The son of a renowned kiai, a simple figure skilled in reconciling disputing parties, has passed away.
AFTER the night prayer, he breathed his last. And as we know, the late Kiai Cholil Bisri had determined where he would spend his final days: at his home in Leteh village, Rembang. Last Tuesday, under the hot midday sun, thousands of religious students joined the funeral procession to the family burial plot in Kabongan Kidul village. This Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was buried next to the grave of his father, K.H. Bisri Mustofa.
Thus was his wish, to spend his final moments in his hometown, among the students of the Raudlatut Thalibin Islamic Boarding School. K.H. Cholil Bisri, 62, was a commuter who spent much of his life traveling between two cities: Jakarta, where he was involved in national politics, and Rembang, Central Java, where he discharged the trust handed down to him by his father as the leader of the Raudlatut Thalibin school.
This kiai (Islamic scholar) was the youngest and brightest graduate in his class at Darul Ulum—an Islamic high school in Mecca. He traveled far and wide, both inside and out of the political realm. He would sometimes speak of how sorry he feels for three kinds of people: a rich person who becomes destitute, a respected person who suddenly falls into disgrace, and a smart person who is manipulated by fools.
Governments change, as do destinies. A few episodes in his life were directly connected with this phenomenon. At 22, Cholil Bisri was Chairman of the GP Anshor, a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) youth organization. It was during this troubled time that the eradication of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and its sympathizers was taking place everywhere, and the GP Anshor directly squared off against the PKI. Conflict broke out, but Cholil forbade his friends from molesting PKI followers.
"They had a different ideology for sure, but they were also my neighbors, some of them next-door neighbors," he said. In this time he had a new neighbor from ABRI (the Indonesian military, now TNI). His neighbor's house—which belonged to a head of PKI cadre—was confiscated by ABRI and now has new inhabitants.
Cholil often admired football because the political world in which he was involved was not familiar with the concept of fair play. It all started in 1994 with the "Rembang Group Movement"—a group of NU kiai who wanted the position of General Party Chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) to be taken by someone from NU. The effort fell apart after Cholil made the following candid and famous statement: "I don't need Pak Harto, I only need God."
It is not clear what prompted the statement. What is clear, ever since, Cholil's political career faded quickly. In fact, NU members who supported him for the position of secretary-general were always rejected. He felt that he had suffered a decisive defeat, especially after the 1997 General Election. At that time, he was among the top 10 nominees from Central Java. However, Pak Harto used his influence to have him taken down to number 53. He had failed completely, but learned much. A few years later, after Suharto's downfall, this kiai was among those who offered a pragmatic solution: there is no need to try the former president in court, but he must be willing to give up his wealth to the Indonesian people. "He is already senile," he said.
During the reformasi era, Cholil Bisri increased his political activity. Along with other kiai, he founded the National Awakening Party (PKB), defended Saifullah Yusuf, Secretary-General of the "Kuningan" PKB Central Leadership Board who had a difference of opinion with his own uncle, Abdurrahman Wahid, and conducted a number of political maneuvers. Internal conflict was increasingly dividing NU, and Cholil repeatedly offered his boarding school in Rembang as a forum to reconcile disputing parties.
According to Cholil, democracy entails freedom of speech and a guarantee that everyone has equal rights. The word democracy does not appear in the text of the Qur'an or the hadith of Prophet Muhammad, but he is sure that these two freedoms are to be found in the Islamic concept of mashoora, or mutual consultation.
K.H. Cholil Bisri leaves behind a wife, eight children, and many grandchildren. He was a simple, but accomplished figure. He was an ulama, politician, cultural figure, social observer, and an avid football commentator. He could associate in many different social circles, spoke simply, and had a rich sense of humor. He was especially skilled at finding a point of consensus in every political dispute. But most of all, he was happiest whenever he could be among the students of Raudlatut Thalibin. When his liver cancer became aggravated, he left the hospital and spent the remainder of his time together with his loved ones
Idrus F. Shahab, Sohirin
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