Ex Foreign Affairs Vice Minister: Religious Moderation, Excellent Program

PPIM.UINJKT.AC.ID –  “In international relations, religious moderation is a top program for Indonesian diplomacy,” said former vice minister for foreign affairs, Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir, on Friday (28/8).

He was speaking in a virtual seminar series of #ModerasiBeragama (Religious Moderation) themed “Religious Moderation & Cultural Diplomacy”, which was organized by the Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta through Convey Indonesia program.

Fachir went on to say that religious moderation was a big theme that was always promoted by the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry as an effort to show the world how Indonesia, with its diversity in cultures and religions, could maintain harmony.

“Since 2003, the ministry has organized various programs to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogues. Until now, it has collaborated with 39 countries across the world,” said the diplomat who graduated from UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Through such dialogues, he said, Indonesia had become the country that was most active in promoting religious moderation through the interfaith and cultural discussion. Such dialogues involved not only religious leaders but also academicians and media stakeholders from various countries. Apart from being intended as a place to share experiences, the dialogues attended by various stakeholders could also be a reminder that religious moderation and tolerance were the DNA of Indonesian people.

“Diversity is an inevitability, but tolerance is something we must fight for,” Fachir said.

He also pointed out that self-exclusive intolerance movements in Indonesia only had very few followers, but they could spread it massively. As a solution, Fachri suggested that inclusive society must be empowered, so that we could maintain tolerance and uphold respect for the differences. An interfaith and  intercultural dialogue could be one activity to do to support that.

The virtual seminar on Religious Moderation is held every Friday via “Convey Indonesia” and “PPIM UIN Jakarta” official Youtube channels. The discussion, moderated by Convey Indonesian Team Leader Jamhari Makruf, also presented other speakers, including Educational and Cultural Attaches from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia from several countries – Prof. Mustari (Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand), Dr. Din Wahid (Indonesian Embassy in the Hague, Netherlands), and Dr. Lili Nurlaili (Indonesian Embassy in Manila, Philippines).

Writer: Aptiani Nur Jannah
Editor: M. Nida Fadlan, Aziz Awaludin