Muhammadiyah still lags behind in global education development<\/p>\n
Muhamad Ali<\/p>\n
The congress of the second largest Muslim organization,
\nMuhammadiyah, in the East Java town of Malang from July 3 to July
\n8, has a strategic role to play.<\/p>\n
Nationally and internationally recognized as a moderate
\norganization, Muhammadiyah has the noble task of promoting
\ndialogue and cooperation to overcome religious and cultural
\nboundaries. The central theme of the congress, \"Approaching one
\ncentury of Muhammadiyah, reforming the movement to enlighten
\ncivilization\", is relevant in promoting cross-cultural, global
\neducation within all its education and social networks throughout
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
Why is it necessary for Muhammadiyah to promote global
\neducation? It is true that the organization has not paid much
\nattention yet to global education. It has subscribed to
\npuritanism in relation to bid'ah, khurafat, takhayyul (un-Islamic
\npractices) and Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaah (conservatism in relation
\nto theology).<\/p>\n
Yet Amar maruf nahi munkar (moralism in relation to social and
\npolitical wrongdoings) and khalifah Allah fil ardh (the concept
\nof human beings as vicegerents of God on earth) could serve as
\njustifications for the development of cross-cultural, global
\neducation.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah as an organization committed to reform has taken
\non the responsibility of disseminating knowledge on global
\nissues.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah was founded in 1912 partly to confront what was
\nseen as Christianization. As Harry Benda, Alwi Shihab and other
\nscholars maintained, Muhammadiyah felt the need to strengthen
\nIslamization efforts at the time of Christianization and
\ncolonialism. Such a sense of \"anti-Christianization\" remains an
\nobstacle among Muhammadiyah members today to adopting tolerant
\nattitudes toward Christians and others.<\/p>\n
It is thus imperative to make contact and pursue dialogs with
\nChristians in coping with perceptions and misperceptions of
\nChristianization and Islamization now, and in the past. More
\nimportantly, Muhammadiyah needs to be engaged in a more strategic
\nendeavor through a learning system.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah's roles in the nationalist movement have been
\nrecognized. However, its role as an international movement has
\nonly begun, particularly in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.
\nAmien Rais, M.Syafii Ma'arif, and Dien Syamsuddin have sought to
\npromote mutual understanding in international forums. The time is
\nripe to develop this activism at the top level into a more
\nintegrated education endeavor through global education.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah needs to face the historical and contemporary
\nfact that every community has to live in a multi-religious,
\nmulti-cultural, and multi-civilizational environment. A moderate
\nmovement such as Muhammadiyah should not accordingly regard this
\nmilieu as negative and destructive to Muslim lives. Global
\nproblems such as violence, terrorism, human trafficking, illegal
\nmigration, drug abuse, environmental destruction, human rights
\nviolations, and so forth can affect any community. At the same
\ntime, global problems require global cooperation.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah has so far been the only organization in
\nIndonesia that has modern education resources. Apart from
\nhospitals, orphanages and companies, it has modern schools,
\ncolleges, and universities throughout the country.<\/p>\n
These institutions' resources and curricula, however, do not
\nstray from Islamic teachings, and the modern sciences are not yet
\ntaught from a cross-cultural perspective.<\/p>\n
But plans to incorporate ethnic, religious, and
\ncivilizational diversity in the curricula have been made as
\ntolerance can only be learned through the understanding of other
\ncultures and religions.<\/p>\n
How can Muhammadiyah implement such a global education
\nsystem? First, as a Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah must regard
\nthe Koran and the Prophet's teachings as the main sources of how
\nIslam perceives diversity in ethnicity, culture, civilization,
\nand religion. It must conduct studies and research on the crucial
\nproblem of allowing diversity under Islam.<\/p>\n
The main challenge in dealing with pluralism is the matter of
\naqidah (faith), which is the shared belief that Islam is the one
\ntrue path to salvation and true civilization stems only from
\nIslam. Nevertheless, there are examples in the Koran and the
\nProphet's teachings, in which diversity is recognized, that have
\nnot been explored and emphasized.<\/p>\n
The problem is how to reconcile such seemingly contradictory
\nteachings. Can one be a Muslim, cross-culturalist and global-
\nminded at the same time?<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah needs to determine students' and members'
\nunderstanding of global issues. Students must be aware that
\nglobal issues are interrelated, complex and challenging and have
\na direct impact on their lives.<\/p>\n
They need to learn the skills to investigate a topic, solve
\nproblems, analyze issues, interpret information and make a case
\nfor a point of view through reasoned persuasion. They can develop
\na sense of civic responsibility by identifying specific ways of
\ncontributing to the resolution of a global issue.<\/p>\n
In addition, cross-cultural and global perspective should be
\nincluded in curricular and extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n
Muhammadiyah's school and university communities are
\nethnically diverse, but this has not been realized and integrated
\ninto a learning process. Ethnic and religious diversity should be
\nreflected in a school's curriculum.<\/p>\n
Learning world languages is also an important part of global
\nlearning. In addition, the opportunity must be there for students
\nto participate in international exchange programs. Such programs
\nwould promote contact with other religions, cultures and nations.
\nTextbooks and materials, libraries, and internet facilities would
\nsupport such assignments.<\/p>\n
As a result, millions of members of Muhammadiyah would develop
\nan understanding that the peoples of the world view things
\ndifferently, though some universals serve as cultural links.
\nHumans may identify with more than one culture and thus have
\nmultiple loyalties. They can therefore tolerate cultural
\ndiversity and can communicate and cooperate with people from
\nother cultures and religions in order to live in peace and
\nharmony in today's global village.<\/p>\n
The writer is a PhD candidate in history and a lecturer at
\nSyarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta. He can be
\nreached at muhali74@hotmail.com<\/p>",
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