religious pluralism in Muhammadiyah Perspektif

Religious Pluralism in Muhammadiyah Perspective

Happy Susanto


Muhammadiyah, since it’s birth on 18th November 1921, is a social-religious organization possessing a paradigm as movement of Islamic puritanism and Islamic modernism. Beside being congenial of modernism, Muhammadiyah evolved a doctrine of Islamic puritanism into Indonesian society at that time, as a respond to local tradition and social condition that is still stagnate. In Muhammadiyah perspective, this stagnate is endorsement by attitude of religious traditionalism that inconsiderate into doctrine of puritanism and authentic in Islam.

The issue of religious pluralism became an actual issue in this day because it was being an era of assertion. It is caused by requests of democracy, human rights, social environment and religious pluralism, are becoming public beam, and in this face Muhammadiyah have a big contribution and role in making it. Actually, Muhammadiyah able to develop religious pluralism and live in full tolerance on his religious understanding that believed. Since beginning, Muhammadiyah very concern with modernism movement, in which this organization is too nearly with modernism circles, are same having contact with pluralism thinking. Al-Qur’an and Hadits are very rich with normative and theological values that need for actualization in zeal of pluralism. According to Amin Abdullah’s view (2000), actually Al-Qur’an is most liberal and radical simultaneously wise in responding an issue of religious plurality.

Last 50 years ago, an issue of pluralism and religious tolerance was not perceptible. While now, this issue become an actual discussion and too important, not accept for Muhammadiyah in order his members are not incorrect in making all social activities. The conflict of religion in the social and politic conditions that recently happened can give chance for Muhammadiyah in making a social transformation. Awakening of ‘Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah are too have a role to keep wholeness and unity of ummah and nation with same proposing pluralistic and tolerance attitude in religious and social interaction.

In historical background, actually Muhammadiyah developed two paradigms --beside of Puritan Islam-- that was being this typical organization, that are paradigm a faith in action and paradigm “modernism”. The first paradigm assume an ideal religious and integrate faith and social deeds, that devout must be actualized in the shape of social deeds. In Kuntowijoyo’s terminology (1991), from faith towards deed, became the transformation from theological towards social change. The attitude of pluralistic and tolerance in Muhammadiyah begin from “theological renewal”, from exclusive into inclusive, full openness in understanding diversification of religious thinking. This renewal will give manner for action that promise pluralism and tolerance can be produced.

The first paradigm need to be innovated with absorption of modern thinking. This absorption can be undertaken because, borrowing terminology of Amin Abdullah (1992), the religious discourse of Islam isn’t regardless from two dimensions, are normative and historical. Religious texts isn’t regardless from historical-humanity dimension that embracing the body of codification of a text. Religious discourse is not only in normative (universal) area, like ritual praying and mu’amalah, but it go in thinking area of particularistic and historic. So religious understanding also can be a relative (in positive meaning), and there is dialectic of meaning change dependent on context of age history.

Two paradigms above become a power of Muhammadiyah to make a social and religious movement in Indonesia. By still embracing basis of religious internally (subjectivity), but not eliminating to come to presence anything of actual issues and contemporary problems (inter-subjectivity) –borrowing Habermas’s terminology. The issue of democracy, Human Rights, social environment, and religious pluralism, that alls are in area of religious historicism must be developed by Muhammadiyah in order that taking place for dialectic between religion with the present contexts and the here era.

To eliminate last image that adhere in the body of Muhammadiyah as an anti-culture movement, so for this moment a doctrine of Puritanism must be reviewed again. Certainly, historically, the birth of Muhammadiyah was being oriented into this paradigm, but because in this modern era that issue are very complex so development of religious historical discourse and paradigm of faith in action are elaborated deeply. For this moment Muhammadiyah must be getting “beyond Puritanism”, and go head with other organization, like NU, to do pluralism and opened of religious discourse.

Happy Susanto, researcher staff of Sociology at IIIT Indonesia