Secretary General Of Gelora Party: Extraordinary Political Division Of Presidential Election Due To Politicization Of Religion

JAKARTA - Secretary-General of the Gelora Party Mahfudz Siddiq said that certain political forces using religious sentiments could interfere with the concept of "Ummatan Wasathan".

As a result, said Mahfudz, political interests intervened on religious agendas.

"For example, during the 2019 presidential election, the political division was extraordinary. In fact, there was even a divorce due to differences in the choices of the presidential candidates. So marriage, which is a vehicle for worship in Islam, could be torn apart due to political choices. This is a result of the politicization of religion," Mahfudz said as quoted by Antara, Friday, October 15th.

According to him, "Ummatan Wasathan" is a concept of a harmonious, moderate, and standing society in the middle so that it can be accepted by all parties.

He mentioned that there are two essences of "Ummatan Wasathan", the first is goodness or Al Khairiyah. And the second is the principle of justice or balance.

"So if you want to build a society that is 'Ummatan Wasathan', then goodness and justice or balance must be shared values and orientations," said Mahfudz.

Just a little shift from these two values, it will move away from the Ummatan Wasathan community, it can even make Muslims transform into a destructive factor.

According to him, this deviation from the principles of "Ummatan Wasathan" occurred not only because of political factors, but also because of understanding factors.

Regarding the understanding factor, Mahfudz gave an example of an experience 3 years ago, when he asked the administrator of the prayer room near his house to turn down the loudspeaker because there was a sick toddler in his house.

"But the issue that arose later was that there were 'political people who forbade the call to prayer in the prayer room, an issue that made me have to clarify," said Mahfudz.

The issue of loudspeakers, he continued, shows that in Ummatan Wasathan, a good understanding of Islam is needed, for example, a prayer room with loudspeakers is located in a village containing only 20 houses far apart, so that is good.

"But if the village already contains 200 families and the alleys are narrow, loudspeakers will actually interfere with the joints of life. This is an example of how important a good Islamic understanding factor is," he said.

Meanwhile, an observer of International Politics, Prof. Imron Cotan stated that Islam is compatible with nationalism, nationhood, and democracy.

Indonesia, he continued, could be an example of how Islam can be compatible with nationalism, nationalism, and democracy.

"And it's time indeed, Indonesia dared to emerge as a leader of the Islamic world, in the midst of the damage caused by the 'power politics' of big countries in Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan," said Imron Cotan.

On the same occasion, PDIP Lawyer and Politician Kapitra Ampera emphasized that this middle community or Ummatan Wasathan is a doctrine that exists in Islamic teachings.

However, he continued, a distinction must be made between religious doctrine and religious behavior.

"Well, in a political context, Islam cannot be an ideology. Islam is a 'guidance of life'. Islam is an ideological guidance. So if Islam becomes an ideology, then it will be downgraded," said Kapitra.