, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 09/08/2006 7:41 AM | Opinion
Mohammad Yazid, Jakarta
Religion has not played a major role to date in efforts to eradicate corruption in terms of the corruption perception index (CPI) presented in Transparency International's Report 2005.
Several secular countries have succeeded in reducing their rates of corruption to the lowest level. Conversely, ""More than half of the bottom 10 places were occupied by Muslim countries,"" said Abdullah Badawi in a forum of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur last week. The best ranking Muslim country was only ranked 29 out of 158 states surveyed.
Against this backdrop, one may question how far religion assumes a role in the elimination of corruption. Indonesia, for instance, as an OIC member and a majority Muslim country proud of its religious diversity, still has to struggle hard against corruption and is known as one of the world's most corrupt nations.
This is certainly a matter of great concern and runs counter to religious teachings in Indonesia, which put considerable emphasis on the principles of justice and responsibility. Some shun corruption for fear of divine retribution, while others believe that it can disrupt the legal system and cause widespread misery.
Corruption has in fact faced moral resistance from religious figures and some non-governmental organizations. On Oct. 15, 2002, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Chairman Hasyim Muzadi, then Muhammadiyah Chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif representing Indonesia's two largest Islamic bodies and Partnership for Government Reform in Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding for joint action against corruption.
An NU congress in Pondok Gede, Jakarta, in 2002 even decided that officials embezzling public funds -- unless they returned the money -- would receive no prayers when they died. This is based on the words of the Prophet that people in debt do not deserve prayers.
Ironically, the appeals made by religious leaders have not acted as a deterrent, even after seven years of reform initiated by students with the main target of fighting corruption. A former religious affairs minister is even serving a five-year prison sentence for stealing public funds.
Several people have also been tried including the case of the Rp 684 billion (US$70 million) haj fund in the Religious Affairs Ministry, involving former director general of haj management affairs Taufik Kamil and Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil al-Munawar. Following their appeals, the Supreme Court sentenced Taufik to four years imprisonment and Said to five years.
Then why are graft cases always so prevalent, even to the extent of implicating several religious figures and institutions that should set a good example for their followers? From the religious viewpoint, this may happen due to misinterpretation of religious teachings, without ignoring other contributing factors like individual inclinations, work environment and the prevailing legal system.
Believers, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, in expounding on their religious tenets put greater emphasis on external, ceremonial aspects rather than their spiritual nature, which could enhance the character of believers to uphold the principles of justice, integrity and responsibility. Consequently, religious communities prioritize physical symbols like the numerous houses of worship, instead of the quality of religious propagation.
Under such circumstances, the public shows little concern over whether or not donors' contributions come from corrupted money or whether the financial management of the funds is transparent. Furthermore, there is an understanding among embezzlers that their sins will be lightened when their money is partially donated for the construction of a place of worship.
Even NU and Muhammadiyah maintain that there is a misconception among Muslims that corruption is a minor sin God will forgive if the perpetrators are consistently charitable and perform the obligatory prayers five times a day.
This belief is of course in stark contradiction to the Koran and Hadith (Prophet's words and deeds) because corruption is actually a major sin, with perpetrators likely to be ""sentenced to death on a cross"" or ""mutilated"", depending on the frequency of the acts and the amount of material losses caused.
The growth of corruption also results from the fact that individuals and religious institutions such as mosque or church management take little initiative to eradicate corruption. They are more interested in ritual worship rather than ""social worship"" like corruption elimination and the creation of good governance.
So, what is to be done when religious institutions play such a minor role? Character building linked to the subject of ethics can serve as an alternative to prevent corruption. The same applies to education in values, which teaches youngsters to be honest toward themselves, society and God. This move will not succeed, however, unless this is reinforced by parents who also serve as role models in the home.
Therefore, positive steps should be welcomed like Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic Institute (UIN)'s plan to offer an anticorruption course to students in a bid to increase their awareness of the danger of dishonest practices.
The war on corruption should be carried out not only through law enforcement but also through increasing people's awareness that such practices are unacceptable. ""It is likely that some of the people here have obscure perceptions of corruption,"" rector Azyumardi Azra said after the opening of a two-day conference on anticorruption education last Monday.
The writer is a staff member on The Jakarta Post's Opinion Desk. He can be reached at yazid@thejakartapost.com.
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