National Project, Religious Moderation Helping Indonesia Moving Forward

PPIM.UINJKT.AC.ID – “Religious moderation has become a national project, so it is the time for us to implement [it] in the way that it can contribute and help Indonesia move forward,” Convey Indonesia Team Leader, Jamhari Makruf, said on Friday (14/8).

He was speaking in a virtual seminar series of #ModerasiBeragama (Religious Moderation) themed “Women Talking about Religious Moderation”, 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.

According to Jamhari, religious moderation was the real religious character of Indonesia, whose society was diverse, plural, and consisted of various ethnicities and religions. Thus, he said, religious moderation was part of Indonesia’s destiny.

Jamhari cited a survey by PPIM UIN Jakarta in 2018 which showed that intolerance occurred among young people. The survey revealed that more than one third young people surveyed agreed that jihad was a war and intolerance was not an issue.

“Therefore, I can conclude that religious moderation is an appropriate [approach] to be implemented in our diverse nation, so that we can practice tolerant attitudes and respect differences,” said the Professor of Anthropology from UIN Jakarta.

The virtual seminar on Religious Moderation is held every Friday via “Convey Indonesia” official Youtube channel. The seminar presented notable female figures as speakers, including Alissa Wahid (National Coordinator of Gusdurian Network), Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin (Main Expert Staff of the Indonesian Presidential Office), Yunita Faela Nisa (a PPIM researcher and Deputy Dean of Psychology Department from UIN Jakarta) and Oki Setiana Dewi (actress and doctoral candidate of UIN Jakarta Graduate’s School).

Writer: Syaifa Rodiyah

Editor: M. Nida Fadlan