Anita Rachman – Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin on Wednesday said stepping completely out of politics was an impossibility for the country's second largest Muslim organization, arguing that its role was to strengthen civil society and prevent political monopolization.

"Those parties, including the government, who are advising organizations like ours to back off, do not understand the true teachings of Islam," he said.

"They are ignoring the historical fact that for years Islamic organizations have played a pivotal role in the development of the nation, which in fact is what politics is all about."

Although he did not name any group or individual, Din said certain elements in society wanted to neuter the 28 million-strong organization's political role in society. "We will never listen to any discouraging comments and we will keep encouraging our followers to serve the nation," he said.

Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization with 40 million followers, has been under significant pressure from grassroots members to withdraw from politics after a public spat caused a major internal rift in its political entity, the National Awakening Party (PKB). At its recent national congress in Makassar, NU's newly-elected chairman, Said Aqil Siradj, vowed to steer the group clear from politics.

Din, however, said Muhammadiyah had no such problems, pointing out that Islam had never drawn a line between religion and politics.

"We have forbidden our cadres from leading political parties, but that does not mean we will stay out of politics," he said.

"If we see something going wrong in our country, such as corruption in the case of the Bank Century scandal, it is impossible for us to stay quiet. If we drive our people to speak against it, that is politics. It has nothing to do with party politics. It is a political movement to pinpoint what we aim to achieve."

The difference between Muhammadiyah and NU, political analysts have said, is that Muhammadiyah represents a modernist challenge to the traditions of NU. Muhammadiyah is known not to revere ulemas or other religious leaders – which is at the core of NU – and for following a more orthodox version of Islam.

Since it was founded in 1912, Muhammadiyah has set up schools, universities and madrassas across Java and Sumatra. The group's schools, modeled after the Western education system, are one of its main achievements, successfully merging religious and secular curriculums.

The organization is governed by a democratic system that requires frequent voting on decision-making and the election of leaders.

Din said Muhammadiyah's future lay in it becoming an influential political movement, and that this idea would be stressed at the organization's national congress slated for July in Yogyakarta.

While he acknowledged that a split had formed within the organization – those who agreed with the political agenda and those who wanted it to maintain purely religious and social pursuits – he said it was working on convincing its followers that nothing was wrong with engaging in politics.

"But I want to warn our followers not to be influenced by interference from political parties," he added.

Bahtiar Effendy, a political expert from Jakarta's Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, said there was nothing wrong with groups such as Muhammadiyah and other nongovernmental organizations getting involved in politics, so long as it stayed away from party politics.

"To step out of politics totally means that you leave your daily lives in the hands of political parties. Is that fair? While there are many players in the field, including nongovernmental organizations," he said.

"For Muhammadiyah to fight for the country only via its schools and hospitals is not enough. It is impossible for Muhammadiyah to not touch on politics."

Earlier this month, Muhammadiyah issued a controversial fatwa that declared smoking as forbidden in Islam. The group is also expected to lobby the government to immediately ratify the World Heath Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which mandates that signatories implement methods to reduce tobacco use.