*INTRODUCTORY ANALYSIS OF THE MUI’S WEST JAVA REGIONAL WORKING CONFERENCE, REFRESHING THE MUI’S HISTORICAL ROLE IN WEST JAVA*
By: H. Adlan Daie
Secretary General of the MUI, Indramayu Regency.
It is interesting and important, at least from the author’s perspective, to provide an introductory analysis of the agenda of the Regional Working Conference (Mukerda) of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) of West Java Province, which will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at the Al Jabar Grand Mosque Complex in Bandung, coinciding with the Halal BI Halal 1447 H MUI West Java celebrations.
Certainly, the Mukerda will not only present the thoughts and views of several public figures, such as Dedi Mulyadi (Governor of West Java), Dr. H. Ace Hasan Syadeli (Governor of the National Resilience Institute), Nusron Wahid (Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency), Dr. H. Cucun Syamsurijal (Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives) and H. Daniel Muttaqin, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
Furthermore, the Mukerda agenda mentioned above is interesting and important, projected as a “kick-off” point for reinvigorating the historical role of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in West Java within the framework of strengthening the integration of Islam and Indonesian-ness (nationality) by subsidizing the principle of justice for injection into the formulation of state policy regulations.
Dr. Aqib Soeminto, in his book “Politics of Islam in the Dutch East Indies” (Published 1985), a book from his doctoral dissertation (S3), provides insight and a historical review of the role of Islamic organizations in the past. The kick-off point is reflected in the formation of the “Majelis Islam A’la Indonesia,” abbreviated as “MIAI,” a forum for gathering Islamic organizations.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MIAI) was formed in 1937, at the end of the Dutch colonial period. During the Japanese occupation in 1943, it was renamed “Masyumi.” Initially, it was not a political party but a federation of Islamic mass organizations. During the New Order era (1975), according to the Minister of Religious Affairs, General (ret.) Alamsyah (1978-1983), it transformed into the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), with all its historical dynamics, becoming what we know today.
MIAI served as a critical forum for Muslims against Dutch policies, including the “Ordonantie” (restrictions on religious teaching), budget discrimination against Islamic schools, and even opposing the Dutch policy of permitting large corporations to enter traditional markets where the majority of business operators were Muslim merchants.
The historical role of MIAI is clearly not merely to protect and ensure that Muslims can “carry out their religious obligations,” but also to demonstrate how Islam, through the MIAI, provides an affirmative contribution to the struggle for justice in social life, which Jürgen Habermas calls the “public sphere.”
At the 11th Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) National Conference (Munas) in Ancol, Jakarta, at the end of 2025, the strengthening of the principles of justice in national and state life, through a more systemic concept from a religious perspective, began with the MUI issuing a “fatwa” on the concept of “fair taxation.”
For example, the fatwa stated that, from the perspective of the principle of justice as the “spirit” of religion, the state should not “extort” taxes from the people for necessities of life (“dharuriyat”), such as tax-free basic necessities and non-productive residential housing, which should not be subject to repeated taxes.
That is the point, from the author’s perspective, the urgency of the West Java MUI Regional Working Meeting (Mukerda) is to strengthen the message of justice as the spirit of religious doctrine in an effort to strengthen social harmony within the political construction of the nation in West Java.
Pancasila, as the source of our national values, places the principle “Indonesian Unity” in the third, “center” position. This means that “unity” is only solid if “flanked” by two principles of justice: the second principle, “Just and Civilized Humanity” and the fifth principle, “Social Justice for All Indonesian People.” This is the power imperative of Pancasila.
This is where the importance of positioning the MUI within the state’s relationship with its actualization in the public sphere lies, within the context of principled, strategic, tactical, and pragmatic relationships in the construction of social justice and the public good.
These four relationships are equally important in terms of their “situational specificity,” amidst the phenomenon of social disruption within the framework of the Pancasila ideology within the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
The “pragmatic” relationship here is not political pragmatism that seeks to “deal” opportunistically legitimize government policies, but rather the MUI’s beneficial role in empowering the community in its relations with the government and other institutions.
In Imam Al-Ghazali’s perspective, in his book “Al Iqtishad fil i’tiqad,” the relationship between religion and power is called “Tau’aman”—like “twin brothers.” Religion is the foundation, and power is its guardian. Religion without power lacks social influence; conversely, power without a religious foundation easily collapses in its political authority.
In other words, the MUI’s grand vision as “Shodiqul Hukumah,” a government partner, must be positioned in a “compatible” relationship. The MUI must not only partner with the government but also position itself as are symbiotic partners, not dominating, in creating a just and “religious” social climate and ecosystem.
In budget allocation politics, for example, the government does not position itself in “power egocentrism” in its partnership with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as a forum for Islamic mass organizations, but rather, it is the government’s constitutional obligation to revitalize the MUI’s religious role in constructing a national and state life that “believes in the One Almighty God.”
Strengthening this compatible relationship will narrow the space for the growth of “radicalism” and social “intolerance,” which have long been a “latent” threat to national harmony.
This means that the sociological threat of “radicalism” and “intolerance” cannot be faced solely by the power of a single religious narrative but is intertwined with solutions to social problems facilitated by state resources.
Therein lies the awareness of the relationship between the MUI and the government, constructed within a mutually dependent relationship in the effort to maintain social order and maintain the threshold of public morality in the life of the nation and state.
In this context, the urgency of the West Java MUI Regional Working Conference is positioned as a starting point for strengthening collective awareness.**
Indramayu, April 13, 2026
Wassalam.
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