Quoting the organization’s edicts council, Haedar said adult female Muslims must cover all parts of their bodies except their faces and palms.

“This is shar’i [in accordance with sharia],” he said during the opening ceremony for the national executive meeting (Tanwir) of Aisyiyah.

The Muhammadiyah women’s wing held the national meeting, themed “Movement and Dynamics of Spreading Progressive Islamism”, from Nov. 16 to 18 at the Aisyiyah University (Unisa) of Yogyakarta in Sleman regency.

Haedar said the council based its edict on the Quran and hadiths — also called sunnah — and had concluded that doing otherwise was contrary to the two texts.

He added that the extraordinary piety and observance Muslim communities displayed in their religious practice deserved to be welcomed warmly as part of the current dynamics in Islam.

At the same time, he also noted the recent development of the "hijrah movement" of Islamic revival amid life changes, especially among the upper middle society.

Haedar cited as an example the "phenomenon" of Muslim women covering up their entire bodies, including their face and palms, which had caused public controversy.

This phenomenon, he continued, could be because such women were extremely dedicated to the hijrah movement, or because some nonmainstream Muslim women believed that contemporary Muslim fashion did not follow sharia.

“It is now our task to make them understand the Islamic views of Muhammadiyah. That is the key to progressive Islamic teaching,” said Haedar, underlining the importance for everyone to avoid conflicts between living in society and living according to one’s religious beliefs.

He also highlighted the importance of instilling values to prevent people from misinterpreting moral and spiritual values as violence, conflict, hatred and hostility.

“It’s time for Aisyiyah to be a pioneer and engine of progressive Islamic teachings based on deep, broad and substantive Islam,” he said.

Aisyiyah chairwoman Siti Noordjannah Djohantini said that some 300 members from the country’s 34 provinces had attended the meeting.

She added that the meeting was "special", because it coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Aisyiyah Bustanul Athfal kindergartens (TK ABA), which were first established in 1919 during the pre-independence era, when it was difficult for indigenous people to access education.

“The initiative proved Muhammadiyah’s and Aisyiyah’s commitment to education,” said Noordjannah.

She said that about 20,000 TK ABA existed today, which accounted for 20 percent of early childhood education (PAUD) institutions in the country.

Aside from TK ABAs and tertiary institutions like Unisa, Aisyiyah has also established elementary, junior high and senior high schools in the country. Unisa is the only Indonesian university that is managed by a women's organization.

Noordjannah said that Aisyiyah pledged to be a progressive Muslim women's movement and that it continued to represent grassroots interests.

"Through this Tanwir, Aisyiyah wants to strengthen its movements at the grassroots level so it can directly tap into the pulse of the people's lives," she said.

She added that the organization would always look to the values of progressive Islam in helping its members and supporters become progressive human beings who could contribute to their nation and country, and asked that all elements of the community work hard for the nation.

"If we want to develop, we cannot do nothing. We have to make every effort to realize [this]," she said.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia