Indonesia’s vice president, Ma’ruf Amin, called on the country’s public universities to adopt and embrace “religious moderation” to counter radical Islamic movements.
He said “religious moderation” plays a role in “providing an ideological foundation, providing a straight line of knowledge.”
The vice president told participants to the 5th National Congress of Islamic Education in 2022 on August 11 that religious moderation is an Indonesia value.
“Thus, religious moderation (wasathiyyatul Islam) for us is not a new thing,” said Ma’ruf, who is former chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council.
He then urged Islamic education teachers to improve, “so that Islamic religious teaching and education is not left behind, is more qualified, and relevant to the times.”
Ma’ruf’s recommendation came following reports early this year of extreme Islamic groups having ties with roughly 200 boarding schools in Indonesia.
The radical organizations’ aim is to establish Islam as the official religion in Indonesia.
Radical groups in Indonesia have been linked to church attacks that killed and injured dozens of people.
