Suara.com – The Directorate of Islamic Religious Education (PAI) of the Directorate General of Islamic Religious Education (Pendis) of the Ministry of Religion (Kemeneag) is promoting religious moderation at the Republic of Indonesia Tokyo School (SRIT) in Japan.
The promotion of religious moderation also involves a number of lecturers and students at public universities in the cherry blossom country.
Director of Islamic Religious Education, Amrullah, explained that Indonesia is a country that cannot be separated from the religious context. Religious moderation and national defense are two interrelated things so that national sovereignty is maintained.
“Religious moderation is how we can practice religion well. Also about defending the country, how we can strengthen our country. “So the two are mutually sustainable,” said Amrullah in Japan, Wednesday (20/12/2023).
Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi welcomed the Ministry of Religion’s Religious Moderation program. Heri said that the idea of religious moderation is very relevant to the conditions of Indonesian people living in Japan. Moreover, there are 120 thousand Indonesians in Japan, including students and workers.
“Currently the number of Indonesians in Japan has reached 120 thousand people, most of whom are workers who are hungry for forums and religious assemblies whose content is relevant to strengthening love for the country,” said the ITB Engineering Alumni Class of 1972 at the new Indonesian Embassy Building in Tokyo.
The PAI Directorate team also held a meeting with Professor Hisanori Kato at Chuo University, Tokyo City. The introduction of religious moderation was again carried out through a seminar attended by Japanese students and campus lecturers.
Professor Kato welcomed the arrival of a delegation from the Indonesian Ministry of Religion to introduce religious moderation in an educational context in front of his Japanese students who were learning the language and getting to know Indonesian culture.
Moderation House
The Ministry of Religion team also held a meeting with students at the NU At Taqwa Koga Mosque, Japan. This meeting discussed plans to establish a Religious Moderation Group Abroad.
Chairman of the Indonesian Islamic Society (KMII) Japan, Muhammad Zahrul Muttaqin, also welcomed the plan because it was relevant to his programs so far.
“We really welcome this idea. This is also very relevant to the programs we have been running so far. “People are hungry for lectures and religious programs that answer the relationship between spiritual needs and organizations that are moderate and open,” he explained.
The Chairman of PCI NU Japan, Achmad Ghazali, conveyed a similar thing. According to him, in the last three years, Indonesian students and the Indonesian community in Japan need moderate and not exclusive religious content and literacy.
“We will invite all levels, both from NU and members of other mass organizations such as Muhammadiyah,” said researchers at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.
During the week in Japan, the Ministry of Religion team visited SRIT, Chuo University, Waneda University as well as students and lecturers at the PCINU office in Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan in order to establish the Religious Moderation and National Defense Abroad (MBBN) program.