Muhammadiyah

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Muhammadiyah (full name: Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah, literally means "followers of Muhammad" (from Arabic). The organization was founded in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan in the city of Yogyakarta as a reformist socioreligious movement, advocating ijtihad - individual interpretation of Qur'an and sunnah, as opposed to taqlid - the acceptance of the traditional interpretations propounded by the ulama.^[1].

At the moment, Muhammadiyah is the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia with 29 million members^[2]. Although Muhammadiyah leaders and members are often actively involved in shaping the politics in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah is not a political party. It has devoted itself to social and educational activities.

Muhammadiyah Logo, featuring Muhammad calligraphy

1 History
2 Doctrine
3 Activity
4 Organization
5 List of Leaders
6 References
7 Notes
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] History

Today, with 29 million members Muhammadiyah is the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, after Nahdatul Ulama.

On November 18, 1912, Ahmad Dahlan—an educated Muslim scholar from Mecca—established Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta. The motivation for its foundation was widespread synchretism in Indonesian, and particularly Javanese, Muslim society. Ahmad Dahlan, much influenced by Egyptian reformist Muhammad 'Abduh, considered such practices proof of shirk or idolatry. Since its beginning, Muhammadiyah has thus been very concerned with maintaining tawhid, and refining monotheism in society.

From 1913 to 1918, Muhammadiyah established five Islamic Schools. In 1919 an Islamic high school, Hooge School Muhammadiyah was established. ^[3] Muhammadiyah has generally avoided politics. Unlike its even more conservative counterpart, Nahdatul Ulama, it never formed a political party. Since its establishment, it has devoted itself to educational and social activities.

However, during the Indonesian reformation, some parts of Muhammadiyah urged the leadership to form a party. Therefore, they - including Muhammadiyah chairman, Amien Rais, founded the National Mandate Party. Although gaining large support from Muhammadiyah members, this party has no official relationship with Muhammadiyah. The leader of Muhammadiyah says the members of his organisation are free to align themselves with political parties of their choosing provided such parties have shared values with Muhammadiyah. ^[4]

[edit] Doctrine

The central doctrine of Muhammadiyah is Sunni Islam. However, the main focus of the Muhammadiyah movement is to heighten people's sense of moral responsibility, purifying their faith to true Islam. It emphasizes the authority of the Qur'an and the Hadiths as supreme Islamic law that serves as the legitimate basis of the interpretation of religious belief and practices, in contrast to traditional practices where shariah law invested in religious school by ulema.

Muhammadiyah strongly opposes syncretism, where Islam in Indonesia has coalesced with animism (spirit worship) and with Hindu-Buddhist values that were spread among the villagers, including the upper classes, from the pre-Islamic period. Furthermore, Muhammadiyah opposes the tradition of Sufi cult that allows Sufi leader (shaykh) as the formal authority of Muslims.

As of 2006, it is said to have "veered sharply toward a more conservative brand of Islam" under the "leadership of Din Syamsuddin" the head of Indonesia's Council of Ulama. ^[5]

[edit] Activity

Muhammadiyah is noted as a Muslim reformists organization. Its main activity is religion and education. It has built Islamic schools in modern forms, aside from traditional pesantren. Some of its schools are also open to non-Muslims ^[6]. Currently there are around 5,754 schools owned by Muhammadiyah. ^[7]

Muhammadiyah also manages several Islamic universities, such as:

Muhammadiyah University of Malang [1]
Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta [2]
Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta [3]
Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto [4]

It has also functioned as a charitable organization. Today it owns several hundred medical clinics and hospitals in Indonesia. Recently it has been active in campaigning about the danger of bird flu in Indonesia. ^[8]

[edit] Organization

The national headquarters was originally in Yogyakarta. However, by 1970 the committees dealing with education, economics, health and social welfare had been relocated to the national capital, Jakarta.

Muhammadiyah is supported by several autonomous organizations: ^[9]

Aisyiyah ( Women )

Pemuda Muhammadiyah ( Youth )

Nasyiatul Aisyiyah ( Young Women )

Ikatan Remaja Muhammadiyah ( a teenagers group) [5]

Ikatan Mahasiswa Muhammadiyah (College student ) [6]

Tapak Suci Putra Muhammadiyah (Pencak Silat)

Hisbul Wathan ( Scouting ).

Jaringan Intelektual Muda Muhammadiyah

The central committee structure consists of five advisors, a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary general and some deputies, a treasurer and some deputies, as well as several deputies of chairman. ^[10]

[edit] List of Leaders

KH Ahmad Dahlan 1912-1922
KH Ibrahim 1923-1934
KH Hisyam 1935 - 1936
KH Mas Mansur 1937 - 1941
Ki Bagus Hadikusuma 1942 - 1953
Buya A.R Sutan Mansur 1956
H.M. Yunus Anis 1959
KH. Ahmad Badawi 1962 - 1965
KH. Faqih Usman 1968
KH. AR Fachruddin 1971 - 1985
KHA. Azhar Basyir, M.A. 1990 - 1995
Prof. Dr. H. M. Amien Rais 1995 - 1998
Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif 1998 - 2005
Prof. Dr. HM Din Syamsuddin 2005 - 2010

[edit] References

Peacock, J.L. (1978). Purifying the Faith: The Muhammadijah Movement in Indonesian Islam. Cummings Press.
Muhammadiyah. Div. of Religion and Philosophy, St. Martin College, UK. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.