Debate about the new Minister of Religion, Fachrul Razi

Between 13-20 October, while we were in Yogyakarta, there were all kind of speculations about the new cabinet of Jokowi II. There was in the local newspaper of Yogyaarta a curious interview with UIN Rector Prof. Yulian Wahyudi, who was nominated a candidate by the 'Forum Rektor PTKIN" , the Council of Presidents of Islamic Universities of Indonesia, to become the new minister of religion.

 In the interview Yudian Wahyudi communicated  some plans about what to do if he would be nominated to the position. The most important issue was that he wanted to start a procedure of 'preaching permits': all imams only should be allowed to give Friday sermons if they had passed some kind of examination, guaranteeing that they would not spread radical ideas. This licence would become one of the first measures against the ongoing lack of flexibility and tolerance among Muslim clerics and the increase of hardliners.
Wahyudi was not nominated for the position, and he also did not receive a position as minister of education and research, his other choice. But the retired army general Fachrul Razi, 72 years, without special religious qualifications, took over the idea of issuing special certificates for Friday preachers. In one of his first interviews he protested against to much hate talk against people taken for non-Muslim or bad Muslim in mosque preaching and he threatened that he would be serious in banning this kind of people from the pulpits.

The Nahdlatul Ulama had to be happy with the position of Vice-President, given to its leader Amin Ma'ruf  'worth like five ministers',  and not complain about a Minister of Religion of quite different background this time! Fachrul Razi also had some soothening words: a beard and 'short' trousers (above the ankle or celana cangkring) is not automatically a proof of being a dangerous radical Muslim. In his first week of office, it was the 'Day of the Santri' for all Indonesia, but in the true santri-land of East Java the new minister was not invited for the great ceremonies. For this moment, it is a long list of aspect of a heated debate about 'who is radical?' and 'how can radicalism and hate speech be stopped?'