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Indonesia, Algeria to strengthen ties in religious partnership
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Members of the Community Protection Task Force (Satlinmas) take part in a ceremony in Central Java. (Antara/Maulana Surya)
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span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 20.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Indonesia and Algeria have agreed to strengthen bilateral relations in religious cooperation to help tackle radicalism and promote moderate Islamic teaching.
The two governments have agreed to immediately follow up the plan by drafting numerous programs to be implemented in the near future, Antara news agency reported.
The government has proposed to intensify cooperation in cleric exchanges as part of efforts to curb growing radicalism and fundamentalism in both countries, said Indonesian Ambassador for Algeria Safira Machrusah.
The dissemination of moderate Islamic values is considered a form of strategic cooperation between Jakarta and Algiers, since both countries have had similar experiences in facing the threat of terrorism.
"We need the support from Algerian ulemas to spread moderate Islamic teachings to the communities in both countries together," Safira said as quoted by Antara on Monday.
The plan was formulated during a meeting between Safira and Algeria Religious and Wakfs Minister Mohamed Aissa at the Algerian Religious Affairs Ministry.
Exchanging moderate ulemas could support plans to prevent radical teachings from growing in the community, in line with Algeria's efforts against all forms of terrorism, Aissa said.
Both Indonesia and Algeria have experienced terrorist attacks in their respective countries, with terrorists striking Jakarta in January, killing four civilians and four alleged terrorists. Meanwhile, Algeria is still struggling to eradicate terrorist groups that often launch attacks in the south of the country.
Moreover, Algeria also plans to provide scholarships for Indonesian students to study at the Imam Institute run by Algeria's Religious and Wakfs Ministry to improve the capacity of Indonesian ulemas and Imams, Aissa said.
In the meeting, Safira also expressed cooperation in religious tourism. The government expects Algeria to improve its management and maintenance of Islamic historical sites to attract Indonesian tourists and make Algeria the latest destination of religious tourism in the Middle East. (afr/rin)
