TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ma'ruf urges Quranic students to be changemakers
As the IIQ marked its 44th anniversary, the Vice President urged the institute's current and former students to use their Quranic knowledge to help develop the nation.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Vice President Ma'ruf Amin speaks on Oct. 2, 2020 during a virtual event to mark the 58th anniversary of the University of Mataram. (Courtesy of Vice Presidential Press Bureau/--)
V
ice President Ma'ruf Amin has urged students and graduates of the Institute of Quran Studies (IIQ) to play a bigger role in national development.
Speaking at an event on Thursday to celebrate the institute’s 44th anniversary, the Vice President, who is also a prominent Muslim cleric and former chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said that hafiz could implement Quranic values and teachings to effect social change.
"The IIQ should prepare its students, who will graduate and become agents of change in their communities. I believe the Quran can be a force for good," Ma'ruf said, as quoted by kompas.com.
Ma'ruf added that IIQ graduates who were hafiz could use the knowledge they had gained from memorizing the Quran to help build national identity. Further, the institute could help the government in its goal to improve Indonesia’s human development index.
"Human resources should be judged not only on spiritual piety, but also on their ability to improve society," he said.
Prior to being elected Vice President in 2019, Ma’ruf was one of the most powerful and influential religious figures in Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim.
He supported controversial regulations as chairman of the MUI, including the Pornography Law and a joint ministerial decree that banned the activities of minority Islamic group Ahmadiyah, saying in 2013 that the regulations were “very much expected”.
The MUI groups the clerical members of all registered Muslim organizations, including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah and Islamic Union (Persis).
