Gus Dur against fundamentalist threat in Indonesia

» 08/02/2005 13:02
by Mathias Hariyadi

Former Indonesian President opposes the extremism of the Indonesian Ulemas Council, condemning the persecution of the Ahmadi Muslims. Christians demand respect for religious pluralism, one of the nation’s “cultural assets”.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, has come once again to the defence of inter-faith harmony in Indonesia in opposition to the dangerous threat posed by the gradual Islamisation of the most populous Muslim country in the world.

ABC Interview with Abdurrahman Wahid

Broadcast: 17/04/2002

Reporter: Jennifer Byrne

Abdurrahman Wahid, the former Indonesian president may have stepped down, but he still wields immense influence as a religious scholar – a leader of some 40 million Indonesian muslims. He spoke to Jennifer Byrne during a visit to Sydney where he was guest of honour at Foreign Correspondent’s 10th anniversary celebrations.

Transcript

Byrne: I’d like to talk first, not about politics but about religion – specifically about Islam, which you’ve described as a religion of peace. How then do you see what’s happening in the Middle East, and in many Arabic countries where Islam is effectively being used as a banner for fundamentalism… for suicide attacks, for war?

Extremism Isn’t Islamic Law

By Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid

Tuesday, May 23, 2006; Page A17For a few days this year the world’s media focused an intense spotlight on the drama of a modern-day inquisition. Abdul Rahman, a Muslim convert to Christianity, narrowly escaped the death penalty for apostasy when the Afghan government — acting under enormous international pressure — sidestepped the issue by ruling that he was insane and unfit to stand trial. This unsatisfactory ruling left unanswered a question of enormous significance: Does Islam truly require the death penalty for apostasy, and, if not, why is there so little freedom of religion in the so-called Muslim world?

The Koran and the sayings of the prophet Muhammad do not definitively address this issue. In fact, during the early history of Islam, the Agreement of Hudaibiyah between Muhammad and his rivals stipulated that any Muslim who converted out of Islam would be allowed to depart freely to join the non-Muslim community. Nevertheless, throughout much of Islamic history, Muslim governments have embraced an interpretation of Islamic law that imposes the death penalty for apostasy.

The Evils of Holocaust Denial

By ABDURRAHMAN WAHID and ISRAEL LALU

June 12, 2007

BALI, Indonesia — Today, religious leaders from many faiths and nations will gather here for a landmark conference in a unique place — an island of tolerance, not terrorism. In a world in which religion is manipulated to justify the most horrific acts, it is our moral obligation not only to refute the claims of terrorists and their ideological enablers but also to defend the rights of others to worship differently: in freedom, security and dignity.

While there are many things that can be said and done to advance this cause, one issue in particular stands out as something we religious leaders must unite in denouncing: Holocaust denial. This denial is not a new phenomenon. Yet it is becoming an increasingly pervasive one. Long a hobbyhorse of the neo-Nazis and other figures from the fringe, it is gaining currency among millions of people who are either ignorant of history or are being misled by their media, their governments or — sad to say — their own religious authorities.