Djohan Effendi (1 October 1939 – 17 November 2017) was the Secretary of State of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Abdurrahman Wahid Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; né ad-Dakhil, 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islam in Indonesia, Islamic Kyai, religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indone ...

from 2000 to 2001. He was an

Ahmadi Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

and belonged to the

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

branch and was an ardent advocate for the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

movement. He was known for having been a prominent liberal thinker of Islam in Indonesia, more specifically based in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

and a part of the Jogja-based liberal Islamic intellectual group known as the Limited Group led by Mukti Ali.Kersten, Carool. Islam in Indonesia the Contest for Society, Ideas and Values. (2015) C. Hurst & Co. He also served as chair of the International Centre for Religious Pluralism and voiced criticism toward the issuance of the

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

by Majelis Ulama Indonesia targeting religious pluralism in 2005. Effendi was considered to be a senior figure amongst Indonesian liberal Islamic activists, and was characterized by Budhy Munawar Rachman as a progressive Islamic scholar and as 'militant fighter for tolerance'.Munawar-Rahman, Budhy. ''Pesan-Pesan Al-Qur'an:Mencoba Megerti Intisari Kitab Suci''. (2012) Jakarta:National Liberay, pp.1-17 His name is included in the book ''50 Tokoh Liberal di Indonesia (50 Liberal Figures in Indonesia)'' among the pioneers of the Indonesian liberal movement together with

Nurcholish Madjid Nurcholish Madjid (March 17, 1939 – August 29, 2005), in Indonesia affectionately known as Cak Nur, was a prominent Indonesian Muslim intellectual. Early in his academic career, Nurcholish was a leader in various student organizations. He soon b ...

and

Career

Previously Effendi was the Special Staff of the Secretary of State, as well as the author of President

Soeharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

's speech. He had written hundreds of speeches for President Soeharto, during his rule from 1978 to 1995. His career as a speechwriter of the President was terminated when he "recklessly" accompanied Abdurrahman Wahid's controversial visit to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1994. The visit was strongly opposed by some

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

groups, and then state secretary Moerdiono also expressed his regret regarding the visit.

Views

In Djohan's opinion, Ahmadis held the same right to practice their beliefs in Indonesia, and Indonesia under the Pancasila doctrine needs to ensure the complete religious pluralism, which he considers substantiated by the Medina Charter established by the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

,Assyaukanie, Luthfi. ''Islam and the Secular State in Indonesia''. (2009) ISEAS. and the

Qur'anic The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

notion of ''kalimatun sawa′'', meaning 'common word'. He also believed in the importance of the preservation of religion, grounded by the principles of '' maqasid al-shari'a'' advocated by al-Shatibi, and that relativism or syncretism need to be accommodated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Effendi, Djohan 1939 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam category:Banjar people Indonesian Ahmadis National Awakening Party politicians People from South Kalimantan Deakin University alumni