TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Minister's offhand remarks signal NU's privileged place
Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas is facing criticism over remarks he made last week that some observers have interpreted as favoring the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), over other religious groups.
Change Size
Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. (Courtesy of Kompas.id)
R
eligious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas is in hot water over remarks he made last week that some observers have interpreted as favoring the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), over other religious groups.
In a webinar hosted by NU on Oct. 20 to commemorate National Santri (Islamic student) Day and published on YouTube, Yaqut recalled a conversation he had had with ministry officials on the history of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
One official said the name should be changed to the Islamic affairs ministry because it was Indonesia’s gift to its Muslim population. Yaqut replied that it was instead "a gift to NU" for the group’s contributions during the country’s struggle for independence.
Yaqut said the ministry was established as part of NU founder Abdul Wahab Chasbullah’s efforts to settle a dispute between the country’s Muslim and nationalist factions. The former wanted Indonesia to become a strictly Islamic country, as per the Jakarta Charter, a precursor to the preamble of the 1945 Constitution written in May 1945 that included a provision that Indonesia would adhere to sharia principles. The segment concerning sharia principles was dropped from the preamble of the Constitution, and Yaqut said the Islamic community was granted the establishment of the Religious Affairs Ministry as compensation.
Read also: NU proposes Oct. 22 as Santri Day
The “gift to NU” statement quickly drew public ire. An NU figure and members of other Muslim organizations criticized Yaqut, and some social media users called for the minister’s dismissal.
Yaqut was a leader of the NU’s youth wing, GP Ansor, and his older brother Yahya Staquf is running for the NU chairmanship.
