Djohan Effendi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Effendi in 1999 | |
| Secretary of State | |
| In office 29 May 2000 – 23 July 2001 | |
| President | Abdurrahman Wahid |
| Preceded by | Bondan Gunawan |
| Succeeded by | Bambang Kesowo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1939-10-01)1 October 1939 |
| Died | 17 November 2017(2017-11-17) (aged 78) |
| Citizenship | Indonesian |
| Alma mater | Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University,Deakin University (Ph.D.) |
Djohan Effendi (1 October 1939 – 17 November 2017)[1] was theSecretary of State ofIndonesia, underPresidentAbdurrahman Wahid from 2000 to 2001.[2] He was anAhmadi and belonged to theLahore branch and was an ardent advocate for theAhmadiyya movement. He was known for having been a prominent liberal thinker of Islam in Indonesia, more specifically based inYogyakarta and a part of the Jogja-based liberal Islamic intellectual group known as the Limited Group led byMukti Ali.[3] He also served as chair of the International Centre for Religious Pluralism and voiced criticism toward the issuance of thefatwa byMajelis Ulama Indonesia targeting religious pluralism in 2005.[4]
Effendi was considered to be a senior figure amongst Indonesianliberal Islamic activists, and was characterized byBudhy Munawar Rachman as a progressive Islamic scholar and as 'militant fighter for tolerance'.[5] His name is included in the book50 Tokoh Liberal di Indonesia (50 Liberal Figures in Indonesia) among the pioneers of the Indonesian liberal movement together withNurcholish Madjid andAbdurrahman Wahid.
Previously Effendi was the Special Staff of the Secretary of State, as well as the author of PresidentSoeharto's speech. He had written hundreds of speeches for President Soeharto, during his rule from 1978 to 1995. His career as a speechwriter of the President was terminated when he "recklessly" accompanied Abdurrahman Wahid's controversial visit toIsrael in 1994. The visit was strongly opposed by someIslamic groups, and then state secretary Moerdiono also expressed his regret regarding the visit.[6]
In Djohan's opinion, Ahmadis held the same right to practice their beliefs in Indonesia,[7] and Indonesia under thePancasila doctrine needs to ensure the complete religious pluralism, which he considers substantiated by theMedina Charter established by theIslamic prophetMuhammad,[8] and theQur'anic notion ofkalimatun sawa′, meaning 'common word'.[5] He also believed in the importance of the preservation of religion, grounded by the principles ofmaqasid al-shari'a advocated byal-Shatibi, and that relativism or syncretism need to be accommodated.[5]
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