The muktamar (national congress)of Muhammadiyah, the country'€™s second largest Muslim organization, chose 13 new members for its leadership board for the 2015-2020 term on Wednesday night, with only two of the newly elected officials considered representatives from the conservative wing of the organization.

Participants of the congress selected 11 individuals deemed to be moderates in the organization to serve as members on the board of leadership. The leaders are Haedar Nashir, Dahlan Rais, Abdul Mu'€™ti, Busyro Muqoddas, Anwar Abbas, Muhadjir Effendy, Syafiq A. Mughni, Dadang Kahmad, Agung Danarto, Suyatno and Hajriyanto Y. Thohari.

Meanwhile, the two selected leaders considered conservatives were Yunahar Ilyas and Goodwill Zubir.

Mu'€™ti, who currently serves as Muhammadiyah'€™s secretary, was credited for defending beleaguered minority groups like the Ahmadiyah and Shiite sects despite many conservative clerics in the country declaring the sects to be deviant forms of Islam.

The views of Yunahar and Goodwill have often clashed with those of Mu'€™ti.

'€œIn Muhammadiyah, we can see two sides: those who are deemed conservatives, like Pak Yunahar and Pak Goodwil, and progressives like Pak Mu'€™ti, who have staked out a bold stance on a number of issues like the persecution of Ahmadis and Shiite followers,'€ Muhammadiyah expert Ahmad Najib Burhani told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday night.

The 13 new leaders are expected to hold a meeting among themselves to determine who will replace retiring Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin for the 2015-2020 term.

If they fail to reach a consensus, then they are expected to take a vote.

Najib, who is a social researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that the public at large should not be concerned by the presence of conservatives on the board of leadership because Muhammadiyah applied a collectivist, collegial philosophy in its decision-making process.

He said that whatever the religious views of the soon-to-be-elected chairman, they would not influence the organization'€™s stance on strategic issues including its stance on minority groups in the country.

The 13 elected leaders were selected by some 2,600 congress participants who cast their ballots on Wednesday afternoon.

Each of the participants submitted a list of 13 of their preferred candidates to the congress committee.

As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, Haedar had received the largest number of votes with 1,903 out of a possible 2,600 votes, followed by Yunahar with 1,884 votes, Dahlan with 1,780 votes, Busyro with 1,771 votes, Mu'€™ti 1,770 votes, Anwar 1,406 votes, Muhadjir 1,255 votes, Syafiq with 1,180 votes, Dadang with 1,126 votes, Suyatno with 1,074 votes, Agung with 1,030 votes, Goodwill with 1,025 votes and Hajriyanto with 950 votes.

There is no guarantee that the leader who tops Wednesday'€™s polling will become the chairman because the decision regarding the organization'€™s chairmanship will be made during a deliberation conducted by the 13 leaders scheduled for Thursday.

In addition to the leadership vote, the muktamar participants also met on Wednesday night to decide what strategic programs the Muslim organization would focus on for the next five years.

Some of the strategic programs included developing programs to defend the rights of beleaguered minority groups like Ahmadiyah, Shiite and other minority groups of other religions. Muhammadiyah also planned to develop programs aimed at reducing tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups in the country.

'€œWe will give our attention to minority groups,'€ Mu'€™ti said in his speech regarding strategic issues in front of the muktamar participants.

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