Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Yogyacarta (Agenzia Fides) – Over 2,000 executives of “Muhammadiyah,” the second Muslim organization in Indonesia, with about 40 million members, are meeting these days in Yogyacarta for the 46th Congress celebrating 100 years of foundation and in order to elect new leadership.
The delegates chose the organization's Executive Council, composed of 13 members: the most votes went to Din Syamsuddin, who has led the organization for the last five years, with 1,915 votes. Din therefore remains the favorite for election as President of Muhammadiyah for the period 2010-2015.
In the discussions during the Congress, a source of Fides notes, two lines of conduct were determined within the organization: the approach proposed by Din Syamsuddin, the outgoing president, is rather political in nature and, through him, the Muhammadiyah has also earned a space of credibility at an international level. A part of the movement, however, is in favor of restoring a strictly religious line that would overshadow the political one.
At the local level, Muhammadiyah seems to suffer, at times, a certain influence of radical Islam: the recent rule against smoking, last May, was a sign, while regarding the FPI affair in Bekasi, the Muhammadiyah has preferred not to send out an official statement. According to the well-known moderate Muslim leader Azyumardi Azra, Director of the School of Advanced Studies of the Islamic State "Syarif Hidayatullah" in Jakarta, the "Muhammadiyah" has to be vigilant about attempts of infiltration by radical Islamists (prone to "Sharia" and "Islamic purity") in its ranks. "The future of Indonesia is moderate Islam and it is a duty of the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah to guarantee that," he said. Many commentators agreed, noting that the organization must remain a point of reference for moderate and pluralist Indonesian Islam.
The Muhammadiyah was founded in 1912. Its main activities are religious, educational and social. It has founded more than 5,700 schools in Indonesia, which are also attended by non-Muslim students, and 26 universities among the provinces in Indonesia. It also operates several clinics and charities. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/07/2010)
