NU: Islam Nusantara not aimed at changing Islamic doctrines

Malang, NU Online
Islam Nusantara having so far been propagated by Nahdlatul Ulama is not a movement to change the doctrine of Islam for it came to the country as a guest and was later adopted in cultural spaces.

The prominent cleric of Nahdlatul Ulama KH M. Tholhah Hasan made the statements on the sidelines of a meeting with NU Online in Malang recently.

"Consequently, Islam Nusantara has built a distict character that is very differenct from that manifested by Islam in other Muslim countries, especially the Middle East," he said.
 
According to the former Minister of Religious Affairs, the Muslim countries in the Middle East, for example, have commonly considered Islam as a socioreligious and even political system that is absolutely “complete,” “final” and authoritative.

"In Nusantara, on the other hand, Islam is in a state of constant learning. For hundreds of years, its leading practitioners have carefully studied social reality, in order to ascertain the most elegant means to achieve their goals in addition to maintaining harmony within a diverse and pluralistic society," he said.

Although the model of Islam Nusantara is different from that in the Middle East, this does not mean that it constitutes any form of heresy. Prominent ulema (religious scholars) and other Muslim leaders in Nusantara could ensure that the ulema in practicing and promoting Islam adhered to the fundamental Islamic teachings in addition to following its intellectual traditions and maintaining an inseverable bond to the established references of classical Islam.

"Even NU with its Islam Nusantara agenda could profoundly sow the seeds of its teachings in maintaining and enriching the civilization of Nusantara as if Islam found itself in “paradise”. The Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization could play an important role in addition to enjoying the widest possible opportunity to engage in negotiations with social and historical reality." (Masdar)