RI to establish an international Islamic university

Jakarta-wapresri.go.id. Government has issued Presidential Decree (Decree) No. 57 of 2016 on the establishment of the International Islamic University of Indonesia (UIII) and will soon realize the construction of the campus infrastructure, in a hope that Indonesia will become the Mecca of science and Islamic studies in the future.

“The results of education is civilization and good morals. When you look at the situation these days, we could not find it all in the Middle East, “said Vice President Jusuf Kalla while chairing a meeting discussing the establishment of UIII at the Office of Vice President on Jalan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta, Thursday (July 21).

In the preceding discussion, it was decided the campus will be in Cimanggis, Depok, West Java province, with an area of about 142 hectares. The land which is a state asset owned by the Indonesian Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), the national radio station, is located in a strategic location, relatively close to Jakarta.

The Vice President then instructed to two teams or task forces, one team in charge of infrastructure building, and the other team is in charge of preparing the non-physical aspects such as the vision, mission, and curriculum. Both teams, he added, should work simultaneously so that it is expected in 2018 UIII campus is ready to operate.

Related to funding, Minister for Religious Affairs, represented by his Secretary General Nur Syam reported that the Ministry of Religious Affairs will prepare a budget of 22 billion rupiahs in 2016, which is obtained from budget savings resulted from savings from business travel, meetings, and honoraria worth 6 billion rupiahs. The remaining 16 billion rupiahs will be included in the 2016 additional state budget.

Responding to this, the Vice President hoped that the development team can receive grants or grants from abroad. According to him, many countries appreciated the initiative of Indonesia to establish a center of knowledge on Islam.

The Vice President also hoped UIII will have facilities and infrastructure which are modern and futuristic, with technological facilities and green environment.

With the establishment of UIII, in the future Indonesia is expected to be the example of pluralism and tolerance, as well as references to moderate Islamic thinking.

“The campus is prepared for thinkers and intellectuals of Islam worldwide, so it will only open post-graduate programs,” said the Vice President.

Also attending the meeting were State Secretary Pratikno, Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan, Minister for National Development PlanningSofyan Djalil, Minister of Agricultural and Spatial Planning Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, Minister of Bureaucratic Reform Yuddy Chrisnandi, Deputy Finance Minister Mardiasmo, and Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir.