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Islamic history handbook for teachers withdrawn
The Religious Affairs Ministryâs Islamic Schools Directorate has withdrawn a teachersâ handbook on Islamic Cultural History (SKI) for seventh-grade students of Islamic junior high schools following protests from the community
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he Religious Affairs Ministry's Islamic Schools Directorate has withdrawn a teachers' handbook on Islamic Cultural History (SKI) for seventh-grade students of Islamic junior high schools following protests from the community.
The handbook, published by the ministry this year, contains the phrase 'today's idolatry includes the graveyard of the wali [holy preachers who contributed to the early development of Islam in Indonesia]'.
The phrase has been considered offensive to some Muslims who practice pilgrimage to the graves of the holy preachers.
Nur Abadi, head of the curriculum section at the ministry's Central Java office, said that 15,200 copies of the SKI handbook had been withdrawn across Indonesia.
The move, he said, was made following the issuance of a circular from the ministry on the revision of the handbook. 'We received the circular this week,' Nur said in Semarang on Saturday.
He said his office had further distributed the circular to the 35 regencies and municipalities of Central Java, ordering them to remove the handbooks as soon as possible.
A new handbook, he said, would replace the withdrawn version, although he was not sure when the new book would be ready for distribution.
Nur believed that the withdrawal of the book would not disrupt teaching and learning because it was only intended for teachers and a limited number of copies were printed.
'The students can still use their textbooks, so the learning process can continue as usual,' he said.
Nur declined to comment on the reason behind the inclusion of the controversial phrase, saying that it was beyond his authority.
The phrase featured in Chapter I, Subchapter A on pages 13'14. The section provides guidance to teachers about asking students to discuss the similarities and differences between faith in Mecca in the past and today. The phrase appears on the list of differences. Students are later asked to write down the result of their discussion and present it in front of the class.
Separately, the Indonesian Teachers Association's (PGSI) Central Java branch chairman, M. Zen Adv, called on the government to revise the book to prevent misunderstandings about Islam.
'Such an example is misleading,' said Zen, who is also a Central Java provincial councilor.
The description of the graves of the holy preachers as 'today's idolatry', he said, could offend members of the country's biggest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which allows its followers to conduct pilgrimages to graveyards, including those of the holy preachers.
Zen also suggested that before being printed and distributed, all books should be thoroughly reviewed in terms of the culture of Indonesian Islamic society.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement's (PMII) Central Java branch has instructed its regional and municipal executive boards to monitor the withdrawal of the book.
PMII chairman Ibnu Ngakil said that the phrase was unacceptable because the holy preachers contributed to the Islamic teachings of Indonesia.
'The wali are a symbol of the spreading of Islam, which is rahmatan lil alamin [a blessing for the entire universe], in Indonesia,' Ibnu said.
