Muhammadiyah

The Jakarta Post, Friday, July 01, 2005 Hilman Latief, Michigan In addition to leadership issues, the 45th Muhammadiyah Congress in Malang early next month will probably be enlivened by a debate about Muhammadiyah's concept of tajdid (rejuvenating or revitalizing Islam) and ijtihad (independent reasoning). Known as a reformist organization, Muhammadiyah is expected by both "insiders" and "outsiders" to be able to produce some agendas that will be socially more worthy and intellectually more valuable in the Indonesian context. For nearly one century, Muhammadiyah have been participating in the building this nation. This year, the Muhammadiyah Congress has selected as its theme Jelang Satu Abad Muhammadiyah: Tajdid Gerakan untuk Pencerahan Peradaban (Welcoming Muhammadiyah's 100th anniversary: A Tajdid movement for the Enlightenment of Civilization. Why is tajdid still necessary? For Muhammadiyah, it is a conceptual key that has led the organizat