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UK, NU sign MoU to promote religious tolerance
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UK Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik (center) poses alongside Edi Mancoro Islamic Boarding School students in Semarang, Central Java, on Feb. 24. During the visit, he said that the British government had opened its doors for students hoping to study in the UK. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
( Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
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he United Kingdom and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on promoting religious tolerance and countering extremism.
In the modern world, all countries had to deal with extremism, UK Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said, adding that in doing so, the countries could learn from each other.
Indonesia had firsthand experience in promoting pluralism and moderation in religious practice, Malik said, adding that countering growing extremism required a concrete international program.
Islam Nusantara, the tolerant concept of Islam with an Indonesian spirit promoted by NU, is a strong platform to counter the radical interpretation of Islam that had become the roots of terrorism around the world, Malik said.
Through the cooperation, the UK did not only want to learn about the concept of progressive Islam Nusantara, but also wanted to encourage NU to spread its moderate and Islamic values to the world.
As the largest Islamic organization in the most populous country in Southeast Asia, NU introduced the concept of Islam Nusantara in 2015, aiming to create a genuine identity for Indonesian moderate Muslims that is different from that of Muslim societies in the Middle East.
NU chairman Said Aqil Siroj said through Islam Nusantara, the organization wanted to disseminate Islamic values combined with nationalism, since both concepts, when applied together, would make each other stronger.
"In conclusion, NU bases its values also on Pancasila, which is a form of tolerance," Said said.
Ulema (Muslim scholars) contributed more to society in Indonesia than in the Middle East, even though Indonesian ulema did not have high proficiency about Islam as a religious teaching compared to those in the Middle East, Said explained.
Aside from signing the MoU, the UK Foreign Ministry in cooperation with NU also started an exchange student program to enhance personal cooperation between Islamic universities in Indonesia and Islamic institutions in the UK.
"It is very important for people in the UK to see Islam in Indonesia," Malik asserted.
During the signing of the MoU, Malik was awarded honorary NU membership for being a foreign Muslim who promotes moderate Islamic values. (bbn)
