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Nationwide preacher certification in Indonesia ‘not possible’

Just about anyone can become an ustad these days. It’s about time Indonesia set up an independent body to screen preachers, says a Muslim scholar.

Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Sat, June 15, 2019

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Nationwide preacher certification in Indonesia ‘not possible’ Popular preacher Fuadh Naim (in red) tells Muslim fans of South Korean popular culture, also known as Korean Wave, to stop worshipping its products including drama and music as they exposed lifestyles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and free sex, deemed sinful in Islam during a forum in Jakarta. (JP/Ivany Atina Arbi)

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alls have emerged for the screening of Islamic preachers, amid rising concerns about the spread of extremist messages, which have included condemning a mosque for its supposed antireligious design.

Fed up with such hate speech, fourth-year law school student Visa Rizkyka Zakaria, 21, said that she had made the case for preacher certification in a college paper in the hopes that more serious efforts would be made to regulate ustad (preachers).

“Ustad are public figures who have a strong influence on people, so we should make sure that they have moderate views and are tolerant while also being free from any political interests,” Visa said on Wednesday.

Visa is not alone. Netizens have voiced similar concerns in response to a string of viral videos of controversial sermons, the latest being of preacher Rahmat Baequni, in which he accused West Java Governor and architect Ridwan Kamil of building a mosque filled with symbols that alluded to the Illuminati and the Antichrist.

“Ustad are teachers, so [just like teachers] they should be certified so the public knows that they meet certain standards, and thus deserve the ustad status. If other jobs require academic credentials, then it should apply all the more to preachers,” said 33-year-old Femmy Basri.

Saiful Umam, a lecturer and former executive director at the Islam Research Center of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN Jakarta), said the country needed to follow Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Saudi Arabia in certifying preachers who appeared in public spaces.

“Just about anyone can become an ustad these days. It’s about time Indonesia set up an independent body to screen preachers,” he told The Jakarta Post.

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