Islamic Teachers Must Present Diversity

PPIM.UINJKT.AC.ID – Head of Indonesian Islamic Education Teachers Association, Mahnan Marbawi, said that Islamic teachers must play roles in spreading moderate thinking and peace. To make it real, the teachers must be open to diversity.

“The teachers must have strong encounters and make friends with people from other religious backgrounds. How can they teach about tolerance if they never interact with people who have different views?” Mahnan said on Friday (25/9) in a virtual seminar series of #ModerasiBeragama (Religious Moderation) themed “Religious Moderation in Islamic Education”, 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.

He went on to say that schools were considered as very important public spaces because they became the arena for ideology competitions. School should be open for all people to practice their ideologies and faiths.

“Schools are very strategic and efficient places for marketing ideologies. And in my opinion, teachers play important roles in doing that. There are always certain groups that will do all they can to spread their ideologies by intervening the curriculum. It can be through intra and extra activities, including the learning modules,” Mahnan said.

Mahnan called on all parties in the schools to take parts in fighting against any ideological contestations that were counterproductive to the state ideology. He also emphasized that in the context of education, there was a tier-group element that was often ignored. That was a silent radical group that apparently also attended the schools.

Mahnan shared two tips to strengthen religious moderation at schools. First, the schools should strengthen the concepts of diversity. Second, the teachers must build collaborations with other teachers from different religions.

The mission to strengthen the religious moderation could also be done through school culture, classroom culture, and student activities. Public spaces at schools should also be strengthened through both online and offline media platforms. Mahnan also said that schools should be able to encourage the teachers and students to be ‘ambassadors’ of religious moderation in their environments.

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, such as Tb. Ace Hasan Syadzily, deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission VIII, and Dyah Salsabil, an Islamic education teacher from West Bandung Religious Affairs Office.

Writer: Andita Putri Ghassani
Editor: M. Nida Fadlan