Human Rights Education in Indonesia:
The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience

Agus Miswanto*The United Nations (UN) has been emphasizing human rights education through a series of measures such as the Decade for Human
Rights Education (1995-2004), the World Programme for Human
Rights Education (2005 onward), and the adoption in December 2011 by the
UN General Assembly of the Declaration on Human Rights Education andTraining.
In this article, I present the results of a research on a human rights
education model in Indonesia, particularly the curriculum used in
Muhammadiyah schools. This human rights education curriculum led tostrained debate between the progressive and conservative groups within the
Muhammadiyah community, due mainly to the different perspectives on introducing human rights education. I analyze the human rights education
textbook employed by the Muhammadiyah schools under that curriculum. I
discuss the issues involved in the debate on human rights education between
the two groups. Finally, I present the strategies used in the negotiations toward the introduction of human rights education, and which constitute aninteresting process showing the ability of the organized progressive sectorof the Muhammadiyah community (Mulkhan, 2007) during the 2005-2010
period to overcome the resistance from the conservative sector.
Background of the Research Issue
The relationship between human rights and religion has a long been debated, similar to the situation within Muslim organizations inside Indonesia.
Appleby (2003:197) noted that the debate and dialogue among religious
leaders were initiated in the 1980s and 1990s. It was perhaps a consequenceof the ending of the Cold War that affected the shifting global constellation*Agus Miswanto is the secretary of the Center of Islamic Studies, Muhammadiyah
University of Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia.

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i crelating to socio-economics, politics and strategies at that time. In Islam, according to Appleby (209-210), internal debate occurred between the proponents of an Islam compatible with democracy and human rights, and those
who oppose this view, arguing that the two are incompatible in some relative
or absolute sense. Furthermore, he said, “[R]eligious institution and actors
who serve as agents of human rights face considerable opposition, not leastfrom their own co-religionists” (Appleby, 2003: 198). Therefore, tensions
and even conflicts are inevitably part of the process of reforming education, and of the discourses and negotiating processes involved. This situation also describes what took place within the Muhammadiyah community
in Indonesia during the 2005-2010 period, when human rights education
was first introduced in Muhammadiyah schools.
Muhammadiyah is an Islamic organization in Indonesia that has concern for human rights. But the efforts of many Muhammadiyah leaders inintroducing human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools were neither easy nor fast. Dynamic processes in terms of protracted and complicated negotiations about the pros and cons of introducing human rights
education took place within the organization. This is understandable inview of many variants of thoughts and beliefs within Muhammadiyah. To
generalize, two broad groups have emerged who are relatively in opposition to each other, namely, the progressive and the conservative groups.
The progressive group is the main supporter of the introduction of humanrights education in Muhammadiyah schools. The conservative group, on theother hand, tends to oppose whatever the progressive group supports, thus
the opposition to human rights education. The leaders and followers of thetwo groups engaged in debates on introducing human rights education in
Muhammadiyah schools during the 2005-2010 period. Introducing humanrights education in Muhammadiyah schools was thus similar to entering abattleground, where the proposal sometimes appeared in danger of getting
lost in the skirmishes between the two sides. During the 2005-2010 period,
the conservative group was very dominant in controlling the leadership of
Muhammadiyah. This was mainly due to the defeat of the progressive group
following the 2005 Muhammadiyah Congress in Malang (Boy ztf, 2009, 1).
The debate between the conservative and progressive groups mainly
focuses on translating human rights as a universal value or standard for human beings and their compatibility with Islamic values. Although this debate has started many years before, it is still going on within the Muslim

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community in general. At the international level, the debate focused on the
clash between maintaining international standard of human rights and respecting local cultures including Islam. The universalist view sees humanrights as applicable to all cultures while the relativist view considers the tolerance of cultural difference (Merry, 2006: 8; Donnely, 2007: 281-306). In
Muhammadiyah, the debate focuses on the compatibility of human rights
with Islamic and the Indonesian Muslim community values. The progressive
group believes that human rights as life values are compatible with Islam,
while the conservative group considers the reconciliation of Islamic teachings with human rights as spoiling the Islamic belief. The progressive group
views human rights from the perspective of Islamic values.
Research Methodology
This research fortunately benefits from the author’s knowledge of “who’s
who” inside and around Muhammadiyah. The research mainly used in-depth
interviews with key individuals, combined with literature-based research inorder to compile a range of data for analysis. The field research involved
interviewing some prominent figures, including Muhmmadiyah leaders, especially those involved either in supporting or opposing the introduction ofhuman rights education in Muhammadiyah schools. The interviews focused
mainly on policies relating to issues that have arisen during the 2005-2010
period. Curriculum development, including efforts to maintain continuity inthe curriculum, was the central focus of the interviews. The literature study
prominently focused on the textbooks used in Muhammadiyah schools.
For the analysis, the research uses one of the discourse analysis methods, the value-critical policy analysis approach. According to Schmidt, thisconcept comes from Martin Rein’s book entitled Social Science and Public
Policy (Schmidt, 2006:302). According to Rein, value critical analysis is “onethat subject(s) goals and values to critical review, that is, values themselves
become objects of analysis; they are not accepted as a voluntary choice of
the will, unamenable to further debate” (Schmidt, 2006:302). This method
is used to deepen the analysis and to enable a deeper understanding of
the dynamic process of developing the human rights education policy in
Muhammadiyah schools in Indonesia.

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Since human rights education was initially promoted in 2005 and introduced to Muhammadiyah schools in 2008, its implementation has caused
discussions on a number of pros and cons among Muhammadiyah leaders.
The value-critical policy analysis approach deepened the discussion on
policy conflicts among Muhammadiyah leaders by seriously analyzing their(usually hidden) negotiations on policy goals, output and outcome.
Data Source
The research mainly collected primary and secondary data from two channels, in-depth interview and bibliography study. Primary data came from indepth interview with Muhammadiyah leaders and the human rights education textbooks used in Muhammadiyah schools, while secondary data camefrom the publications published either by Muhammadiyah and its activists
or from related researchers.
In-depth interview was done with prominent figures of Muhammadiyah
who represented the two sides of the debate. The opposing figures were
mostly from the two institutions within Muhammadiyah, Muhammadiyah
Tarjih Board and the Muhammadiyah Tabligh Board. The Muhammadiyah
Tarjih Board is like a religious body with authority and responsibility overissuance of Islamic decree (fatwa) within Muhammadiyah. Syamsul Anwar,
the chairperson of this Board, and Muhammad Ihsan, a member of theBoard, were interviewed in Yogyakarta on 22 July 2010. The Muhammadiyah
Tabligh Board is an authoritative body with authority and responsibility on
handling and organizing the promotion and socialization of Islamic values
within the community. Adian Husaini, a member of this Board and a prominent voice in opposing and criticizing human rights education, was interviewed in Jakarta on 29 July 2010.
For the proponent of human rights education in Muhammadiyah
schools, the interview was done with people from the two institutions
that handled and organized the introduction of human rights educationin Muhammadiyah schools directly, namely, Muhammadiyah Primaryand Secondary Schools Education Board (later called Muhammadiyah
Education Board) and the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity.
The Muhammadiyah Education Board is an authoritative body of the
Muhammadiyah community that handles, organizes, and monitors educational policies covering Muhammadiyah primary and secondary schools inHuman Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience95

Indonesia. Husni Thoyyar, the second chairperson of the board, was interviewed on 30 July 2010 in the Muhammadiyah head office in Jakarta. The
Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity, although ideologically affiliated with Muhammadiyah, is an autonomous and independent institution.
Officially, Maarif Institute was founded in February 2003 by prominent
Muhammadiyah leaders inspired by the idea, vision, and activities of Syafii
Maarif, a former general chairperson of Muhammadiyah in 1999-2004. The
Institute was thus named after his last name, Maarif. Fajar Rezaulhaq, theExecutive Director of the Institute, was interviewed in his office in Jakarta
on 28 July 2010.
Two books, written by Husni Thoyyar in 2008 and used in
Muhammadiyah schools, are the primary data sources. The first is a
guidebook for teachers entitled Buku Panduan Guru: Al-Islam dan
Kemuhammadiyahan Berwawasan HAM (Guidebook for Teachers: AlIslam and Muhammadiyahism with Human Rights Insights), and the second
is a textbook for students entitled Pendidikan Al-Islam Berwawasan HAM(Islamic Education with Human Rights Insights).
Muhammadiyah Education System
Muhammadiyah is the largest modern Muslim organization in Indonesia,
founded by Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta in 1912. Historical evidence appears to show that Dahlan wanted reform within the Muslim community, toprevent it from becoming more traditional in outlook. He looked for ‘progressive’ solutions to future religious questions. The proposed solution was
the introduction of a modernization process within the Muslim communities to prevent them from becoming remnants of the past, traditional societies. In line with this proposed reform, Dahlan, in his enthusiasm, “copied
Christian missionaries in terms of the approach to education, orphanages,
health clinics, and homes for the needy”. (Asyari, 2007:19) In other words,
the explicitly ‘social reformist’ mission of many Christian churches wasechoed in the approach of the new organization. Fuad (2006: 402) explains
this mimicry:
Dahlan had apparently recognized the possibilities of the
new Western system of education as an instrument of changethat might improve the lot of the Indonesian Muslim community. The Western system of education, that is, in Dahlan’s eyes,

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promised itself to be an instrument for reforming the Muslim
community.
The early efforts and philosophical ideas of Dahlan continued as an important influence in Muhammadiyah, and have been carried out to some extent in terms of tying the organization to its early commitment to strengthen
civil society and social services, and of producing a breakthrough throughmodern Islamic education in Indonesia to fit the current era.
As a modern Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah has a complex
organizational structure. At the top level is the national office, then in descending order the provincial offices, district offices, branch offices, andsub-branch offices. They represent millions of Muhammadiyah’s supporters.
Delegates from offices around the country from all levels attend five yearlynational conventions called Congresses or Muktamars. In the Muktamar,delegates elect a new chairperson of the national office, deliberate on national problems, and ratify national policies and programs for the coming
five years (Fuad, 2004: 401). Besides that, Muhammadiyah is also an umbrella organization for a range of autonomous wings or affiliated organizations (Muhammadiyah, 2010).
The Muhammadiyah national office arranges the national guideline policies on education and social activities for the different levels of
Muhammadiyah offices. For example, in the area of education, in an ascending order an Aisyiyah (women) branch manages a kindergarten; aMuhammadiyah branch, a primary school; a Muhammadiyah district office,junior and senior secondary schools; and a Muhammadiyah provincial office, a college.
These regulations about hierarchical prerogatives are strict only on paper. In practice, offices and personnel at the lower levels enjoy a high degreeof freedom to initiate programs and activities. In fact, initiatives generally
come from below, indicating strong grassroots initiatives and independence
within the organization. The national office encourages grassroots initiatives by stipulating that the establishment of a lower office should be basedon its capacity to establish and run an endeavor, whether in the form of aschool, a clinic or an orphanage (Fuad, 2004: 402).
The demand for formal education and the lack of state resources to satisfy this demand give private organizations, including Muhammadiyah, an
opportunity to establish new schools at all levels from pre-schools to colleg-Human Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience97

es in Indonesia. 2010 data show that Muhammadiyah has 2,289 pre-schools,
2,604 primary schools, secondary schools consist of 1,722 junior secondary
schools (both regular schools and madrasahs [Islamic schools]), and 1,023
senior secondary school (regular, vocational schools, madrasahs, and pondok pesantren1), and seventy-one schools for persons with disability. It also
has one hundred sixty-two universities and colleges (two-year, three-year,
or four-year colleges). (Muhammadiyah, 2010).
The Muhammadiyah schools have adopted the national curriculum
standards. The Indonesian state designs two national curriculums, one forthe general schools and another for the madrasahs. The general schools areunder the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Education (mone) and offer only general subjects. Mone develops the national curriculum for theseschools, in which religious instruction is only compulsory as a once-a-week,
two credit-hour subject (Fuad, 2004: 405). But general Muhammadiyah
schools though under the jurisdiction of mone offer many religious subjects, not only once a week, but three or four times a week.
The madrasahs are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Religious
Affairs (mora), which designs their national curriculum. This curriculum
consists of thirty percent religious subjects and seventy percent secular or
general subjects. A small percentage of the madrasahs are public schools
and run under mora, while a large majority of them are privately-run.
Besides the madrasah system, there are traditional pondok pesantren spreadthroughout Indonesia that are entirely privately-run and offer exclusively
religious subjects and independently design their own curriculum (Fuad,
2004: 409). Within Muhammadiyah, an office of any level has the freedom
to decide on the type of school to establish - general school, a madrasah, ora pondok pesantren.
Human Rights Education in Muhammadiyah
In Muhammadiyah schools, human rights education is a result of reconciliation between Islamic law principles and human rights values. Abdul
Mu’ti, a secretary of Muhammadiyah education board, defines it as a process of learning a religious subject or group of religious subjects (such as
belief [aqidah], ethics [akhlaq], ritual Islamic law [Ibadah-syariah], Qur’anHadits [words of Prophet Muhammad], and Islamic history) with humanrights context. The contextualization in human rights of religious learning

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cdoes not mean reduced substance of religious teachings (or their forced interpretation) in order to accord with human rights. While religion and human rights have historically different sources, both have the same object
and goals (preservation of honor and elimination of threat to life according
to the human being’s natural character [fitrah] as an honorable creature).
Therefore, contextualization is meant to strengthen the meaning of religious
education in daily life and to implement it with relevance to human rights(Mu’ti, 2007: 144).
The textbook of Muhammadiyah schools explains the three primarygoals of learning: cognitive, skills-related, and affective (emotional) (Thoyyar
et al, 2008: 23). For cognitive purposes, students gain a wider horizon on
Islamic teaching by relating it to human rights values. Students are expected
to better understand Maqashid al-Shariah principles, Islamic law principles,by knowing human rights principles. In addition, students should know andbe able to understand the verses of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet Tradition
that also relate to the appreciation of human rights. In other words, students
should come to appreciate and understand human rights as being firmly
grounded in an Islamic framework, and avoid mistaken understanding of
human rights. As an Islamic scholar said, “we want to reduce doubts [about
the compatibility of ] Islam … with human rights” (Interview with Thoyyar).
For skills purposes, students should be able to practice competence in employing these values in their daily activities. Consequently, they can defend
their rights in their daily lives, and have the competence to advocate for therights of others. Finally, for affective purposes, students’ everyday attitudes,
behavior, and habits should accord with human rights principles and Islamicteachings.
Besides raising awareness on human rights, the development of the curriculum is due to the need to revitalize Muhammadiyah schools. The curriculum represents the major process of spreading core ideas and preparing
the competencies of educators in the future. Without curriculum development, Muhammadiyah education is in danger of becoming less relevant
and of losing its vitality. School revitalization is done through the change oftextbook contents, the development of the teachers’ capacity to deliver lessons in class, the provision of supporting resources, and the improvement ofboth the substance and outcomes of lessons. This can be seen as essential forthe future improvement of the situation of the Muhammadiyah movement
in its local, national, and global contexts (Effendi, 2010: 46)

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In addition, reconciling Islam and human rights education in
Muhammadiyah schools addresses the different needs of Muslim Indonesia,
especially in Muhammadiyah schools. Rezaulhaq sees human rights education based on a western perspective as involving education specificallyand exclusively about human rights principles or norms, such as covenants(Interview with Rezaulhaq). Unfortunately, in his view, in the Indonesian
educational system, or in Muhammadiyah schools, this way of teaching human rights will burden students with an extra subject and more lessons.
Therefore, he sees the need to use other ways of introducing human rights
education, such as integrating it with other subjects being taught like religious education. From this point of view, human rights education functions as a perspective within broader religious education. Human rights
education is therefore important in addressing humanitarian problems that
Muhammadiyah is concerned with. Under this view, concern about violence, religious freedoms, and tolerance becomes part of a shared and common platform and vision between human rights and Islam.
Content of the Human Rights Education Curriculum
The human rights education curriculum model in the textbook for
Muhammadiyah schools was developed on the basis of reconciliation ofuniversal Islamic law principles (Maqashid al-Shariah) and human rights
principles. According to Thoyyar, Maqashid al-Shariah and human rights
have a common platform or basic value system, therefore Islam and humanrights can meet where they share values (Thoyyar, 2008:12). In other words,
the curriculum reconciles the values, norms and goals of shariah (Maqashid
al-Shariah) with the goals of international human rights instruments wherever possible and as far as possible.
The Maqashid al-Shariah theory was developed initially by Imam alGhazaly to express ideas of goodness of the human being in five basic principles (Dasuki and Abdullah, 2007:30-33): 1) Protection of religious freedom and belief (Hifz ad-din), 2) Right to protection of life (Hifz an-nafs),
3) Protection of reproduction and child rights (Hifz an-nasl), 4) Protectionof freedom of thought and expression (Hifz al-aql), and 5) Rights to property and work (Hifz al-mal). Imam Abu Ishaq as-Syatibi developed further
these principles. What is important to note is that the five basic principles of
Maqashid al-Shariah form the foundation for social development in Islam

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and are almost identical with the key principles underpinning the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (Thoyyar (b), 2008: 12).
According to Yahya (2008:38), a teacher of Muhammadiyah secondary
school in Tasikmalaya, the curriculum integrates absolute values of God(ilahiyah) with relative values of the human (insaniyah). Then, according
to Nugraha (2008: 34), a Secretary of Muhammadiyah Education Board of
Garut District, Maarif Institute and Muhammadyah Education Board try to
reproduce the success of Rasulullah (the prophet) in introducing and upholding Islamic belief with two major premises. The first is rahmatan lil‘alamain (compassion for all human beings), a vision within which Islam asa religion presents a form of peace (al-Islah), freedom (al-hurriyah), equality (al-musawah), equity (al-isawah) and brotherhood (al-ikha), tolerance(tasamuh), competing in doing good (fastabiqul khairat), and discussion
and consultation (syura). All these principles are guide to universal values.
The second premise is the need for consistency between words and actions.
In other words, values function not for window dressing, but as values to berealized in practice during the course of daily life.
The development of the human rights education curriculum is therefore
founded on the five basic principles of Maqashid al-Shariah or Islamic law.
Besides that, another basic principle of protection of environmental rights(hifz al-bi’ah) has been added to reflect current environmental priorities.
The Muhammadiyah human rights education school textbook discusses the five basic principles of Maqashid al-Shariah in the following manner(Interview with Thoyyar):a. Protection of religious freedom and belief (Hifz ad-Din)
Hifz ad-din is translated into protection of religious freedom. In the
textbook, hifz ad-din covers many topics regarding religious freedom suchas right to belief and religion, right to practice belief or religion, right to beappreciated for one’s belief, and right to promote and disseminate religion.
Actually, hifz ad-din has different interpretation among Muslim scholars.
Under the conservative Muslim view, hifz ad-din is understood as protection of religion, and the protected religion is solely Islam. In contrast, theprogressive Muslim view defines hifz ad-din as protection of religious freedom. Consequently, Islam is not the only protected religion because otherreligions are also subject of right to protection (Thoyyar (b), 2008: 1).

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In support of the legitimacy of this view, besides the Quran andprophet traditions, the textbook also uses the international human rights
instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (udhr,
1948), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (iccpr, 1966),
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (1950), and the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam(1990) (Thoyyar, 2008:66). These instruments include fundamental principles and norms on religious freedom. They cover protection of the internal(freedom to have, adopt, and defend one’s own religion and religious beliefs)
and external (freedom to perform one’s religion such as doctrine, practices,
rituals and obedience [piety] in public and private domains) aspects of thisright. They include the principle that no one should be oppressed based on
choice of religion or belief. They also include the defense of the freedom ofassembly of religious groups and the right to obtain legal status and protection for their groups. Finally, religious freedom is viewed as a non-derogable
right (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 66).
b. Right to life protection (Hifz an-Nafs)
Hifz an-nafs is translated as the right to protection of life. The protectionof life is a basic right for every human being. In the textbook, hifz an-nafs
covers any forms of right related to life such as, the right to life, the right toa decent life, the right to non-discrimination, right to involvement in community and organizational life, and right to self-defense. Interestingly, in presenting these rights, the textbook is illustrated with real worldwide examplesof humanitarian crises, from the holocaust regarding Jews, and genocide in
Bosnia, to issues of hunger in Indonesia (Thoyyar (b), 2008: 35-69).
c. Protection of freedom of thought and expression (Hifz al-’Aql)
Principally, this principle is about the protection of intellectual freedoms. In the textbook hifz al-’aql is translated into an extended topic,
beyond basic freedom of thought and expression, and includes various
subjects, such as the right to education, to access to information, to selfexpression, to science and technology development, as well as intellectual
property rights and patent rights. Therefore all kinds of intellectual activitiesof human beings are included under the term hifz al-’aql, which should all
be guaranteed and protected (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 105; (b), 2008: 71).

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cd. Protection of reproduction and child rights (Hifz an-Nasl)
Hifz an-nasl is translated into protection of one’s descendants. This includes right to reproduction, right to development and growth, and protection rights for children. Every couple and every person has rights to haveand determine the number of children, and to minimum guarantees onsafety and health as well as reproduction (physically, mentally, and socially).
Therefore, this principle covers issues of rights to marriage, reproduction,
descendants (children) and family planning (Thoyyar, 2008: 125-127). In
other words, family life is protected as having a vital importance for the
next generation. According to Article 5 of the Cairo Declaration on Human
Rights in Islam, “[T]he family is the foundation of society, and marriage isthe basis of making a family.” Men and women have rights to marriage, andthere should be no restrictions based on race, skin color, ethnicity or nationality. Furthermore, society and state have to eliminate all restrictions tomarriage and facilitate marriage procedures legally. This then leads to better
guarantee of protection of marriage and family welfare (Thoyyar (a), 2008:
128; (b), 2008: 107).
Regarding descendants’ rights, every child has rights to grow and develop, and to decent facilities to help the child grow and develop well. Theserights cover breastfeeding, good and healthy nutrition, proper care and education. Based on Article 26 of the Child Protection Law (2002), parents are
obliged and responsible for caring, educating and protecting their children.
Furthermore, parents are responsible for stopping child marriage practices(Thoyyar, 2008: 132). They also have to raise their children based on capacity, and interests. According to the textbook, there are at least four problemsof children that should be given attention to, including those related to education, health, work, and safety (for children who live in conflict areas).
e. Rights to property and work (Hifz al-Mal)
Hifz al-mal is understood as protection of property rights. In the textbook, this right also covers ways of legally obtaining properties. From an
Islamic perspective, Allah is the Creator and the owner of all things in the universe, while humans are only limited owners of property and treasure in theworld. All properties are entrusted by Allah to human beings; therefore properties have to be obtained through lawful and legal ways (halal). Obtaining
property according to Islamic principles is an obligation, and ownership anddefense of such property, acquired legally, can be considered part of one’s religious sacred sacrifice (jihad) (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 139; (b), 2008: 129).

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f. Environmental protection (Hifz al-Biah)
Hifz al-biah can be translated into protection of the environment. In
the textbook, Hifz al-biah covers many environmental rights such as rightto clean air, right to access clean water, right to cultivation of land, and rightto enjoy clean environment. Actually, these rights are a new element in
Maqashid al-Shariah, not previously included in traditional Islamic Law.
The primary reason for making hifz al-biah part of Maqashid al-Shariah
is the occurrence at present of severe destruction of the environment everywhere (Interview with Thoyyar). Although, it is a new part of Maqashid
al-Shariah, it is not a new concept in Islam. The Qur’an asserts in various
verses the need to ensure the continuity of future generations and of humanbeings’ future (QS al-hasr [59]:18; al-nisa [4]:9, etc.). This includes the needto develop the system of social welfare in the world (QS Hud [11]:61, etc)
and prohibitions on doing harm to the environment (QS al-Maidah [5]:32,
QS albaqarah [2]:25, and 220, QS al-rum [30]:41). Therefore, there is a good
religious foundation for Muslims to become more aware that natural resources and the environment need consideration on the basis of the hifz
al-biah principle. Protecting both the human beings and the natural environment is the only way to ensure sustainability of the next generation andthe safety of the future on earth (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 12-14; (b), 2008: 155).
Pedagogy in the Human Rights Education Textbook
The textbook of Muhammadiyah schools offers various learning models or
methods of human rights education that encourage students to participate
and learn actively. (Thoyyar, 2008: 61-62). The participatory learning/teaching methods introduced in the textbook develop enthusiasm in students inthinking and finding solutions to problems. The methods include sharedreading of materials; group discussion; use of newspaper clippings, drawings, photos, and songs; games; field trips; and storytelling. To make it easier for teachers to manage classes involved in these activities, the textbook
identifies five steps in handling the subject matter in class:1.

Subject summary. This provides a global description of the learning
subject, which is presented in a short sentence containing the key
words.

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2.

3.
4.
5.

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Digging the idea (or ‘deepening’). This is meant to attract the interest of students on the learning topics. This presents ideas, forexample, through comics, stories, newspaper clippings, so that important issues can be discussed.
Core lessons. The core lessons are presented as short, easy-to-understand points for students to learn the main lessons around the
topics they have taken up.
Enrichment. This provides students supplementary examples that
help strengthen their impressions and initial understanding on thelearning subject.
What has been achieved? This evaluates the competency of students in understanding what they have discussed. Its takes theform of questions or assignment, for example (Thoyyar (a), 2008:
25; Effendi, 2010: 42-44).

These steps are very much in line with Paulo Freire’s participatory
teaching concept. Freire proposed a “problem posing-education” (Barlett,2008: 3) or “liberating education” to replace the concept of “banking education” (Hudalla, 2005:5). Liberating education is a process of humanizing
people through dialogue. Dialogue is a central component of Freire’s liberating education, which involves identifying the problems and proposing
solutions. Dialogue is useful because it allows individuals the opportunity
to share their experiences in a supportive and constructive atmosphere(Barlett, 2008: 2-3). In contrast, the “banking education” framework considers teachers as very central in transferring knowledge, while students are
only “receptors who patiently receive, memorize, and repeat” knowledge(Hudalla, 2005: 4-6). Banking education however never facilitates the “liberation” of students.
Regarding human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools, a research found that the most attractive methods were group discussion, followed by role play (Effendi, 2010: 68). The research also found that thesemethods have enhanced the teachers’ capability to ensure an attractive
learning atmosphere for students in human rights education. The teachersin West Java, for example, acknowledged that they succeeded in encouraging enthusiasm among students in teaching human rights, because their
methods were very varied. At the same time, student’s recognized that

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Islamic lessons became more attractive when human rights insights wereincorporated (Effendi, 2010: 68).
Even the majority of teachers said that they were used to employing theold learning method that put the teacher at the center, but the textbook provided a different teaching that they wanted to use instead of the old method.
They were also more comfortable in the new method that made the transaction of lessons more easy, while the students also became more receptive
to the subject (Effendi, 2010:78). In other words, the teachers and students
agreed that the active and participative learning method was very helpful
in making them understand the subject easily and fast. Furthermore, themethod was very helpful in improving teaching capability, as it did not bore
the students (Effendi, 2010: 67).
The textbook for the human rights education curriculum has succeeded
quite well in reconciling Islam and human rights. The textbook starts fromthe universal values on which both Islam and human rights stand. Regarding
content, the curriculum used hybridity as a form of vernacularization(translation) of human rights. The textbook uses the goals of Islamic law
principles (Maqashid al-Shariah) that are believed to be in common withhuman rights principles and standards. The contents of the textbook avoid
the formal human rights documents in the explanation, although sometimes
it is still accompanied by few provisions from international human rights
instruments. Islamic language is the very core in explaining human rights
issues in the textbook. This is unavoidable because human rights education
is incorporated into the Islamic education curriculum. Through the textbook, the progressive group has exploited the Maqashid al-Shariah in order
to widen perspectives on the needs of Muslim society and individuals in
the contemporary era. Due to needs and demands, the progressive grouphas gradually brought out more issues that could be included in a wider
perspective of interpreting the Islamic doctrine. For instance, the progressive group promotes the importance of environmental issues by interpreting Maqashid al-Shariah, which is not previously explicit. Also, the humanrights education curriculum of Muhammadiyah schools has so far provenquite successful in dealing with contemporary Indonesian issues.
Regarding the pedagogic element, the textbook uses interactive pedagogical approaches as applied to international standards of human rights
education. Teachers tend to acknowledge that the teaching materials on
human rights, democracy, gender, pluralism are valuable new forms of106

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cknowledge which can widen and enrich the students’ and teachers’ perspectives if handled wisely (Effendi, 2010: 57). According to Andrea Hirata, awell-known Indonesian author, the textbook has managed to correlate social issues with Islamic character building and specifically Muhammadiyahinfluenced forms of learning (Thoyyar (a), 2008: back cover).
Therefore, the content of the human rights education curriculum in
Muhammadiyah schools today appears to have a strong relevance to the
mandate of Article 26 (2) of the udhr:
Education shall be directed to the full development of thehuman personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or
religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United
Nations for the maintenance of peace.
In line with the udhr, Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on
Human Rights Education and Training states that human rights education isa long-term process which starts from pre-school. Article 5(3) provides thathuman rights education should “embrace and enrich, as well as draw inspiration from, the diversity of civilizations, religions, cultures and traditions ofdifferent countries, as it is reflected in the universality of human rights.” See
the Appendix of this publication for the full text of the declaration.
Debate on Human Rights Education
Discussions and debates on compatibility between human rights and Islam
have been going on for a long time. These discussions and debates have notbeen confined to western academics who are doubtful about Islam’s support for human rights. Debate and dynamic discourse also take place within
the Muslim community, especially between the so-called conservative andprogressive groups. The latter group is often identified as liberal Muslims(Chase, 2007: 1-15).
The universality of human rights is based on an assumption that human rights are natural attributes of human beings possessed by all people
universally, and on the idea about inherent existence of rights in all humanbeings (Plantilla and Raj, 1997:13). Therefore, the validity of human rights

Human Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience107

is only derived from the very source of their existence, the nature of humanbeings, and not seen as confined by certain contexts, such as social-economic-cultural and political contexts or levels of ‘development’, in whateversense (ibid.). In contrast to this, the relativist conception of human rights
is based on the assumption that human rights are conceived as a reflectionof the culture of the major authors of human rights instruments, reflecting
existing power struggles and unequal social relations and biases. Therefore,
from this relativist perspective, it cannot be assumed that human rights areuniversal in their application, since some rights may mesh more with some
cultures and contexts than with others.
The alternative, and interesting framework, is the cross-cultural critique, which according to Marks and Clapham (2004:395) was originallyproposed in the work of An-Naim. This notion concerns with the cultural
legitimacy of international human rights standards. In An-Naim’s assessment, a major cause of disregard for human rights is their lack of culture legitimacy in societies that have different traditions from those with reference
to which the foundational instruments were largely framed. He considers,
however, that this gap can still be filled. In his words,
I believe not only that the universal cultural legitimacy isnecessary, but also that it is possible to develop it retrospectively in relation to fundamental human rights through enlightened interpretation of cultural norms (An-Naim in Marks andClapham (2004:395).
Therefore, the project of interpreting cultural norms framed and enlightened by human rights values is a way toward making human rights
more acceptable and legitimate in the context of multicultural society.
Consequently, the enlightened cultural norm becomes a tool in promoting
and supporting human rights within society.
The conflict between conservative and progressive groups within Muhammadiyah on human rights issues has genealogical roots. A
Chairperson of Muhammadiyah Tarjih Council (Syamsul Anwar) acknowledges that there is a polemical issue as far as human rights education in
Muhammadiyah schools is concerned. According to him, there are at least
two groups, conservative and progressive. The conservative group subscribes to the literal text interpretation approach. Its members have tradi-

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i ctional educational background, and the group exists strongly in the districts.
The progressive group has the contextual text interpretation approach thatconsiders much more the social context and cultural dynamics in text interpretation (Barus, 2008:50-51).
Thought divergences are not new in the history of Islamic thought.
Muhammad Abduh’s followers in Egypt, for instance, were split into two
opposing groups. Rasyid Ridha, Sayyid Qutb, and Hasan al-Bana were students and also Abduh followers who developed an interpretation and understanding method in conservative, scriptural, and fundamentalist model.
On the other hand, other Abduh students and followers such as Mustafa
Abd ar-Raziq, Qasim Amin, Luthfi Assayid, and Ali Abd ar-Raziq developed
a liberal perspective on Islam (Houroni, 1983:161-192).
In Muhammadiyah, the rise of the strain between the conservative andprogressive groups relates to Muhammadiyah doctrine on Puritanism and
Muhammadiyah’s character as a puritan Islamic movement. Puritanism canbe interpreted as either right wing perspective (that arouses a conservativeand scriptural Islamic perspective) or left wing perspective (that arouses aliberal Islamic thought, and then the progressive Islamic thought). (Boy ztf
2009:59) In practice, Puritanism within Muhammadiyah can be manifested
as the purification of Muhammadiyah faith that should not be contaminatedwith any perspective that may destroy Muhammadiyah belief or faith. This
type of purification of faith refutes the marriage between Islam and local
tradition. On the other hand, Puritanism can also be interpreted throughcontextualization of Muhammadiyah doctrine in responding to contemporary issues such as pluralism, multiculturalism, democracy, gender justice, human rights, and globalization. The progressive group has the tendency to choose the second interpretation as their approach to purification.
Therefore, it is understood that the tendency of progressive Islamic thought
within Muhammadiyah cannot be separated from the need to respond tocontemporary issues, contextualizing Muhammadiyah within the progressive era, and interpreting Islam in a new way.
Boy ztf sees the rise of conservatism within Muhammadiyah tohave been triggered by many factors such as politics, ideology, and theeducational background of its activists. The rise of progressivism within
Muhammadiyah, however, is caused by two important factors, namely,
Muhammadiyah’s intellectual stagnation issues and the rise of conservatism.
The birth of progressive group within Muhammadiyah is also a product ofHuman Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience109

the new discourse on Islamic thought introduced by a number of intellectuals and the young generation in Muhammadiyah (Boy ztf, 2009:60-61).
The development of conservatism in Muhammadiyah can be understood through two meanings. First, it relates to a political attitude resistant
to globalization, which is characterized as compromising local identity andparticularity. The conflict between the global and the local and the perceived
threat to local communities arouse the rise of conservatism. Second, conservatism is also understood as fundamentalist expressions that totally refuse all forms of change. This mode can be seen as the development andstrengthening of exclusivity. The conservatism within Muhammadiyah, according to Boy ztf, is of the second type and triggers the rise of refusal
against all forms of change. On globalization issues, for instance, few groups
within Muhammadiyah would adopt an accommodating strategy, while others would choose a confrontational strategy. According to Haedar Nashir,
the rise of conflict between conservative and progressive groups is a manifestation of failure in finding within Muhmmadiyah a common articulationthat bridges purification and reform perspectives (Boy ztf, 2009: 87-88).
Regarding human rights education, the position of the progressive
group in Muhammadiyah is unique and complex. Besides the need to convince the conservative group to support human rights education, the progressive group also has to convince the universalist human rights groups
that doubt the link between Islamic values and human rights standards.
Different from the conservative group, the progressive group uses awide perspective and looks at the Islamic doctrine in the dynamic context
of the past, present, and future. In the context of the past, the progressive
group considers Islam as a critic over dullness and backwardness of humanbeings, as well as offered as a “medicine” to structure society into a peaceful family, a good village (qaryah tayyibbah), and a good country (baldahtayyibah). The pre-Islamic Arab (Jahily) society is seen as maintaining human rights violations such as slavery, tradition of killing female infants, monopoly over resources by elites of Mecca, and discrimination against women. Islam came to offer liberation and reform, and introduced fundamental
values such as equality, justice, brotherhood, peace, and human dignity as
pillars of the Islamic system (Thoyyar, 2008: 7). Muslim people therefore are
obliged to appreciate the rights, such as right to live and protection of life
(QS al-maidah [5]:32), right to get decent life (QS al-Dhariyat [51]:12), rightto freedom and freedom from slavery (QS al balad [90]:130), right to get

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cjustice (QS al-Maidah [5]:3), right to equality as human being (QS al-hujurat[49]:13), and so on. (Thoyyar, 2008: 10-11). These are important elements in
Islam that accord with human rights values in the modern era.
Historical evidence also shows how Islam has proven as human rights
defender in the context of slavery and social problem phenomenons. Islam
encouraged people to liberate slaves charitably, which was considered a gooddeed; Muslim people were even advised to marry slave women in order toliberate them. The policy went on until the period of the fourth Khalifah
when the entire slaves in the Arab peninsula could have been liberated. The
Prophet Muhammmad himself liberated sixty-three slaves, Aisyah liberated sixty-seven slaves; Abbas liberated seventy slaves, Abdullah bin Umarliberated one thousand slaves, and Abdurrahman bought thirty thousandslaves and liberated them. Then, in the case of economic distribution, Islam
opened an equal chance for all people to access resources, which were controlled by the elites of Mecca during the pre-Islamic era. Besides that, Islam
obliged the giving of alms (zakat) and charity (infaq, shadaqah) as redistribution mechanisms of resources, income, and wealth. (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 8)
The Madinah Charter is also an historical evidence that Islam protected
plurality of social forms and belief. It is considered as a foundation of acknowledgment of pluralism in Islam. Brotherhood, friendship, peace, andtogetherness were bonds for all sections of Madinah people, Muslim or nonMuslim at the early Islamic period. Non-Muslim people were acknowledged
as one community together with the Muslim community (ummatun ma’al
Muslimin) (Thoyyar, 2008: 8-9). This evidence at once refutes the view of theconservative group which denies pluralism.
Dahlan, a Muhammadiyah founding father, is an important figure who
greatly appreciated human rights and diversity. He had high tolerance andnever hated other religions. He maintained friendship with the Dutch people
who had different religion and belief, and who in turn supported what he wasdoing. His example shows how to maintain good relationship with different
religious groups and appreciate pluralism. Furthermore, Muhammadiyah
itself recognized pluralism as part of Islam and social phenomenon. In
2000, Muhammadiyah published a book entitled Tafsir Tematik al-Qur’antentang Hubungan antar Umat Beragama (The Thematic Quranic Exegeses
on Relationship Among Religious Beliefs), as a guide book for pluralism
within Muhamadiyah (Biyanto, 2009: 111). The example of Dahlan and the
Muhammadiyah stance in the past counter the conservative stance today.

Human Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience111

Human rights have become global phenomenon in ensuring and protecting people from any kind of violence and oppression. The udhr has become a global value standard that should be effectively treated as an obligation, and should be accepted and realized everywhere (Thoyyar (a), 2008:9).
Islam as a religion is committed to human dignity but faces the challenge of proving its commitment to human rights. Although Islam has a different approach and rules for settling conflicts at specific levels and circumstances, it does not mean that Islam and human rights cannot be reconciled.
Islam can support and help achieve the goals of udhr (Khan, 1967:140-143),
due to its commitment to human dignity.
Furthermore, human rights have become global issues that go beyond
the concerns of adults, and cover matters regarding children and youth. This
makes human rights and related knowledge a very important subject thatshould be taught to children from early age. The old paradigm which often considers human rights as elite subject and only relevant to discussions
among adults, activist groups, and academics is no longer relevant to thecontemporary demands and challenges. Introducing human rights at early
age is very important and needed because majority of the victims of human rights violations are children. Children do not know their rights, do
not know how to defend them, and how to find a way out of human rights
violations (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 15-17). Therefore, there are reasons why it isvery important to introduce and impart human rights education throughIslamic education.
Negotiation and Strategy
Negotiating the introduction of human rights education in Muhammadiyah
schools was a complicated process and took much time. It started in May
2007 when the progressive group launched a campaign on the importanceof human rights education for Muhammadiyah schools and ended in August
2008 (Interview with Rezaulhaq). By September 2008, the human rights education curriculum was introduced in the Muhammadiyah schools. The progressive group had to undertake a series of initiatives to improve their negotiating position before and after September 2008. These initiatives included: 1)
conferences, 2) research, 3) workshop 4) writing the textbook and modules,
5) review, 6) dialogue, and 7) implementation (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 6).

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To support the success of curriculum development and the implementation of human rights education, the progressive group used many strategies and approaches to gain positive responses and to increase interest
from key stakeholders in the Muhammadiyah education system. At least
two approaches were employed in negotiating with people whose perspectives and interests were less favorable to human rights education. The firstwas a structural approach to negotiation and the second a more strategic
approach.
The progressive group took into consideration the importance of authority and power relations in determining the success or failure of introducing human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools. The progressive
group therefore concentrated on the institutions and people who exercised
power within Muhammadiyah as an organization. For instance, from thevery start, the progressive group invited the Muhammadiyah Education
Board to be involved in the human rights education project. While the
Education Board initially failed to respond, it subsequently responded byoffering a Memorandum of Understanding (mou) with Maarif Institute.
The Education Board concluded this mou after receiving demands fromgrassroots members, particularly from many stakeholders in education at
the regency level, to support human rights education. The formal and structured link with Maarif Institute, on the other hand, was very useful in the
campaign.
The progressive group initiated bottom-up processes to discuss the implementation of human rights education. As a result, the request for curriculum reform came from the grassroots level, especially from Muhammadiyah
schools which were key stakeholders at the district level, rather than from‘above.’ As Rezaulhaq, a director of the Maarif Institute, said in an interview(Interview with Rezaulhaq):
We have talked with the elite of Muhammadiyah, butthey did not respond to our proposal. Therefore, we pushed
Muhammadiyah education stakeholders at the grassroots level,
especially at district level, to take steps to demand curriculum
reform within Muhammadiyah schools.
The progressive group considered that education stakeholders at thebottom or grassroots level have potent power to put pressure on the na-

Human Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience

113

tional level Muhammadiyah educational structure. Although weak in termsof leadership, stakeholders at the grassroots level know the real conditions
and the actual need for the development of the Muhammadiyah education
system. Empowering the grassroots stakeholders is a way of increasing theirpower and leadership that can help, build and support the required educational changes as well as mobilize supporters of human rights education. Thisapproach seems to be in line with the stakeholder analysis formula whichsays: “supporters with little power and leadership: focus on ways of increasing the power and leadership of these stakeholders” (Schmeer, 2000:2-31).
Besides the bottom-up strategy, the progressive group also took some
initiatives to approach and convince different people at the top (national)
level. These initiatives included dialogues, meetings and seminars. Regarding
the neutral stakeholders at the higher level of the organization, the progressive group seems to have applied a stakeholder analysis formula that “focuses on convincing the stakeholders to support the policy and increasing theirpower and leadership where necessary” (Schmeer, 2000:2-31). With theacceptance of the human rights education proposal, the progressive group
worked closely together with the Maarif Institute and the Muhammadiyah
Education Board in defending human rights education before the conservative group. The Muhammadiyah Education Board, the central authority on
all educational policies of Muhammadiyah, took the task of responding to
the many critics from the conservative group, while the Maarif Institute took
the role of “a think tank” on human rights education for Muhammadiyah
schools. This division of tasks was very effective in reducing active opposition to human rights education within Muhammadiyah. The division oftasks considered and determined the respective capacities and authority ofthe two institutions in determining the success of human rights educationin Muhammadiyah schools (Interview with Rezaulhaq).
Besides using the structural approach that focuses on the role of power
relationship, the progressive group also used strategic approach to negotiation. This approach mainly considers the importance of action and maneuver in gaining the result or goals of negotiation (Alfredson and Cungu, 2008:
7). The progressive group planned diverse strategies to gain positive result innegotiating with the different levels of people within Muhammadiyah who
would like to support the human rights education project. The progressive
group exerted many efforts (participation, partnership, and dialogue) as
part of the strategic approach for this purpose.

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Participation, partnership, and dialogue were exploited by the progressive group to maintain and manage all possible resources to gain positive
impact or outcome of the negotiation process.
Channeling participation and partnership increased the number of supporters, and raised the chance of making human rights education more acceptable to Muhammadiyah leaders and followers. Dialogue was employed
to reduce active opposition to the implementation of the human rights education project. Indeed, participation, partnership, and dialogue are very
effective ways to “maintain and mobilize current supporters”, “minimize
active opposition”, “convert neutral parties and opposition”. (Scribner andO’Hanlon, 2000: 3-10).
The progressive group used the participation strategy to attract attention from the stakeholders within Muhammadiyah. In developing the humanrights education curriculum, the progressive group involved the importantelements of Muhammadiyah education stakeholders from the central to the
district levels. All of them were involved in this process as writer team members, expert and executive editors, designer and illustrator team members,
expert readers, and trainers (Thoyyar (a), 2008: 6). Their backgrounds werevery diverse, from heterogenous religious ideologies and thoughts, to culture, to ethnicity, to gender, and also to social stratification such as education policymakers in Muhammadiyah School Education Board, teachers of
Al-Islam, religious leaders, academicians or intellectuals, and human rights
activists. (Thoyyar, 2008: 6).
Involving Muhammadiyah education stakeholders in the whole processof the project was an appropriate strategy. The Muhammadiyah Education
Board, for instance, is key as the policymaker whose interest and influence
relate to the revitalization of Muhammadiyah education. Involving Islamic
religious teachers of Muhammadiyah schools was a real necessity for the success of Muhammadiyah education. Because the teachers had an influence inthe change of curriculum and textbook, putting them as subject group of the
program to reorganize the textbook was acknowledged as a rational choice
and acceptable. Theoretically, an advocacy strategy that involves influencing stakeholders who have more interest from the beginning is acknowledged as an effective participation strategy that can empower them (Effendi,
2010: 52). Based on Effendi’s research, the strategy that involved a numberof Muhammadiyah education stakeholders such as the Muhammadiyah
Education Board from central to district levels and the teachers was very

Human Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience115

helpful in strengthening human rights content and teaching methodology in
Muhammadiyah schools and a key element in improving teacher’s capacities (Effendi, 2010: 53-54).
Furthermore, to maintain and strengthen the success of negotiation
in introducing human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools, theprogressive group built partnership with different elements within andoutside Muhammadiyah. The Muhammadiyah Education Board together
with Maarif Institute, for instance, had a partnership with the New Zealand
Agency for International Development (nzaid) and Kompas-Gramedia (awell-known publisher) to publish the textbook more broadly (Interviews
with Rezaulhaq and Thoyyar).
In addition, during the negotiation process, the progressive group minimized conflicts and active opposition within Muhammadiyah. It used the
dialogue strategy in dealing with the different groups including the conservative group. According to Rezaulhaq, through a long series of meetingsand dialogues with many people with the participation of invited experts or
intellectuals, human rights practitioners, and victims of human rights violations, the views of the conservative group that initially refused human rights
education and considered human rights as western product that contradict
Islamic values, interestingly changed. For instance, in South Sulawesi, thelocal conservative group strongly refused human rights education. But after
a long dialogue where the people saw and heard the testimony from witnesses and victims of human rights violations, they became aware and more
open to human rights education (Interview with Rezaulhaq).
Conclusion
The human rights education model in Muhammadiyah schools is a hybrid
in terms of content, and a replication in terms of pedagogy (teaching). In
terms of content, the human rights education curriculum is the result ofreconciliation of the human rights core values with the Islamic core values.
Human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools has a strong theological basis, with the process of learning linked to a group of religious subjects
such as belief (aqidah), and ethics (akhlaq), etc. This is the way by whichhuman rights education has been incorporated into the Muhammadiyah
school curriculum. The principles of Islamic Law (Maqashid al-Shariah) arethus important starting points in developing greater human rights aware-

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cness among teachers and students. The Maqashid al-Shariah theory can beviewed as the shared platform where human rights principles and Islamicprinciples meet. The five core principles of the Maqashid al-Shariah theory
introduced in the human rights education curriculum developed into six
relevant principles, namely, freedom of religion and belief (Hifz ad-din),right to protection of life (Hifz an-nafs), freedom of thought and expression(Hifz al-’aql), rights to reproduction and child life (Hifz an-nasl), rights toproperty and work (Hifz al-mal), and finally, right to environmental protection (Hifz al-biah).
These principles have formed the basis of human rights education in
Muhammadiyah schools, starting with initial efforts from 2005.
Other central conclusions of this study relate to (i) teaching, (ii) theaims of the curriculum, (iii) the debates between conservatives and progressives on human rights education, and (iv) the strategies used to ensure human rights education’s adoption in the curriculum.
In relation to teaching, since 2007 human rights education has usedvarious learning methods that attract and encourage students to be involvedin learning more actively. These methods are mainly participative learningin character, which are also used generally in teaching human rights all over
the world. However, in terms of teaching model, human rights education in
Muhammadiyah schools uses the replication model that made the teachers
gain the capability to shift the learning atmosphere from boring to an attractive one. According to Effendi, group discussion activities are most attractive to the teachers and students.
Human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools has had two primary goals in the context of curriculum and teaching development. First,
the human rights education curriculum aims to improve both the vitality
and quality of the school curriculum. These improvements were needed toaddress the situation of the Muhammadiyah movement in its local, national, and global contexts. Revitalization was to be achieved through textbook
content renewal, teacher capacity development to achieve capability for effective delivery of the lessons in class, and provision of resources and supporting materials for the lessons to improve the substance and outcomes ofteaching. Second, in terms of teaching development targets, human rights
education aims to achieve three primary goals of learning: cognitive learning, skills-related learning, and emotional or affective learning. From thistarget, there is hope that students would develop more awareness of humanHuman Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience

117

rights issues and improve their attitude and behavior in upholding humanrights values.
The effort to reconcile Islamic education with human rights education
has provoked a heated debate between conservative and progressive groups
within the Muhammadiyah organization. The conservative group refuses
human rights education by arguing that reconciling Islam and human rights
makes Islam secondary to human rights principles, and this endangers theIslamic doctrine. The conservative group accuses the progressive group of
misinterpreting Islamic doctrine in relation to human rights concepts. It
claims that the progressive group forced Islamic teachings to accord withhuman rights, rather than the other way around. More specifically, the human rights education curriculum is criticized for including doctrines of pluralism that endangers the Islamic religious belief. The conservative groupconsiders human rights as Western ideas; as tools for westernization thatwill spoil Islamic teachings. From this perspective, Islam and human rights
cannot meet. Indeed, they should never meet because each has a different
paradigm and different source for truth.
Unlike the conservative group, the progressive group is very confident
in accepting a human rights perspective in Islamic education. It argues thathuman rights are already part of Islamic teachings, and that Islam and human rights share a common platform or set of values in relation to definitionsof humanity that are universal. It considers the need to reconcile humanrights education with Islamic education in order to reduce misunderstanding about Islam and the conflicts between Islamic principles and humanrights principles. Therefore, the progressive group denies that reconciling
Islam and human rights can be damaging to Islam. Human rights are viewed
not as a Western ideology, but as a perspective, that can be related to Islam
as a religion. Therefore, even though Islam and human rights may start fromdifferent positions, each can help equip the other. Overall, based on the evidence presented in this study, it does seem that Islam can support and bereconciled with human rights values. Theological and historical evidence,for instance, prove that Islam has a strong commitment to developing human rights awareness and reducing human rights violations. Therefore, inthe contemporary era, the Muslim community has to participate actively in
upholding human rights values.
The strategies in promoting human rights education sometimes facea difficult environment. Due to opposition by the conservative group and118

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cothers to human rights education, introducing it into the Muhammadiyah
schools was not an easy task at the initial stages. Challenges came fromwithin Muhammadiyah, mainly from the conservative group, and based on
bureaucratic objections. The development of the human rights education
curriculum has therefore involved a long series of steps involving educational stakeholders within Muhammadiyah, from grassroots to policymaking levels. The progressive group used various strategies to convince the
Education Board and many others within Muhammadiyah that they should
accept human rights education programs, and that human rights education was compatible with the wider values of the organization. A strategic
approach to the negotiation was key to the success in introducing humanrights education. This involved combining grassroots demands with Maarif
Institute’s intellectual influence. The progressive group worked through the
Education Board. They used available means to convince key people, including lay people, to take a different stand and to end their opposition to the introduction of human rights education in Muhammadiyah schools. Throughsuch strategies, step by step, the paradigm shifted within Muhammadiyah.
Gradually, through persuasion, but also through practical human rights
education experience, people within the Muhammadiyah organization as awhole have become more open and more accepting of the new human rights
education program.
This study shows that despite the controversy that took place within
Muhammadiyah, the human rights education model introduced into the
Muhammadiyah school curriculum between 2005 and 2010 has had many
positive impacts. It helped develop human rights awareness among teachersand students. As a consequence, the policymakers within Muhammadiyah,
especially those in the Education Board, should become even more activein the future in promoting human rights education in Muhammadiyah
schools, beyond the three provinces of West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, andCentral Sulawesi in Indonesia.
For successful introduction, human rights education has to avoid themore controversial issues of human rights. Counter-productive arguments
should be avoided in the initial implementation of human rights education.
In Muhammadiyah schools, the pluralism issue has provoked controversy,
for example. Since controversies can consume valuable time and energy,
relatively uncontroversial issues should be the first themes or topics of hu-

Human Rights Education in Indonesia: The Muhammadiyah Schools Experience119

man rights education, and should be based on local needs and accepted basic principles of Islamic education.
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Endnote1 Pesantren is a housing complex that includes the houses of the kiai (an expert
in Islam) and his family, pondok (school), and a mosque. Pondok Pesantren means
Islamic boarding school.