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NU to encourage young Muslims to promote moderate Islam
Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is taking steps to encourage young Muslims to take a greater role in promoting moderate Islamic values, an NU official has said.
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Spreading moderate values – Leaders of Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), including NU Central Executive Board chairman Said Aqil Siroj (center), explain the organization’s moral messages in a year-end press conference in Jakarta on Dec. 30. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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ndonesia’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is taking steps to encourage young Muslims to take a greater role in promoting moderate Islamic values, an NU official has said.
NU executive Imam Aziz said a large number of young Muslims in Indonesia remained untouched by activities held by his organization. These youths had played key roles in several aspects, including economic and social culture, in society, he further said.
“They have the potential to become a new power that can help promote moderate Islam,” Imam said on the sidelines of a discussion held by the Wahid Foundation in Jakarta on Thursday.
Imam said that based on his observations, the younger generation of Muslims nowadays tended to avoid being affiliated with politics and instead preferred to engage more in social activities such as philanthropic projects and creative industry events. He said NU should find the best approaches to gain their support in promoting moderate Islam.
“NU is known as a religious organization. However, it has also a strong image in politics. That’s the challenge,” he said.
Imam said although most young Muslims had developed their critical thinking capacity, there was still a chance they might be lured by radical teachings if no action was taken to get them to support moderate Islam.
Reports from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) reveal that the number of religious intolerance cases in Indonesia has grown in recent years. More than 100 incidents have occurred throughout 2016, higher than in 2015 and 2014, which respectively saw 87 and 74 cases. (ebf)
