Danger of Liberal Religious Movements in Indonesia

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على نبيه الامين

وعلى آله واصحابه اجمعين

A conservative, puritanical and strict approach to Islam is what is most pleasing to Lord Allah. Tragically, the State in many places around the Muslim World is facilitating the imposition of a religious tendency that is the exact opposite. I have written at length on this blog concerning the danger posed by statism and state versions of Islam which are designed to modify Islam so that it is more suitable to the interests and desires of the elites and the irreligious masses. In Indonesia, the religious establishment, namely, Nahdlatul Ulama, gravitates toward a conception of Islam that is far from the ideal. It may be characterized as excessively liberal and modern, meaning it is lax, embracing the dangers of pluralism, democracy, feminism and modernity.

In our time, certain practices and laws associated with Islam have become controversial leading to a culture war. It is observed that dangerous liberal and progressive movements among the Muslims almost universally challenge the institution of veil, gender segregation and the proscription on music.

From the principles of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, which is also generally widespread in the East Indies, is tasāmuh which roughly means leniency as opposed to harshness. While gentleness is from the disposition of our Religion in certain matters, it is quite evident that in others, especially the sensitive matters, it is the way of the Prophets and the pious Imams to utilize harshness in admonition.

The spread of sexual immorality in Muslim societies today is certainly rooted in a laxity with regard to observing the veil and modesty, and a total disregard for the institution of gender segregation and the seclusion of ladies. But this is certainly not a new phenomenon, it is the same problem which plagued the children of Israel for which their holy Prophets rebuked them.

Islam Nusantara, the philosophy promoted by the State in Indonesia and by its religious establishment (Nahdlatul Ulama or NU), is against the spirit of orthodox Islam precisely because it is opposed to the sentiment of zeal for Islamic exclusivity and purity, the spirit so gloriously manifested in the activity of the ancient Prophets, and the Reformers and Saints of this Ummah who follow in their footsteps.

The second major religious movement in Indonesia, a sort of rival to the NU, is the so-called Muhammadiyah. These are essentially Salafi modernists, and promote a concept they dub Islam Berkemajuan or a “progressive” approach to Islam. Unlike Islam Nusantara, this concept is not intended for a local context but a global one. Muslims ought to beware of such philosophies, often predicated on the notion of ijtihād. In practical terms, what this means is that many important matters which have already been settled by the early Sunni jurists in terms of law and jurisprudence may be re-evaluated and modified for the modern context. The tendency of those who invoke the necessity of ijtihād in modern times is always toward greater cultural liberalization and laxity, especially a more permissive attitude with respect to the issues of veiling, gender segregation, music, interest, banking, and political activity. In this sense both NU and Muhammadiyah are problematic, indeed dangerous religious movements that are currently dominating the religious landscape of Indonesia. Cultures in the East Indies or the Malay Archipelago are historically somewhat matriarchal. The strictness of veiling and gender segregation, a fundamental aspect of orthodox Islam and still observed in places like Arabia and Afghanistan, is alien to the Malay Archipelago. Rather than aggressively seeking to Islamize their society with an emphasis on the conservative traditions and the strictures of the Sharī’ah, the corrupt religious establishment of this region in the Muslim World is constantly validating the pre-Islamic and even un-Islamic customs and culture in the name of moderation. With the passage of time, as the globe gravitates toward greater cultural liberalization and permissiveness, this corrupt religious establishment, which falsely claims to be moderate and traditional, may even reevaluate its position toward homosexuality and the validity of practising other religions and even worshipping other deities. The holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

‌لَتُنْقَضَنَّ ‌عُرَى ‌الْإِسْلَامِ ‌عُرْوَةً ‌عُرْوَةً فَكُلَّمَا انْتَقَضَتْ عُرْوَةٌ تَشَبَّثَ النَّاسُ بِالَّتِي تَلِيهَا وَأَوَّلُهُنَّ نَقْضًا الْحُكْمُ وَآخِرُهُنَّ الصَّلَاةُ

The bonds of Islam will be undone one by one. Each time one bond is undone, the people will move to the next one (and adhere to that). The first bond to be undone will be the Hukm [rule] and the last one will be the Salāh (Musnad Ahmad)

The meaning of the Hadīth is that the first aspect of Islam that the Muslims will abandon and neglect will be the divinely legislated guidelines and laws related to political administration and governance (which happened with the demise of Khilāfat ar-Rāshidah within thirty years of the Prophet’s passing away from this world) while the last will be the collective abandoning of the five daily prescribed prayers, the most salient Islamic practice.