By: Ridwan Putra Khalan )*
The true caliphate system does not reflect any religious teachings at all, even including Islam itself. So, of course, the community should be able to unite their views to reject the existence of this system and concept because it really damages the unity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
The concept of the caliphate is a concept that is very much against the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. How could it not be, because this concept is very capable of causing clashes between groups in the country and also threatening the sustainability of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia as a result of the national consensus that was initiated by the founding fathers of the nation.
Related to the explanation on the concept of the caliphate, Professor of Islamic Law at the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, Prof. Dr. M Atho Mudzar explained that supporters of the khilafah concept tend to have puritanical traits, namely tend to feel they are the most righteous themselves and also like to blame others who have different views, so that it has the potential to disrupt and even damage the harmonious order among citizens of the nation.
It should be noted that the caliphate is a religious movement which is understood as a concept of statehood based on Islamic law and also the leaders of this concept are referred to as caliphs. The concept itself presupposes that the entire Islamic world will be united into one system, namely the caliphate or a single government. They also claim that it is not a democratic system, but instead applies the Ahlul Halli wal Aqdli system.
Therefore, because the concept of the khilafah has the potential to damage and disrupt the unity and integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, in the First International Conference on Civilization Jurisprudence which was held directly by the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), that party very firmly stated that it would reject a state with a khilafah system and support the United Nations (UN) and the existence of the UN Charter.
Responding to this, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) activist Yenny Wahid explained that the dream of re-establishing a country with a caliphate system that appears to be able and considered to be able to unite Muslims around the world is actually just wishful thinking. The reason is, he considers that in reality, when dealing face to face with non-Muslims, they are still puritanical in nature.
So of course the existence of a group of people who still think that the khilafah system is the correct concept to replace the state order, is clearly not something that deserves to be worked on and made as an aspiration because in practice it actually creates divisions and does not unite them.
NU itself firmly holds the view that efforts to establish a state such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will only end in chaos and will even become increasingly contrary to the various main objectives of Islam, including those of many other religions. In fact, true religious teachings always require its followers to always protect life, protect religion, protect reason, protect family and protect property.
Instead of being able to bring stability and unite Muslims around the world, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) emphasized that precisely with the concept of a khilafah state it collided with the main goals of religion, which the khilafah concept considered was an attempt capable of causing instability. and also undermining the social and political order.
So it cannot be denied that many facts in history show that chaos due to war will in the end always be accompanied by widespread destruction of houses of worship, also in which many human lives are lost, moral destruction will occur, including taking away families and property.
On the other hand, NU itself considers that the most appropriate way to realize the benefit of Muslims throughout the world is to continue to strengthen the welfare and benefit of all mankind, both those who are Muslims and those who are non-Muslims. And continue to acknowledge the brotherhood of all human beings and children and grandchildren of Adam.
Furthermore, NU is also of the view that the UN Charter was formed from the start with the aim of being able to end wars which are very, very destructive. Therefore Nahdlatul Ulama is of the view that the UN and UN Charter can be a solid basis available for developing new jurisprudence that is useful for upholding a peaceful and harmonious future of civilization.
Therefore, all religious communities in the world, including Muslims themselves, are able to pursue a vision and develop new discourses related to efforts to continue to live in harmony side by side with every human being. A teaching that prevents exploitation of identity, counteracts the spread of hatred between groups, supports solidarity and mutual respect for differences among humans, cultures and nations in the world. This is clearly far more unifying for all Muslims than still struggling with the ideals of the concept of the caliphate.
)* The author is a contributor to Nusantara Reading Room