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Muhammadiyah at 107: New challenges, roles in education
The education councils need to replicate efforts by the Muhammadiyah education councils of East and West Java in implementing digital awareness programs among Muhammadiyah teachers. The programs particularly target teachers who have never obtained additional training.
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At the celebration Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim praised Muhammadiyah for its efforts to realize education for all way before the proclamation of the republic in 1945. (Antara/Luqman Hakim)
D
uring the celebration of the 107th anniversary of the Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s first Muslim organization which merged traditional Islamic and Western style of education, chairman Haedar Nashir reiterated the organization’s mission to spur on a renaissance in the nation. The celebration took place in the organization’s hometown at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (UMY).
At the celebration Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim praised Muhammadiyah for its efforts to realize education for all way before the proclamation of the republic in 1945.
Since its establishment on Nov. 18, 1912, in Yogyakarta by its founder Ahmad Dahlan as a reformist socioreligious movement, advocating ijtihad or individual interpretation of Quran and sunnah (Prophet’s sayings), Muhammadiyah has established thousands of schools and hundreds of universities, hospitals and orphanages across the archipelago.
Nevertheless, it was not the headquarters of Muhammadiyah that directed the massive development of these nonprofit endeavors. It was the voluntary work of millions of members who shared the goal of spreading the Islamic teaching of rahmatan lil ‘alamin (blessing for the whole world) through nonprofit activities.
The efforts combine refinement of Islamic teaching and modernization, particularly through education. But everyone is welcome to join the endeavor. In eastern Indonesia, for example, most students of Muhammadiyah universities and schools are non-Muslims, and some of the graduates have become local leaders in both government and nongovernment sectors, contributing to the progress of their respective communities.
The universities and schools teach Islam and kemuhammadiyahan (Muhammadiyahness) to non-Muslim students, and never force them to change their faith. At the same time, non-Muslim students also receive religious lessons from religion teachers according to their belief.
Muhammadiyah, one of the nation’s largest organizations with approximately 70 million members, has also given birth to national heroes, such as the nation’s first president, Sukarno, who was involved in its education council during his stay in Bengkulu; legal expert Djuanda Kartawidjaja, who helped global recognition of Indonesia as an archipelagic state, military general Sudirman, who developed Muhammadiyah‘s scout Hizbul Wathon and many others including its founder Ahmad Dahlan.
