Wahid Is a Respected Intellect, Champion of Human Rights--and Rebel

Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesia’s unlikely new president, is one of the nation’s most respected intellects, a man who loves soccer and Mozart, has a quick sense of humor and often finds himself at odds with the establishment.

Born to one of Indonesia’s most influential Muslim families, the 59-year-old cleric has long championed human rights, democracy, the separation of church--or mosque--and state, and a tolerant Islam that reaches out to non-Muslims in this diverse society.

“There is no original race in Indonesia,” he said last year. “A great-grandmother of mine . . . was Chinese. That is the reason why I don’t accept the idea of racial differences in Indonesia.”

To most citizens here, Wahid was seen as a kingmaker and coalition-builder, not a king. Many analysts expected him to withdraw from the presidential race at the eleventh hour. He already held immense power as the leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, a 30-million-member Muslim organization. Given his poor health and general distaste for politics, the presidency seemed a burden he did not need.

“It’s not something I really want,” he said in an interview given four months ago as supporters huddled at his feet like disciples. “But if my health improves, if the people say they want me, then yes, it is something I could consider for the good of Indonesia.”

On Wednesday, Wahid stunned almost everyone here and abroad by upsetting Megawati Sukarnoputri to become Indonesia’s fourth president since the Dutch recognized the independence of their former colony in 1949. As the leader of the world’s fourth most populous country, he inherits daunting social and economic problems and a government structure crippled by years of corruption and nepotism.

Affectionately known as Gus Dur--a nickname that combines an honorific and a shortened form of his name--Wahid was born Aug. 4, 1940, on Java, in the northeastern district of Jombang. His grandfather was a Muslim scholar who founded Nahdlatul Ulama in 1926. His father was a government minister of religious affairs.

Wahid studied literature and social sciences at the University of Baghdad, Islamic law at Al Azhar University in Cairo and did postgraduate work at the University of Toronto. He was never swept up in the tide of Islamic fundamentalism that later roiled the Middle East.

Wahid returned to Indonesia in the early 1970s as a respected scholar. A column he wrote in the Jakarta-based Tempo magazine gave him prominence, and before long, Indonesians referred to him as budayawan, a respectful term used to describe a scholar of cultural studies. He was elected chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama in 1984 and quickly steered Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization out of practical politics while continuing to advocate secularism.

“For me, an Islamic society in Indonesia is treason against the constitution because it will make non-Muslims second-class citizens,” he said in 1995. “But an Indonesian society for Muslims that is strong--and strong means functioning well--then I think that is good.”

His secular views often put him at odds with other Muslim leaders, and his liberalism annoyed former President Suharto, who was driven from office in May 1998 after 32 years in power.

Wahid also has not been reluctant to criticize the powerful military, saying last year that if the army “does not stop its [abusive human rights] actions now, they will be brought down by the people.”

In the end, most listened to what Wahid had to say. Few dared question the moral authority he carried, though his alliances and some of his public positions at times shifted.

Wahid had the first of his two strokes in February 1998 and fell into a coma. Brain surgery saved his life, but the first stroke left him legally blind. Friends and family guide him everywhere, even in his own home, and he is so frail that he had to be helped to the podium Wednesday to take the oath of office.

Although financial markets and foreign leaders expressed concern over Wahid’s health, his ascendance was generally seen as a positive development for Indonesia, both at home and abroad. “He represents a break from the past,” one Western ambassador said. “The slate is now wiped clean.”

Wahid is married to Siti Nuriyah. They have four daughters: Alisa Qotrunada, Zannuba Arifah, Anisa Hayatunufus and Inayah Wulandari.