What better way to advance this kind of diplomacy than by sending Muslim clerics abroad?

Five Muslim preachers from West Java recently embarked on a mission to introduce “the magnificence of Islam” to the West in the hope of transforming negative views of the religion.

The group visited major cities in the United Kingdom, including London, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham, all at the initiative of the provincial government of West Java.

The five missionaries arrived in the UK on Nov. 4 and have become involved in dialogues with mayors and members of city councils. They have also performed da’wah (religious sermons) for local Muslim communities.

One cleric, Hasan Al Banna, said he had spoken to one of the members of the London Assembly, Unmesh Desai. At their meeting, they discussed religious community management.

“Even though he is not a Muslim, Desai has focused a lot of his attention on the Muslim community in London [...] His scope of work includes youth education, urban crime and investment,” Hasan said in a statement to The Jakarta Post.

The cleric said Desai had told him how appreciative he was of the program and had called on his local government to enable Muslim clerics from West Java and other regions of Indonesia to continue to convey the values of peace and tolerance in London.

Hasan was also appointed to speak at the Thurrock Interfaith Roundtable Dialogue held in the town of Grays, about 30 kilometers east of the British capital.

“The British people loved his sermon and asked him to come again [next year] for Ramadan,” said West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil in Bandung, West Java, on Sunday.

Ridwan said the clerics sent to the UK were chosen carefully from prominent Muslim organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and the Islam Union. Thirty applicants were selected to take part in language training at the British Council, but only five were sent to the UK due to budget constraints.

The “English for Ulama” program was also a hit among the envoys of non-Muslim countries in Indonesia, Ridwan said, adding that a few foreign missions, including Poland and the United States, had reached out to him asking for the program to be held in their countries as well.

“If the whole world asks, then our mission to promote world peace is accomplished,” he told reporters.

In a report published earlier this year, the UK-based group Hope Not Hate says that about one third of all Britons (31 percent) believe that Islam poses a threat to the British way of life.

Paul Smith, the director of British Council Indonesia, said that the negative views of Islam in the UK often arise from a misunderstanding of its values.

He said he believed that Indonesian ulema could offer a more moderate view of Islam.

Promoting religious values could become an effective soft power tool for Indonesia, especially if it is able to showcase their compatibility with “modern” values, said Jakarta-based international relations expert Wendy Prajuli of Binus University.

The effort to contain Islamophobia in Europe may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

“Europe often sees Islam from the radical perspective [...] If we can offer them a moderate perspective, they will be more open to Islam and that will be an opportunity for us,” Wendy said.

With the election of prominent ulema Ma’ruf Amin as vice president, the Muslim community can offer a breath of fresh air with its promotion of Indonesia’s brand of religious diplomacy around the world.

“The asset is there. Now it depends on whether Jokowi can play his cards right,” Wendy said. (tjs)

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