TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Muhammadiyah saysit aims to promote moderate, tolerant Islam
Change Size
Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy, accompanied by Muhammadiyah deputy chairman Hajriyanto Y. Thohari (third left) and Antara president director Meidyatama Suryodiningrat (right), cuts cone-shaped rice to officially launch on Friday menara62.com, an online news outlet under the Muslim organization. (JP/Fachrul Sidiq)
T
hrough its newly introduced menara62.com online media outlet, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah says it aims to promote tolerance amid escalating polarizing issues currently plaguing the country.
Its chief editor, Imam Prihadiyoko, said the website would abide by the journalistic code of ethics and by the organization's principle of promoting Islam as a tolerant religion.
The former Kompas daily journalist said he expected the news published on the website to counter widely circulating fake news reports and radical teachings that had a tendency to disrupt harmony in the country's pluralistic society.
"Surely we will try to educate the public about an Islam that is tolerant and modern in thought," Imam told The Jakarta Post on Friday on the sidelines of the website launch at Muhammadiyah headquarters in Jakarta.
(Read also:Muhammadiyah launches paid online news portal)
The National Police recently foiled bomb plots and arrested suspected terrorists in a number of areas, including Bekasi, West Java, and South Tangerang, where three suspects were shot dead.
Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah deputy chairman Hajriyanto Y. Thohari lamented radicalism and extremism, which he said was gaining ground in the country. However, he stressed that the problem was mainly caused by social and economic gaps.
"The government and analysts should also realize that radicalism is not merely driven by religion. The most determining factors are gaps in social and economic situations," he told the Post. (Fac)
