Caring for Youth, Pundi Holds Ramadhan Talkshow Mainstreaming Religious Moderation

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Indonesian Education Activists (Pundi), a foundation focused on education and religious moderation, held a Ramadhan talk show entitled “Haedar Nashir and Mainstreaming Religious Moderation”. Held on Sunday 31 March 2024 at the Ada Sarang hall, Banguntapan, Yogyakarta.

This talk show discusses the book “A New Way of Religious Moderation: Grateful for 66 Years of Haedar Nashir”. This book contains the urgency of religious moderation in an increasingly pluralistic society.

The event presented Elga J. Sarapung, Hatib Rahmawan, Mutiullah, and Jumaldi Alfi. Each resource person shared views on how to build tolerance and mutual understanding between religious communities.

Elga J. Sarapung, Director of the Interfaith Dialogue Institute (DIAN) Interfidei and contributor to the book, emphasized the importance of religious moderation for the younger generation in facing the reality of an increasingly diverse society.

“We have to learn to live with people who are different. We have to be proactive. Because if we don’t socialize much, we only have stereotypes in our heads. We suspect too much,” stressed Elga.

Furthermore, Elga encouraged the younger generation not to only focus on one field of knowledge, such as religion. “Talking about religious moderation, we can’t only study the Bible or Al-Qur’an, we have to study other sciences too. How can we understand theology but not study other sciences or be blind to reality,” he added.

Elga appreciated the religious moderation program initiated by the government and various organizations. According to him, this program is in line with Haedar Nashir’s thoughts about the importance of living in harmony and peace despite differences.

“Mr Haedar’s thoughts on religious moderation are not only about religion, but also other aspects of life. Pluralism is not only an inter-religious issue, but also intra-religious.” said Elga.

Hatib Rachmawan, Pundi Program Coordinator and Lecturer at Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD), explained about religious moderation in Muhammadiyah and its challenges for the younger generation.

Muhammadiyah has a long history of fighting for religious moderation. “Muhammadiyah always puts forward narratives of moderation, even in the midst of internal ideological battles,” he said.

Furthermore, Hatib assessed that the moderation narrative initiated by the General Chair of Muhammadiyah, Haedar Nashir, could be accepted by conservative circles.

“Pak Haedar is a genuine figure. His education was forged in Indonesia, but his ideas are accepted internationally,” explained Hatib.

Hatib also emphasized the importance of understanding the Koran in three dimensions: individual, community, and rahmatan lil alamin. “This understanding is important to underlie religious moderation,” he added.

According to Hatib, the younger generation needs to go beyond group thinking (post-nahnuniyyah) in religious moderation. “Not everything needs to be understood in terms of fiqh or black and white. Humanism must still be put forward. So humanize humans,” he advised.

Mutiullah, Director of the Philosophy Laboratory at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, gave his views on religious moderation and its relationship to the socio-economic dimension.

Mutiullah believes that the figure of Haedar Nashir has a critical attitude towards various problems and offers solutions by emphasizing the role of intellectuals. “This change is largely determined by the role of intellectuals,” he stressed.

Mutiullah also emphasized that religious moderation does not need to be shouted about, but practiced. “Religious moderation is the spirit of Pancasila,” he explained.

However, Mutiullah reminded that like the figure of Haedar Nashir who was very critical of various national problems, religious moderation needs to be studied in a socio-economic dimension. “Mr Haedar Nashir of course often says that religious moderation is not only a matter of religion, but also a matter of social and economic welfare,” he added.

Jumaldi Alfi, an arts and culture activist, explained the importance of culture in religious moderation and its role in attracting the interest of the younger generation.

Jumaldi stated that the driving spirit of religious moderation is art and culture. “Ethnic and group boundaries can be dissolved by art and culture. Differences are no longer an obstacle,” he explained.

Therefore, Jumaldi encouraged cultural movements to become the main focus in religious moderation. “It’s not just about old culture that needs to be preserved, but also the culture of young people who are very dynamic like now,” he added.

It is hoped that this event will provide a better understanding of religious moderation to the community, especially the younger generation. Apart from that, it is hoped that this event can become a forum for building dialogue and cooperation between religious communities in realizing a peaceful and harmonious society.

In making this event a success, Pundi collaborated with PT Jamkrindo, Islam Millenial, the Philosophy Laboratory of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, and Ada Sarang.