Jakarta-wapresri.go.id. Vice President Jusuf Kalla received the Chairman of Rabithah Alawiyyah Al Habib Zein Bin Smith accompanied by chairman of Majelis Rasulullah Indonesia Nabil Al Habib Bin Fuad Al Musawa in the Office of the Vice President on Jalan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta, Friday (July 1).
At the meeting, Habib Zein told the Vice President that Rabithah Alawiyyah is one of the Islamic organizations established since 1928 with the main focus on education. The organization has 61 branches spread all over Indonesia and oversees many research institutions.
Nabil Habib added that Rabithah Alawiyyah is the parent organization of Habib sermon groups in Indonesia and it emphasizes on soft approach when delivering Islamic propagation, although he admitted, there are some majelis (assemblies) that take the hardline.
In response, the Vice President said that Muslims in Indonesia today have two benefits compared to Muslims in other parts of the world namely their largest number and their tolerance.
“However, we have weaknesses mainly in economy and science,” he said, adding that
Muslims in Indonesia should be encouraged to pay zakat as it will give a positive impact on the economic improvement of the people.
On that occasion, Habib Zein invited the Vice President to open the National Conference of Rabithah Alawiyyah which will be held on August 6, 2016 at Aston Hotel on Jalan Simatupang, Jakarta.
The Vice President accepted the invitation and promised to attend.
Accompanying Habib Zein in the meeting were some central board members of Rabitah Alawiyah including Habib Ali Albaha, Habib Abdurrahman Bashurah, and M. Ghazi Alaidrus. (KIP, Setwapres)