H

aving been a top official of the Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry for quite some time, Sulawesi-born Nasaruddin Umar still insists on washing the dishes at home—much to his mother-in-law’s dismay.

“We were having dinner in my house one time. After we had finished, I decided to wash the dishes. Seeing this, my mother-in-law said things like: ‘Son, that is a woman’s job’,” he told The Jakarta Post in an interview at his office on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta last week.

The Deputy Religious Affairs Minister said that he eventually gave in to the determination of Siti Aminah, his mother-in-law, that “men should not enter the kitchen”, adding that while he had disagreed with her, hurting her feelings was the last thing on his mind.   

“She might think that by doing the dishes myself I was indirectly accusing her of being a sloppy woman who could not do the household chores,” Nasaruddin said with a smile.

Born 53 years ago in Ujung Bone, South Sulawesi on 23 June, Nasaruddin was the ministry’s director general of guidance to the Muslim community before President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed him as the ministry’s deputy to assist politician Suryadharma Ali last October.

Nasaruddin had published several books before he was appointed deputy minister, frequently discussing gender fairness from the perspective of Islamic teachings.

His books include Teologi Perempuan: Antara Mitos dan Kitab Suci (Women’s Theology: between Myth and Holy Book), Qur’an untuk Perempuan (Koran for Women) and Argumen Kesetaraan Gender Perspektif Al-Quran (Gender Equity Argument in the Perspective of the Koran).

The husband of Helmi Halimatul Udhmah made it clear that his motivation to discuss gender issues was driven by his frustration over some Muslims’ perspectives that considered men as better than women.

Nasaruddin asserted that there were only four natural aspects of women that distinguished them from men: pregnancy, giving birth, breastfeeding and menstruation.

“In the Koran, there is a story about Queen Balqis [Queen Sheba] where she was depicted as a leader able to generate welfare for her people. This proves that Islamic teachings allow a woman to be a leader,” he said firmly.

The father of Andi Nizar Nazaruddin, Andi Rizal Nazaruddin and Andi Najdah Nazaruddin also said that he mostly disagreed with polygamous practices, adding that it must be the last option for everyone.

“One cannot simply ban polygamy, because it is mentioned in the Koran. However, I think people should really think twice—even thrice—before doing it because many people, especially women, have became victims of this kind of practice,” he said.

Nasaruddin’s viewpoints have made several Muslim conservative websites tag Nasaruddin as “one of Indonesia’s liberal agents”.

In an article published by arrahmah.com, a jihadi movement news portal, on March 15 last year, Nasaruddin was among the 50 Indonesians who were believed to be “US liberal agents” with close relations to the CIA.

The late former president Abdurrahman Wahid, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, Komaruddin Hidayat, and Indonesian writer Goenawan Mohamad were also on the list.

 Nasaruddin shrugged off the accusations, saying he was fully aware of other people’s reactions toward him.

“Some have accused me for being an agent for the West. I have kept my mouth shut and visited several Islamic boarding schools to meet the so-called conservative elder clerics instead. My books might be controversial at times but I try to talk about [the issues] with them,” he said.

A professor of Koranic interpretation at the Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, Nasaruddin drew the similarities between his past experience and the Canadian liberal Muslim author Irshad Manji, whose recent tour in Indonesia was opposed by conservative groups.

Manji, who is openly lesbian, was accused of spreading beliefs that Islam should be open toward homosexuality, which the groups claimed to be “offensive”, in her latest book Allah, Liberty and Love.

 The author has denied the accusation, saying that her book mostly discusses the steps, particularly for young Muslims, to bravely speak up whenever they face questions about their religion.

 While acknowledging that he “had no idea” of who Manji was, Nasaruddin said he had faced similar problems, but found other ways to deal with them through what he called “baby steps”.

 “We must be aware of the tradition of the Indonesian clerics first. For example, I would never tell [any] ulema they are old-fashioned because it would hurt their feelings. We must accept their criticism and carefully explain to them our intentions,” he told the Post. Concepts like gender equality were still relatively new and needed time to explain, he said.

 In late April, Nasaruddin, founder of the interfaith organization Masyarakat Dialog antar Umat Beragama (Public Interreligious Dialogue), urged the National Police to take seriously the attack on an Ahmadiyah mosque in Tasikmalaya, West Java.

 An unidentified group attacked Ahmadiyah worshippers in Tasikmalaya, West Java on April 20, the latest of hundreds of such incidents against the minority group.

 While Nasaruddin urged police to bring the perpetrators to justice, Suryadharma Ali, chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), insisted that it was the Ahmadis who must obey the law.

 But Nasaruddin denied suggestions of a disagreement between him and his superior.

 A senior researcher of the Wahid Institute, an NGO focused on pluralism, Ahmad Suaedy, said that Nasaruddin’s job “is more difficult than the minister’s.”

 “The President has appointed him to fill a position so he can act as a mediator in religious conflicts in the country, yet the ministry’s leader is a politician with conservative beliefs. It is as if he is trapped in a constricted cage,” Suaedy said.