{"id":3774,"date":"2021-05-05T15:52:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T08:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/populicenter.org\/?p=3774"},"modified":"2022-01-13T23:17:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T16:17:05","slug":"abdurahman-wahid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/populicenter.org\/en\/2021\/05\/05\/abdurahman-wahid\/","title":{"rendered":"Abdurahman Wahid"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Greatest Showman<\/h2>\n

GUARDIAN OF DIVERSITY<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n
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1940<\/h2>\n

Abdurrahman Wahid, or familiarly called Gus Dur, was born in Jombang on September 7, 1940. Born with the name Abdurrahman Adakhil, he was the son of KH. Abdul Wahid Hasyim, former Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia from 1949 - 1953, as well as the grandson of KH. Hasyim Asy'ari, founder of the Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic Boarding School. Based on Gus Dur's confession, he still has Chinese blood, a descendant of Tan Kim Han, who married Tan A Lok, the sibling of Raden Patah (Tan Eng Hwa), the founder of the Demak Sultanate. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1944<\/h2>\n

After his father was elected as the first chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Consultative Assembly (Masyumi) Party, Gus Dur followed his family's decision to move to Jakarta. Along with the declaration of independence on August 17, 1945, he returned to Jombang. He spent his childhood there until the end of the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1949<\/h2>\n

In 1949, Gus Dur's father, Abdul Wahid Hasyim, was appointed as Minister of Religious Affairs. Consequently, Gus Dur returned to Jakarta. In Jakarta, Gus Dur studied at KRIS Elementary School before moving to Matraman Perwari Elementary School. During his childhood, Gus Dur was taught by his father to read books on various themes, not only Muslim books, but also non-Muslim books, magazines, and newspapers. Until his father died in 1953, Gus Dur still lived in Jakarta.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1954<\/h2>\n

Gus Dur continued his junior high school studies in 1954. However, he failed to move up a class. Therefore, thanks to his mother's advice, Gus Dur went to Yogyakarta to study junior high school, and studied with KH. Ali Maksum at the Krapyak Islamic Boarding School. After graduating from junior high school in 1957, he then moved to Magelang to study Muslim Education at the Tegalrejo Islamic Boarding School. At the Islamic boarding school, his abilities were seen to stand out, because he managed to complete his education in two years, which should have lasted four years. In 1959, he then returned to Jombang. This time, he continued his studies independently. Not only that, he also worked as a teacher and principal of a madrasah.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1963<\/h2>\n

Gus Dur's education continues. In 1963, he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Religion to study Islamic Studies at Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. Before studying, he was required to take remedial Arabic language classes, because he could not show proof of Arabic language proficiency. While taking remedial classes, he not only studied, but also watched European and American films, and watched football matches. After passing the remedial class, he then started college. However, he was surprised to find that he had already studied the material provided before, and refused to study the methods applied by the university. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1965<\/h2>\n

When the September 30th Movement (G30S) erupted, Gus Dur was studying in Egypt and was employed at the Indonesian Embassy. At that time, the Indonesian Embassy in Egypt was directed to investigate Indonesian students studying in Egypt, and to provide a report on their political positions. The order was given to Gus Dur. Although disturbed by the order, he still completed it.\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1966<\/h2>\n

Because the educational methods in Egypt did not suit him, Gus Dur moved to Iraq to study at the University of Baghdad. After completing his education in 1970, he wanted to continue his education in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, his education in Iraq was not recognized by Leiden University, his destination campus in the Land of Windmills. Therefore, he decided to return to Indonesia. However, before he did that, he first traveled around Europe. \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1971<\/h2>\n

In 1971, Gus Dur returned to Indonesia. He immediately joined the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Education and Information (LP3S). He became one of the contributors to Prisma, a magazine under the auspices of LP3S. In addition, he also traveled around Islamic boarding schools and madrassahs throughout Java. Concerned about the fading traditional values and poverty of Islamic boarding schools, Gus Dur decided to develop Islamic boarding schools.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1977<\/h2>\n

Although he was already popular in Islamic boarding schools, Gus Dur's income as a journalist was not sufficient. Therefore, he worked part-time as a peanut seller and ice delivery man. In 1974, he became a teacher at the Tambakberas Islamic Boarding School, and a year later became a Teacher of the Al-Hikam Book. His work improved when he was appointed dean of the Faculty of Islamic Practice and Belief at Hasyim Asy'ari University in 1977. His ability to explain Islamic law and missiology apparently caused jealousy in some university circles.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1982<\/h2>\n

After twice rejecting the offer to become the NU Religious Advisory Council, Gus Dur finally accepted the third offer. The job required him to move from Jombang to Jakarta. At the same time, he also began to get involved in practical politics for the first time. In the 1982 Election, he participated in the PPP campaign. Even though he was arrested, he always managed to escape because he had close ties with important figures, such as General Benny Moerdani.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1983<\/h2>\n

In 1983, after Suharto was re-elected by the MPR as president, the New Order made Pancasila the state ideology, and Gus Dur became part of a group asked by NU to provide views on the matter. After re-examining the Quran and Sunnah, Gus Dur stated that NU must accept Pancasila as the state ideology. In order for NU to focus on social issues, Gus Dur eventually resigned from the political party.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1984<\/h2>\n

Gus Dur's attitude of choosing to resign from political parties, and prioritizing NU in responding to social issues has catapulted his name among NU circles. His name was increasingly discussed by the public when he was elected as the Chairman of the NU Executive Board as a result of the 1984 Congress. The Congress also decided that NU would withdraw from practical political activities, including its membership as an element forming the PPP.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1987<\/h2>\n

Gus Dur's image as a moderate Muslim and accepting Pancasila as the state ideology was warmly welcomed by the Suharto government. After being appointed as the indoctrinator of Pancasila in 1985, Gus Dur showed his support for the New Order government in the 1987 Election. In the Election, Gus Dur and several NU figures campaigned intensively for this: choosing or supporting political parties outside the PPP in the Election was not something forbidden for Muslims. Because of that, Gus Dur then became a member of the MPR.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1991<\/h2>\n

After being re-elected as chairman of NU at the 1989 National Conference, Gus Dur took a firm stance against the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) in 1991. He not only refused to join the organization, but also opposed it. For him, ICMI only strengthened Suharto's power, which no longer had full support from the military. Therefore, he formed the Democracy Forum, an organization consisting of 45 intellectuals from various religious and social communities. Before the 1992 legislative elections were held, the government banned the organization's meetings. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1994<\/h2>\n

Gus Dur ran again for a third term as chairman of NU. Although the government prevented him from being re-elected, this effort did not significantly change the outcome of the 1994 National Conference. He was again elected as chairman of NU. It was during this third term that he formed an alliance with Megawati to pressure the Suharto government.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1998<\/h2>\n

When political reforms occurred, a desire arose among NU members to form a political party as a channel for political aspirations, separate from the NU organization. On June 29, 1998, the National Awakening Party (PKB) was formed, which was declared at the residence of Gus Dur, who at that time was still serving as Chairman of PBNU, with Matori Abdul Djalil as the first General Chairman of PKB.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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1999<\/h2>\n

PKB's participation in the 1999 Election turned out to receive a lot of response. It was proven that this party managed to gain 13 million votes, only losing to PDI-P, which won the Election, and to the Golkar Party which was in second place in national vote acquisition. Although PKB did not win, Gus Dur managed to win the presidential election in the MPR General Session on 20-21 October 1999.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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2001<\/h2>\n

In 2001, a constitutional crisis between Gus Dur and Parliament occurred. The trigger was the Brunei-gate and Bulog-gate issues. Gus Dur had thought about imposing a state of emergency and dissolving Parliament by issuing a decree. However, on the advice of a number of people, Gus Dur abandoned the idea. In that year, Amien Rais as the Chairman of the MPR accelerated the Special Session from what should have been August 1 to July 23, 2001. Finally, the MPR Special Session removed Gus Dur from his position, and appointed Megawati as President of Indonesia and Hamzah Haz as Vice President of Indonesia.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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2004<\/h2>\n

In the run-up to the 2004 presidential election, PKB nominated Gus Dur as a presidential candidate. However, the KPU decided that Gus Dur, who was paired with Marwah Daud, did not pass the health test. Based on KPU Decree Number 26 of 2004 concerning the Procedures for Nominating Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates in the 2004 General Election, he was deemed to be mentally and physically ineligible to carry out his duties and obligations as president. Although he had challenged the decision, he was still unable to participate in the 2004 presidential election.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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2009<\/h2>\n

Since becoming President of Indonesia, Gus Dur has suffered from various diseases, such as stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. In the final stages of his life, he even had to undergo regular dialysis. In the end, he died on December 30, 2009 due to complications from his illness. Takbir sentences, tahlil, and the song Gugur Bunga accompanied the body of the Third President of the Republic of Indonesia to his final resting place. He was buried next to the graves of KH. Hasyim Asyari and KH. Wahid Hasyim, in the Tebu Ireng Islamic Boarding School Complex, Jombang, East Java. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Text by Erwinton Simatupang and Dimas Ramadhan<\/a><\/div>\n