PEOPLE REJECT CERTIFICATION OF PREACHERS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 15 (ANTARA) - Different segments of society have voiced their opposition to the idea of certifying religious preachers, allegedly proposed by the National Agency for Terrorism Handling (BNPT), in order to reduce radicalism in the country.          Even though BNPT head Ansyaad Mbai has denied that his agency made such a proposal, the discourse on and rejection of the need for ulemas (Muslim Scholars) to be certified continues to trigger debates.          Ansyaad Mbai said his agency had never conducted research on the need for preachers to possess certification before they could deliver sermons.          Yet recent media reports carried stories that the agency had raised the idea on the need for ulemas to be certified to prevent the spread of radicalism.         The discourse came up following a number of terror-related incidents in the country, such as an explosion in Depok, West Java, the confiscation of explosive materials in Jakarta, and a series of  shootings of terror suspects in Solo, Central Java, in recent days.         "This is misquoted. This is wrong (the reports). What is right is that he (Irfan Idris, the director for responding to radicalism for BNPT) was explaining at a seminar about the example of Singapore, where ulemas are certified. We are not proposing a certification. So please correct this mistake," Ansyaad was quoted as saying on Monday by Bisnis Indonesia's online website.          Yet, the issue has become a matter of public discourse this week.          Sociologist Nia Elovina of the National University said it was normal for the Ministry of Religious Affairs to propose a policy for certifying ulamas.          "If university lecturers and school teachers can be certified, why can¿t Muslim scholars be certified to guarantee their credibility?" she asked.          She said that in recent days there were many cases of conflicts which involved religious adherents. "I think, to overcome these conditions, certification of preachers is needed," she said.          The idea, however, was rejected by different quarters, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU/the country's largest Muslim organization), legislators, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), preachers association and others.          "The government should not go that far," stressed General Chairman of NU Executive Board, Said Aqil Siro. He said the name ulama was a kind of title given by Muslim community to preachers as a token of recognition of their religious knowledge. It was not a title given by the government.          So it is not appropriate, according to Said, for the government to provide the title through a certification program.  "The title kiai (Muslim scholars), utadz (religious teachers) or ulama are titles given by the people, not by the government," noted Said, who holds a doctorate degree from the Ummul Qura University of Mecca.          He added that if the government had yet to be successful in reducing radicalism, it was not due to the small role preachers had so far played.          The Ulama Council (MUI) for West Java also rejected the idea, saying that the proposal for certification is unreasonable.         "I think this is inconsequential. After all, it concerns the credibility of ulamas," West Java MUI chairman Hafidz Utsman said.       He also noted that efforts to overcome terrorism would overlap if ulemas were certified.  "If ulemas are certified, it would cause overlapping as to who should do that. It is not clear with what agencies coordination should be made," he said.          The West Sumatra chapter MUI believes that a plan to implement a certification program of ulemas to counter terrorism would not be effective.  "Terrorists are members of exclusive groups and would never expose their ideas to the public", said Gusrizal Gazahar of the West Sumatra MUI.         He added that terrorists would only pass on their ideas to their recruits, making it difficult to isolate and identify radicals.  "Therefore, it would not be easy to select those who need to be certified and need to be prevented from spreading radical ideas. If the ulema certification program is, indeed, carried out, there should be clear indicators for its implementation to avoid problems in the future", he stated     According to Secretary General of the Indonesia Preachers Association (Ikadi) Idris Abdul Shomad, certification should not be related to terrorism issues. "It would be a humiliation for ulamas if preachers should be certified due to cases of terrorism," noted Idris Abdul Shomad.          It would become a slanderous thing if preachers are certified due to terrorism issues or due to the desire of the government to reduce radicalism. It will leave the impression that preachers are the instigators of terrorism.          Ulamas and terrorists have no relations, he said. "So, one should not relate ulamas to terrorism," Idris stressed.          The same rejection also comes from a legislator. "I reject and criticize the idea of certifying ulamas," Indra, a member of the Justice Party Faction of the House of Representatives (DPR) said.          He added that any titles such as "kiai," "ustadz," and "buya," (senior religious leader) are given by the public as a token of recognition of ulemas' rich religious knowledge. "The titles are given by the public, not by the government, based on their religious knowledge," he said.          He said that the idea to certify ulamas was an effort to control or restrict religious sermons and constitutes an action by an authoritarian government. "If applied, it would be a return to the authoritarian order in the past," the legislator warned.          Deputy Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) La Ode Ida added that the idea to certify ulamas as part of an effort to reduce radicalism could not be put into practice.         "Ulamas should not be certified. The definition of ulama is a person who has deep knowledge (about Islam). Thus, all who have much knowledge (about Islamd) are ulamas. So, the degree of the Islamic knowledge of a person cannot be measured," La Ode Ida said on Wednesday.           He also said that recognition of knowledge about religions could not be taken over by the state. "Ulama is ulama. So, let the ulama title be recognized independently and it should not receive confirmation from the state," he noted.         He added that terrorism occurs due to injustice and poverty. Terrorists are not satisfied with the government, but they do not have any power to voice their opinions about certain government policies, he said.          "Terrorism could happen if there is injustice. But they do not have any power to channel their aspirations," La Ode Ida said.***3*** (T.A014/INE/a014/KR-BSR/A/A014) 15-09-2012 17:20