Moderate Islam
Over the next few years the world will be presented with a global alliance of moderate Islam that will create a great wave to turn religion
..
Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, in an investment initiative forum for the future in Riyadh, in front of the representatives of 70 countries, emphasized his commitment to return to moderate Islam.
As a result, the discourse on moderation in Islam is echoing throughout the world. The world hails the commitment with joy, because over the next few years, the world will be presented with a global alliance of moderate Islam that will create a great wave to turn religion into a power for peace.
Through Al-Azhar University, Egypt has long echoed the calls for the mainstreaming of moderate Islam accompanied by renewed thinking of religious movements (tajdid al-khithab al-dini). This was later followed by Indonesia, as represented by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) through its Islam Nusantara movement and by Muhammadiyah with its “progressive Islam”.
Joint responsibility
Saudi Arabia\'s commitment to strengthening moderation in Islam is good news. So far, the oil-rich country has been considered by many circles to be a stumbling block for the moderation of Islam. Wahhabism, the official ideology of the historic country for the last three decades, has been disseminated throughout the world, and is believed to have planted the seed for the growth of religious extremism.
Wahhabism has two prominent doctrines, namely puritanism and excommunication (takfir). In its puritan approach, Wahhabism wants to purify Islam of any traditions and practices that are seen to be in conflict with the essence of Islam. In this case, Wahhabism opposes cemetery visits, celebrating Maulid Nabi (the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday), Sufism, and philosophy. Therefore, Wahhabism ideologically opposes the traditions observed by followers of the family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ahl al-bayt), who preserve those traditions.
The problem is that those who observe cemetery visits, Maulid Nabi, Sufism, and philosophy are not only the followers of the teachings of the Prophet’s family (ahl al-bayt), but also traditional Muslims in various parts of the Islamic world. Indonesia is no exception, such as with the NU, which also preserves the traditions of cemetery visits, Maulid Nabi, the Sufi orders and logic.
Meanwhile, in terms of excommunication, Wahhabism understands and defines the doctrine on disbelievers of Islam in a rigid way. This doctrine not only labels those outside Islam as infidels, but also Muslims who do not follow their views. Within certain limits, they even approve the killing of those who are judged as heretics or infidels (Khaled Abou el-Fadl, 2005).
Terrorist groups have used these doctrines as their guidelines. The Taliban, an extremist faction in Afghanistan, is one such group that has been inspired by Wahhabism.
Accordingly, global terrorism networks have continued to grow. From Jemaah Islamiyah to Al Qaeda, and most recently Islamic State (IS), all are frequently identified as takfiri groups that easily accuse others of both intra- and interreligious infidelity and apostasy.
Therefore, Mohammed bin Salman’s statement that extremism was suspected of being connected to Iran\'s Islamic Revolution of 1979 is actually incorrect. To be honest, even Iran wants to continue to encourage the moderation of Islam by building a bridge for dialog among fellow Muslims (Sunni-Shia) and dialog with followers of other religions, including dialogs with the West.
In that context, it is not actually easy for Saudi Arabia to strengthen the moderation of Islam, because the challenges and obstacles it faces are very big. Among these is the solidarity espoused by the Wahhabite doctrines and the undemocratic political system.
Madawi al-Rasheed (2017) expressed worry over Saudi Arabia\'s plan to return to the path of moderate Islam. This is because the political and sociological profile of Saudi Arabia does not allow the existence of a community that supports open, critical, and constructive dialog. The kingdom still fully controls religious views and thoughts. In fact, several ulemas who were in conflict with the government have been arrested.
Actually, according to Al-Rasheed, Islam itself contains a mechanism for internal reform. In the Islamic legal tradition, a number of schools of Islamic law (mazhab) allow for differences in interpreting the holy texts. Literacy (ijtihad) has a glorious place in the Islamic tradition, and being correct gets two rewards, and being wrong still gets one reward.
Therefore, Saudi Arabia’s commitment to return to the path of moderate Islam is actually being welcomed with euphoria. We have a responsibility to spread the moderate Islamic teachings that have developed solidly in this country to Saudi Arabia.
Indonesia as a model
Indonesia is known in the world as a country that has the largest Muslim majority population with a moderate stance. Indonesia is deemed able to face extremist religious teachings through the approach of moderate deradicalization. Compared to Egypt and several Middle Eastern countries, Indonesia has been relatively more successful in strengthening moderation in Islam.
It is time for us to export our moderate Islam to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East so that we can take a greater role in realizing world peace as mandated in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution. So far, we have not used the Islamic face of rahmatan lil ’alamin as diplomatic capital with other countries, whether in Europe, the United States, or the Middle East.
In actual fact, the world badly needs moderate and tolerant Islamic teachings to prevent its followers from extremist influences. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a model for strengthening moderation in Islam with the inclusion of the millennial generation, which interacts with the outer world on social media. They want an inclusive, not an exclusive, Islam.
Therefore, if Saudi Arabia really wants to develop its path toward the moderation of Islam, serious thought is needed on laying down the foundational paradigm. First, moderation in Islam requires interaction between the texts and contexts, and between the past, the present, and the future. Wahhabism grew in the context of its era and after nearly three centuries, it needs reform to adjust to contemporary developments. Under Islamic law is a dictum that a policy is based on various reasons (al-hukmu yaduru ma’al illah wujudan wa ’adaman), including – in this relevance – historical, present and future contexts.
Second, moderation in Islam requires appreciation of diversity and realization of tolerance. Wherever in the world, we have diversity of religions, ethnicities, races, languages, genders, and sexual orientations. Therefore, as God\'s creatures, we must respect, appreciate, and accept diversity and sow it in peaceful coexistence.
Third, moderation in Islam can actually strengthen democracy and human rights. The majority of the Islamic world has accepted and applied the principles of democracy and human rights. This means there is no obstacle between Islam and democracy anymore. The problem now is upholding democratic and human rights values.
It is not easy for Saudi Arabia to apply these three points because they still live according to a tradition of identity that is based on solidarity. They will slowly carry out their "religious revolution" and "cultural revolution" by learning from other countries that have been successful in realizing moderation in Islam. It is not impossible that they may learn from Indonesia.
Saudi Arabia has simply to accept the fact that one of the models of moderate Islam that has successfully strengthened its national unity and has a role in the humanitarian context is the progressive Islam of Nusantara.
ZUHAIRI MISRAWI
Younger-generation intellectual of Nahdlatul Ulama; Chairman of the Moderate Muslim Society, Jakarta
