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delivery in the community. Muhammadiyah has
several health services facilities that include hundreds
of clinics and hospitals in many parts of Indonesia. It
also has some autonomous organizations such as the
Women’s League (Ind. ‘Aisiyah), the Association of
Muhammadiyah Students, Muhammadiyah Youth,
the Young Women’s League, which conducting
activities with their objectives. Those autonomous
involve themselves in many health programs without
leaving their religious principles. Muhammadiyah
also has many experiences with overseas funding
organization in the health program, which can be
shared with other Islamic organization (BKKBN,
2002). The existence of Muhammadiyah charity
business continues to grow to date and the
commitment of its cadres in various geographical
regions of Indonesia, both in rural and urban areas,
makes this organization play a significant role in the
community, especially in the fields of education and
health.
The Establishment of Muhammadiyah
Muhammadiyah is the oldest and a reformist socio-
religious organization in Indonesia. It was established
in 1912 by Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan in the city
of Jogjakarta. Reformist means that Muhammadiyah
aims to adopt a modern Islām to Indonesian life, by
making them free of superstition and syncretism.
Now, records prove that Muhammadiyah has more
than 29 million members all over Indonesia and
abroad. It is usually said that Muhammadiyah is the
second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, just
behind its rival Nahdatul ‘Ulama (BKKBN, 2002).
In a way that has exceeded this century,
Muhammadiyah has been proven to provide a
powerful influence on the social and theological
reform during people's lives through the development
of Islamic theology and education and social welfare
(Elhady, 2017). Since the beginning, Muhammadiyah
and its affiliated women's organization, ‘Aisyiyah,
though technically autonomous, have been
collaborating on education, charity, healthcare, and
many forms of social affairs throughout Indonesia
and abroad, by building many schools and
universities, as well as hospitals and clinics. By the
end of 2014, it was reported that there are 176
universities, 14,346 kindergartens, 2,604 elementary
schools, 1,772 secondary schools, 1,143 high schools,
102 Islamic boarding school (pesantren), and 15
schools for students with special needs. There are
currently 457 hospitals and clinics, 421 orphanages,
54 nursing houses. In need of tablīgh (to reach out the
message), there are 6,270 mosques and 5,689 prayer
houses. The economic department has 437 banks
(BMT or Baitul Mal wa Tanwil) 762 credit unions
(BPRS, Bank Perkreditan Rakyat Syariah), and 25
publishing houses. All of the numbers attest to the
Muhammadiyah’s great contributions for the
enlightenment and wellbeing of the nation and of the
gradual improvement abroad (Ali, 2015).
The Scope of Muhammadiyah's Role in
the Health Sector
The Ideology and Movement:
The Implementation of Tawhidi
Principle (the Theology of Al-
Ma’uun)
The existence of Muhammadiyah business charity in
the field of health is based on the Muhammadiyah
Citizens' Islamic Life Guidelines (PHIWM). The
Muhammadiyah charity effort in the field of health is
part of the Muhammadiyah charity that functions as a
media of da'wah (issuing a summons), as the end of
the preaching of the Amar ma'ruf nahi munkar
(commanding the good and forbidding the evil) and
tajdid (renewal) originating from the Qur'an and As-
Sunnah (all the traditions and practices of the
Prophet) (Chapter II Article 2. The Identity of
PHIWM). And also especially the excellence,
trustworthiness, honesty, professionalism, mission
orientation, general welfare, reliability, impartiality,
and obedience to the realization of increasing public
health in achieving goals and the intention of the
affiliation is "enforcing and upholding the religion of
Islam so that the true Islamic community is realized’
(Chapter III. Articles 4 and 5: Principles and
Objectives of PHIWM) (MPKU, 2018).
The idea of fastabiqul khairat (competition in
goodness) also deeply inspired Muhammadiyah’s
activities through the establishment of massive
numbers of M/A’s schools and clinics, which is the
main focus of the organization as well as their quality
and thus continued improvement. The spirit of
“enlightened Islam” (“Islam Berkemajuan”) becomes
a guideline for Muhammadiyah elements to be more
proactive and responsive as well as providing
solutions to current problems. To this end,
Muhammadiyah needs modern and responsive
management, led by strong and capable leaders along
with a strong vision for the future. Otherwise, the
notion of its progressive Islam will be a mere tagline
rather than concrete action. One of the preferences of
“Islam Berkemajuan” (Enlightened Islam) in health
aspect means that there should be an
institutionalization of charity aimed to solve the
Islamic-based Organization in Indonesia: Role of Muhammadiyah in Health Improvement
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