PPIM 2018 Survey: Uncovering Teacher Intolerance and Radicalism

PPIM.UINJKT.AC.ID – The Center for Islamic and Community Studies (PPIM) UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta has released the results of the National Survey regarding the diversity of Muslim teachers on Tuesday, 16 October 2018. The activity carried out at Le Meridien Hotel, Jakarta takes the theme ” A Dim Pelita: A Portrait of Indonesia’s Religious Teachers ”.

According to Fuad Jabali, Project Manager of CONVEY Indonesia, this theme is very apt to describe the current religious condition of teachers. “This research is born from the awareness that spaces in the world of education that should be open and dialogical are now increasingly closed because of narrow and intolerant understandings that negate diversity. Teachers who should be lamps in teaching the nation’s generation about tolerance and diversity are now exposed to intolerance and radicalism, ”added Fuad.

The results of the survey were presented by Saiful Umam, Ph.D., Executive Director of PPIM Jakarta, and Dr. Yunita Faela Nisa as survey coordinator. Present as discussants were Henny Supolo Sitepu, M.A (Chairman of the Cahaya Guru Foundation), Heru Purnomo, S.Pd. (Secretary-General of FSGI – Federation of Indonesian Teachers’ Unions), Bahrul Hayat, Ph.D. (Education Expert), and Prof. Dr. Jamhari Makruf (Advisory Board PPIM UIN Jakarta).

This survey was conducted from 6 August to 6 September 2018 with a unit of analysis for Muslim teachers from TK / RA to SMA / MA levels in all subjects. Methodologically, Yunita explained, “The main variables to be explored are the level of teacher intolerance and radicalism, as well as the dominant factors that influence them. Teacher samples taken were 2237 with a margin of error of 2.07% and a confidence level of 95%.

In presenting the survey findings, Saiful Umam stated that teachers in Indonesia, from TK / RA to SMA / MA levels, have high intolerant and radical opinions. “In general, the percentage is above 50% of teachers who have intolerant opinions. As many as 46.09% have a radical opinion. Meanwhile, if viewed from the point of view of action-intention, although it is less valuable than opinion, the results are still worrying. As many as 37.77% of teachers are intolerant and 41.26% are radical, “he said.

Saiful explained that there are 3 dominant factors that influence the level of opinion and the intolerance and radicalism of teachers. First, the Islamist view. As many as 40.36% of teachers agree that all knowledge is already in the Koran, so there is no need to study sciences that come from the West.

The two demographic factors are gender, madrasah vs state schools, employment status, income, and age. As a result, female teachers have more intolerant and radical opinions. Furthermore, Saiful added that “madrasah teachers are more intolerant than school teachers. This is influenced by the homogeneous environment in the madrasa. Teachers only teach Muslim students and interact with Muslim teachers only ”.

Regarding demographics, the survey findings also show that teachers at the TK / RA level are more intolerant of followers of other religions than teachers who teach at higher levels. In addition, lower-income teachers and those who teach in private schools also tend to be similarly intolerant.

Third, closeness to mass organizations and sources of Islamic knowledge. The data shows that as many as 45.22% of teachers feel close to NU and Muhammadiah as many as 19.19%. Saiful added that “teachers who are close to NU and Muhammadiah tend to have more tolerant opinions and action intentions than those who feel close to Islamic mass organizations which have been considered radical.”

Responding to the survey findings, according to Saiful, “the government needs to increase the number of programs that bring together teachers with other different groups so that the teacher’s experience is not homogeneous. It is important to improve teacher welfare by creating a program to increase teacher income. Furthermore, institutions that produce teachers need to empower non-UN subject teachers and private teachers without any distinction from subject teachers tested in UIN and public teachers ”.

Responding to the research results, Bahrul Hayat saw that teachers’ religious attitudes are strongly influenced by identity closeness. According to him, “how much the teacher is exposed to interfaith contact, this can be a determinant factor for the teacher’s reasoning. We are now exposed to a new, very massive social media narrative. The abundance of information related to hoaxes is a concern for all of us in forming a teacher identity attachments “.

Finally, Jamhari Makruf stated that religious lessons and the school environment should make students inclusive. According to him, it is very dangerous if the teacher teaches something extreme and intolerant. “We have to pay close attention to schools because they seem to be no man’s land (no man’s land) because the supervision of schools is weak. For example, there is research that shows that Rohis extracurricular activities are not controlled. Radicalism and intolerance could be due to this man’s land, ”said the professor at the Faculty of Da’wah and Communication UIN Jakarta. [RGA]

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