UMY Plans to Send Lecturers to Teach at Vatican Institute

Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) will send its lecturers to teach at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), an institute for Arabic and Islamic studies under the auspices of the Vatican. This plan is a follow-up to the visit by the Muhammadiyah and UMY delegation to the Vatican on 5-6 May 2026.

During that visit, the UMY delegation met with several Vatican officials, including Pope Leo XIV. UMY Rector, Prof. Dr. Achmad Nurmandi, stated that PISAI is interested in the moderate and progressive Islamic thought developed by Muhammadiyah in Indonesia.

“PISAI President, Wahab Silmi, who is from Syria, stated that they are very interested in thinkers from Asia, especially from Indonesia or from Muhammadiyah,” Achmad said during a press conference at the UMY campus in Bantul on Monday (11/5/2026).

According to him, Muhammadiyah is seen as bringing the concept of Islam Wasathiyah or moderate Islam, which is needed by the world today amid various global conflicts.

“Where Muhammadiyah brings Wasathiyah thought, then moderate, progressive, and that is very much needed in the world today,” he said.

As a follow-up to this cooperation, UMY plans to send lecturers to teach at PISAI, which has long been one of the educational institutions for priests from various countries.

“And therefore, we will follow up by sending many of our lecturers to teach at PISAI, one of the institutes that educates priests from around the world in Rome under the Vatican,” he said.