Mosque Imams Ready to Become the Vanguard of World Peace Diplomacy
Hundreds of mosque imams, religious figures, academics, and policymakers gathered at the Al-Markaz Al-Islami Mosque in Makassar on Sunday (14/6). More than just an ordinary seminar, this event served as the launch point for a major consolidation towards the International Grand Imams Conference on Masjid Harmony, Religious Diplomacy and Global Peace 2026 in Jakarta.
The South Sulawesi branch of the Ittihad Persaudaraan Imam Masjid (IPIM) deliberately packaged the activity as a National Seminar and Istighosah. The goal is to change the face of the mosque from merely a place of ritual worship into a centre of civilisation, a strengthener of religious moderation, and a commander of global peace.
Committee chairman Abdul Gaffar asserted that times have changed. Today’s mosque imams cannot merely be proficient at leading prayers. “Radicalism, intolerance, climate change, moral degradation, disinformation, and social injustice all require solutions from the imams. They are moral leaders, community educators, guardians of social harmony, and peacemakers amidst diversity,” he said.
This statement immediately received a response from the Director General of Islamic Community Guidance at the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, Abu Rokhmad. According to him, mosques must be proactive in guiding congregations towards tolerant, inclusive, and moderate attitudes. “Mosques do not only facilitate mahdhah worship, but are also spaces to cultivate tolerant and inclusive attitudes within society,” Abu Rokhmad stressed.
Beyond peace, the seminar also highlighted environmental and economic issues. The Director of KUA and Sakinah Family Development at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, H. Ahmad Zayadi, invited mosques to become the front line of the eco-theology movement. “From the mosque, we can begin ecological worship. Religious values have great power to build awareness of protecting the environment,” he said.
Meanwhile, BAZNAS also encouraged mosques to play a role in the economic empowerment of the ummah. Mosques are considered potential centres for microfinance services and community empowerment collaboration.
The conference, themed ‘Masjid Harmony, Religious Diplomacy and Global Peace’, will take place from February to October 2026. The peak event will be held at the Istiqlal Mosque and Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta. Prior to that, the committee is organising a Bridging to Conference programme consisting of workshops, seminars, istighosah, and grand tablighs in six regions: East Kalimantan, West Java, South Sumatra, South Sulawesi, East Java, and West Kalimantan. The ambitious final target of the conference is to produce the Istiqlal Understanding of International Imams document as a shared guideline and to form a unity platform for imams worldwide.
This activity involves the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, Istiqlal Mosque, IPIM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and several embassies of friendly nations. Participants include mosque imams, leaders of national and international religious organisations, academics, researchers, and representatives from government and non-government institutions.