Jakarta/Yogyakarta – Political observers expressed discontent on Friday with a group of Muslim clerics, who they said, misused religious teachings to discriminate against a political candidate based on gender.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) acting chairman Masdar Faried Mas'udi said the country's largest Muslim organization had ordered all its clerics through the issuance of an edict (fatwa) to vote against any woman candidate in the upcoming election. Incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri who was nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), is the only woman in the race.
"NU does not support particular presidential candidates. We also ban the use of religion to discriminate against presidential candidates on the basis of their gender or ethnicity," Masdar told The Jakarta Post.
A number of senior NU clerics from East Java, including Abdullah Faqih of Langitan in Tuban, Chotib Umar of Jember and Chamid Abdul Manan of Madura, issued an edict on Thursday that fully supports the decision of the National Awakening Party (PKB) to endorse the candidacy of presidential and vice presidential candidates under the banner of the Golkar Party, Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahid.
In a clear reference to Megawati who teams up with Hasyim Muzadi, the edict also forbids Muslims from voting for a female candidate in the July 5 presidential election.
Hasyim has been non-active as NU chairman, while Solahuddin has resigned as NU deputy chairman due to their new political adventures.
The ulemas cited a verse in the Koran that stipulates that "men are leaders of women" and a verse in hadits (Prophet Muhammad's tradition) saying that a nation will be far from happy under a woman leader.
Masdar said the verses suggest that men protect women and no king or queen is entitled to absolute power. "We should also take the social and historical contexts into account. A president is not like a king or queen. We will clarify the edict with the clerics," he said.
He recounted that NU issued a decree in a congress in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara in 1998, which stipulated that both men and women had an equal right to lead the country. The decree also stated that a leader should be judged based on his or her capability and acceptability.
Separately, noted Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra regretted the issuance of the edict, saying that it would create tension among NU members. "The edict will create friction in the NU. It's regrettable," Azyumardi, who is also rector of the Syarief Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said in a workshop in Yogyakarta on Friday.
Even the PKB, which is endorsing Wiranto-Solahuddin, opposed the edict. PKB deputy chairman Mahfud M.D. said his party would not take advantage of the edict because it was against the use of the gender issue to discriminate against certain candidates. "Although the edict might benefit our candidates, we will not use it to woo support," Mahfud said.