Wednesday 08th of September 2010
| Abdurrahman Wahid on Jewish Muslim relations |
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| Written by Administrator |
| Thursday, 14 January 2010 05:46 |
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By Fachrizal Halim The death of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid left a legacy that determines the direction of how Muslims can contribute to world peace. Wahid is known for his commitment to democracy and pluralism and one of the reasons why he became the iconic symbol of these issues, not only among the NU members, but also among Christians and other minority groups in Indonesia. Despite receiving praise and admiration, many Muslims depreciated him and even openly pinned negative labels on him. The reason may not be far from his reconciliation effort with former members of the Indonesian Communist Party and his initiative to establish relations with Israel and Jews, two of the most sensitive issues for many Muslims. The latter being the most difficult issue that many Muslims are unable to digest, given the thorny relations between Palestine and Israel since the establishment of Israel and the Arab defeat in the Arab-Israeli War four decades ago. From a neutral perspective, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no more than the post-colonial fiasco in dealing with conflicts over territorial and nationalist identity, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Problems arose to an unprecedented level when Muslims and Jews employed religious terminology to maintain their respective positions. From the Muslim side, the conflict was perpetuated by a particular reading of history, including specific sections of the Qur'an and the Prophetic Hadith, thus igniting in Muslims a disproportionate hatred for Jews to the extent that many commentators have likened Muslims’ attitude to that of European anti-Semitism. Wahid was one of a few Muslim leaders who wanted to rehabilitate Muslim relations with Israel and Jews. Perhaps, amongst the Indonesian leaders, it was only Wahid who had visited Israel six times. He is known to have served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Peres Center for Peace. He also received an honorary degree from Netanya Academic College, which is beyond the imagination of traditional Muslim leaders. Last year, Wahid also received the ‘Medal of Valor’ from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a California-based Jewish human rights organization, on his efforts to promote peace and tolerance. These positions have triggered criticisms and angered many Muslims. Some analysts tried to understand the reasoning behind Wahid's initiatives to establish relations with Israel and Jews. During his presidency, many speculated that Wahid's intention to open diplomatic and economic relations with Israel were an inseparable package of his pragmatic economic agenda to attract foreign investments to help Indonesia's economy. Others argued that the initiative was part of Wahid's aspirations toward a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East. Be that as it may, Wahid's intentions to establish relations with Israel may be best understood from his religious motive to build harmony with the Jewish people as Muslims have been with others. This inspiration is the result of his honest reading of Islam, including his willingness to continuously interpret the Quran. In an interview with Haaretz (2004), Wahid stated that Muslims' narrow perception of the Jews was caused by Arab propaganda. For him, if Muslims can have good relations with China and Russia who have or had atheism as part of their constitution, Muslims can also have a good relationship with Israel which has a reputation as a nation with a high regard for God and religion. On another occasion, Wahid also said that rather than looking at Israel and Jews through the lens of political hatred and religious violence, Muslims must rise up to hold a spiritually peaceful and tolerant understanding of Islam, and a humanistic attitude towards the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This powerful message is highly valuable for Muslims, given that the landscape of political ideas of Islam on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been almost exclusively shaped by Islamists who admire violence rather than dialogue. However, Wahid never blindly supported the Israeli government's policies on various issues in the Middle East. Being the contrary, he set his critical tone that the government of Israel must do justice and trust the Arabs; just like the Arab governments must do justice and trust Israel. His innuendo was too obvious; he did not want Muslims and Jews to become too comfortable with the status quo and averse to dialogue, and be a party that only sees the truth from his own eyes. Wahid strongly advocated freedom but at the same time maintained perspicacious criticism. He considered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as only a temporary political problem, and in itself, contains features that invite an honest assessment from a religious leader like him. Wahid with all his capacity has paved the right path for Muslims who desire a peaceful world to live with others. |
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