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MUI, Muhammadiyah deputy chairman Yunahar Ilyas dies at 63
The cleric and renowned Quranic scholar, who was known for his friendly, inclusive nature, passed on Friday after a yearlong battle with kidney failure.
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Yunahar Ilyas (right) speaks to journalists in this file photo. He died on Friday in Yogyakarta, aged 63. (Kompas.com/Antara/Anom Prihantoro)
Y
unahar Ilyas, the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and a Muhammadiyah leader, died on Thursday evening aged 63 years at Dr. Sardjito Central General Hospital in Yogyakarta.
Doctors declared Yunahar dead at 11:47 p.m. on Thursday evening at the hospital, where he had been receiving intensive care for kidney failure for the past month.
"He was first diagnosed with kidney failure three days after the last Idul Fitri, and was advised to undergo hemodialysis right away," said Faturahman Kamal of the Muhammadiyah Tarjih and Tabligh Council, which Yunahar oversaw in his capacity as deputy chairman.
Although he was frequently hospitalized since his diagnosis, he continued to deliver occasional sermons, including at the organization's Yogyakarta and Jakarta headquarters.
Muhammadiyah chairman Haedar Nashir said that Muhammadiyah hospital and Sardjito hospital had done their best in treating Yunahar, but God had decided otherwise.
Haedar had known and worked with the cleric since the 1980s.
"It is a great loss, not only for Muhammadiyah, but also for the nation," Haedar said after the public viewing of Yunahar's body on Friday.
