Bachtiar Nasir

Ustad Bachtiar Nasir
Born	(1967-06-26) June 26, 1967 Jakarta
Nationality	Indonesian
Occupation	da'i, mufassir, ulama
Academic background
Alma mater	Islamic University of Medina

Bachtiar Nasir is an Indonesian Islamist da'i and ulama.^[1] He is known for his examination and exploration of the sciences of the Qur'an. The ustad leads the Ar-Rahman Qur'anic Learning Center (AQL) Islamic Center, and also serves as the Secretary General of Intellectual Assembly of Young Ulama Indonesia (MIUMI), Chairman of Alumni of Saudi Arabia in Indonesia, and Chairman of Islamic University of Medina Alumni in Indonesia.^[2][3][4][5] He also served as the Central Executive of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).^[6]

Nasir often appears in various channels on national television and became a judge in Hafidz Indonesia Event with Ustad Amir Faishol Fath and Syeh Ali Jabeer. His name is increasingly reported when he was asked to be in charge of the November 2016 Jakarta protests during the gubernatorial election in 2017, under the name of the National Movement of Fatwa Guards Majelis Ulama Indonesia (GNPF-MUI).

Early life

He completed his secondary education at Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java and Pondok Pesantren Daarul Huffazh in Bone, South Sulawesi. He continued his studies at the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia.^[3]

Role during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election

He is known as a leading figure during the November 2016 Jakarta protests, which urged the legal procedure against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama who was accused of blasphemy. The action involved the politicians, celebrities and well known religious figures and various layers of Muslims with the number of approximately 50,000-200,000 participants.^[7][8] The action can not be separated from the presence of Nasir, who was asked to be the person in charge under the name of the National Movement of Fatwa Guards of the Indonesian Ulema Council (GNPF-MUI).^{[3][9][10][11][12]}

Controversy

He is accused of racism, especially after the interview with the Reuters news agency, during which he called the ethnic Chinese minority's wealth in Indonesia a problem of economic inequality that needs to be addressed. "It seems they have not become more generous and juster," he said. In the interview, Nasir also criticized the amount of investment from China which he considered less helpful.^[1]

The critics disagree with Nasir's view by pointing out that the minority ethnic group does not receive any special treatment from the government in the accumulation of its wealth. They consider Nasir is exploiting the issue of social inequality as a weapon to incite hatred and scapegoating ethnic Chinese minorities in Indonesia for the failure of the government to adequately cope with the economic issues.

References