By: Bustomi Mubarok *
The politicization of the mosque has indeed been applied to previous democratic parties by politicians. This is applied so that the group can gain votes from the worshipers. Some people also complained about the black campaign which was wrapped in the nuances of the propaganda of Islamic law. This will certainly be rejected by the public if places of worship such as mosques are misused for political purposes.
In 2017, the action walked out or left the mosque when the sermon material contained political elements that had boomed. When at that time the community felt uncomfortable when the preacher who was supposed to teach religious matters was tainted by political problems. Thanks to that, millions of people declared anti-politicization programs for mosques. This action aims to restore the function of the mosque properly. Ahead of the democratic party in April, we as a society must certainly be intelligent in distinguishing between politicization for the benefit of all people or politicization for the benefit of their own group. Also important is an effort to build political literacy in society. Because with qualified political literacy, it will slowly shift the discussion about the pro and anti-strongholds – certain camps are the talks that discuss public policy. If the community has good political literacy, then self-defeating and black campaign efforts will disappear from the pulpit of the mosque. In the end, the community will focus on substantial issues about what they can get as citizens.
Making mosques as a place to spread political speech is indeed unethical, considering that there are many worshipers in mosques who have different political ideologies. One indication of the movement of politicization of mosques is the content of lectures or sermons that direct pilgrims to certain interests, if this happens then it does not rule out the possibility, the division of fellow believers will be difficult to avoid. Judging from its function, the mosque functions as a place of worship and a place to get closer to Allah SWT. So that if the politicization of the mosque really exists, then it certainly degrades the function of the mosque itself. Therefore we need a balanced, inclusive and rational understanding. This understanding will give birth to understanding political behavior that is reasonable, balanced and inclusive. Separating politics from religion is indeed a necessity for secular countries. Because religion has absolutely nothing to do with the life of the nation and state.
But this is the uniqueness of Indonesia. that Indonesia is not a religion. But religion is a fundamental part of the life of the nation and state. Therefore all kinds of da’wah efforts that have the potential to divide the nation should be suspected. The West Java Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) found violations of the 2019 Presidential Election campaign, where there were clerics who slipped campaign messages in their sermons in mosques in West Java Province. Even though all forms of political campaigns in places of worship such as mosques are things that conflict with the regulations set by the KPU General Election Commission which prohibit campaigns in places of worship, educational facilities and government facilities. The MUI also considered that in addition to violating the regulations of the KPU, it also tarnished religion because of the politicization of religion. Religious teaching should not be tainted by directing the people to choose one of the names or numbers of the presidential candidate pairs. Takmir mosque has a role to convey the message of peace and foster a tolerant attitude towards differences. Of course, do not let the difference in political views bring the source of the problem, in fact the election is a manifestation of the spirit of democracy, not spreading hatred and vile.
One of the politicization of mosques that had bloomed was the prayer prayer movement in congregation, at a glance this movement was indeed a very good worship movement, but the lecture delivered after the prayer had been worthy of criticism. The indications of politicized shubuh prayer movements can be seen from the material of his lecture, both cult and sermon which leads opinion to certain political interests. This may be said openly or explicitly. This is certainly quite alarming, because the withdrawal of opinions about politics can trigger divisions within the congregation. The Sholat Shubuh Movement in congregation to prosper the mosque is not new. However, this became another matter, when the Shubuh prayer movement in congregation was used as a moment of continuation of Friday prayer at Monas, which was known as the 212 action and was given the title 212 Movement of the Congregation Movement.
Prayer in congregation is certainly a good teaching, for the followers of Islam it certainly brings goodness and not harm. So, this problem is not in the prayer prayer movement in congregation, but the activities outside the prayer are problematic if it is not in accordance with the purpose of the congregational prayer itself. The pioneers of the Shubuh prayer movement in congregation should have understood the rule of law which obliges to avoid harm in preaching. Although the Prophet and his companions talked about politics in the mosque, they did not make it a place for the campaign. The politicization of mosques in fact has its own uses for individual electoral actors who are obsessed with office, namely to gain votes to bring down their political opponents by supplying destructive doctrines.
*) Student of Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Malang