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Govt curbs radicalism in Islamic schools
As part of the government’s efforts to curb religious radicalism, the Religious Affairs Ministry has issued a circular directing madrasah (Islamic religious schools) to limit content on khilafah (caliphate) and jihad in teaching materials
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span>As part of the government’s efforts to curb religious radicalism, the Religious Affairs Ministry has issued a circular directing madrasah (Islamic religious schools) to limit content on khilafah (caliphate) and jihad in teaching materials.
Critics have lambasted the decision, describing it as over the top and arguing it will limit education. However, supporters have said the move was necessary to curb the spread of religious radicalism.
In response to the criticism, the ministry denied having ordered schools to remove the topics altogether, saying they “should be taught within a wider context, according to the new curriculum”.
In the circular issued on Dec. 4, the Religious Affairs Ministry ordered the revision of madrasah curriculum and exam materials that relate to khilafah and jihad to bring the content in line with a 2019 regulation. In the curriculum, which has been in place since 2014, topics relating to khilafah, for example, are taught to 12th grade students as part of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) classes. One of the stated aims of the subject is “to understand the meaning of khilafah in Islam”.
“All exam materials at madrasah that contain topics relating to khilafah or jihad are to be revised in line with current regulations,” the circular states.
Khilafah refers to an Islamic state led by a Muslim leader. Rather than a modern state, it requires the establishment of a multiethnic and transnational empire. Thus, its followers seek to overthrow existing governments and replace them with an Islamic one.
The term jihad literally means “holy war”, and refers to the wars fought by Prophet Muhammad to defend Muslims from the infidels. However, extremist groups often misinterpret its definition and use it as a justification to carry out terror attacks.
Among the critics of the new policy is politician Ace Hasan Syadzily, the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs, who described the move as “unnecessary”. He argued that students needed to understand the meaning of khilafah so they would understand why they should preserve the republic.
“Khilafah is part of Islam’s long history, the same as jihad. However, they are not in line with the principles of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia [NKRI]. This argument should be taught to students,” Ace said in a statement.
The Religious Affairs Ministry’s director for madrasah curriculum and management, Ahmad Umar, said the ministry did not intend to totally erase learning materials about khilafah and jihad from the madrasah curriculum.
“According to a 2019 ministerial regulation on the madrasah curriculum, both topics should be included under the section of Islamic history rather than fiqh, as in the previous curriculum,” Ahmad told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The Post has yet to obtain a complete copy of the new curriculum.
The ministerial circular was sent only days after a controversy in Kediri, East Java, where exam materials were found that made references to khilafah.
References to khilafah were found in the exam materials prepared by a fiqh teacher from Madrasah Aliyah (MA) 2 Islamic state senior high school in Kediri as well as several Islamic senior high schools in the northern part of the regency.
The country’s largest Muslim mass organization Nahdlatul Ulama’s Legal Aid Institute said the materials were a form of systematic indoctrination aimed at students.
Kediri Religious Agency head Muh Zuhri said authorities investigating the exam materials had found they were prepared without being checked by related offices. Previously, exam materials were prepared by a forum of principals, vice principals and teachers in northern Kediri.
The discovery prompted the government to step up its efforts to curb radicalism, with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin telling journalists recently that the government was set to revise school textbooks on religious studies that were found to include “radical content”.
The textbooks, he added, were used as early as elementary school and early childhood education school (PAUD) level.
Ma’ruf’s statement echoed a study released in 2016 by the Center for Islamic and Society Studies (PPIM) at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in South Tangerang, Banten. It highlighted that a number of Islamic textbooks studied by students from elementary to high school level in Indonesia promoted radical ideologies.
The study, for instance, found that a number of Islamic textbooks for elementary schools labelled non-Muslims as kafir (infidels). In another case, reading materials on Islam taught in senior high schools were found to promote the establishment of khilafah and opposition to democracy.
PPIM researcher Saiful Umam said the government’s recent move was a good start to prevent radicalism from taking hold in Islamic education institutions.
