Muslims vow to enhance education, economy
Muslims vow to enhance education, economy
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Muslim scholars ended an international conference on Tuesday with
the establishment of a joint secretariat in Jakarta that plans to
strengthen the role Muslims play in global education and economic
development.
The International Conference of International Muslim Scholars
voted to create the secretariat, which will fall under the
auspices of the country's Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), with its leader
Hasyim Muzadi named the first secretary-general over a two-year
term.
It would serve as a coordinating body that would link up with
other international groups, like the Organization of Islamic
Conferences and the United Nations, to fulfill its objectives.
"There will be conferences every two years," Hasyim said.
The Morocco delegation offered to host the second conference
in 2006.
The joint secretariat would refer to the agreement signed by
participants of the three-day event, called the Jakarta
Declaration.
Major topics discussed during the conference were peace and
education, economic development, information and mass media.
The conference recommended the upgrade of teachers and better
educational materials for Islamic institutions to prepare Muslims
for the consequences of globalization.
On economic development, it recommended the encouragement of
cooperation among Islamic economic institutions, and the
development of more effective Islamic economic and banking
systems.
It also suggested the application of Islamic principles in
economic and social life such as zakat, saddaqah, and waqf, as a
means to improve the living conditions of Muslim communities
across the world
Zakat necessitates Muslims to contribute 2.5 percent of their
wealth to the poor while saddaqah advises Muslims to give alms to
their unfortunate brothers. A waqf is an institution where people
can donate his belongings to public' charity.
On information and media, the conference suggested the
establishment of a modern Islamic electronic network that would
contribute to more balanced media coverage, while improving media
workers' professional standards and integrity.
The declaration also stated a plan to organize workshops
before the next conference.
"Besides sharpening the ideas that have been discussed in this
conference, the workshops also intend to prepare topics to be
discussed in the next conference. We plan to hold workshops in
Batam soon," Hasyim said.
The NU organized the conference, which was aimed at bridging
the differences among various groups in Islam, improving its
image and contributing to world peace, he said.
All the Islamic scholars attending the conference strongly
condemned acts of terrorism and rejected the identification of
terrorism with any particular religion.
They agreed the campaign against terrorism could only be won
through comprehensive and balanced measures and by addressing its
root causes, including poverty, injustice and intolerance.