International Webinar – Takeshi Kohno: Religious Moderation to Thrive, if….

PPIM.UINJKT.AC.ID – 

“Religious moderation in Indonesia will thrive when there are no more debates over basic principles of the state and no more corruption,” said Takeshi Konho, a professor of political science from Toyo Eiwa University in Japan.

He was speaking on Friday (17/7) in a virtual seminar series of #ModerasiBeragama (Religious Moderation) themed “Indonesianists Talking about Religious Moderation: from Indonesia to the world”, 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.

In terms of moderation, Takeshi highlighted Indonesia’s strategic position in the world. He, who once also initiated a visit of several heads of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) to Japan, emphasized four reasons of why Indonesia was considered strategic; Indonesia was the largest country in Southeast Asia; it held strategic position in Asia Pacific; it was multicultural, and; it had become an example to the world.

As a political observer, Takeshi elaborated three critical eras that Indonesia had faced since its independence in 1945.

First was when the seven words within the Jakarta Charter, which included an obligation for Muslims to abide by Shariah Law, sparked debates among country leaders and founding fathers. Second was during the Old Order and New Order era, where the country failed to declare the form of the state and then there came debates over Pancasila. Third was the Reform era, which marked more transparency in the governance, but there were still acts of violence, in addition to the revocation of Pancasila and the emergence of extremist groups.

The critical period still continued until now, Takeshi said, and even got worse with the corruption, collusion and nepotism in all aspects. Such a condition had triggered extreme reactions that would not be easy to be resolved. The concept of moderation, he said, was one of the solutions.

“I believe that moderation is important, so that there is a middle opinion or middle way for both majority and minority groups,” Takeshi said.

Besides Takeshi, the discussion that was moderated by Convey Indonesia Team Leader Jamhari Makruf also presented other Indonesianists as speakers, including Tim Lindsey from the University of Melbourne, Hyung-Jun Kim from Kangwon National University, and Eva Fachrunnisa from the Australian National University.