Nurcholis Madjid Intellectual from Jombang

Nurcholish Madjid is a son born in Mojoanyar, Jombang, East Java, on March 17, 1939. Coinciding with 26 Muharram 1358 Hijriyah. Born from a pesantren family whose father is KH Abdul Madjid, a Kiai Alumni of Tebuireng Pesentren, Jombang, which was founded by the founder of Nahdatul Ulama (NU) Hadratussyaikh KH. M. Hasyim Asy’ari.

Nurcholish Madjid died on August 29, 2005 at the age of 66 years. He is one of Indonesia’s best Islamic thinkers who has contributed contemporary Islamic thoughts, especially in what he called in 1990 as preparing Indonesian Muslims to enter modern times.

Pursuing Education at Islamic Boarding Schools

With a religious knowledge base and the ability to master the yellow book in 1995, Nurcholish Madjid finally continued his education to Kulliyyat Al-Mu’allim Al-Islamiyyah (KMI) at the Darussalam Islamic Boarding School, Modern Gontor, Ponorogo, East Java and graduated in 1960.

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Seeing his intelligence and brain that was apparently not wasted by the leader of the Gontor Islamic Boarding School, KH. Zarkasyi. This is proven by the wishes of KH. Zarkasyi to send Nurcholish Madjid to Al-Azhar University, Cairo, after completing his studies at Gontor. But because in Egypt at that time a crisis of the Suez Canal was quite controversial, the departure of Nurcholish Madjid was delayed. So while waiting for his departure to Egypt, he used to teach at the Gontor Islamic Boarding School for one year. But the awaited time to go to Egypt did not arrive.

Building a career of academics and organizations

Finally news emerged that at that time Egypt was difficult to get a visa, so it did not allow Nurcholish Madjid to continue his studies to Al-Azhar, Cairo. But KH. Zarkasyi can cheer up and not lose your mind. Then he sent a letter to IAIN Jakarta (now UIN Jakarta) and requested that his favorite student be accepted at the prestigious high Islamic institution. Thanks to the help of a Gontor alumni who was in IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah, then Nurcholish Madjid was accepted as a student without carrying a state diploma.

At IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah he chose a major that was very relevant to the educational background he had received. He took the Faculty of Adab Arabic Literature Department and the History of Islamic Thought. Nurcholish Madjid successfully completed his complete undergraduate program in 1968, by writing a thesis entitled: Al -Que’an, “Arabiyyyan Lugamaatan wa ‘naturalyyan ma’nan”, Which is meaningful “Al-Qur’an is seen in a local language and is seen in terms of global” (written in Arabic).

When he was a student, Nurcholish Madjid became acquainted with an organization from there he shook Islamic thought in the country and there he also introduced the breakthrough of Islamic thought as an Indonesian intellectual. In accordance with his personality who likes to explore, Nurcholish Madjid is paired with the Islamic Student Association (HMI), an organization that raised and raised him. In HMI he was very active so that every level of the organization was passed enthusiastically, starting from the Commissariat and then became the General Chairperson of the Jakarta Branch HMI to finally succeeded in becoming the General Chairperson of PB HMI.

While serving as Chairperson of HMI, Nurcholish Madjid had completed compiling a cadre material book about Islam entitled Basic Values ​​of the Struggle (NDP) which was then converted into cadre identity values ​​(NIK). This book is a mandatory reading which forms the basis and motivation of the struggle of the members of the Islamic Student Association.

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During his very intense activity in HMI, it is not surprising that in 1967-1969, Nurcholish Madjid was elected as President of the Southeast Asian Islamic Student Association). When he served as President of Pemiat, Malaysia was successfully drawn as a member of the Regional Islamic Organization, and at that time he was the first time he had the opportunity to go abroad, namely to Malaysia.

Wandering to various countries

In October 1968, Nurcholish Madjid left for the United States to fulfill the invitation State DepartmentIn order to participate in “Young Professional and Community Leaders”. Because Nurcholish Madjid in this decade is still very suspicious and anti -Western thought, according to one of the American Embassy officials, he was invited to only show what he hated so far.

Nurcholish Madjid’s visit to the invitation of the United States government lasted for five weeks. After that, Nurcholish Madjid did not immediately return to the country, but stopped by and continued the journey to the Middle East. As he admitted himself, initially Nurcholish Madjid was less excited to be invited to the United States and more wanted to go to the Middle East. But finally Nurcholish Madjid to the Middle East after the United States with the remaining provisions.

Coming home from America and the Middle East, Nurcholish Madjid immediately rushed to continue the journey to the Middle East of the second half. The difference in the second wave, Nurcholish Madjid along with a group of 10 PB HMI members for Hajj, at the invitation of the Minister of Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom, Shaykh Hasan Bin Abdullah Ali Syaikh, as a gift for the minister’s interest in the Student Movement in Indonesia, as explained by Nurcholish Madjid on his first visit. Together with this PB HMI Hajj group, Nurcholish Madjid continued to Riyadh, Medina, Mecca then to Khartoum to dialogue with Hassan Turabi from Umin University. The group then continued the journey to Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, and to Pakistan.

After serving as Chairman of the PB HMI, the second time in 1971 he wrote more to actualize thoughts while at HMI. After graduating from IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Nurcholish Madjid worked as a lecturer at his alma mater, starting in 1985, he was assigned to give lectures on philosophy at the IAIN Postgraduate Faculty Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. At the same time, he also had the opportunity to become a guest lecturer at the University of McGill, Montreal, Canada, in 1990 accompanied by his wife who followed the program Eisenhower Fellowship.

In March 1978 he received a scholarship from Ford Foundation to continue to the University of Chicago, and from there he won a doctorate in the field of kalam science and philosophy with prediket Comfortable amount In 1984, with his dissertation entitled Ibn Taymiyah About Kalam and Philosophy: Problems of Reasons and Reality in Islam (Ibn Taymiyah About Kalam and Philosophy: Questions Between Intelligence and Revelation in Islam). While at the University of Chicago, in 1978-1984, Nurcholish Madjid could freely visit the Library of Classical Islam and Middle Ages which were so vast and rich directly under the neo-modernist scientist from Pakistan, namely Prof. Dr. Fazlur Rahman. As a result, Neo-Moderins thought began to be absorbed by Nurcholish Madjid and a new understanding of neo-modernist thought and practice.

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Since 1986, along with several other thought figures, he established and directly led the Paramadina Waqf Foundation which according to his presentation was an institution where he and his friends freely devoted all ideas of thoughts and ideas. Paramadina is a name taken from Sanskrit (Prama) which means main or superior. Whereas (Dina) was adopted from Arabic FROM which means religion. So Paramadina the first and main and free religion develops insight and mind, because in accordance with the initial purpose of its establishment is as an Islamic intellectual movement in Indonesia to realize a civilized society.

This year too, Nurcholish Madjid is one of the participants SSRC (Cocci Social Sciences Research) In New York, United States, until 1988. Furthermore, in 1990 he and his wife became a participant Eisenhower Fellowship In Philadelphia, United States, which in 1991-1997 was a member of the Press Council. One year after that, namely in 1992-1995, Nurcholish Madjid was recorded as a member, Streering CommitieAga Khan Awerd for Architecture. Then in 1993 he became a member of the National Commission on Human Rights (National Human Rights Committee), who finally as a member of the National Research Council in 1994. In 1995, Nurcholish Madjid received a “cultural prize” from ICMI (Indonesian Muslim Cedikiawan Cedikiawan Association) and the Indonesian MPR.

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Writer: Dimas Setyawan Saputro
Editor: Rara Zaryry