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Scholar warns Muslims of ISIS influence in Indonesia
Former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi has warned Indonesian Muslims of the influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS
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ormer chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi has warned Indonesian Muslims of the influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS.
"As a Muslim, I have to call on Indonesian Muslims to not let themselves be incited by the ISIS issue, which has entered Indonesia," Hasyim said in a written statement received by Antara news agency on Sunday.
He said that Indonesian Muslims should not be incited, let alone join the movement or support it. Hasyim said Indonesian Muslims, especially NU members, should not support ISIS and avoid things that could divide Muslims.
"ISIS is a new Islamic phenomenon in the Middle East, which is by no means appropriate to Indonesian conditions," Hasyim said.
The former chairman of NU, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, said that Indonesia needed to be cautious because since the Reform era the seeds or embryo of radicalism had been planted in Indonesia, either through mass organizations, movements which had entered the country's system or through the medium of terror, according to Antara.
"I think if the seeds are cultivated with a mixture of the ISIS issue and the rift emerging following the presidential election, it will help increase transnational movements' radicalism that endangers the security of Indonesian Muslims and the integrity of the Unitary State of Indonesia," he said.
He said that Indonesian Muslims would be better adopting a more Islamic and typically Indonesian strategy rather than claiming to be the most Islamic while justifying any means for the sake of their own grouping.
"The Prophet never taught Muslims to justify any means. In Islamic history this is like the Khawarij Group, which holds the principle that they are allowed to destroy anything they oppose," the former NU leader said. (hhr)
