Jakarta – Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), says it will not use violence to counter a rising number of attacks and intimidation attempts directed at its members by radical groups.
NU Deputy Chairman As'ad Said Ali told reporters on Monday that the group's members have remained calm when facing aggression from radical Islamic groups, declining to specify which radical groups threatened NU. However, the organization would not remain silent about its predicament, he said.
Nahdlatul Ulama, which claims to have about 80 million members, has said it would speak out against radicals during events marking its 88th anniversary on July 17, according to the lunar calendar.
More than 100,000 NU followers from throughout the country are expected to attend the principal anniversary ceremony at the Bung Karno Sports Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta. "We have a lot of members who are ready to fight for us. But we will not use violence. We will show them that we have power and refuse to be intimidated," he said, adding that it was the government's job to take actions against radicals.
On NU's calm response, As'ad recalled the example of an NU mosque in Ngawi, East Java, that was attacked by seven members of a radical Islamic group in May. "Those people strongly believed that NU's followers incorrectly followed Muslim traditions and that we would be sent to hell for that," he said without naming the assailants.
Majelis Tafsir Al Quran, an Islamic organization in Surakarta, Central Java, he added, allegedly defamed the organization through a radio program, he added. "On their talk shows, they repeatedly say that our traditions do not follow Islamic traditions."
Another alleged campaign to tarnish NU was launched in Lampung, Sumatra, he said. "In a seminar about deviant movements in Indonesia, the speakers mentioned Hasyim Asy'arie," he said, referring to NU's founder.
As'ad blamed the government's lackluster efforts in control radical groups for the rising number of threats levied at moderate Islamic organizations.
"We will still count on the government, but we urge the government to improve its struggle in combating radical groups. We hope they can perform better than they have to date," he said. "The government has done nothing while these groups have disturbed or discredited other people."
Masduki Baidlowi, a member of the organization's education department, said that NU was doing its best to keep its young members away from radical and violent groups. Islamic boarding schools were still the best place to inculcate members with NU's values, Masduki said.
"Islamic boarding schools are culturally a place to learn not only NU values and tradition, but also a place to develop our humanity," he said. (lfr)