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Can Indonesia lead global war against religious intolerance? Scholars discuss
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Indonesia has been on the receiving end of global terrorist attacks, going back to the Bali bombing in 2002 to the attacks on three churches in Surabaya, East Java, in 2018. Most of these were conducted by groups with connections to international terrorist groups. (Shutterstock/-)
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ndonesia may be active on the international stage in promoting interfaith dialogue, but current conditions at home raise questions whether the country can take the lead in the global fight against growing religious intolerance.
The aspirations and the confidence exist that the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, and with a functioning democracy, has what it takes to lead the global campaign for religious moderation to fight against radicalism and extremism.
Scholars in a discussion last week agreed that Indonesia was well positioned to take a leadership role, but they tempered their expectations factoring in Indonesia’s domestic situation, where intolerance has been on the rise, and where radicalism and extremism always lurk amid poverty and growing wealth inequality.
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, a Muslim scholar, joined the chorus of scholars in calling for Indonesian activism in promoting wasathiyah, or moderate, Islam.
The discussion on “Global Politics – Moderate Islam” was held in conjunction with the launch of a collection of eight books by Azyumardi Azra, Indonesia’s most prolific thinker and writer on Islam. Azyumardi, a strong proponent of wasathiyah, celebrated his 65th birthday on Wednesday with the book launch and discussion.
“Wasathiyah Islam is a mercy to all creation,” Ma’ruf told the discussion, adding that the message of moderation should also be conveyed to other faiths.
Extremism is not the monopoly of Islam, he said, pointing out that Muslims in many parts of the world are victims of religious intolerance and extremism.
