Academic: Ramadan Values Remain Relevant for Global Peace Efforts
An academic from the State Islamic University Prof KH Saifuddin Zuhri (UIN Saizu) in Purwokerto, Muridan, has stated that the values taught during Ramadan remain relevant as a moral foundation in promoting global peace.
“Ramadan fasting is essentially a process of moral education that trains individuals to exercise self-restraint, control their anger, and experience the suffering of others,” said the lecturer from the Islamic Communication and Broadcasting Studies Programme at UIN Saizu, speaking in Purwokerto, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, on Saturday.
According to him, this spiritual experience fosters empathy and concern for others, so that Ramadan values do not remain as personal experience alone, but develop into social ethics that strengthen solidarity and harmony in communal life.
He noted that Eid al-Fitr celebrations, marked by traditions of mutual forgiveness and strengthening family ties after Ramadan, represent an important symbol in restoring social relationships that may have become strained.
“The tradition of mutual forgiveness demonstrates that reconciliation is always possible when individuals are willing to humble themselves and reopen spaces for togetherness,” he said.
He stated that Islamic spirituality also possesses a strong human dimension, reflected through the practice of zakat (alms), charitable giving, and increased social concern during Ramadan.
According to him, righteousness in Islam is not only measured by an individual’s relationship with God, but also by their ability to bring goodness to communal life.
“This concept explains that a person’s individual experience is never completely separate from wider social issues, because individual life is always connected to the reality of society as a whole,” he said.
He assessed that Ramadan’s moral message has become increasingly relevant amid the global reality still characterised by conflict, disagreement, and tension.
In such circumstances, he said, fasting reminds humanity that individuals fundamentally possess the capacity to refrain from hatred and enmity.
He stated that Eid al-Fitr is also understood as a moment to return to human nature, which inherently tends towards goodness, mutual respect, and maintaining harmony in communal life.
According to him, world peace does not always emerge from major political decisions, but can also begin with changes in individual attitudes in daily life, such as the ability to forgive, restrain one’s ego, and regard others as fellow human beings.