The Ideas of Abdurrahman Wahid on Australian and Indonesian Academics’ Prespectives

Primo Alui Joelianto, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and Vanuatu in Canberra, said, "Gus Dur is a minority groups defender, of those who are ignored both in politics or economics," at the Public Discussion: Islam and Pluralism in Indonesia Post-Gus Dur Era, held on 23 January 2010, in Balai Kartini, the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra. This event was co-organized by Nahdatul Ulama community–Australia and New Zealand Branch, Australia-Indonesia Student Association-ACT and the Indonesian Embassy.

In his opening remarks, the Ambassador reminded us that the late former President K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid, widely known as Gus Dur, was a moderate and tolerant Muslim champion. He argued that national integrity in Indonesia should be placed above the existing diversity. The event invited four prominent scholars on Islam and pluralism who are also personally closed to Gus Dur, namely: Prof. Greg Barton from Monash University, Dr. Nadirsyah Hosen from Wolongong University, Prof. James Haire from Charles Sturt University and Mr. Ismatu Ropi, PhD Candidate from the Australian National University.

Prof. Greg Barton reviewed the legacy of Gus Dur in contribution to Islam and pluralism in Indonesia. According to him, Gus Dur was an al-dakhil or pioneer of democracy in Indonesia and also a cultural broker who was widely accepted by many groups or communities, not only in Indonesia but also in the world. Gus Dur was also a humanism champion who unified Islam and humanism. His inimitability is strongly memorized by Paul Wolfowitz, former U.S Ambassador to Indonesia who recognized Gus Dur as one of the greatest international leaders. Gus Dur’s views also revealed Muslim as a friendly and peaceful religion. Moreover, Gus Dur was a fighter who integrated modernism and traditional religious movement.

‘Gus Dur and Soeharto were leaders who believed in constitution’ argued Dr. Nadirsyah Hosen. Nevertheless, Soeharto interpreted our constitution, UUD 1945, and also Pancasila literally, while Gus Dus interpreted them contextually. In addition, Gus Dur also very respected Bhineka Tunggal Ika, where he interpreted the meaning of Bhineka Tunggal Ika as “minority has equal rights with majority.” In his conclusion, Dr. Nadirsyah Hosen argued that to preserve and continue the legacy of Gus Dur, Indonesia should revise Article 29 of UUD 1945 in order to better defend and protect the rights of all faiths and religions in Indonesia.

Prof. James Haire also scrutinized some legacies of Gus Dur. Those legacies include how Gus Dur integrated religion and politics and incorporated his view as a religious social commentator and traditional cleric. Gus Dur’s views on pluralism were basically based on history where Gus Dur saw 1945 as an important year for the development of pluralism because in 1945, our founding fathers acknowledged the diversity in Indonesian community. Another significant view of Gus Dur was that a daily informal dialog is the core of interfaith harmony in Indonesia.

As the last presenter, Mr. Ismatu Ropi examined how a state regulates faiths or religions. Indonesia is one of the countries who regulate faiths and religions. It is his opinion that such regulation by state is crucial as state and faiths could not be separated. However, in order to better protect the rights of citizens, many of religion regulations in Indonesia should be revised.

The participants of discussion were very enthusiastic. Numerous questions, inputs and ideas were shared in the discussion. This was a sign that the discussion was succesful and also an indication that Australian and Indonesian communities in Australia are very interested in the legacy of Gus Dur and his contribution to Islam and pluralism. Finally, the participants agreed that to appreciate Gus Dur’s contribution to Indonesia and international community, all positive ideas of Gus Dur should be implemented and developed. (www.rainbowdiplomacy.com/Indonesian Embassy in Canberra)