28 Mei 2008
PURWOKERTO-Dua pejabat Dinas Pendidikan Banyumas, yakni Kepala Bidang Pendidikan Dasar Erna Purnomowati serta Kasi Sarana dan Prasarana Eko Ngesti ditahan kejaksaan, kemarin.
Mereka telah ditetapkan sebagai tersangka dalam kasus dugaan korupsi dana dekonsentrasi dari pemerintah pusat untuk bantuan rehabilitasi sekolah-sekolah dasar yang rusak,
Keduanya diduga melakukan tindak pidana korupsi atas bantuan dari APBN 2007 untuk perbaikan 37 sekolah di Banyumas. Masing-masing sekolah menerima Rp 129.000.600 atau total Rp 4.795.300.000. Bantuan tersebut disalurkan sekitar November. Saat disalurkan diduga penerima telah dikondisikan memotong bantuan itu untuk disalurkan kepada beberapa oknum pejabat di Dinas Pendidikan.
Namun berdasarkan pengakuan Erna dan Eko serta keterangan beberapa saksi, Kejaksaan Negeri Purwokerto baru menetapkan dua tersangka. Setelah diperiksa hingga sekitar pukul 16.30, mereka dinyatakan ditahan. Tersangka dititipkan di rumah tahanan Banyumas.
Saat ditahan keduanya masih menggunakan pakaian dinas. Kuasa hukumnya, Happy Sunaryanto SH, mendampingi sejak pagi. Saat dibawa ke mobil tahanan erna dan Eko berusaha menutupi wajahnya agar terhindar dari sorotan kamera dan jepretan para wartawan.
Erna menangis sesaat setelah jaksa yang menangani memberitahu mereka ditahan. Sebaliknya, Eko kelihatan tenang. Ketika ditanya Suara Merdeka di sela-sela pemeriksaan siang harinya, Eko enggan berkomentar. Begitu pula Erna yang memilih bungkam.
Kepala Kejaksaan Negeri Dyah Srikanti melalui Kasi Pidana Khusus Ansori dan Kasubsi Penyidikan Agus Suhartanto menjelaskan uang yang diduga dikorupsi Rp 229.585.000. Itu berasal dari pengondisian terhadap penerima bantuan untuk menyetor masing-masing Rp 6.205.000.
’’Selain itu, fee atau diskon dari SMK 2 yang menangani masalah perencanaan dan pengawas untuk pembuatan rencana anggaran biaya (RAB). Nilainya sekitar Rp 64 juta,’’ jelas Ansori.
Menurut Ansori, mereka ditahan karena memenuhi syarat formal, yakni melanggar Pasal 1 dan 2 UU No 31/1999 tentang Tindak Pidana Korupsi serta Pasal 12b UU No 20/2001 juga tentang Korupsi. ’’Keterangan 40 saksi lebih mengarah kepada dua tersangka tersebut. Tidak tertutup kemungkinan ada tersangka baru karena kasusnya masih berkembang,’’ tandasnya.
Agus menambahkan dari keterangan saksi-saksi yang diperiksa dan dua tersangka awal, sekolah dikondisikan untuk iuran dengan alasan sebagai pengganti biaya operasional atau tali asih. (G22,in-27)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
RECOGNIZING SUCCESS IN TEACHING ENGLISH
Many institutions and teachers have a reputation for real success in teaching English. Others have a poor reputation. For example, they say that they have learnt a lot of English at school. Others say that they have studied for three, four years or more, but learnt almost nothing. The main test in for real success in teaching and learning should be whether or not the learners are able to communicate at all in English. Can they understand simple instruction, letters, articles? Can they respond an interview? Can they use certain functional expressions in a conversation? Can they comprehend simple paragraphs? Can they ask for directions in the street? Can they express their opinion in a discussion? Can they write letters or reports? And, can they pass recognized Examinations in English, like KET, PET, IELTS, TOEIC, or TOEFL?
We know success is not just being able to repeat memorizes sentences or complete grammar exercises, - but more than that, the learners should have ability to use English effectively in real communication situations. Success is not the same as getting 8, 9 or 10 in course tests – though it may indicate some progress
Successful teachers and institutions where they teach may be different in many ways. Their teaching skill is affected by their experiences, trainings, size of class, hours of teaching in a week, methodology and the materials they usually use. However, successful teachers tend to have certain things in common. They usually:
* Have practical command in English, not just a knowledge of grammar rules.
* Use English most of the time in every class, including beginners' classes.
* Emphasize more on learners' practice, instead of teacher explanations.
* Use time for real-communicative activities, not just practice of language forms.
* Focus their teaching on their learners' needs, not just `finishing' the syllabus or course book.
A teacher's development of a command of English should be a long-life hobby as well as a professional obligation. Of course, a knowledge of the rules and terminology of grammar and vocabulary is also useful. But language teaching is much more than just the transfer of knowledge. Using English in to communicate with their learners is also avoidable. By using English in or out of classroom, their learners constantly experience the real communicative use of English. It motivates the learners and improves their exposure to the language through listening comprehension and gives them opportunity to speak English. Finally, put the learners at the centre of teaching. Your success as a teacher is based entirely on their success as learners.
Hopefully this short ideas will benefit those interested in English teaching.
We know success is not just being able to repeat memorizes sentences or complete grammar exercises, - but more than that, the learners should have ability to use English effectively in real communication situations. Success is not the same as getting 8, 9 or 10 in course tests – though it may indicate some progress
Successful teachers and institutions where they teach may be different in many ways. Their teaching skill is affected by their experiences, trainings, size of class, hours of teaching in a week, methodology and the materials they usually use. However, successful teachers tend to have certain things in common. They usually:
* Have practical command in English, not just a knowledge of grammar rules.
* Use English most of the time in every class, including beginners' classes.
* Emphasize more on learners' practice, instead of teacher explanations.
* Use time for real-communicative activities, not just practice of language forms.
* Focus their teaching on their learners' needs, not just `finishing' the syllabus or course book.
A teacher's development of a command of English should be a long-life hobby as well as a professional obligation. Of course, a knowledge of the rules and terminology of grammar and vocabulary is also useful. But language teaching is much more than just the transfer of knowledge. Using English in to communicate with their learners is also avoidable. By using English in or out of classroom, their learners constantly experience the real communicative use of English. It motivates the learners and improves their exposure to the language through listening comprehension and gives them opportunity to speak English. Finally, put the learners at the centre of teaching. Your success as a teacher is based entirely on their success as learners.
Hopefully this short ideas will benefit those interested in English teaching.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Looking into the future of national education system
Mochtar Buchori , Jakarta | Fri, 05/02/2008 2:26 PM | Focus
A friend asked me recently what I thought about the future of education. "Do you see any encouraging signs? I only see depressing signs," he added. "I am very worried about our education in the future."
I told him the situation was not that bad. True, there are many depressing signs, but there are also some encouraging ones. Look, for instance, at the growth of "elite schools" in the country. The number of such academically respectable schools has been continuously increasing. And what is also encouraging, is that these schools are spread throughout the country.
They do not only exist in big cities, like Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya, but in small towns as well, like Kediri, Kudus and Padang Sidempuan, for instance.
And look at our high-school students who have won awards and championships in various international scholastic competitions. They do not only come from elite schools in big cities and well-to-do families; many of them come from good ordinary schools in small towns and ordinary families. These are encouraging facts. They are national achievers and prove the progress in our system. We should open our eyes to these achievements.
Overall, there are good things and bad things about our education system. The question to ask is not how our education system will be in the future. Instead, we should ask the following question: What must we do now to ensure we will have an education system to serve the interests of the people and the country in the future?
In this context, I agree the future of our education is indeed bleak. And this bleak picture will become reality if we do nothing to correct the present shortcomings in our system.
What is most frightening to me about our future is the millions of ill-educated Indonesians who will have to live next to and compete against a much smaller group of well-educated Indonesians, who, for practical reasons, will prefer to work with equally well-educated ex-pats.
In this kind of situation, coupled with the probability of a modernizing Indonesian economy, there will be a very uneven playing field in the job market. The group of well-educated Indonesians will wrest all high-paying jobs, while the large group of ill-educated people will be considered unemployable in the modern sector. They will be employed in menial jobs or in family businesses.
This will be a very dangerous situation that can easily spark social explosion. You don't have to be a communist to understand inequality in economic life has always been the source of social jealousy, which in turn constitutes the source of social explosion. And it is not difficult to imagine educational disparity will in time create economic disparity.
Can this specter be averted? It can, provided we introduce corrective measures into our present education system now. We should take measures designed to reduce the gap between elite schools and disadvantaged ones.
Essentially, these corrective measures should create an educational system providing affordable, high-quality education to all children from all socio-economic backgrounds. I must add this is a very difficult national task to carry out for all of us. It requires very close cooperation among all parties concerned and it will take a long time to accomplish. By my estimate, if we start to introduce these corrective measures now, it will take another ten to fifteen years before we can see the emergence of a more democratic climate in our system.
Another important question to ask is: What do we mean by "good education" or "quality education"?
Most define "good education" in terms of excellence in academic learning alone. This definition fails to cover the important non-academic aspects of education, like character building for instance. True education is everywhere in the world. It is a systematic attempt to teach the young about life. This means three things: first, to guide the young to learn how to make a living; second, to guide them towards a meaningful life, personally and collectively; and third, to encourage them to contribute to the ennoblement of life.
It follows from the educational paradigm that academic learning alone will not suffice to make a "good education". The ability to live meaningfully and to ennoble life needs many other things beside academic matters. In good schools that strive to expose children to comprehensive education, Professor Phenix's recommends guiding students to explore the six realms of meaning in life, which are the symbolic, empiric, aesthetic, synnoetic, ethical and synoptic. Viewed within our conventional academic education, we cover only two areas -- the symbolic (language and mathematics) and the empiric (natural and social sciences).
With such limited education, it is very difficult for most students to develop a meaningful life and to contribute to the ennoblement of life. They have to learn many other things on their own to be able to live meaningfully. They have to learn on their own how to acquire wisdom in addition to knowledge and skills.
This is the rough sketch of the job we have to correct the shortcomings in our education system today. We have to make sure we are not heading towards an Indonesia where human life is reduced to repetition just to stay alive and nothing more.
The writer holds a PhD in education from Harvard University.
A friend asked me recently what I thought about the future of education. "Do you see any encouraging signs? I only see depressing signs," he added. "I am very worried about our education in the future."
I told him the situation was not that bad. True, there are many depressing signs, but there are also some encouraging ones. Look, for instance, at the growth of "elite schools" in the country. The number of such academically respectable schools has been continuously increasing. And what is also encouraging, is that these schools are spread throughout the country.
They do not only exist in big cities, like Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya, but in small towns as well, like Kediri, Kudus and Padang Sidempuan, for instance.
And look at our high-school students who have won awards and championships in various international scholastic competitions. They do not only come from elite schools in big cities and well-to-do families; many of them come from good ordinary schools in small towns and ordinary families. These are encouraging facts. They are national achievers and prove the progress in our system. We should open our eyes to these achievements.
Overall, there are good things and bad things about our education system. The question to ask is not how our education system will be in the future. Instead, we should ask the following question: What must we do now to ensure we will have an education system to serve the interests of the people and the country in the future?
In this context, I agree the future of our education is indeed bleak. And this bleak picture will become reality if we do nothing to correct the present shortcomings in our system.
What is most frightening to me about our future is the millions of ill-educated Indonesians who will have to live next to and compete against a much smaller group of well-educated Indonesians, who, for practical reasons, will prefer to work with equally well-educated ex-pats.
In this kind of situation, coupled with the probability of a modernizing Indonesian economy, there will be a very uneven playing field in the job market. The group of well-educated Indonesians will wrest all high-paying jobs, while the large group of ill-educated people will be considered unemployable in the modern sector. They will be employed in menial jobs or in family businesses.
This will be a very dangerous situation that can easily spark social explosion. You don't have to be a communist to understand inequality in economic life has always been the source of social jealousy, which in turn constitutes the source of social explosion. And it is not difficult to imagine educational disparity will in time create economic disparity.
Can this specter be averted? It can, provided we introduce corrective measures into our present education system now. We should take measures designed to reduce the gap between elite schools and disadvantaged ones.
Essentially, these corrective measures should create an educational system providing affordable, high-quality education to all children from all socio-economic backgrounds. I must add this is a very difficult national task to carry out for all of us. It requires very close cooperation among all parties concerned and it will take a long time to accomplish. By my estimate, if we start to introduce these corrective measures now, it will take another ten to fifteen years before we can see the emergence of a more democratic climate in our system.
Another important question to ask is: What do we mean by "good education" or "quality education"?
Most define "good education" in terms of excellence in academic learning alone. This definition fails to cover the important non-academic aspects of education, like character building for instance. True education is everywhere in the world. It is a systematic attempt to teach the young about life. This means three things: first, to guide the young to learn how to make a living; second, to guide them towards a meaningful life, personally and collectively; and third, to encourage them to contribute to the ennoblement of life.
It follows from the educational paradigm that academic learning alone will not suffice to make a "good education". The ability to live meaningfully and to ennoble life needs many other things beside academic matters. In good schools that strive to expose children to comprehensive education, Professor Phenix's recommends guiding students to explore the six realms of meaning in life, which are the symbolic, empiric, aesthetic, synnoetic, ethical and synoptic. Viewed within our conventional academic education, we cover only two areas -- the symbolic (language and mathematics) and the empiric (natural and social sciences).
With such limited education, it is very difficult for most students to develop a meaningful life and to contribute to the ennoblement of life. They have to learn many other things on their own to be able to live meaningfully. They have to learn on their own how to acquire wisdom in addition to knowledge and skills.
This is the rough sketch of the job we have to correct the shortcomings in our education system today. We have to make sure we are not heading towards an Indonesia where human life is reduced to repetition just to stay alive and nothing more.
The writer holds a PhD in education from Harvard University.
Hobby' leads to int'l award for designer
Apriadi Gunawan , The Jakarta Post , Medan | Sun, 05/11/2008 12:37 PM | Discover
Junius Alberto Lumban Tobing. grand prize winner of the Topcoder Collegiate Challenge graphic design competition, poses for a photograph with his laptop at his home in Medan, North Sumatra. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)Junius Alberto Lumban Tobing. grand prize winner of the Topcoder Collegiate Challenge graphic design competition, poses for a photograph with his laptop at his home in Medan, North Sumatra. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
Junius Alberto Lumban Tobing spends at least eight hours a day in front of his computer. The programs he likes to use the most are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Junius "tinkers" with these two programs all the time to increase his abilities in the field of graphic design.
Without a doubt, it is Junius' diligent "tinkering" with Photoshop and Illustrator that bore him fruit: This fifth semester student of Computer Sciences in the Mathematics and Environmental Science Faculty of North Sumatra University placed first in an international graphic design competition last November based in Orlando, Florida, the United States.
Junius defeated seven other finalists from the U.S., Argentina, Canada, India and Poland in this competition, after beating out about 300 other foreign contestants.
In addition to emerging the champion of the TopCoder Collegiate Challenge, Junius was also awarded a cash prize of US$15,000.
The 24-year-old said he was very proud of having been chosen the winner of this world-class graphic design contest.
"It means that the creativity of designers in Indonesia are not inferior to those overseas. This gives me pride and, at the same time, the motivation for greater achievements," said Junius, the second of five chidren.
He explained that he did not meet with any great difficulties in the contest, because creating graphic designs on his computer was already a habit. Junius is a self-taught designer, and said that his dedication to his "hobby" grew out of his fondness for drawing as a child.
By the time he entered university, Junius had become a skilled graphic designer, and by the time he reached his fifth semester of studies, he had started working as a freelancer for an advertising company in Medan.
"My work experience of three years with the advertising company made me increasingly ready for a competition," said Junius, who wants to continue his studies after graduating to broaden his knowledge of graphic design.
He said that the task the contest's three jury members - from the U.S., Canada and the Philippines - assigned to the finalists was complex. However, his "habit" and experience enabled him to complete it easily.
"The finalists were given eight hours to produce a brochure and postcard using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator," said Junius, whose final brochure and postcard used an abstract image of a computer with fresh and futuristic design elements.
The jury evaluated each finalist's design according to its neatness or seamlessness, typography, color and level of difficulty. In the final evaluation, the jury awarded the highest score of 86 points to Junius, followed by 84 points to an Indonesian contestant studying in Singapore and he third highest score of 82 points to an Argentinean contestant.
"It goes without saying that I was very honored when the jurors gave my design the highest score. This is my first achievement at the international level," said Junius. He added that earlier in 2007, he had won a gold award for the digital processing he implemented at a Medan-based tabloid.
Junius is highly grateful that he was able to win two first-place titles within the same year. However, it appears there is more in store for the young designer.
"The plan is, I'll leave for Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 11 to enter the TopCoder Open 2008. This contest is open to the public, and involves professionals, university students and high school students," he said.
According to Junius, this competition is vastly more difficult than the TopCoder Collegiate Challenge, from which the jury has selected 12 of the 300 contestants to participate in the TopCoder Open.
When asked what he planned to do in preparing for the Open, Junius replied that he would give his very best effort to make it to the finals.
Regarding the current recognition for graphic design, Junius said that he would be happy if people, particularly residents of Medan, had a high appreciation for this field.
"Graphic designers in Medan already show good-quality work. However, some of them are restricted by the systems at their current workplaces. As a result, they cannot produce designs that are able to reveal solid messages through imagery," he said.
Junius also mentioned that graphic designers were gen
Junius Alberto Lumban Tobing. grand prize winner of the Topcoder Collegiate Challenge graphic design competition, poses for a photograph with his laptop at his home in Medan, North Sumatra. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)Junius Alberto Lumban Tobing. grand prize winner of the Topcoder Collegiate Challenge graphic design competition, poses for a photograph with his laptop at his home in Medan, North Sumatra. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
Junius Alberto Lumban Tobing spends at least eight hours a day in front of his computer. The programs he likes to use the most are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Junius "tinkers" with these two programs all the time to increase his abilities in the field of graphic design.
Without a doubt, it is Junius' diligent "tinkering" with Photoshop and Illustrator that bore him fruit: This fifth semester student of Computer Sciences in the Mathematics and Environmental Science Faculty of North Sumatra University placed first in an international graphic design competition last November based in Orlando, Florida, the United States.
Junius defeated seven other finalists from the U.S., Argentina, Canada, India and Poland in this competition, after beating out about 300 other foreign contestants.
In addition to emerging the champion of the TopCoder Collegiate Challenge, Junius was also awarded a cash prize of US$15,000.
The 24-year-old said he was very proud of having been chosen the winner of this world-class graphic design contest.
"It means that the creativity of designers in Indonesia are not inferior to those overseas. This gives me pride and, at the same time, the motivation for greater achievements," said Junius, the second of five chidren.
He explained that he did not meet with any great difficulties in the contest, because creating graphic designs on his computer was already a habit. Junius is a self-taught designer, and said that his dedication to his "hobby" grew out of his fondness for drawing as a child.
By the time he entered university, Junius had become a skilled graphic designer, and by the time he reached his fifth semester of studies, he had started working as a freelancer for an advertising company in Medan.
"My work experience of three years with the advertising company made me increasingly ready for a competition," said Junius, who wants to continue his studies after graduating to broaden his knowledge of graphic design.
He said that the task the contest's three jury members - from the U.S., Canada and the Philippines - assigned to the finalists was complex. However, his "habit" and experience enabled him to complete it easily.
"The finalists were given eight hours to produce a brochure and postcard using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator," said Junius, whose final brochure and postcard used an abstract image of a computer with fresh and futuristic design elements.
The jury evaluated each finalist's design according to its neatness or seamlessness, typography, color and level of difficulty. In the final evaluation, the jury awarded the highest score of 86 points to Junius, followed by 84 points to an Indonesian contestant studying in Singapore and he third highest score of 82 points to an Argentinean contestant.
"It goes without saying that I was very honored when the jurors gave my design the highest score. This is my first achievement at the international level," said Junius. He added that earlier in 2007, he had won a gold award for the digital processing he implemented at a Medan-based tabloid.
Junius is highly grateful that he was able to win two first-place titles within the same year. However, it appears there is more in store for the young designer.
"The plan is, I'll leave for Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 11 to enter the TopCoder Open 2008. This contest is open to the public, and involves professionals, university students and high school students," he said.
According to Junius, this competition is vastly more difficult than the TopCoder Collegiate Challenge, from which the jury has selected 12 of the 300 contestants to participate in the TopCoder Open.
When asked what he planned to do in preparing for the Open, Junius replied that he would give his very best effort to make it to the finals.
Regarding the current recognition for graphic design, Junius said that he would be happy if people, particularly residents of Medan, had a high appreciation for this field.
"Graphic designers in Medan already show good-quality work. However, some of them are restricted by the systems at their current workplaces. As a result, they cannot produce designs that are able to reveal solid messages through imagery," he said.
Junius also mentioned that graphic designers were gen
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
TEACHER IS THE GLUE THAT HOLDS CLASSROOM TOGETHER
Intel Corp., the world's largest computer microprocessor company, has been involved in education globally through its World Ahead Program focusing on greater accessibility, increased connectivity, quality education and localized content and services. Intel also has cooperated with the Indonesian Education Ministry to boost e-learning programs for schoolchildren. The Jakarta Post's Andy Haswidi and Primastuti Handayani spoke to chairman of the board of Intel Corp., Craig R. Barrett, on the company's vision and goals in education. Below are excerpts from the interview.
Question: What's your main objective in visiting Indonesia?
Answer: I have two roles and they are very similar, one is for Intel and its World Ahead Program, acting as an ambassador for Information Technology (IT), how it can be used for education, health care and business development.
The other role is with the United Nations and its global alliance for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and its development, which really has the same objective as the Intel World Ahead Program, which is how to use ICT for education, health care, business development and better communication between citizens and the government.
So, I try to get around the world to talk to business leaders, government leaders, educators and show what is possible. Sometimes we just talk about it, usually we try to demonstrate techniques, train teachers, show what can be done and push people toward implementation.
You are focusing technology on raising educational standards; what have you done and what are you going to do to achieve this objective?
Well ... we invested about US$100 million a year on education, we have trained nearly five million teachers around the world. We committed a year or two years ago to donate 100,000 PCs worldwide and 4,000 of them are here in Indonesia.
We work with universities in training and research programs ...
We have a program that really spans the entire education process. Research at the universities is very important, (so is) training young children in math and science. We won't focus on one at the expense the another ...
For example, I just came from Atlanta, Georgia, working with an international science and engineering program, which is targeting the high school science age group. We have sponsored it for 10 years.
We try to do many different things to get lots of young people interested in mathematics and science and to improve the quality of education.
How are you measuring your achievements in this endeavor, and how is it going to make a contribution to society?
When we train teachers we always go back a year later and ask the teachers what they thought of the training, if they are using the training in the classroom, and if this is helping to get better results.
So we try to measure outputs effectively. For example, it's a little more difficult to draw a direct line from what we do in elementary education to the impact on the economy of a country ...
However, the higher the level of education of your citizens, the higher the level at which the economy operates and the greater the per capita income.
Why Indonesia and why now?
Indonesia is a very important country, the fourth most populous country in the world. The economy is growing rapidly. We started our education program here a few years ago.
I try to visit about 30 countries a year (but) you can't visit every country every year ...
How is the Classmate PC progressing so far in terms of penetration and sales?
I think it's doing OK. There are still a lot of trials going on. There have been some volume orders in some countries. I think it has been accepted pretty well.
What's important about the Classmate PC is that it's not just the PC but it's the teacher, the training, the content and the connectivity. Those are what makes programs successful.
Costs are being reduced dramatically. You can buy a Classmate PC now for a couple of hundred dollars. Someday it will be less than $200. When they were $1,000 a piece, it was an excuse not to buy them. When they're getting to $100 or $200 apiece, the excuses for not buying them are diminishing!
How do you see the role of teachers in e-learning?
E-learning is really just a catchword for delivering a lot of content online. Teachers play the important role of interfacing with the students, seeing what the students' needs are, tailoring the lessons to the students. ...
If it were just computers, you should say what country has the most computers in the classroom? That's probably the United States. Does the United States have the best education system? No. And why not? Because we have a lot of teachers in the U.S. that are not certified and accredited in math and science. We have a lot of English teachers teaching mathematics, we have a lot of physical education teachers teaching chemistry.
We don't propose that we are training teachers to be content experts. We are not making teachers to teach math, English or history or chemistry. We train teachers how to integrate technology into the flow. We can help them bring the technology tool into the classroom and integrate that into the learning process, but the teachers are the glue, the teachers are the magic.
Question: What's your main objective in visiting Indonesia?
Answer: I have two roles and they are very similar, one is for Intel and its World Ahead Program, acting as an ambassador for Information Technology (IT), how it can be used for education, health care and business development.
The other role is with the United Nations and its global alliance for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and its development, which really has the same objective as the Intel World Ahead Program, which is how to use ICT for education, health care, business development and better communication between citizens and the government.
So, I try to get around the world to talk to business leaders, government leaders, educators and show what is possible. Sometimes we just talk about it, usually we try to demonstrate techniques, train teachers, show what can be done and push people toward implementation.
You are focusing technology on raising educational standards; what have you done and what are you going to do to achieve this objective?
Well ... we invested about US$100 million a year on education, we have trained nearly five million teachers around the world. We committed a year or two years ago to donate 100,000 PCs worldwide and 4,000 of them are here in Indonesia.
We work with universities in training and research programs ...
We have a program that really spans the entire education process. Research at the universities is very important, (so is) training young children in math and science. We won't focus on one at the expense the another ...
For example, I just came from Atlanta, Georgia, working with an international science and engineering program, which is targeting the high school science age group. We have sponsored it for 10 years.
We try to do many different things to get lots of young people interested in mathematics and science and to improve the quality of education.
How are you measuring your achievements in this endeavor, and how is it going to make a contribution to society?
When we train teachers we always go back a year later and ask the teachers what they thought of the training, if they are using the training in the classroom, and if this is helping to get better results.
So we try to measure outputs effectively. For example, it's a little more difficult to draw a direct line from what we do in elementary education to the impact on the economy of a country ...
However, the higher the level of education of your citizens, the higher the level at which the economy operates and the greater the per capita income.
Why Indonesia and why now?
Indonesia is a very important country, the fourth most populous country in the world. The economy is growing rapidly. We started our education program here a few years ago.
I try to visit about 30 countries a year (but) you can't visit every country every year ...
How is the Classmate PC progressing so far in terms of penetration and sales?
I think it's doing OK. There are still a lot of trials going on. There have been some volume orders in some countries. I think it has been accepted pretty well.
What's important about the Classmate PC is that it's not just the PC but it's the teacher, the training, the content and the connectivity. Those are what makes programs successful.
Costs are being reduced dramatically. You can buy a Classmate PC now for a couple of hundred dollars. Someday it will be less than $200. When they were $1,000 a piece, it was an excuse not to buy them. When they're getting to $100 or $200 apiece, the excuses for not buying them are diminishing!
How do you see the role of teachers in e-learning?
E-learning is really just a catchword for delivering a lot of content online. Teachers play the important role of interfacing with the students, seeing what the students' needs are, tailoring the lessons to the students. ...
If it were just computers, you should say what country has the most computers in the classroom? That's probably the United States. Does the United States have the best education system? No. And why not? Because we have a lot of teachers in the U.S. that are not certified and accredited in math and science. We have a lot of English teachers teaching mathematics, we have a lot of physical education teachers teaching chemistry.
We don't propose that we are training teachers to be content experts. We are not making teachers to teach math, English or history or chemistry. We train teachers how to integrate technology into the flow. We can help them bring the technology tool into the classroom and integrate that into the learning process, but the teachers are the glue, the teachers are the magic.
Indonesian students not e-ready for information technology world
Andra Wisnu , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 05/05/2008 11:25 AM | National
Indonesia's ability to provide skilled information technology workers remains in doubt, even as it approaches its 100th year of "national awakening".
Indonesia ranked 67th out of 69 countries in an e-readiness study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), faring little better than Azerbaijan and Iran as one of the least IT-prepared countries on the list.
The EIU ranking was based on consumer and business adoption of IT, connectivity and technology infrastructure, business environment, social and cultural environments, government policy and vision, and legal and policy environments.
In a separate survey by the United Nations, Indonesia ranked 106th out of 189 countries in terms of government Internet-based service usage.
And despite gold medal-winning performances in several international Physics, Biology and Astronomics Olympiads (including last year's Asian Physics Olympiads), Indonesian students have yet to distinguish themselves in the IT category.
According to Maria Widyati, deputy marketing director for the ComputerStar learning center, there are only three or four large private education institutions in Jakarta that provide IT-based education for students from elementary through to high school levels.
She said, "This is very sad, because we believe programmers will be the ones moving this world."
ComputerStar provides computer-based education from elementary to high school levels, and since its inception 20 years ago, some 330 schools across the country use its curriculum.
According to Maria, computer-based learning centers see an annual increase in the number of participating schools of only 7 to 10 percent. She added that most of the recipients were private schools, "because giving computer lessons is expensive".
In addition to the government-issued computer-based curriculum, ComputerStar also gives lessons on using image editing applications like Photoshop, and computer programming applications like C++.
Maria added, "We teach what is stipulated in the Education Ministry's curriculum, but we also feel it's important for the students to keep up with current trends."
In 2003, the government revised the 1989 law on education, giving schools more freedom in allocating their government funding.
Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said the reluctance of schools to enhance the quality of IT education by improving their curriculum is part of a trial and error process.
"The schools are just surprised with having to handle so much money. They don't know what to do with it yet," he said.
He added, "We feel we should stop telling schools what to do with their money. We cut out that government bureaucracy because public school students tend to become rigid, it doesn't help their creativity. We want schools to allocate funds for whatever field they need to concentrate on."
The new law also replaced the old curriculum with a new competence-based curriculum that requires students to pass several subjects, including moral studies. In IT studies, the curriculum only requires students to have basic word processing skills and an understanding of computer icons.
"Basically we're allowing each school to compete with each other," Bambang said. "But in 10 or 15 years, we should see some results from democratizing the curriculum."
Bambang said the government had also taken steps to provide IT education by providing an e-learning system, which connects schools to the Internet to highlight IT education.
In 1997, the government created a distance-learning program, which was the basis for the development of an e-learning system. Then in 2006, the ministry launched a national education network, which connected about 750 public schools to the Internet.
Heru Sutadi, a telecommunications observer, argues that this has not translated into a wider use of network services.
"There is an improvement in terms of our online services, both in the business and government sectors," he said. "But those services still can't function as a main service center, because the infrastructure is not evenly spread out, there is limited troubleshooting expertise and limited IT awareness."
"Also, the available broadband services are limited, and are fairly expensive," he added.
According to the Indonesian Association of Internet Service Providers, only 10 percent of the population is connected to the Internet, compared to 90 percent in neighboring Singapore.
Heru said Indonesia had to start increasing the quality of IT education.
"It's our duty to ensure that future Indonesian workers master IT across the board, through formal and non-formal means," he said.
He added, "If we don't start now, when will our position change from simply using or seeing all these foreign products coming in and out, to actually being the producers?"
Indonesia's ability to provide skilled information technology workers remains in doubt, even as it approaches its 100th year of "national awakening".
Indonesia ranked 67th out of 69 countries in an e-readiness study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), faring little better than Azerbaijan and Iran as one of the least IT-prepared countries on the list.
The EIU ranking was based on consumer and business adoption of IT, connectivity and technology infrastructure, business environment, social and cultural environments, government policy and vision, and legal and policy environments.
In a separate survey by the United Nations, Indonesia ranked 106th out of 189 countries in terms of government Internet-based service usage.
And despite gold medal-winning performances in several international Physics, Biology and Astronomics Olympiads (including last year's Asian Physics Olympiads), Indonesian students have yet to distinguish themselves in the IT category.
According to Maria Widyati, deputy marketing director for the ComputerStar learning center, there are only three or four large private education institutions in Jakarta that provide IT-based education for students from elementary through to high school levels.
She said, "This is very sad, because we believe programmers will be the ones moving this world."
ComputerStar provides computer-based education from elementary to high school levels, and since its inception 20 years ago, some 330 schools across the country use its curriculum.
According to Maria, computer-based learning centers see an annual increase in the number of participating schools of only 7 to 10 percent. She added that most of the recipients were private schools, "because giving computer lessons is expensive".
In addition to the government-issued computer-based curriculum, ComputerStar also gives lessons on using image editing applications like Photoshop, and computer programming applications like C++.
Maria added, "We teach what is stipulated in the Education Ministry's curriculum, but we also feel it's important for the students to keep up with current trends."
In 2003, the government revised the 1989 law on education, giving schools more freedom in allocating their government funding.
Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said the reluctance of schools to enhance the quality of IT education by improving their curriculum is part of a trial and error process.
"The schools are just surprised with having to handle so much money. They don't know what to do with it yet," he said.
He added, "We feel we should stop telling schools what to do with their money. We cut out that government bureaucracy because public school students tend to become rigid, it doesn't help their creativity. We want schools to allocate funds for whatever field they need to concentrate on."
The new law also replaced the old curriculum with a new competence-based curriculum that requires students to pass several subjects, including moral studies. In IT studies, the curriculum only requires students to have basic word processing skills and an understanding of computer icons.
"Basically we're allowing each school to compete with each other," Bambang said. "But in 10 or 15 years, we should see some results from democratizing the curriculum."
Bambang said the government had also taken steps to provide IT education by providing an e-learning system, which connects schools to the Internet to highlight IT education.
In 1997, the government created a distance-learning program, which was the basis for the development of an e-learning system. Then in 2006, the ministry launched a national education network, which connected about 750 public schools to the Internet.
Heru Sutadi, a telecommunications observer, argues that this has not translated into a wider use of network services.
"There is an improvement in terms of our online services, both in the business and government sectors," he said. "But those services still can't function as a main service center, because the infrastructure is not evenly spread out, there is limited troubleshooting expertise and limited IT awareness."
"Also, the available broadband services are limited, and are fairly expensive," he added.
According to the Indonesian Association of Internet Service Providers, only 10 percent of the population is connected to the Internet, compared to 90 percent in neighboring Singapore.
Heru said Indonesia had to start increasing the quality of IT education.
"It's our duty to ensure that future Indonesian workers master IT across the board, through formal and non-formal means," he said.
He added, "If we don't start now, when will our position change from simply using or seeing all these foreign products coming in and out, to actually being the producers?"
Commentary: A noble endeavor, an awakened foreign policy
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat , The Jakarta Post , Cambridge, Massachusetts | Mon, 05/19/2008 2:47 AM | Headlines
On May 20, 100 years ago, there was no Indonesian state, let alone a national foreign policy.
But the emergence of nationhood sowed by Boedi Oetomo in 1908 reflected events abroad.
It was an era of rising Asian nationalism: Four years earlier tsarist Russia suffered a crushing defeat to imperial Japan. A decade before, Filipinos began a rebellion against colonial power Spain and then the United States; and in 1885 the Indian National Congress was founded.
Over a century later the seeds planted by this generation of events would give rise to Asia's four greatest democracies of the 21st century -- India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan.
The emergence of a nationally conscious Indonesian educated elite in 1908 can also be attributed to a shift of perception in Europe. In 1899 Dutch lawyer Conrad van Deventer published an article underlining the debt of honor the Netherlands should pay for exploiting the peoples of the Dutch East Indies.
This prompted a marginal shift in Dutch colonial policy toward a somewhat more acceptable "ethical policy", which led to the opening of educational opportunities for Indonesians.
Lest we forget, Dutchman Douwes Dekker, one of the stalwarts of the 1908 generation, had his anti-colonialist views hardened while fighting against the British in the Boer War in South Africa six years earlier.
Indonesia may not have been a player on the global map at that time, but world events certainly helped shape Indonesian history.
And it is to history that the republic's leaders later turned as they envisioned awakening the Indonesian dream.
The country's first two presidents were rapt by visions of the ancient 14th century kingdom of Majapahit, and to some extent the preceding Sriwijaya kingdom, as antecedents to the modern Indonesian nation-state.
An archipelagic realm fabled by the ancient Javanese hymn "Nagarakretagama" extending through much of Southeast Asia. An international player in the Middle Ages.
The symbolism is irrefutable. The nation's motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity) is derived from Sanskrit dating back to the age of Majapahit.
So too is the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's logo, which reads "Caraka Bhuwana" (ambassadors to the world).
Since the economic and political calamities of 1998 the Foreign Ministry has truly been an ambassador of change. It has been the most internally reformist and policy progressive department in an oft torpid government.
Indonesian foreign policy in the last five years has returned to its true respected self: publicly understated and underappreciated, yet consistent and effective.
As a former minister remarked in 1994, Indonesia's foreign policy has never been "passive" or "defensive", but "we were always reluctant to brag about the success of our efforts".
More recently, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, when asked during a conversation why countries in the region would listen to Indonesia, replied "because we are consistent".
The most glowingly positive awakening has been the gradual shift toward a more values-based foreign policy. Not as an intruder or preacher of human rights, the way some countries pursue, but as a cheerleader for democracy.
Every Indonesian diplomat memorizes the meaning of "Caraka Bhuwana". But in this democratic era that motto should be coupled with Boedi Oetomo, which roughly translated means "noble endeavor".
Hence, "ambassadors to the world in a noble endeavor" should be the raison d'etre of diplomacy, akin to the foresight of the country's founding fathers.
But while foreign policy has awakened, there is the danger of day-dreaming in a state of consciousness. Pursuing goals beyond our immediate capacity or urgency.
The foundation of Indonesian foreign policy is Mohammad Hatta's 1948 speech that stressed non-alignment. A forgotten component of the speech of the first vice president was his call for pragmatism.
In Hatta's words: "Executed in consonance with the situations and facts it (Indonesia) has to face."
Current leaders love to spew rhetoric about Indonesia's attempted role to resolve the Middle East crisis, a leadership role in the Islamic world, attaining a permanent seat in the UN Security Council or mediating in the Korean Peninsula.
Grand rhetoric to satisfy domestic constituents. Delusions of grandeur absorbing immediate priorities and limited capacities.
They would be wise to remember former German chancellor Helmut Kohl's quip, "If I started to have visions I'd go see a doctor!"
The aforementioned issues are important, but priority should be given to promoting a stable environment of political openness in Southeast and East Asia, public diplomacy to raise the country's profile abroad and facilitation for the growing throng of Indonesians overseas.
Let us realize that in many ways Indonesia's global presence is similar to the Majapahit kingdom six centuries ago. A local player with limited presence beyond.
The world's third largest democracy (Indonesia) does not register with most Washington policymakers or Ivy League academics. And this in a country (United States) which is infatuated with global democracy.
The ancient rulers understood their faculty and set priorities accordingly. Sriwijaya and Majapahit were conscious of the Chinese dynasties to the north, and the Chola kingdom to the west. Concentrating, instead, on what it does best in its immediate sphere of influence.
Present-day Indonesians should never cease to aspire, but never forget their own confines.
If Icarus had rockets he may have reached the stars. Alas, though Indonesia may now be beginning to soar, it too has feathered wings.
The author, a staff writer with The Jakarta Post, is currently a research fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
On May 20, 100 years ago, there was no Indonesian state, let alone a national foreign policy.
But the emergence of nationhood sowed by Boedi Oetomo in 1908 reflected events abroad.
It was an era of rising Asian nationalism: Four years earlier tsarist Russia suffered a crushing defeat to imperial Japan. A decade before, Filipinos began a rebellion against colonial power Spain and then the United States; and in 1885 the Indian National Congress was founded.
Over a century later the seeds planted by this generation of events would give rise to Asia's four greatest democracies of the 21st century -- India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan.
The emergence of a nationally conscious Indonesian educated elite in 1908 can also be attributed to a shift of perception in Europe. In 1899 Dutch lawyer Conrad van Deventer published an article underlining the debt of honor the Netherlands should pay for exploiting the peoples of the Dutch East Indies.
This prompted a marginal shift in Dutch colonial policy toward a somewhat more acceptable "ethical policy", which led to the opening of educational opportunities for Indonesians.
Lest we forget, Dutchman Douwes Dekker, one of the stalwarts of the 1908 generation, had his anti-colonialist views hardened while fighting against the British in the Boer War in South Africa six years earlier.
Indonesia may not have been a player on the global map at that time, but world events certainly helped shape Indonesian history.
And it is to history that the republic's leaders later turned as they envisioned awakening the Indonesian dream.
The country's first two presidents were rapt by visions of the ancient 14th century kingdom of Majapahit, and to some extent the preceding Sriwijaya kingdom, as antecedents to the modern Indonesian nation-state.
An archipelagic realm fabled by the ancient Javanese hymn "Nagarakretagama" extending through much of Southeast Asia. An international player in the Middle Ages.
The symbolism is irrefutable. The nation's motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity) is derived from Sanskrit dating back to the age of Majapahit.
So too is the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's logo, which reads "Caraka Bhuwana" (ambassadors to the world).
Since the economic and political calamities of 1998 the Foreign Ministry has truly been an ambassador of change. It has been the most internally reformist and policy progressive department in an oft torpid government.
Indonesian foreign policy in the last five years has returned to its true respected self: publicly understated and underappreciated, yet consistent and effective.
As a former minister remarked in 1994, Indonesia's foreign policy has never been "passive" or "defensive", but "we were always reluctant to brag about the success of our efforts".
More recently, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, when asked during a conversation why countries in the region would listen to Indonesia, replied "because we are consistent".
The most glowingly positive awakening has been the gradual shift toward a more values-based foreign policy. Not as an intruder or preacher of human rights, the way some countries pursue, but as a cheerleader for democracy.
Every Indonesian diplomat memorizes the meaning of "Caraka Bhuwana". But in this democratic era that motto should be coupled with Boedi Oetomo, which roughly translated means "noble endeavor".
Hence, "ambassadors to the world in a noble endeavor" should be the raison d'etre of diplomacy, akin to the foresight of the country's founding fathers.
But while foreign policy has awakened, there is the danger of day-dreaming in a state of consciousness. Pursuing goals beyond our immediate capacity or urgency.
The foundation of Indonesian foreign policy is Mohammad Hatta's 1948 speech that stressed non-alignment. A forgotten component of the speech of the first vice president was his call for pragmatism.
In Hatta's words: "Executed in consonance with the situations and facts it (Indonesia) has to face."
Current leaders love to spew rhetoric about Indonesia's attempted role to resolve the Middle East crisis, a leadership role in the Islamic world, attaining a permanent seat in the UN Security Council or mediating in the Korean Peninsula.
Grand rhetoric to satisfy domestic constituents. Delusions of grandeur absorbing immediate priorities and limited capacities.
They would be wise to remember former German chancellor Helmut Kohl's quip, "If I started to have visions I'd go see a doctor!"
The aforementioned issues are important, but priority should be given to promoting a stable environment of political openness in Southeast and East Asia, public diplomacy to raise the country's profile abroad and facilitation for the growing throng of Indonesians overseas.
Let us realize that in many ways Indonesia's global presence is similar to the Majapahit kingdom six centuries ago. A local player with limited presence beyond.
The world's third largest democracy (Indonesia) does not register with most Washington policymakers or Ivy League academics. And this in a country (United States) which is infatuated with global democracy.
The ancient rulers understood their faculty and set priorities accordingly. Sriwijaya and Majapahit were conscious of the Chinese dynasties to the north, and the Chola kingdom to the west. Concentrating, instead, on what it does best in its immediate sphere of influence.
Present-day Indonesians should never cease to aspire, but never forget their own confines.
If Icarus had rockets he may have reached the stars. Alas, though Indonesia may now be beginning to soar, it too has feathered wings.
The author, a staff writer with The Jakarta Post, is currently a research fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
KEBANGKITAN ISLAM DAN NEGARA-NEGARA KAWASAN ARAB (1/3)
Kebangkitan Islam merupakan fenomena sejarah nasional yang menumbuhkan kembali semangat iman, stagnasi pemikiran dan fikih, serta gerakan (harakah) dan jihad. Kebangkitan ini juga membawa ujian-ujian bagi umat Islam sehingga mendorong mereka mencari sebab-sebab kejatuhan dan kehinaan yang menimpa. Beranjak dari kesadaran ini, mereka menemukan kesadaran baru, yaitu: menghidupkan iman, mengaktifkan pemikiran, dan menggairahkan gerakan Islam. Dalam hal ini, Al-Qur'an telah mengisyaratkan melalui kisah perjalanan Bani Israil (awal surat al-Israa') dan Al-Hadits yang menjelaskan tentang lahirnya pembaharu setiap satu abad. Sejarah Islam pun membuktikan isyarat ini.
Kebangkitan yang sedang kita perbincangkan ini merupakan fase kesadaran baru yang sedang marak di Dunia Arab Islam pasca fase kehinaan akibat kolonialisme. Kebangkitan Islam mulai muncul menjelang Perang Dunia II pecah dan semakin kokoh pada era sesudahnya hingga mencapai momentum perkembangan yang paling spektakuler sejak akhir dasawarsa 1970-an.
Kebangkitan ini semakin mengakar dalam organisasi-organisasi Islam yang membawa kesadaran baru. Berdirilah misi-misi Islam yang mengembalikan kepercayaan mengenai kebenaran Islam dan kebesaran sejarahnya. Kebangkitan Islam mengambil bentuk aktivitas sosial yang mendidik generasi muda, memakmurkan masjid, dan membersihkan sifat-sifat tercela. Selain itu, kebangkitan Islam bergerak dalam bidang politik untuk menempatkan Islam dalam politik dan jihad. Mungkin sebagian besar perhatian ditujukan kepada al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun dan Jihad Islam, namun sebenarnya kebangkitan ini digerakkan oleh banyak organisasi Islam, meskipun tidak seluruhnya menarik untuk diperbincangkan.
Bahkan, gerakan kebangkitan Islam tidak bisa hanya dihubungkan dengan pemikiran para pionir aktivis yang terorganisir an sich, melainkan harus pula melihat kecenderungan-kecenderungan pemikiran yang lain. Fenomena sosial yang luas dan kesadaran membaja untuk memisahkan diri dari gaya hidup Eropa dan kembali ke pangkuan Islam telah mendorong umat untuk menerapkan nilai-nilai Islam dalam realitas kehidupan.
Persoalan kebangkitan tidak terbatas pada gerakan kebangsaan, sebab disetujui atau tidak, sistem pemerintahan pun ikut memainkan peran tertentu dalam konteks kebangkitan. Peran tersebut tampak pada perilaku politik, apalagi dalam dunia pers dan pendidikan hukum, serta terutama dalam upaya menerapkan syariat Islam. Dapat ditarik suatu hipotesis bahwa kebangkitan Islam telah menjadi kekuatan sejarah yang sempurna.
Kebangkitan Islam menimbulkan berbagai pengaruh bagi Dunia Arab. Kebangkitan merupakan respon terhadap berbagai tantangan dan bekerja sama dengan kekuatan sejarah lain yang bergerak di negeri-negeri lain. Dalam pengertian, kebangkitan Islam tidak hanya bergumul dengan ideal-ideal Islam saja, melainkan juga dengan realitas serta berbagai aliran dan paham. Karenanya, kita terkadang masih perlu mengembalikan wacana tentang kebangkitan Islam kepada akar-akar pemikiran Arab secara keseluruhan. Ini karena esensi kebangkitan tidak dapat dipahami tanpa mengembalikannya kepada akar-akar ini.
Penyertaan Qatar dalam pembahasan ini hanyalah sebagai negara yang mewakili tipe pemerintahan dalam masyarakat yang mempertahankan eksistensi keeropaan dan keislaman menuju satu kesatuan yang melampaui batas-batas geografis. Oleh karenanya, pembahasan ini terkadang tertuju kepada fanatisme nasional yang mengarah pada pemeliharaan negeri Qatar.
Bila kita berbicara mengenai kebangkitan sistem pemerintahan negara-negara Arab, maka sebaiknya kita mengingat bahwa masalah integrasi atau disintegrasi tidak dapat dikesampingkan. Meskipun secara teoretis, yang dijadikan objek kajian adalah nilai-nilai Qatar dan keintegrasiannya, namun situasi yang diamati adalah dampak kemerdekaan masyarakat Qatar dan integrasi dengan nilai-nilai Islam. Dampak langsung dari integrasi adalah tenggelamnya sistem lama di Qatar dan menangnya sistem lain. Kita akan mencermati contoh tersebut pada pembahasan mendatang.
Negara-negara Arab tidaklah terputus dari lingkungan sekitarnya. Demikian pula kebangkitan Islam tidak hanya mengakar di bumi Arab. Islam merupakan agama mayoritas masyarakat Arab, Afrika, dan Asia. Dalam perspektif historis, gerakan-gerakan Islam saling berhubungan dan mempengaruhi satu sama lain.
Dewasa ini, kebangkitan Islam merupakan fenomena internasional dengan berbagai macam topik diskursus yang menantang. Hal ini disebabkan oleh eksistensi Islam yang mencoba merespon situasi yang dihadapi dunia, yaitu: imperialisme politik, serangan kebudayaan Barat, kegagalan sistem sekular yang ditinggalkan kaum imperialis kepada negeri-negeri Islam, dan revolusi kebangkitan Islam dalam bentuk revolusi hubungan elite. Kebangkitan Islam-Arab bekerja sama secara revolusioner dan intelektual dengan kebangkitan-kebangkitan di berbagai tempat dan situasi. Realitas Dunia Arab berhubungan dengan realitas Dunia Islam dan internasional. Berbagai kendala dan situasi kebangkitan Islam tak dapat dipahami tanpa menyinggung dimensi internasional.
Umat dan Negara-negara Kawasan Arab dalam Sejarah Islam
Islam menyatukan antara ideal-ideal absolut dan realitas nisbi. Ideal-ideal ini diabstraksikan dalam ajaran-ajaran dan doktrin-doktrin syariah. Realitas merupakan kejadian-kejadian material dan situasional yang melingkupi kehidupan manusia. Sedangkan keberagamaan adalah kepercayaan psikis terhadap doktrin-doktrin kebenaran yang absolut, dan usaha kesejarahan merupakan upaya mendekatkan realitas dengan doktrin-doktrin, mengkontekstualkan iman dalam bentuk realitas yang paling ideal, dan selanjutnya berusaha terus menerus mengembangkan keagamaan menuju titik kesempurnaan ideal.
Bentuk negara Islam yang pertama dalam sejarah adalah negara Madinah yang dipandu oleh Al-Qur'an dan As-Sunnah. Untuk keperluan pertumbuhan regional, Rasulullah saw. menggariskan aturan-aturan regional. Al-Qur'an pun menetapkan pada akhir surat al-Anfal mengenai batasan-batasan loyalitas masyarakat yang terdiri atas penduduk asli dan imigran agar saling menjaga dan membantu.
Negara Madinah merupakan realitas regional yang berwawasan internasional. Negara ini telah melampaui realitas zamannya, sebab penduduknya percaya bahwa mereka merupakan bagian dari mata rantai umat Islam sebelumnya yang dipimpin para Rasul. Secara psikis, Madinah pun telah melampaui realitas regionalnya, sebab penduduknya telah terlibat aktif dalam konflik internasional dengan Persia dan Romawi, khususnya dalam konflik ekonomi, politik, dan agama. Negara Madinah dengan kondisinya tersebut kemudian mengokohkan Dunia Arab dan seluruh umat manusia di sana sebagai basis dan alat integrasi. Hal itu dikarenakan Arab mempunyai misi samawi.
Negara ideal berikutnya adalah Khilafah Rasyidah. Dalam sistem ini, penguasa menjadi pusat dan dorongan umum berangkat dari pusat kekuasaan. Dakwah dijalankan secara luar biasa hingga terbentuklah wilayah-wilayah baru yang berjauhan dan dihuni oleh masyarakat yang plural. Dipergunakanlah ungkapan-ungkapan politik syar'i yang sebagian kembali kepada masa kenabian. Negara-negara Arab merupakan dasar pembagian wilayah pemerintahan umum, peradilan, dan distribusi kekayaan. Dalam potret semacam ini, kesatuan kepemimpinan khilafah dijalankan tanpa pembagian kekuasaan. Di samping itu, terdapat kesatuan geografis Islam yang semula tidak mengenal kendala-kendala internal.
Meski terjadi perpecahan di kalangan penguasa serta fanatisme wilayah, etnis, dan golongan --setelah terjadi sistem pewarisan khilafah-- namun pola umum negara masih tetap berpedoman pada sistem kesatuan (integrasi). Para fuqaha yang juga merupakan para pemimpin bangsa dan idola masyarakat. Meskipun bersikap wajar terhadap para pemberontak, tetapi mereka tetap mentolerir pembagian wilayah dan upaya integrasi. Sedangkan dalam hal pemikiran, mereka mengakui eksistensi mazhab-mazhab dan kebebasan mengikutinya.
Pola ini berjalinan dengan faktor-faktor pengimbang yang ditemakan oleh masyarakat muslim dalam keluasan dan kecepatan ekspansinya untuk mewadahi pluralitas masyarakat dan kebudayaan. Ketika kondisi tersebut tidak diimbangi dengan usaha-usaha integrasi, maka khalifah pada gilirannya hanya menjadi simbol dan hanya mampu bertahan ketika kekuatan pusat pemerintahan semakin menurun. Sehingga kondisi kritis mulai terjadi, fanatisme kelompok bermunculan, dan wilayah-wilayah lain beroposisi untuk membangun pola baru dalam realitas politik umat Islam.
Pola yang meniscayakan Dunia Islam hingga saat ini adalah satu bentuk pemerintahan dengan kesatuan umat (integrasi) dan meninggalkan kesatuan politik karena tersebar luasnya negara-negara Islam. Sebagian negara Islam mengalami perkembangan karena kemampuannya membuka diri untuk menyelesaikan masalah-masalah yang yang ditimbulkan akibat letak wilayah yang jauh dari pusat.
Pemerintahan Islam telah memelopori bahwa batasan-batasan regional tidak membagi-bagi kaum muslimin sebagaimana yang dilakukan oleh penguasa-penguasa politik. Hanya ada satu lapangan ilmiah, pasar ekonomi, dan konteks kebangsaan. Kesatuan undang-undang juga menjaga dominasi hukum-hukum syariat sehingga berkembanglah mazhab-mazhab fikih dan metode-metode tasawuf untuk menegaskan kesatuan umat dalam paguyuban tarekat. Suatu prediksi dapat dikemukakan bahwa wilayah Islam akan semakin menyatu secara peradaban melalui tersebarnya berbagai mazhab dan tarekat, pertukaran ilmu dan kebudayaan, dan komunikasi melalui migrasi manusia, ilmu, dan agama. Hal itu terjadi dalam kurun waktu yang panjang pasca runtuhnya pusat politik dan kediktatoran para penguasa di negara-negara Arab. Islam, pemanduan syariat, dan terbukanya kawasan merupakan faktor-faktor penjaga kesatuan umat.
Ketika Islam tidak lagi difungsikan sebagai pengikat hati antar umat, dihapuskannya syariat, dan penjajahan imperialis, maka negara-negara Arab pun terpecah belah. Tak ada yang tersisa dari wilayah Islam kecuali hanya persaudaraan dalam jiwa kaum muslimin, kegetiran masa lampau, dan mimpi masa depan.
Umat dan Negara-negara Kawasan Eropa: Sebuah Studi Komparasi
Perkembangan negara-negara Eropa disebabkan oleh terlepasnya mereka dari agamanya, konflik berkepanjangan dalam masyarakat dan pemerintahan, dan terlampau beratnya penderitaan yang mereka rasakan. Sementara itu, ekspansi Islam menjanjikan kehidupan baru bagi mereka. Sejarah Eropa menengarai bahwa kejatuhan tersebut bukan disebabkan oleh kelengahan, melainkan karena mengingkari dasar-dasar agama mereka. Jika cita-cita kebangkitan kaum muslimin diilhami oleh Kitab Suci yang terjaga (Al-Qur'an), maka masyarakat Barat menoreh sejarah mereka dengan revolusi anti-agama.
Mayoritas masyarakat Eropa berada di bawah pengaruh Kristen selama lebih dari sepuluh abad. Menurut mereka, kondisi tersebut merupakan contoh ideal tentang nasionalisme dan peradaban bagi dunia internasional. Dalam pandangan mereka, contoh ideal tersebut berupa kebesaran imperium dan hubungan harmonis dalam hak milik nasional dan negara-negara Eropa. Kemudian nasionalisme mulai memberi kekhususan kepada para raja. Negara-negara kawasan ini semakin kokoh menuju terbentuknya Eropa modern.
Kehancuran sistem internasional lama telah memicu lahirnya teori-teori kekuasaan yang memberi penekanan pada dominasi absolut dalam batas-batas regional seperti teori Machiavelli. Dominasi ini tampak jelas pada propaganda-propaganda imperium, Paus, dan kaum feodal. Teori-teori sosial itu mengokohkan dominasi raja dan para penguasa secara absolut.
Kemudian pemikiran politik mulai berkembang dan menyuarakan dominasi bangsa dan ide liberalisme demi keuntungan individu (yang diprakarsai John Locke, para pakar psikologi sesudahnya, dan kelompok radikal), kelompok-kelompok reformasi cita-cita umum (teori Rousseau), pelestarian sejarah masyarakat (teori Hegel), dan komunisme-materialisme (teori Karl Marx).
Nasionalisme telah menguatkan posisi negara yang mengambil bentuk politik, ekonomi, dan solidaritas sebagai pengisi kekosongan agama. Tumbuhlah perasaan khusus nasionalisme serta kekhususan bahasa dan tata bahasanya. Sejarah nasionalisme bergerak melemahkan kekhususan-kekhususan tersebut dengan berbagai utopia dan data. Nasionalisme membanggakan hal tersebut. Isme ini tumbuh di benua Eropa dan Amerika.
Meskipun dominasi nasionalisme di Eropa membawa pertumbuhan material, namun akhirnya Eropa merasa gamang terhadap penyimpangan pola negara semacam ini. Mungkin kegamangan tersebut merupakan dampak tradisi kebudayaan yang plural, perkembangan teori kemanusiaan, berbagai konflik nasional, dan terbatasnya ekspansi Eropa. Maka berdirilah sistem negara-negara Eropa di atas kaidah undang-undang negara. Negara-negara ini mempunyai kawasan yang terbatas, namun tenggelam dalam konflik pada masalah-masalah yang telah disepakati kaum muslimin di kawasan Daulah Islamiah.
Kesatuan Eksternal Menuju Pluralisme Internal di Dunia Arab
Kawasan negara-negara Arab telah keluar dari kekuasaan administratif kekhalifahan Utsmani. Pada umumnya, negara-negara tersebut memisahkan diri karena pengaruh kemerdekaan politik negara-negara imperialis. Pemisahan perdana merupakan sarana munculnya nasionalisme Arab, sebab hal itu merupakan bentuk pemerdekaan dari ikatan keagamaan dan beralih menjadi nasionalisme. Fenomena tersebut tidak persis sama dengan yang terjadi di Eropa, sebab ia bukan hasil perkembangan teoretis dan material sebagaimana yang terjadi di Eropa. Nasionalisme Eropa merupakan produk yang terkait dengan eksperimen dan faktor-faktor Eropa.
Eksperimen yang pernah dilakukan orang-orang Islam dan mayoritas orang-orang Nasrani Arab berbeda dengan yang terjadi dalam sejarah Eropa. Masyarakat Barat meyakini eksperimen Eropa sebagai eksperimen murni dan memandang dirinya sebagai pusat kebangkitan dan contoh ideal pencerahan umat manusia.
Padahal yang harus diketahui adalah bagaimana strategi Eropa dalam menghadapi kekhilafahan Utsmani di medan perang dan kepiawaian memanfaatkan propaganda, hubungan politik, dan diplomasi demi keuntungan mereka. Selain itu, terjadi perang intelektual antar keduanya. Walaupun sebenarnya persatuan umat Islam dalam kekhalifahan Utsmani masih terasa, tetapi tidak mencapai prestasi nasionalisme Eropa karena perbedaan perkembangan sejarah masing-masing.
Sekiranya Arab keluar dari kekuasaan Utsmani dan berdiri di atas landasan nasionalisme, tentu ia tidak mampu. Malah sebagai ganti penguasaan kekhilafahan Utsmani, berdirilah imperialisme di Dunia Arab. Akhirnya imperialisme membagi-bagi pengaruh dan batas-batas wilayah Arab berdasarkan realitas regional historis masing-masing wilayah yang sebelumnya bersatu. Imperialisme telah mengokohkan status pembagian tersebut untuk menarik keuntungan jangka pendek dan panjang, apalagi mereka bermaksud melapangkan jalan bagi kehadiran Zionisme di tengah-tengah Dunia Arab dan memutuskan hubungan Arab dengan Dunia Islam.
Ketika bangkit keinginan melepaskan diri dari cengkeraman imperialisme, gerakan pembebasan Arab segera memisahkan diri dari kelompok-kelompok yang terpengaruh kebudayaan Eropa. Kelompok-kelompok nasional gigih memperjuangkan tercapainya kemerdekaan bagi negara yang mandiri, tetapi dengan konsep-konsep Eropa.
Masyarakat merasa perlu mengedepankan warisan keagamaannya untuk mengisi kesenjangan dan memfungsikan simbol-simbol keagamaan untuk membangkitkan semangat melawan kekuatan asing yang kafir. Dalam konteks ini, Islam merupakan unsur pembentuk jati diri negara dan pemantik semangat kebangsaan. Sangat memungkinkan untuk menggunakan faktor kekuatan Islam itu bila perjuangan menemui jalan buntu. Seluruh wilayah Afrika Utara adalah contoh terbaik dari kasus ini, apalagi perjuangan kaum muslimin Aljazair melawan imperialisme Perancis. Gema Islam pun terdengar hingga di Sudan, meskipun kontrol Arab-Islam di negara ini melemah.
Peran Islam dikenal pula dalam perjuangan nasional di luar negara-negara Arab, termasuk di negara-negara Asia seperti Iran, Afganistan, dan Pakistan. Peran ini tampak pada syiar yang ditonjolkan pasca-kemerdekaan. Akan tetapi, meski masyarakat muslim berkuah darah dalam perjuangan nasional, tetapi yang menikmati kue kemerdekaan adalah para nasionalis, sedangkan orang-orang Islam hanya menjadi penonton. Peran yang dilakoni dalam perjuangan kini tinggal kenangan. Itulah sebabnya, Islam tidak berperan lagi dalam mempengaruhi proses integrasi negara-negara Arab yang mandiri.
Meskipun kelompok pembebasan nasional di Dunia Arab berpedoman sekularisme dalam pembangunan negara, tetapi upaya tersebut tidak sukses sebagaimana keberhasilan Turki Muda mendepak sistem kekhalifahan. Mereka hanya berhasil mendirikan dasar-dasar negara nasional dan mempersoalkan integrasi. Konsep negara sekular semakin mendorong negara-negara Arab untuk meninggalkan sistem syariat dan mengembangkan sistem perundang-undangan yang tidak berdasarkan Islam. Sebagai contoh adalah Hizbul-Wafd (Partai Wafd) dan Hizbud-Dustuuri (Partai Perundang-undangan) di Tunisia.
Sebagian negara Teluk Arab selamat dari sekularisasi. Negara-negara tersebut tidak mungkin berdiri dengan batas-batasnya sendiri kecuali dengan desakan imperialisme atau situasi sejarah.
Walau negara-negara Arab memupuk fanatisme dan nasionalisme --bukan solidaritas kawasan-- namun hal tersebut tidak sampai memutuskan hubungan antar bangsa seperti di Eropa. Sejarah Arab kontemporer mencatat adanya berbagai ikhtiar untuk berintegrasi yang tak menyerupai bentuk integrasi apa pun di muka bumi, sebab negara-negara Arab mengupayakan integrasi dengan nasionalisme dan agamanya. Libya berusaha berintegrasi dengan lima negara Arab, serta Mesir dan Suriah masing-masing dengan empat negara. Tidak ada negara Arab yang tidak berusaha untuk berintegrasi, meskipun kenyataannya mereka masih terpecah-pecah.
(sebelum, sesudah)
Kebangkitan Islam dalam Perbincangan Para Pakar
(As-Shahwatul Islamiyah Ru'yatu Nuqadiyatu Minal Daakhili)
Penerbit GEMA INSANI PRESS
Jl. Kalibata Utara 11 No. 84 Jakarta 12740
Telp. (021) 7984391-7984392-7988593
Fax. (021) 7984388
Kebangkitan yang sedang kita perbincangkan ini merupakan fase kesadaran baru yang sedang marak di Dunia Arab Islam pasca fase kehinaan akibat kolonialisme. Kebangkitan Islam mulai muncul menjelang Perang Dunia II pecah dan semakin kokoh pada era sesudahnya hingga mencapai momentum perkembangan yang paling spektakuler sejak akhir dasawarsa 1970-an.
Kebangkitan ini semakin mengakar dalam organisasi-organisasi Islam yang membawa kesadaran baru. Berdirilah misi-misi Islam yang mengembalikan kepercayaan mengenai kebenaran Islam dan kebesaran sejarahnya. Kebangkitan Islam mengambil bentuk aktivitas sosial yang mendidik generasi muda, memakmurkan masjid, dan membersihkan sifat-sifat tercela. Selain itu, kebangkitan Islam bergerak dalam bidang politik untuk menempatkan Islam dalam politik dan jihad. Mungkin sebagian besar perhatian ditujukan kepada al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun dan Jihad Islam, namun sebenarnya kebangkitan ini digerakkan oleh banyak organisasi Islam, meskipun tidak seluruhnya menarik untuk diperbincangkan.
Bahkan, gerakan kebangkitan Islam tidak bisa hanya dihubungkan dengan pemikiran para pionir aktivis yang terorganisir an sich, melainkan harus pula melihat kecenderungan-kecenderungan pemikiran yang lain. Fenomena sosial yang luas dan kesadaran membaja untuk memisahkan diri dari gaya hidup Eropa dan kembali ke pangkuan Islam telah mendorong umat untuk menerapkan nilai-nilai Islam dalam realitas kehidupan.
Persoalan kebangkitan tidak terbatas pada gerakan kebangsaan, sebab disetujui atau tidak, sistem pemerintahan pun ikut memainkan peran tertentu dalam konteks kebangkitan. Peran tersebut tampak pada perilaku politik, apalagi dalam dunia pers dan pendidikan hukum, serta terutama dalam upaya menerapkan syariat Islam. Dapat ditarik suatu hipotesis bahwa kebangkitan Islam telah menjadi kekuatan sejarah yang sempurna.
Kebangkitan Islam menimbulkan berbagai pengaruh bagi Dunia Arab. Kebangkitan merupakan respon terhadap berbagai tantangan dan bekerja sama dengan kekuatan sejarah lain yang bergerak di negeri-negeri lain. Dalam pengertian, kebangkitan Islam tidak hanya bergumul dengan ideal-ideal Islam saja, melainkan juga dengan realitas serta berbagai aliran dan paham. Karenanya, kita terkadang masih perlu mengembalikan wacana tentang kebangkitan Islam kepada akar-akar pemikiran Arab secara keseluruhan. Ini karena esensi kebangkitan tidak dapat dipahami tanpa mengembalikannya kepada akar-akar ini.
Penyertaan Qatar dalam pembahasan ini hanyalah sebagai negara yang mewakili tipe pemerintahan dalam masyarakat yang mempertahankan eksistensi keeropaan dan keislaman menuju satu kesatuan yang melampaui batas-batas geografis. Oleh karenanya, pembahasan ini terkadang tertuju kepada fanatisme nasional yang mengarah pada pemeliharaan negeri Qatar.
Bila kita berbicara mengenai kebangkitan sistem pemerintahan negara-negara Arab, maka sebaiknya kita mengingat bahwa masalah integrasi atau disintegrasi tidak dapat dikesampingkan. Meskipun secara teoretis, yang dijadikan objek kajian adalah nilai-nilai Qatar dan keintegrasiannya, namun situasi yang diamati adalah dampak kemerdekaan masyarakat Qatar dan integrasi dengan nilai-nilai Islam. Dampak langsung dari integrasi adalah tenggelamnya sistem lama di Qatar dan menangnya sistem lain. Kita akan mencermati contoh tersebut pada pembahasan mendatang.
Negara-negara Arab tidaklah terputus dari lingkungan sekitarnya. Demikian pula kebangkitan Islam tidak hanya mengakar di bumi Arab. Islam merupakan agama mayoritas masyarakat Arab, Afrika, dan Asia. Dalam perspektif historis, gerakan-gerakan Islam saling berhubungan dan mempengaruhi satu sama lain.
Dewasa ini, kebangkitan Islam merupakan fenomena internasional dengan berbagai macam topik diskursus yang menantang. Hal ini disebabkan oleh eksistensi Islam yang mencoba merespon situasi yang dihadapi dunia, yaitu: imperialisme politik, serangan kebudayaan Barat, kegagalan sistem sekular yang ditinggalkan kaum imperialis kepada negeri-negeri Islam, dan revolusi kebangkitan Islam dalam bentuk revolusi hubungan elite. Kebangkitan Islam-Arab bekerja sama secara revolusioner dan intelektual dengan kebangkitan-kebangkitan di berbagai tempat dan situasi. Realitas Dunia Arab berhubungan dengan realitas Dunia Islam dan internasional. Berbagai kendala dan situasi kebangkitan Islam tak dapat dipahami tanpa menyinggung dimensi internasional.
Umat dan Negara-negara Kawasan Arab dalam Sejarah Islam
Islam menyatukan antara ideal-ideal absolut dan realitas nisbi. Ideal-ideal ini diabstraksikan dalam ajaran-ajaran dan doktrin-doktrin syariah. Realitas merupakan kejadian-kejadian material dan situasional yang melingkupi kehidupan manusia. Sedangkan keberagamaan adalah kepercayaan psikis terhadap doktrin-doktrin kebenaran yang absolut, dan usaha kesejarahan merupakan upaya mendekatkan realitas dengan doktrin-doktrin, mengkontekstualkan iman dalam bentuk realitas yang paling ideal, dan selanjutnya berusaha terus menerus mengembangkan keagamaan menuju titik kesempurnaan ideal.
Bentuk negara Islam yang pertama dalam sejarah adalah negara Madinah yang dipandu oleh Al-Qur'an dan As-Sunnah. Untuk keperluan pertumbuhan regional, Rasulullah saw. menggariskan aturan-aturan regional. Al-Qur'an pun menetapkan pada akhir surat al-Anfal mengenai batasan-batasan loyalitas masyarakat yang terdiri atas penduduk asli dan imigran agar saling menjaga dan membantu.
Negara Madinah merupakan realitas regional yang berwawasan internasional. Negara ini telah melampaui realitas zamannya, sebab penduduknya percaya bahwa mereka merupakan bagian dari mata rantai umat Islam sebelumnya yang dipimpin para Rasul. Secara psikis, Madinah pun telah melampaui realitas regionalnya, sebab penduduknya telah terlibat aktif dalam konflik internasional dengan Persia dan Romawi, khususnya dalam konflik ekonomi, politik, dan agama. Negara Madinah dengan kondisinya tersebut kemudian mengokohkan Dunia Arab dan seluruh umat manusia di sana sebagai basis dan alat integrasi. Hal itu dikarenakan Arab mempunyai misi samawi.
Negara ideal berikutnya adalah Khilafah Rasyidah. Dalam sistem ini, penguasa menjadi pusat dan dorongan umum berangkat dari pusat kekuasaan. Dakwah dijalankan secara luar biasa hingga terbentuklah wilayah-wilayah baru yang berjauhan dan dihuni oleh masyarakat yang plural. Dipergunakanlah ungkapan-ungkapan politik syar'i yang sebagian kembali kepada masa kenabian. Negara-negara Arab merupakan dasar pembagian wilayah pemerintahan umum, peradilan, dan distribusi kekayaan. Dalam potret semacam ini, kesatuan kepemimpinan khilafah dijalankan tanpa pembagian kekuasaan. Di samping itu, terdapat kesatuan geografis Islam yang semula tidak mengenal kendala-kendala internal.
Meski terjadi perpecahan di kalangan penguasa serta fanatisme wilayah, etnis, dan golongan --setelah terjadi sistem pewarisan khilafah-- namun pola umum negara masih tetap berpedoman pada sistem kesatuan (integrasi). Para fuqaha yang juga merupakan para pemimpin bangsa dan idola masyarakat. Meskipun bersikap wajar terhadap para pemberontak, tetapi mereka tetap mentolerir pembagian wilayah dan upaya integrasi. Sedangkan dalam hal pemikiran, mereka mengakui eksistensi mazhab-mazhab dan kebebasan mengikutinya.
Pola ini berjalinan dengan faktor-faktor pengimbang yang ditemakan oleh masyarakat muslim dalam keluasan dan kecepatan ekspansinya untuk mewadahi pluralitas masyarakat dan kebudayaan. Ketika kondisi tersebut tidak diimbangi dengan usaha-usaha integrasi, maka khalifah pada gilirannya hanya menjadi simbol dan hanya mampu bertahan ketika kekuatan pusat pemerintahan semakin menurun. Sehingga kondisi kritis mulai terjadi, fanatisme kelompok bermunculan, dan wilayah-wilayah lain beroposisi untuk membangun pola baru dalam realitas politik umat Islam.
Pola yang meniscayakan Dunia Islam hingga saat ini adalah satu bentuk pemerintahan dengan kesatuan umat (integrasi) dan meninggalkan kesatuan politik karena tersebar luasnya negara-negara Islam. Sebagian negara Islam mengalami perkembangan karena kemampuannya membuka diri untuk menyelesaikan masalah-masalah yang yang ditimbulkan akibat letak wilayah yang jauh dari pusat.
Pemerintahan Islam telah memelopori bahwa batasan-batasan regional tidak membagi-bagi kaum muslimin sebagaimana yang dilakukan oleh penguasa-penguasa politik. Hanya ada satu lapangan ilmiah, pasar ekonomi, dan konteks kebangsaan. Kesatuan undang-undang juga menjaga dominasi hukum-hukum syariat sehingga berkembanglah mazhab-mazhab fikih dan metode-metode tasawuf untuk menegaskan kesatuan umat dalam paguyuban tarekat. Suatu prediksi dapat dikemukakan bahwa wilayah Islam akan semakin menyatu secara peradaban melalui tersebarnya berbagai mazhab dan tarekat, pertukaran ilmu dan kebudayaan, dan komunikasi melalui migrasi manusia, ilmu, dan agama. Hal itu terjadi dalam kurun waktu yang panjang pasca runtuhnya pusat politik dan kediktatoran para penguasa di negara-negara Arab. Islam, pemanduan syariat, dan terbukanya kawasan merupakan faktor-faktor penjaga kesatuan umat.
Ketika Islam tidak lagi difungsikan sebagai pengikat hati antar umat, dihapuskannya syariat, dan penjajahan imperialis, maka negara-negara Arab pun terpecah belah. Tak ada yang tersisa dari wilayah Islam kecuali hanya persaudaraan dalam jiwa kaum muslimin, kegetiran masa lampau, dan mimpi masa depan.
Umat dan Negara-negara Kawasan Eropa: Sebuah Studi Komparasi
Perkembangan negara-negara Eropa disebabkan oleh terlepasnya mereka dari agamanya, konflik berkepanjangan dalam masyarakat dan pemerintahan, dan terlampau beratnya penderitaan yang mereka rasakan. Sementara itu, ekspansi Islam menjanjikan kehidupan baru bagi mereka. Sejarah Eropa menengarai bahwa kejatuhan tersebut bukan disebabkan oleh kelengahan, melainkan karena mengingkari dasar-dasar agama mereka. Jika cita-cita kebangkitan kaum muslimin diilhami oleh Kitab Suci yang terjaga (Al-Qur'an), maka masyarakat Barat menoreh sejarah mereka dengan revolusi anti-agama.
Mayoritas masyarakat Eropa berada di bawah pengaruh Kristen selama lebih dari sepuluh abad. Menurut mereka, kondisi tersebut merupakan contoh ideal tentang nasionalisme dan peradaban bagi dunia internasional. Dalam pandangan mereka, contoh ideal tersebut berupa kebesaran imperium dan hubungan harmonis dalam hak milik nasional dan negara-negara Eropa. Kemudian nasionalisme mulai memberi kekhususan kepada para raja. Negara-negara kawasan ini semakin kokoh menuju terbentuknya Eropa modern.
Kehancuran sistem internasional lama telah memicu lahirnya teori-teori kekuasaan yang memberi penekanan pada dominasi absolut dalam batas-batas regional seperti teori Machiavelli. Dominasi ini tampak jelas pada propaganda-propaganda imperium, Paus, dan kaum feodal. Teori-teori sosial itu mengokohkan dominasi raja dan para penguasa secara absolut.
Kemudian pemikiran politik mulai berkembang dan menyuarakan dominasi bangsa dan ide liberalisme demi keuntungan individu (yang diprakarsai John Locke, para pakar psikologi sesudahnya, dan kelompok radikal), kelompok-kelompok reformasi cita-cita umum (teori Rousseau), pelestarian sejarah masyarakat (teori Hegel), dan komunisme-materialisme (teori Karl Marx).
Nasionalisme telah menguatkan posisi negara yang mengambil bentuk politik, ekonomi, dan solidaritas sebagai pengisi kekosongan agama. Tumbuhlah perasaan khusus nasionalisme serta kekhususan bahasa dan tata bahasanya. Sejarah nasionalisme bergerak melemahkan kekhususan-kekhususan tersebut dengan berbagai utopia dan data. Nasionalisme membanggakan hal tersebut. Isme ini tumbuh di benua Eropa dan Amerika.
Meskipun dominasi nasionalisme di Eropa membawa pertumbuhan material, namun akhirnya Eropa merasa gamang terhadap penyimpangan pola negara semacam ini. Mungkin kegamangan tersebut merupakan dampak tradisi kebudayaan yang plural, perkembangan teori kemanusiaan, berbagai konflik nasional, dan terbatasnya ekspansi Eropa. Maka berdirilah sistem negara-negara Eropa di atas kaidah undang-undang negara. Negara-negara ini mempunyai kawasan yang terbatas, namun tenggelam dalam konflik pada masalah-masalah yang telah disepakati kaum muslimin di kawasan Daulah Islamiah.
Kesatuan Eksternal Menuju Pluralisme Internal di Dunia Arab
Kawasan negara-negara Arab telah keluar dari kekuasaan administratif kekhalifahan Utsmani. Pada umumnya, negara-negara tersebut memisahkan diri karena pengaruh kemerdekaan politik negara-negara imperialis. Pemisahan perdana merupakan sarana munculnya nasionalisme Arab, sebab hal itu merupakan bentuk pemerdekaan dari ikatan keagamaan dan beralih menjadi nasionalisme. Fenomena tersebut tidak persis sama dengan yang terjadi di Eropa, sebab ia bukan hasil perkembangan teoretis dan material sebagaimana yang terjadi di Eropa. Nasionalisme Eropa merupakan produk yang terkait dengan eksperimen dan faktor-faktor Eropa.
Eksperimen yang pernah dilakukan orang-orang Islam dan mayoritas orang-orang Nasrani Arab berbeda dengan yang terjadi dalam sejarah Eropa. Masyarakat Barat meyakini eksperimen Eropa sebagai eksperimen murni dan memandang dirinya sebagai pusat kebangkitan dan contoh ideal pencerahan umat manusia.
Padahal yang harus diketahui adalah bagaimana strategi Eropa dalam menghadapi kekhilafahan Utsmani di medan perang dan kepiawaian memanfaatkan propaganda, hubungan politik, dan diplomasi demi keuntungan mereka. Selain itu, terjadi perang intelektual antar keduanya. Walaupun sebenarnya persatuan umat Islam dalam kekhalifahan Utsmani masih terasa, tetapi tidak mencapai prestasi nasionalisme Eropa karena perbedaan perkembangan sejarah masing-masing.
Sekiranya Arab keluar dari kekuasaan Utsmani dan berdiri di atas landasan nasionalisme, tentu ia tidak mampu. Malah sebagai ganti penguasaan kekhilafahan Utsmani, berdirilah imperialisme di Dunia Arab. Akhirnya imperialisme membagi-bagi pengaruh dan batas-batas wilayah Arab berdasarkan realitas regional historis masing-masing wilayah yang sebelumnya bersatu. Imperialisme telah mengokohkan status pembagian tersebut untuk menarik keuntungan jangka pendek dan panjang, apalagi mereka bermaksud melapangkan jalan bagi kehadiran Zionisme di tengah-tengah Dunia Arab dan memutuskan hubungan Arab dengan Dunia Islam.
Ketika bangkit keinginan melepaskan diri dari cengkeraman imperialisme, gerakan pembebasan Arab segera memisahkan diri dari kelompok-kelompok yang terpengaruh kebudayaan Eropa. Kelompok-kelompok nasional gigih memperjuangkan tercapainya kemerdekaan bagi negara yang mandiri, tetapi dengan konsep-konsep Eropa.
Masyarakat merasa perlu mengedepankan warisan keagamaannya untuk mengisi kesenjangan dan memfungsikan simbol-simbol keagamaan untuk membangkitkan semangat melawan kekuatan asing yang kafir. Dalam konteks ini, Islam merupakan unsur pembentuk jati diri negara dan pemantik semangat kebangsaan. Sangat memungkinkan untuk menggunakan faktor kekuatan Islam itu bila perjuangan menemui jalan buntu. Seluruh wilayah Afrika Utara adalah contoh terbaik dari kasus ini, apalagi perjuangan kaum muslimin Aljazair melawan imperialisme Perancis. Gema Islam pun terdengar hingga di Sudan, meskipun kontrol Arab-Islam di negara ini melemah.
Peran Islam dikenal pula dalam perjuangan nasional di luar negara-negara Arab, termasuk di negara-negara Asia seperti Iran, Afganistan, dan Pakistan. Peran ini tampak pada syiar yang ditonjolkan pasca-kemerdekaan. Akan tetapi, meski masyarakat muslim berkuah darah dalam perjuangan nasional, tetapi yang menikmati kue kemerdekaan adalah para nasionalis, sedangkan orang-orang Islam hanya menjadi penonton. Peran yang dilakoni dalam perjuangan kini tinggal kenangan. Itulah sebabnya, Islam tidak berperan lagi dalam mempengaruhi proses integrasi negara-negara Arab yang mandiri.
Meskipun kelompok pembebasan nasional di Dunia Arab berpedoman sekularisme dalam pembangunan negara, tetapi upaya tersebut tidak sukses sebagaimana keberhasilan Turki Muda mendepak sistem kekhalifahan. Mereka hanya berhasil mendirikan dasar-dasar negara nasional dan mempersoalkan integrasi. Konsep negara sekular semakin mendorong negara-negara Arab untuk meninggalkan sistem syariat dan mengembangkan sistem perundang-undangan yang tidak berdasarkan Islam. Sebagai contoh adalah Hizbul-Wafd (Partai Wafd) dan Hizbud-Dustuuri (Partai Perundang-undangan) di Tunisia.
Sebagian negara Teluk Arab selamat dari sekularisasi. Negara-negara tersebut tidak mungkin berdiri dengan batas-batasnya sendiri kecuali dengan desakan imperialisme atau situasi sejarah.
Walau negara-negara Arab memupuk fanatisme dan nasionalisme --bukan solidaritas kawasan-- namun hal tersebut tidak sampai memutuskan hubungan antar bangsa seperti di Eropa. Sejarah Arab kontemporer mencatat adanya berbagai ikhtiar untuk berintegrasi yang tak menyerupai bentuk integrasi apa pun di muka bumi, sebab negara-negara Arab mengupayakan integrasi dengan nasionalisme dan agamanya. Libya berusaha berintegrasi dengan lima negara Arab, serta Mesir dan Suriah masing-masing dengan empat negara. Tidak ada negara Arab yang tidak berusaha untuk berintegrasi, meskipun kenyataannya mereka masih terpecah-pecah.
(sebelum, sesudah)
Kebangkitan Islam dalam Perbincangan Para Pakar
(As-Shahwatul Islamiyah Ru'yatu Nuqadiyatu Minal Daakhili)
Penerbit GEMA INSANI PRESS
Jl. Kalibata Utara 11 No. 84 Jakarta 12740
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