By : Abdul Aziz *
Chairperson of the Legal Division of the Alumni Brotherhood (PA) 212 Damai Hari Lubis stated that he planned to hold a joint prayer event in March and April. He said that the plan was a continuation of the joint prayer which will be held on February 21, 2019. In the night poster Munajat 212 was also displayed a photo of ulama who had been identified with the actions of alumni of 212 such as: PA Chair 212 Ustaz Slamet Ma’arif, Chairperson of FPI KH. Sobri Lubis, Chair of FPI DKI Jakarta Habib Muchsin Alatas and several other scholars. This event was considered not to have any urgency, different from the initial spirit of the 212 actions in 2016. At that time, the enthusiasm of Muslims was so intense that millions of people gathered. The only goal is to demand that the convicted person Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) be sent to prison for the article on blasphemy. The evening munajat which will be held also tends to delegitimize one of the presidential candidates. It also raises the assumption that Malam Munajat 212 which will be held on February 21, is an activity that is full of political interests. This is proven because the initiator of the event was a supporter of Prabowo Subianto.
Ahead of the campaign, of course this kind of thing risks risking existing social dynamics. Moreover, this is currently the campaign period for the 2019 election, so that actions with thousands of people are certainly at risk of leading to conflict. Reflecting on the 212 reunion, Chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) Abdul Aziz indicated that the 212 reunion program was no longer pure and deviated from his initial ideals. The gathering at Monas was considered to be full of political interests, especially in relation to the upcoming Presidential Election and the election of legislative candidates which will take place simultaneously on April 17, 2019. Abdul Aziz who is an alumni of movement 212, and active in a number of demonstrations done at that time. But what happened at this time was no longer the same, because at that time his breath was very clear, namely enforcing the spirit of religion. The political agenda mounts on the part of irresponsible parties make the original Muslims can play a role in almost all fields, as if they were narrowed down to mere tools or political interests. Indeed, the Islamic ummah is the main fortress of NKRI which is united in diversity and togetherness, so by only being dominant in one sector, it directly has the potential to weaken the other side of diversity that Indonesia has. of course it would be very unfortunate if the defection into the political realm took place in Malam Munajat 212. Because those who would benefit were not the wider community, but only a handful of politicians.
Meanwhile, a number of leaders of the 212 Alumni one by one resigned from the movement and joined the opposite side. This split is suspected as a result of the changing direction of the movement from what was purely sharia to Practical Politics. One of the important figures who resigned was the Chairperson of the Indonesian Muslim Brotherhood (PARMUSI) Usamah Hisyam who chose to resign from the position of Advisory Body of the Alumni Brotherhood (PA) 212. The man who had played a role in bridging the meeting between 212 alumni and President Joko Widodo said he was disappointed with PA 212. He considers the spirit of defending religion that is thick with the Islamic Defendant Action on December 2, 2016 is now fading away. This Islamic movement, according to him, is currently contaminated with practical politics. Usamah also said, at that time Ahok offended Indonesian Muslims by quoting Al-Maidah verse 51 which requires Muslims to be led by Muslim leaders. He also revealed that at that time he had to reach his own pocket to take these actions. Then Parmusi also decided to take part in the martial arts action with several other mass organizations commanded by Rizieq Syihab. Parmusi and other mass organizations which later became PA 212 demanded Ahok to account for his words through legal channels.
As a result, Ahok managed to enter Bui in Mako Brimob Detention Center, Depok for 2 years after the panel of judges ruled guilty in a case of blasphemy. After Ahok became a suspect and was held in prison, actually PA 212 had fulfilled his duty. But the split began to arise, where at the beginning of 2018, there were at least 3 organizations acting on behalf of alumni 212. Namely the Alumni Brotherhood, Alumnni Presidium 212 and Garda 212. The three organizations had different directions, even pointing out that the other camps were illegal. Problems continued in mid-2018, where PA 212 held an Ulama ijtima to discuss the direction of support for one of the candidates.
At that time it was almost certain that support would lead to presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. As a result Prabowo’s name came out after 2 times ijtima. The former Kopassus General Danjend defeated other top names such as Zulkifli Hasan, Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Rizieq Syihab. Ali Mochtar Ngabalin also said that at present the action 212 had come out of context. Usamah dared to say that the upcoming 212 theme event was not attended by figures at the beginning of the struggle. If the 212 degree is indeed a series of prayers, of course this can be done in a place of worship.
*) Student of the Faculty of Religion, Islamic University of Malang