from another province, even though both belong to the same organization. Therefore, it is possible to have many fatawa covering one case. Indonesian fatawa cover several matters such as ritual, charity, pilgrimage, economics, politics, and other social problems. However, unlike the case with religious courts, there are no government regulations about fatwa. The ulama are free to produce fatawa. Unlike in Malaysia, fatawa from Indonesian ulama do not require the approval of the government (or the Sultan in Malaysia’s case).3 The position of fatwa in Indonesia is not nearly as strong. Indonesian Muslims consider ulama only as principally religious patrons whose advice and exemplary lives are to be followed, but not in the sense of religious obligation or prescription. The significant thing to note is that the ulama do not have the power and cannot force Indonesian Muslims to obey and follow their fatawa. Indonesian ulama have much authority; but no actual political power. It is not compulsory for people to follow fatwa from ulama. However, they tend to do so because they recognize certain qualities in the ulama and not because the ulama are in possession of the instrument of coercion or are in positions of command. The high regard people have for ulama persuades them to respect the ulama’s positions. However, because ulama do not have coercive power, they cannot order sanctions against those who refuse to follow their advice. ULAMA AND POLITICS As will be discussed later, ulama have wielded considerable political influence through their official fatawa. The question is, why should ulama play any part in politics? Although Indonesia is not an Islamic state, the idea and culture of Islam heavily influences Indonesian Muslims. The...