B

oth Morocco and Indonesia are predominantly Muslim countries. They share the same religious beliefs and universal values and democratic principles. But what makes these two countries unique in the Islamic world?

'€œIn both countries, the values of moderation and tolerance are not only highly regarded but practiced seriously. This makes our countries unique,'€ Moroccan Ambassador to Indonesia Mohamed Majdi said at a seminar themed '€œValues of Moderation and Tolerance and their Role in Consolidation of Relations between Morocco and Indonesia'€ in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Association of Indonesian Alumni in Moroccan Universities. Twin values of moderation and tolerance, said Ambassador Majdi, are enshrined in the Moroccan Constitution.

'€œIn Morocco, the rights of minorities are guaranteed,'€ Majdi said.

Echoing a similar view, Indonesian scholar Arwani Syaerozi said that both countries followed the same tasawuf.

'€œThe tasawuf, which we follow, in fact, has its origin in the Moroccan city of Faz,'€ Arwani said.

Tasawuf, also known as Sufism, means the path of sufis, whose main goal is to follow the sunnah (words and deeds) of Prophet Muhammad. Some scholars describe it as the inwardness of Islam, which focuses on the spiritual development of Muslims.

Morocco, a paradigm of religious freedom and tolerance in both the Arab world and North Africa, has been implementing the noble values of tasawuf like religious tolerance and communal harmony in the true sense.

'€œIt makes Moroccans more moderate,'€ Arwani said, adding that moderation and tolerance enabled Morocco to escape the wrath of the Arab Spring, which wreaked havoc in Syria, Libya and Yemen.

Although Indonesia has a reputation as being a moderate, tolerant country, some Indonesian clerics and scholars interpret the values differently and target minorities. These kind of people are a minority.

Another scholar, Yusuf Siddique, said that Islamic values and principles were clearly incorporated in the legal system.

'€œWith this all Moroccans [Muslims, Jews and Christians] are united. They don'€™t have many problems,'€ Yusuf said.

Both Arwani and Yusuf studied Islam in Morocco.

Education is also a major link between the two countries.

'€œWe provide every year 15 scholarships to Indonesian students to study in Moroccan universities. Many students also go to Morocco on their own. Overall, now we have more than 200 Indonesians studying in Morocco,'€ Majdi told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the seminar

Many Moroccan students also show an interest in Indonesia.

'€œMohammed V University in Rabat is now teaching the Indonesian language to Moroccan students,'€ Majdi said.