Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Promotes Harmony Among the Children of Abraham
Muslims wore masks to attend an Eid celebration in July 2020 at the Al Azar mosque complex in Jakarata. Photo by Agoes Rudianto.
(OPINION) This fall the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and the Leimena Institute in Jakarta hosted a webinar entitled, “Roles of the Abrahamic Religious Family in Promoting Peace in the World”.
The webinar was organized in response to a call from the Minister of Religious Affairs, H. E. Fachrul Razi, who said, “Our main task is to find the meeting points as one big family of Abrahamic religions to work together for peace and progress.” This is in the spirit of the founding purpose of Indonesia “to participate toward the establishment of a world order based on freedom, perpetual peace, and social justice,” as stated in the Preamble of Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution.
The webinar organizers seek to stimulate a series of dialogues between the three Abrahamic religions to explore potential collaborations to promote peace and progress. The Leimena Institute is Indonesia’s premier Christian think tank: it provides guidance to churches on political matters and cooperates extensively with Muslim and other groups. Webinar speakers included the leaders of the world’s two largest Muslim organizations, the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah, both based in Indonesia. They also included Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, who chairs the Indonesian Catholic Bishops Conference, and the Reverend Gomar Gultom, who chairs the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, the main organization of Indonesia’s Protestants. International representatives included Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, the chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council; Rabbi David Rosen, who leads interfaith activity for the American Jewish Committee; and Javier Piedra, who directs USAID’s Asia programs. Each speaker spoke for seven minutes outlining the resources within the Abrahamic religions to promote peace.
Minister Razi introduced the conference by calling on Jews, Christians and Muslims to recognize Abraham, not only as a common ancestor, but also as a “role model and exemplar.” Abraham modelled hospitality by welcoming travelers into his tent. He offered hospitality to people who were very different from him, solely on the basis of their being fellow humans. In a tactful allusion to the lack of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Israel, he said that in our tragic political circumstances, we cannot communicate freely through state channels. Religious round tables, however, can open up the possibility of peace between religions because there are no political obstacles in communicating. Religious leaders can encourage political leaders to moderate their stances in the interest of avoiding conflicts and strengthening ties of brotherhood between peoples.
The Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) Executive Council, K.H. Said Aqil Siroj, said, “Islam comes from the word salaam, which means peace. Muslims are people around whom people should feel safe.” The Nahdlatul Ulama is the largest Muslim organization in the world, with upwards of 60 million members. The NU has a volunteer corps, Banser, that guards churches and other religious institutions from terrorist attacks during religious holidays.
Cardinal Ignatius Surharyo encouraged us to adopt the spirit of Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, who met together in Abu Dhabi to sign a document on Human Fraternity and World Peace. Cardinal Surharyo said that we can all be faithful through small acts of peacefulness and generosity in our day-to-day lives. “As members of the family of Abraham, we have an obligation to refute falsehoods, lies and misrepresentations of other faiths,” Surharyo said.
Rabbi David Rosen said that shalom is not just the absence of violence. It is a complete relationship. “We were created to know one another. This is the purpose of our very existence. When we get to know one another, we will not be seduced by stereotypes or fear,” Rosen said. The Messianic age, Rosen said, will not be a denationalized age, but an age in which all nations will live in harmony.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Abdul Mu’ti, Secretary General of Muhammadiyah, said that Muhammadiyah universities in Indonesia educate Muslim, Christian and Hindu students, and he would welcome Jewish students to study at Muhammadiyah schools.
Matius Ho, Executive Director of the Leimena Institute, said that the inclusion of Jews in the webinar was a significant step for Indonesia. Indonesia does not have relations with Israel, and polling suggests that half of Indonesian students and teachers see Jews as enemies of Islam. Indonesia has a tiny Jewish community, but negative perceptions of Jews and Judaism can morph into hostility toward other religious minorities. “It is a powerful witness to Indonesians to see their religious leaders having civil and respectful dialogue with a Jewish rabbi in Jerusalem,” Mr. Ho said.
The work of the Religious Affairs Ministry is especially important at a time when Indonesia is experiencing a rise in religious extremism and intolerance. In the last 20 years, Indonesia has been hit with a series of terrorist attacks; one of Indonesia’s provinces has adopted a rigid form of shariah law; and Islamist mobs have attacked Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims. The Ministry of Religious Affairs wants to model for people in mosques a way of being a faithful and zealous Muslim that is consistent with Indonesia’s tradition of tolerance and pluralism.
Robert Carle is a professor of historical theology and Islam at The King’s College in Manhattan. Dr. Carle has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, The American Interest, Religion Unplugged, Newsday, Society, Human Rights Review, The Public Discourse, Academic Questions and Reason.