T

he West Java administration plans to clear land for the construction of the Indonesia International Islamic University (UIII) in Depok, and is preparing to evict and compensate families living in the area designated for the future campus.

“I am supporting the land procurement [plan], as that land is still inhabited by illegal settlements,” West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said on Tuesday in Bandung, West Java, after a meeting with the UIII development committee head, Komarudin Hidayat, who is also a noted Islamic scholar.

Ridwan added that the West Java administration had set up an integrated team to manage the social impacts of the planned eviction.

The team, led by West Java secretary Iwa Karniwa, is tasked with surveying and verifying the occupied land. The team intends to appoint an independent consultant to calculate the compensation funds.

Ridwan expected the team to complete the task by the end of this year.

“We will provide compensation, as [the university] a national strategic project. If they don’t have an identity card, they will still be [compensated] if they can prove that they have lived in the vicinity for years,” Ridwan added. “[The compensation] is not for people who have only recently moved there.”

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has included the university’s development as one of his administration’s strategic national infrastructure projects for education. Jokowi laid the cornerstone during a groundbreaking ceremony in June.

The university is to stand on 142 hectares of land in Cimanggis, Depok, which was formerly owned by national radio station RRI. The government has allocated Rp 700 billion (US$46 million) in construction funds this year.

While construction on the university is expected to be completed in four years, some sections of its Depok campus are planned to be opened by next year.

The Jokowi administration aims to promote plural, tolerant and open Islam in Indonesia through UIII. The university is also expected to raise Indonesia’s image as a world center of Islamic civilization.

Komarudin said at least 700 families lived in the area, and that the development committee would assist the West Java land survey team.

The university’s development falls under the Religious Affairs Ministry and is to be developed by state-owned construction firm PT Waskita Karya.

The construction will focus on the rector’s office, library, mosque, dormitory, academic departments, a bookstore and a green campus, Komaruddin said, adding that the committee would also take part in restoring Rumah Cimanggis, a Dutch colonial mansion that stands on the site.

The Depok administration recently declared the 18th-century mansion a cultural heritage amid public concerns that it would be torn down to make way for the university.

“It is now a cultural heritage. We will not demolish it. Instead, we will turn it into a visitor attraction,” Komaruddin said.

The university plans to have seven academic departments: Islamic Studies, Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Islamic Economics and Finance, Science and Technology, and Architecture and Fine Arts. The Religious Affairs Ministry plans to open student enrolment next year.

Komarudin said UIII could become a hub for the world to study Islam in Indonesia. He said that the world strongly associated Islam with the Middle East, whereas Indonesia had a vast experience of Islam existing alongside democracy.

“Indonesia has strong roots of Islam and democracy coexisting. This has not been explored by many,” Komarudin said, adding that he expected the university to attract both foreign and local students.