Muhammadiyah Struggle and Interest in Politics

• Introduction

Muhammadiyah is a non-governmental organization that originated as a movement in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta, Muhammadiyah is a faith-based organization and it is the second largest non-governmental organization right after Nahdlatul Ulama who is also a faith-based organization.  In the modern era of the 21st century, Muhammadiyah possesses many impacts to the Indonesian society in various aspect. But this struggle took years to achieve and Muhammadiyah still have many ambitions for the future, this writing will tell you about the origin of Muhammadiyah and their struggle today in Indonesia.

 

• The Founding of Muhammadiyah

 

Ahmad Dahlan was born in 1986 at Yogyakarta to a religious family, Ahmad Dahlan studied various Islamic teaching including the Arabic language. In 1890, Ahmad Dahlan went to Mecca to do pilgrimage but he continued to stay in Mecca for several years to study. This is the period where Ahmad Dahlan was exposed to reformist idea from scholars such as Muhammad Abduh and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, the idea that Ahmad Dahlan received are ideas to bring back Islamic teaching to stay true from its original source.

Ahmad Dahlan was determined to bring changes to Indonesia upon his returning by implementing what he had learned from his study, he sees the syncretism of local Islamic teaching as stagnant towards development that is happening in the world.  Ahmad Dahlan faces challenges from traditionalist Muslims and other Islamic community in Indonesia, this means that the challenges Ahmad Dahlan faces can be seen as a systematic problem that emerge because of various aspects.

The Islamic syncretism in Indonesia can be seen imbedded in local culture by traditionalist thinkers, this example can easily see with religious festival, the use of items like talisman and the incorporation of Hindu-Buddhist practice in Islam. Local Ulama and Kyai hold significant influence over religious community which gives them religious authority over the communities, the ideas Ahmad Dahlan brought are seen as a threat towards the religious authority.  Ahmad Dahlan's views on Ijtihad was seen as a rejection towards traditionalist practices, this furthermore hardened the challenge of what Ahmad Dahlan faces because it undermines the traditionalist teachings.

Ahmad Dahlan success in establishing Muhammadiyah is based on His goal to modernize Islamic teachings and make it more relevant to contemporary life, he focused on returning Islamic practice to the original source and rejected local superstition. Ahmad Dahlan understands the significant role education plays in reform, this leads Ahmad Dahlan to establish schools that can educate Muslims with his vision. The schools that were established integrated religious and secular education to provide a modern education with basic Islamic values, the teachings have brought upon new generations of Muslims that brings his reformist idea to the modern world today.    

• Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama involvement in Politics

 

Muhammadiyah can be seen throughout history to compete against another faith-based non-governmental organization called Nahdlatul Ulama, both founders of NU and Muhammadiyah know the existence of each other and respected the different view they posses for the Muslim community in Indonesia. One of those difference can be seen in both NU and Muhammadiyah approach is their approach towards politics, many other differences can still be seen today but their interaction with politics are the most relevant topic towards Indonesia governance.

Nahdlatul Ulama's approach in politics is much more different than Muhammadiyah, NU focuses more in direct involvement in politics. We can see this when NU participated in political parties throughout history, NU has even made an alliance with other political party such as PPP and PKB.