REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Chairman of the Consideration Board of the Indonesian Ulema Assembly (Wantim MUI), KH Ma'ruf Amin called on MUI to continue strengthening its central role in safeguarding its people and scholars from divisions and disputes.

This was conveyed by Kiai Ma'ruf while giving a speech at the summit of the 50th Milad of MUI at the Haji Pondok Gede Dormitory, East Jakarta, Saturday (26/7/2025) evening. ”What still needs to be established and maintained is the himayatul ummah anil tafarruq wal ikhtilaf, keeping the Ummah from divisions and disputes. This is key,” Kiai Ma'ruf exclaimed.

According to him, if the people are divided, then any program will be difficult to implement. The harmony of the people, he added, is the foundation for the harmony between religious and interethnic peoples. However, he reminded that the harmony of the people could not be realized if the scholars themselves did not also get along.

“The harmony of the people is broken because of the absence of the authority of the clergy. So the first thing to take care of is the protection of the clerics, to keep the scholars from divisions and disputes,” he said.

Kiai Ma'ruf taps into the views of classical scholars such as Sheikh Nawawi and Imam Fakhruddin ar-Razi about the dangers of divisiveness among religious figures who feel most self-righteous and lose connectivity.

He even insinuated the condition of present-day clerics which he felt could be more severe, due to being exclusive in narrower spheres such as boarding school lodges as well as their respective organizations. So, there was a lot of dispute.

In fact, God commands Muslims not to be divided. “Allah has asked us, because this is important. Do not be like people who are in dispute and division,” Kiai Ma'ruf said.

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