By: Alfisyah Kumalasari) *
Understanding the Caliphate is now in the spotlight. Because, its application is considered to reap controversy. Even the khilafah is considered not a government system in Islam, so it is natural that the largest Islamic mass organizations, namely NU and Muhammadiyah reject the concept of khilafah firmly. Judging from the teachings of this Khilafah understanding there is indeed nothing wrong or distorted. It’s just that in its implementation reaped a lot of controversy. Bearing in mind, this understanding is pursing one religion, namely Islam. Whereas in the Republic of Indonesia, as we know, its citizens do not only embrace the religion. Moreover, there is a lot of diversity that must be tolerated. As part of human rights. Therefore, this teaching is indeed considered inappropriate when applied to the government system in Indonesia.
The same thing was also expressed by two major CSOs in Indonesia, namely NU and Muhammadiyah. They have agreed with the application of the concept of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and Pancasila as the state ideology. Both NU and Muhammadiyah are one step towards refusing understanding that can intervene in the Republic of Indonesia, especially this caliphate.
Many times the decision was confirmed since the issue of the Khilafah was rolled out by the Indonesian Hizb ut-Tahrir (HTI) group. One of them was during the NU and Muhammadiyah press conference at the PP Muhammadiyah office some time ago. The two leaders of the mass organizations said that the Unitary Republic of Indonesia was a legacy from the ancestors of the Indonesian people who did not contradict Islamic teachings. Kiai Said Aqil Siraj as Chairman of the PBNU invited all elements to prevent disintegration and war between brothers. And it is fitting that the two largest organizations in Indonesia escort ukhuwah islamiyah, ukhuwah wathaniyah, and ukhuwah insaniyah. In addition, he also stated that he agreed to preserve the four pillars constitution, namely Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the Unity in Diversity System and also the Republic of Indonesia.
In line with the opinion of Ketum PBNU, General Chairperson of Muhammadiyah PP Haedar Nashir also revealed that his party synergized with NU to always invite all elements of the nation to establish communication and cooperation as an embodiment of the spirit of nationality and nationality. Although HTI mass organizations have disbanded, the bearers are still keen to continue campaigning for the understanding of the Khilafah. In fact, social media is increasingly crowded with the hashtag #KhilafahWillBeBack and is becoming a trending topic. Following the implementation of the Ukhwah parade in one of the cities in Central Java. According to reports, the HTI Typical Flag of Tawheed was raised at the momentum of the parade as material to provoke the community.
The concern is that those who are still laymen and who are just learning religion can be fooled by the political interests of this HTI. It is likely that those affected by HTI were young people who had ties with Muhammadiyah and NU.
If this is true, the kiai of NU and Muhammadiyah leaders hope that they will return to the right path, because the leaders of the two mass organizations still uphold the NKRI principles. Our job is to look after it together.
Meanwhile, Robi Sugara as Director of the Indonesian Muslim Crisis Center (IMCC). Detailing four reasons why the khilafah is rejected and is impossible to apply. First, the understanding of the Khilafah was rejected in Muslim-majority countries. In fact, the organization that carries this understanding, Hizb ut-Tahrir is not accepted in more than twenty countries, including Indonesia itself.
The second reason is, with regard to which khilafah system is used as a reference. It was stated, at the time of the khalifa rashidin, the change of the caliph adopted a system that was not the same. Some of them use deliberations through ahlul halli wal aqdi, some are appointed by the caliph beforehand, and some are chosen by the general public (the public). Meanwhile, the caliphs of the Umayyad, Abbasid, until the Ottoman caliphs, they were appointed according to lineage. Third, who will be made a khilafah? Bearing in mind, the majority of Muslims is almost 1.8 billion worldwide. Of course, the case of choosing a caliph will cause quite complex problems. Not only that, Muslims themselves also come from different tribes and nationalities.
The last reason is that the Khilafah system is incompatible with the current era. If the proponents of the Khilafah refer to systems in the Umayyad, Abbasid and Ottoman eras, then the Khilafah system which is authoritarian in nature is not appropriate to be applied as it is today. Do not dismiss if the caliphate is part of the history of Muslims and it is impossible to erase it. Based on the above literature, the possibility of understanding this khilafah to be accepted is very small. Because, it is indeed incompatible with the Homeland with the ideology of Pancasila and the principle of diversity. So it’s only natural that this teaching will experience rejection.
) * The author is a poly social observer
