MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, YOGYAKARTA — In 1962, Muhammadiyah formulated its “Kepribadian Muhammadiyah” (Muhammadiyah Characteristic) document. This document outlines ten key characteristics of Muhammadiyah, one of which states that the organization is non-political and focused on social and religious matters. This article explores the historical context behind this decision and its significance for Muhammadiyah identity today.
At the Ramadan Preaching of the Muhammadiyah Regional Board of Central Java on Saturday (March 23), Haedar Nashir, President of Muhammadiyah, explained that the Kepribadian Muhammadiyah was drafted in response to the organization’s previous involvement in politics. At the time, Muhammadiyah was a special member of the Masyumi Party, a prominent political party in Indonesia.
“Muhammadiyah was once a special member of Masyumi,” Haedar said. “Masyumi was a clean party, but of course it had its shortcomings.”
Haedar also discussed why Sarekat Islam chose to leave Masyumi in 1947 and establish its own party, the Sarekat Islam Party. Despite the close relationship between Muhammadiyah and Sarekat Islam, as represented by figures such as HOS Cokroaminoto, Agus Salim, and Ahmad Dahlan, Haedar explained that Sarekat Islam’s departure from Masyumi was not purely ideological but rather due to political dynamics.
In 1952, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), another major Islamic organization in Indonesia, also left Masyumi. Despite the departure of NU, Masyumi continued its activities, with Muhammadiyah becoming its main force and backbone. During this period, Muhammadiyah was more closely associated with political activism than with social and religious work.
“At that time, Muhammadiyah was eventually swept away as well,” Haedar said. “Finally, Fakih Usman, who was also the President of Muhammadiyah, along with a team, formulated the Kepribadian Muhammadiyah.”
Muhammadiyah was a social-religious movement with a large number of its members involved in the activities of the Masyumi Party. At that time, a popular saying among Muhammadiyah members was “Masyumi is the place to fight, Muhammadiyah is the place to do good deeds.”
In 1959, the Sukarno government disbanded the Masyumi Party due to the alleged involvement of some of its members in the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI/Pemerintahan Revolusioner Republik Indonesia) movement in 1958. Muhammadiyah members who had been active in Masyumi brought their political mindset into the leadership of Muhammadiyah.
After learning from its experience with Masyumi, Muhammadiyah reaffirmed its position as a non-political social-religious movement. This was clarified in 1962 with the formulation of the Kepribadian Muhammadiyah, which emphasizes the organization’s focus on religious and social matters.
