MANILA, Philippines—A man with an easy laugh, Ahmad Syafii Maarif does not look like the stereotypical intellectual and Islamic scholar with the beard and intense stare. Maarif is very much himself in his batik shirt, an Asian man at home in a world so diverse and so complex.

Maarif, 73, an Indonesian, was one of the seven 2008 Ramon Magsaysay (RM) awardees honored Sunday by the RM Award Foundation (RMAF). Maarif is the awardee for Peace and International Understanding, a category that “recognizes contributions to the advancement of friendship, tolerance, peace, and solidarity as the foundations for sustainable development within and across countries.”

The RMAF chose Maarif for “guiding Muslims to embrace tolerance and pluralism as the basis for justice and harmony in Indonesia and in the world at large.”

At this time when Islam suffers a bad image because of the excessive fervor and extreme behavior of some of its adherents, when those who sow terror invoke the name of Islam to justify their extreme causes and kill with the name of Allah on their lips, a voice—brave and loud—calling for moderation is not easy to find.

Maarif is a voice in the wilderness, so to speak, a conscience representing Muslims who espouse respect for and plurality of beliefs.

“The terrorists hijack God,” Maarif tells the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). “Their theology is the theology of death.” Terrorism has defaced Islam and given it a bad name.

“Terrorism is not the authentic face of Islam” is a statement Maarif wants to say again and again.

Born in West Sumatra in 1935, Maarif was exposed during his early schooling to the reform Islam teachings of Muhammadiya, one of two mass organizations that influence Muslim life in Indonesia.

Muhammadiya movement

Founded in 1912, the Muhammadiya, according to Maarif, is “among the Muslim reformist movements all over the world … one of the more creative and flexible in dealing with political fluctuations.” This “elastic character,” Maarif adds, has worked against government intrusions.

After graduating from university, Maarif went into teaching and pursued his master’s degree in Southeast Asian history at Ohio State University and his doctorate in Islamic thought at the University of Chicago under the tutelage of Islamic scholar Fazlur Rahman, a Pakistani.

Maarif returned to Indonesia and gained a reputation as a rising intellectual and leader in Muhammadiya in the 1980s.

After the downfall of the 30-year Suharto dictatorship in 1998, Maarif assumed the leadership of Muhammadiya and its 30 million adherents. The aftermath saw a period of openness, reform and democratization in Indonesia. But this was also a time of sectarian conflict. Maarif was the man of the hour. Many looked up to him for guidance.

Panca Sila

Maarif harks back to 1945 when Indonesia declared itself an independent secular state. Indonesia did not adopt the Islamic law of shariah but the Panca Sila (Sanskrit for five principles) that promoted belief in one God, a just and civilized humanity, national unity, democracy and social justice.

This did not come easy, Maarif recounts. Bitter disputes ensued. “Many used the Panca Sila as political rhetoric,” Maarif says. “And we have neglected it.”

As president of Muhammadiya, Maarif could easily have shifted to politics, but he didn’t. He used his position to call for moderation, especially when conflict and violence erupted between Muslims and Christians. He led interfaith dialogues and warned against sectarian hate.

When some sectors revived the call for an Islamic state and the imposition of the shariah, Maarif stepped forward and led the move to oppose it. He argued why the nonsectarian precepts of Panca Sila suited Indonesia's pluralist society.

Koranic Islam

Indonesia has the biggest Muslim population in the world. Maarif describes Indonesia’s brand of Islam as progressive and pro-democracy. “But we have splinter groups,” he sighs. “I’m still struggling to see Indonesia unite.”

Maarif notes that unlike Christianity, or Catholicism in particular, which has a centralized leadership and official teachings, Islam is left to many interpretations. He describes the Islam that he practices as “Koranic Islam.”

The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the United States and the bombings in Bali and Jakarta dramatized what Islamic militants could do to pursue their end. The US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq aggravated the tensions and spawned more hatred.

No to ‘holy war’

Maarif, Muhammadiya president from 2000 to 2005, together with other voices of reason and moderation, denounced the attacks as a “crime against humanity.”

He urged Indonesian Muslims not to be carried away and to reject calls to jihad or “holy war” and instead go for peaceful protests. Maarif showed by example.

“We spoke out,” Maarif says, stressing that the Muslim world was not entirely silent on terrorism wrought in the name of Islam. He also gives insights into why many Muslims feel aggrieved and humiliated.

In 2003, Maarif founded the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity, which aims to project Islam as a religion that respects plurality, inclusive and tolerant.

Abraham's office

Maarif, familiarly known as Buya Syafii, has retired from teaching but continues to exercise his role as mentor to the young. He is professor emeritus at the State University of Yogyakarta. His writings are a sourcebook for education, information and inspiration not just for Indonesians but for any citizen of this world.

He reads a lot, and one of his favorites is Karen Armstrong, a British author and lecturer who wrote the biography “Muhammad.” (Armstrong, a former Catholic nun, wrote the much-acclaimed “A History of God” plus a dozen other books.)

“We have to go deep into the authenticity of religion,” Maarif reflects. “Religion has a moral message.” Justice is the key to global wisdom, he adds, and without it, “the world will go astray forever.”

In one of his papers on Islam and Christianity, the professor writes: “According to Christianity and Islam, based on the concept of free choice and free will, men are responsible for all their deeds and action, good or evil, here in this life and the life after.” If we believe this, he asks, why do we fight?

“Why did the difference in religion between us destroy our spiritual brotherhood in the past? Who are we to claim the absolute truth?” Christianity, Judaism and Islam came from the same tree, Maarif continues.

“We came from the same office, the spiritual office of Abraham.”