Religious education in Indonesia is a failure<\/p>\n
Religious-related conflicts have torn apart many areas in the
\ncountry with no institution, including the government, having an
\nappropriate solution for them. Many are worried that fresh
\ninterreligious conflicts could erupt due to the authorities'
\nfailure in handling previous clashes. Lecturer Haidar Bagir, who
\nis also the CEO of PT Mizan Publika, an Islamic-oriented
\npublisher based in Bandung, spoke to The Jakarta Post's Soeryo
\nWinoto after an international seminar on Globalization, Religion
\nand the Media on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Question: Do you think the country still has potential for
\nreligious-related conflicts in the future?<\/p>\n
Answer: I have to say yes. It will take more time for the
\nfollowers of the certain religions here to accept the fact that
\nthe existence of other religions is actually a normal thing which
\nis assured by the differences of culture and history and other
\nfactors.<\/p>\n
I feel, we (Indonesians) are in a state where many religious
\ngroups think to have the right to claim that their religions are
\nthe best. And if you ask me when the situation will end, I would
\nsay after we can develop an educational system which teaches
\ncitizens that life is complex. That life is built on a long
\nhistory of differences in thinking and culture, and therefore,
\npeople should be able to see the reality that differences,
\nincluding religions, are all around us.<\/p>\n
Are there any internal factors (from the religious teaching
\nitself) that have played roles or encouraged their followers to
\ncommit violence against others?<\/p>\n
If people learn and understand the teaching of their religions
\nproperly, I believe there would never have been conflicts caused
\nby religions. Such conflicts have emerged due to external
\nstimuli, like economics, political or ethnic background.<\/p>\n
My academic field is the philosophy of Islam. The more I study
\nIslam, the more similarities I find with other beliefs. There are
\nmany fundamental similarities and also thoughts among the
\nreligions. These need to be understood by followers to make them
\naware that they must not claim that their vision of their
\nreligion is the best.<\/p>\n
What should the religious followers at the grassroots level do
\nto restrain themselves from violence? At the top level, religious
\nleaders are able to be tolerant, but they obviously fail to
\ninform their members of what they have discussed. What do you
\nthink?<\/p>\n
I am not that sure that our religious elites have adequate
\nawareness of tolerance and plurality with regard to other
\nreligions.<\/p>\n
They still need work to improve their acceptance of diversity
\nand differences. After that, the problem is education. We will
\nneed much more time to develop a superior quality education
\nsystem to make religious followers more aware of similarities and
\nuniversal resources, including religions. It's time consuming.<\/p>\n
What about the roles of the media in curtailing religious-
\nrelated violence, as the media has no definitive policy regarding
\ntheir handling of such conflicts?<\/p>\n
I think the media should become a sort of teaching
\ninstitution. The media needs to be proactive to promote ideas on
\npluralism among society. However, the media needs sufficient and
\nappropriate training and education. Let me say that our media is
\nstill lacking professionalism. If our media was more
\nprofessional, meaning that journalists and editors possess a
\nbroader horizon of thinking and are better educated (not only on
\njournalistic techniques) the media -- I believe -- would be able
\nto play a significant role in teaching the people how to respect
\nthe similarities of their religious roots.<\/p>\n
Do you think that the religions in the country, especially
\nIslam and Christianity, have become too politicized?<\/p>\n
I would stick to my argument that education is a much more
\nserious problem than politics with regard to religion. It is
\nundisputable that the religions have been politicized, by both
\ndomestic and international political entities. But I believe that
\nif the followers of the religions were more educated, more
\ntolerant and more familiar with the opinions voiced by other
\nparties, frankly speaking, political influence -- no matter how
\nstrong -- would not be able to provoke people to fight each
\nother.<\/p>\n
You mean that education and openness could bring about a
\nbuilt-in resilience among individual of each religion?<\/p>\n
Exactly. I see that politics have been disturbing the
\nrelations between religions so far because the seeds of openness
\namong religions are still very few.<\/p>\n
Do you think that we have adequate religious leaders who are
\nable to promote tolerance among their followers and provide the
\nfollowers with comfort so as to prevent them from being provoked
\nto fight?<\/p>\n
I'm sorry to say that the number of qualified religious
\nleaders is very small. Honestly, I daresay that the religious
\neducation in this country has been a failure. Religion is
\nsupposed to be taught to promote high morality, including
\ntolerance and understanding of others, and to be self-critical,
\nright? Unfortunately, I see the core of religious teaching has
\nsunk into political, legal or ritual controversies.<\/p>\n
I do hope that in the future we will have more religious
\nleaders with broader horizons and an ability to lead their
\nfollowers to have better understanding among them.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/religious-education-in-indonesia-is-a-failure-1447893297",
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