Word: nahdlatul
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...despite the grim death toll in Bali and the government's inability to contain violence, the reality remains that militant views are held by a tiny minority of Indonesians. The tolerant, middle-of-the-road religion espoused by groups such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, which between them have a membership of some 70 million, is the true face of Islam. That may be another reason so many turn for reassurance to the charismatic Aa Gym, proudly positioned at the forefront of the moderate majority. He is a thoroughly modern Muslim. He advocates a 21st century religion that complements...
...mystery. Is he just "the Britney Spears of Islam," as he is characterized by Ulil Abshar-Abdalla, head of Indonesia's Liberal Islam Network? Is he merely a feel-good merchant who uses religion for his commercial ends? Or is Solahuddin Wahid, vice chairman of the 40 million-member Nahdlatul Ulama, right when he says that Aa Gym's "sincerity is his strength. He's creating a society based on his words and deeds...
...fallback, Wahid may try to mobilize his Muslim supporters. His party ranks only fourth in parliament?behind both Megawati's group and Golkar, the former ruling party of Suharto?but as leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim religious organization, Wahid can count on more than 40 million followers, mainly in Java. The clergymen within the organization are already preparing the faithful for Wahid's hard times. In mid-December, when Wahid's troubles were mounting, 40 clerics told their congregations they had all shared a prophetic dream: Wahid was sitting atop a coconut tree in a storm...
...recent trip to Lombok, a tourist island whose hotels were emptied after an outbreak of Christian-Muslim violence in January, Wahid preached a gentle message of tolerance to both sides of the community. In a mosque, one man angrily asked why Wahid and his 30 million-member Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim organization has not done more to base the new government on Islam. Wahid calmly replied that he is not going to make Indonesia into an Islamic country because that was never the N.U.'s intention and other religions need to be respected. By the way, he continued...