As part of efforts to develop a tolerant attitude towards other religious communities amongst leaders of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in West Java, the International Center for Islam and Pluralism has been facilitating training seminars in cooperation with AusAID on the topic of multiculturalism. These training sessions have been conducted with teachers, both male (ustadz) and female (ustadah) from pesantren throughout West Java. The aim is not to indoctrinate participants, but rather to provide them with some insights into what multiculturalism really is, and how it can help create a more tolerant atmosphere in the pesantren and the community as a whole.
The third installment of this training program was held at Hotel Taman Aer, Puncak, West Java from the 19-23 of June, 2006 and featured several speakers from Indonesia and abroad.
Among those participating were Prof. Farid Essack, a South African scholar on Islam, Prof. M Machasin, Prof. Dr. Komaruddin Hidayat, Dr. Moeslim Abdurrahman and finally KH. Hussein Muhammad, from the Policy Board of FAHMINA. The topics covered throughout the program included "Islamic Perceptions towards non-Muslims", "Islam and Diversity", "Tradition of Diversity in Pesantren" and "Equality of Men and Women".
Participants were invited to consider what was being discussed in the speakers talks, and then pose questions to the speakers as well as discuss issues from the talks in groups. Many questsions were focused on the hot-issues of what exactly is meant by multiculturalism and pluralism, and just how exactly Muslims should understand these concepts in relation to the texts of al-Qur'an and Hadist (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh), and in their interaction with non-Muslims.
The main point that the speakers put forward was that multiculturalism and pluralism are not ideologies which are out to destroy Islam, but rather ways of thinking that can help establish progressive, tolerant understandings of Islam. Islam itself is perfect, but peoples' understanding of it is not, and as a result understandings of Islamic teachings need to be re-evaluated to better face the context of the modern world.
With regards to relations with non-Muslims, the speakers generally believed that Islam is naturally tolerant to the existence of other faiths, and that God places more emphasis on the good deeds done by a believer, rather than just on what religion they claim to follow. The speakers also emphasised the role of pesantren and ustadz/ah in promoting tolerance and progressive understandings of Islam, as the pesantren system continues to have an important and unique place in Indonesian education.
At the end of the program a high-degree of continued interest was evident amongst participants, with some even enquiring into the possibility of ICIP holding similar training sessions on multiculturalism in their specific regions. Furthermore some representatives from pesantren felt that the effect of the training sessions would be more widely felt if the scope of regions included in the training was broadened. Others also suggested that ICIP build stronger media contacts so as to more effectively disseminate ideas of multiculturalism, as well as create a list of alumni of the training sessions so that alumni can continue to discuss issues from the training outside of sessions.
