ROCKY Gerung is being chased by many people because of his statement calling Jokowi a stupid and cowardly bastard. For many people—especially Jokowi’s volunteers—the phrase was not just offside but had crossed the line of play.
Rocky hunting movements are popping up everywhere. Rocky becomes the target of anger and becomes the target of a sorcerer’s “witch hunt”. A video circulating shows a group of people slaughtering a goat with the words “Rocky Gerung”. Someone drew a sword, slit the goat’s throat, then collected the blood with a glass, and then drank it while shouting threats against Rocky Gerung.
Another hunter, Benny Ramdhani, reported Rocky to the police and said he would mobilize a large number of people to hunt Rocky on 10 August. This date was chosen perhaps because it coincided with workers’ plans to hold a demonstration against the Omnibus Ciptaker Law. PDIP as Jokowi’s supporting party has also reported it to the police. Another reporter asked that Rocky be banned from speaking for life.
Amid the incessant hunt for the sorcerer, several defenses emerge. Fahri Hamzah said that it was already a risk for the president to hear criticism and attacks from the public. Even if you get scolded. The president’s daily work must be criticized. Because of that, he does not agree that laws are used to ensnare people who criticize. For him, criticism should be left alone and listened to.
The defense also came from another Fahri, namely Fachry Ali. If Fahri Hamzah is serious, Fachry Ali is also serious but by using an intriguing analogy. He called Rocky Gerung ”Hujjatul Islam”.
In the history of Islamic civilization which is already 15 centuries old, the only figure who has earned this label is Imam Al-Ghazali (1058-1111), a prominent Islamic philosopher and theologian.
During Al-Ghazali’s lifetime, the thought of theology based on ancient Greek philosophy began to flourish. The main characters include Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushdi. Their thinking is based on the Greek philosophical theory of Hellenism which is based on rationalism and freedom of reason.
The views of these philosophers have become controversial because they are considered contrary to Islam. One controversial view is that God does not know the details of what is happening in the world. Allah created the ‘sunatullah system’ which then runs on its own according to the laws of nature.
The thing that was attacked by Al-Ghazali was the opinion stated that nature is ‘qadim’, has no beginning and no end, the resurrection that occurs in the hereafter is spiritual and not physical, and Allah does not know the juz’iyah, the details that exist in this nature. With the three statements of these philosophers, Imam Al-Ghazali considered them to have left Islamic teachings or disbelieved.
The term hujjatul Islam among Islamic scholars is given to scholars who are credited with defending the principles of Islamic truth with arguments that are difficult for opponents to break. Following the word used, hujjah (argument), the scholar who was given the title Hujjatul Islam has succeeded in acting as a buffer against attacks that want to confuse Islamic teachings. One of the scholars after Al-Ghazali who fell into this category was Ibn Taimiyyah (1263-1328).
Al-Ghazali not only presented arguments from the Qur’an and Sunnah, but also logical, conceptual, systematic and scientific arguments. By defending the true teachings of Islam in accordance with the Qur’an and sunnah, Imam Al-Ghazali made his name among contemporary scholars a hujjatul Islam who had no equal.
With his strong argument, Al-Ghazali showed the error of the philosophers through his work Tahafut al-Falasifah (The Confusion of the Philosophers). In this book, he argues based on the Qur’an and sunnah as well as the logical method as practiced by the philosophers themselves. It was from his defense of the heresies of the philosophers that Al-Ghazali was given the title hujjatul Islam.
But this time, Facry Ali pinned the label on Rocky Gerung. Of course, this is not an apple-to-apple comparison. Fachry wanted to show that Rocky has strong intellectual and logical strength so that he can win various debates.
Fachry said he had known Rocky since the 1980s when they were both young. At that time, Rocky and Fachry were both involved in the intellectual circles of their respective campuses. Rocky at the University of Indonesia and Fachry at IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah.
In one opportunity for a seminar, Rocky made a strong criticism of PSI (Indonesian Socialist Party) members. Rocky’s criticism is considered very bold because PSI is a party founded by Sutan Sjahrir and later became the “avant-garde” of Indonesian intellectuals. The party became an “intellectual powerhouse” a center of intellectual power where educated people from the first generation of Indonesia gathered.
Rocky’s courage shows the strong intellectual fundamentals he has had since he was young. Then, in his intellectual journey, Rocky never specifically entered the Islamic intellectual path.
How then can Rocky be considered a “Hujjatul Islam”? Jokowi’s emergence in the last 10 years has created unrest among urban-class Muslims, who do not have a caliber figure who can compete with nationalist figures, including Jokowi.
It was during this vacuum that Rocky appeared to fill the void. Rocky’s harsh and consistent criticism of Jokowi’s policies has made urban Muslim groups feel that they have found heroes and idols from non-Muslim circles. Rocky seems to be integrated into the Muslim part of the city. They found Rocky Gerung as the spokesperson. Not an ordinary spokesperson, but an outspoken spokesperson, a loud spokesperson.
The nickname Hujjatul Islam for Rocky can provoke pros and cons. However, Fachry only wants to make a simple sociological analogy so that it is easy to understand.
Several years ago, Prof. Sumitro Djojohadikusumo was also dubbed the Ayatullah of the Indonesian Economy by Kwik Kian Gie. In this world, only Iranian leaders have the title of ayatollah who have both religious and political authority. For Kwik, Sumitro’s scientific influence and professional authority in the economic field paralleled the authority of the ayatollahs in Iranian politics. Until now the nickname still sticks, even though it is rarely mentioned.
The nickname Hujjatul Islam for Rocky which was launched by Fachry Ali, it seems, will continue to stick with Rocky Gerung, regardless of whether anyone likes it or not.
Dr. Dhimam Abror Djuraid, M.Sc., Head of Jarnas Anies East Java, Academician and Senior Journalist
