Tentara Wanita dan Seragam Militer Terancam Fundamentalisme

Tentara Wanita and the TNI military Uniform : kebablasan

It is very sad to see the fact that female Indonesian soldiers are expected to be allowed to wear a piece of dress which is not a part of their formal uniform, namely to wear the hijab. The most ridiculous thing is that the DPR  has asked the TNI to allow the female soldiers to wear the hijab during their duty. Indeed, we must respect those who want to wear a hijab for their religious freedom, however it must be noted that the question of the hijab is not qat'i (absolutely obligatory like praying, fasting in Ramadan, etc) but rather it is ikhtilafi, which means that there are different opinions, both pro and contra, on the obligation of the hijab. Some say it is an obligation, while others say that it is only recommended or even that it has nothing to do with Islam, but is rather only the tradition of the past, especially that of the Middle Eastern women who lived in the medieval ages.

One important modern approach in understanding the case of the hijab is promoted by Dr Muhammad Sahrur. For him, the hijab is not obligatory to every female Muslim, but rather it was only imposed to the wives of the Prophet Muhammad. Sahrur insists that it is very clear that the Holy Qur’an only states that such code of dress is only imposed to them, not to ordinary Muslimah. And Sahrur even clarifies that even the long rob that is worn by Muslim women is in fact a code of dress belonging to the past, about fifteen centuries ago. For Sahrur, Islam does specify how both male and female Muslims should dress, but this does not mean that they are allowed to be naked or to show their genital organs or certain areas of their bodies which can arouse sexual desire in those who see them. Rather they are to dress as according to the universal moral standard that is espoused by most of the people on the earth.

Now, after being aware that the hijab is not really obligatory, we must be saddened by the decision of Panglima TNI Moeldoko to allow female TNI to wear the hijab while on-duty. This permission is in fact a big mistake. This is a failure on the part of the TNI to understand that Islam in fact does not obligate female Muslims to wear such a thing. By permitting the female TNI who work in Aceh to wear a hijab, the TNI seems to be on the side of those who misunderstand Islam by interpreting it literally or out of context. If Moeldoko then argues that it is only permitted in Aceh because of the status of Aceh with its Sharia laws, this even can lead to a conclusion that Moeldoko agrees that the hijab is obligatory for Muslim women. Thus he would then make another error by prohibiting it in other parts of Indonesia. Those pro hijab for the female TNI might accuse such a double standard attitude as discrimination.

The best solution that must be undertaken by Panglima TNI is to cancel the permission of wearing the hijab to all female TNI. And certainly the correct reasons for this policy must be expressed clearly so that those who give pressure to the Panglima TNI (such as DPR and religious organizations) cannot argue with it. These reasons could be as follows:

1.The hijab is masalah khilafiah (meaning it is not absolutely obligatory). In this respect, we expect NU and Muhammadiyyah, including other Islamic organizations, to participate in educating Indonesian Muslims to understand Islam according to the context, both the context of the time and space or localization. For example, wearing the hijab for those women who lived in the desert in the past was to protect their faces from the sand and dust. For Indonesian muslimah who live in a tropical country such as Indonesia, wearing the hijab is useless and is even worse for those who have a duty in the military profession. Unfortunately, NU and Muhammadiyyah are not able to educate Indonesian Muslims to practice moderation in understanding Islam. If we see what happens now, we might conclude that NU and Muhammadiyyah even become closer to the ultra fundamentalist groups such as Hizbut Tahrir and PKS. Neither Din Syamsuddin nor Aqil Siradj want to challenge this new trend of fundamentalism. This means that Din is not Cak Nur and Aqil Siradj is not Gus Dur, but rather belong to Hizbut Tahrir.

2. The hijab is dangerous for military duty. There is no doubt those who wear a hijab cannot perform their military duty as sufficiently as those who do not wear a hijab. A hijab can hinder the power of listening in the ears of those who take it. The long hijab can even cause other fatalities to the neck. Thus, even if the hijab was absolutely  obligatory, they must be exempted from wearing it because it is dangerous for military duty. In Islamic law, we know the term ruskhah( flexibility),  which is for example often exercised for musapir (travellers) and the sick or seniors who are exempted from fasting in Ramadan.