TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - National Awakening Party (PAN) member Hanafi Rais recently defended the party’s Chairman Amien Rais, who mixed political messages in his sermon during an exclusively religious gathering held at the Jakarta City Hall on Tuesday.
During his appearance in the gathering, Amien Rais said that politics must be mentioned in religious events or even communal Al-Quran reading. However, Hanafi maintained that the political substance of Amien Rais’ statement has actually been discussed at studies held in Mosques.
“Many Mosques have been discussing political matters within studies held by religious experts (Asatidz),” he said yesterday. Hanafi also sees political discussions in Mosques as the rise of Islam in the millennial age.
Responding to this event, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin suggested for Amien Rais to provide a clarification upon his statement that has stirred controversy. “Amien Rais should make clear of what he means by politics,” said Lukman on Thursday at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java.
Furthermore, Lukman assumed what Amien Rais meant by politics is in its substantive definition, which is related to upholding justice, honesty, the fulfillment of basic human rights, and preventing unjust.
CAESAR AKBAR
