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Coupled with a remarkable Indonesian model of peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance, Nahdlatul Ulama – the largest Islamic organisation in the world, with more than 121 million members – has been able to uphold the country’s founding principles of Pancasila through several initiatives, including core focus on education, said Ulil Abshar-Abdalla, an eminent scholar from Nahdlatul Ulama.
“As is the case with other Muslim countries in the world, we encountered the problem of religious extremism and radicalism. One of the biggest challenges has been the idea of an Islamic state,” Abshar-Abdalla told Khaleej Times, as Nahdlatul Ulama was honoured with the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity for its humanitarian efforts.
“There are some Islamic movements that fight for the creation of an Islamic state in Indonesia – the largest Muslim-majority country. And this challenge has been quite enormous because they have some sympathy among the youth.”
Abshar-Abdalla stressed Indonesia is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country.
“Unless you have a solid common ground for all people living in this country, you will run into a problem. If you promote a certain identity, especially a religious identity as a foundation for the state then it becomes a serious problem for people. Our challenge has been to defend the legitimacy, from a religious point of view, of the existing nation-state of Indonesia. A state based on Pancasila – the foundational philosophical theory of Indonesia.”
The five principles of Pancasila are monotheism (belief in one God), civilised humanity, national unity, deliberative democracy, and social justice.
“We defend the legitimacy of Indonesia, which has been founded on those five principles. We were successful in controlling these movements.”
Abshar-Abdalla underlined a rise in religious fanaticism after the September 11 attacks in the US.
“As the case with other Muslim countries, we also had some problems with Daesh, Al Qaeda, and so forth. Religious extremism is real. We have suffered two bombings in Bali. It was a major challenge for us. Thankfully, we managed to go past it, and overcome it.”
Indonesia, being the world’s third largest democracy, focused on education and promoting values of peace, harmony, and tolerance to counter religious radicalisation.
“We developed an education that is based on moderation, cultivating values of respecting plurality, diversity and people of other faiths. Besides the official religion, there are hundreds of local faiths spread out all over the country. So, we developed awareness among the youth about the importance of respecting others' faith.”
Abshar-Abdalla noted that Nahdlatul Ulama operates thousands of madrasas or Islamic schools across Indonesia providing affordable but quality education.
“We run thousands of schools, universities, hospitals, orphanages, and have a whole gamut of social services for the people,” Abshar-Abdalla said and pointed out that Nahdlatul Ulama has focused on developing interfaith dialogues and forums bringing diverse religious leaders to address common issues.
Abshar-Abdalla noted that Indonesia has been one of the few countries to have a successful marriage of three components: Islam, democracy, and economic development.
“Indonesia has been one of few Muslim countries to have succeeded in combining seemingly contradictory elements, especially in the eye of some people outside the Muslim world. We have proved them wrong.”
The Indonesian economy is the largest in Southeast Asia and the 16th largest in the world. Indonesia’s economic growth remains resilient, with inflation on a declining trend, and a stable currency, the World Bank said in December 2023.
“We have shown that you can have all three components going together. Nahdlatul Ulama has been crucial in fostering this marriage of three components through education, social projects, and initiatives.”
This month, Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, and Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, witnessed the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Mohammed bin Zayed College of Future Studies in Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java. The college is part of a collaboration between the Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities and the Nahdlatul Ulama Society in Indonesia.
“President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has made the college a reality. The college programme focuses on future studies.”
Abshar-Abdalla said the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity will help create awareness of the Indonesian model of peaceful coexistence.
“This award is like a platform to facilitate a better understanding of Indonesia.”
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