The Vice President’s Message to Indonesian Students in Egypt: Continue to Develop Thoughts on Islam Wasathiyah in the Future

Cairo, wapresri.go.id – As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia is recognized as capable of maintaining inter-religious harmony. This recognition was marked by the awarding of the Al Hasan bin Ali Award for Peace by the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace (ADFP) to Indonesia on November 2, 2022.

This success cannot be achieved without the participation of all elements of society in maintaining tolerance, as well as the participation of the Indonesian Muslim community in practicing Islam Wasathiyah (moderate) in everyday life. For this reason, in the future, understanding and thoughts about Islam Wasathiyah need to be continuously developed by all Indonesian Muslims both at home and abroad.

“I entrust all students in Egypt to develop their thoughts [about Islam Wasathiyah] even better, more updated according to developments,” said Vice President (VP) K.H. Ma’ruf Amin during a gathering and dialogue with students and the Indonesian diaspora in Egypt, at the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, Saturday night (5/11/2022).

The VP further said that maintaining harmony is important. This is because this commitment has been mutually agreed upon by the founding fathers of the nation since the founding of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and Muslims are also responsible for continuing this legacy.

“This NKRI is the commitment of the entire Indonesian nation and that is what we guard so that the life of our nation remains intact, remains one. For Muslims, maintaining that commitment is important,” said the VP.

Moreover, the VP added, apart from the national scope, maintaining peace must also be carried out in the international scope.

Because it has been stated in the Indonesian constitution that the state upholds the values of peace and maintains world order.

“And also of course not only nationally but bigger than that. Therefore, the issue of our relations is placed in 3 ukhuwah (relations): ukhuwah Islamiyah (relations of fellow Muslims), ukhuwah wathaniyah (relations of the nation), ukhuwah insaniyah (relations of fellow human beings),” explained the VP.

“It is indeed part of our frame of mind to save, build peace in the world, and it is also in our country’s constitution to build world order, security and peace,” he added.

The VP also gave an example of the peace efforts made by President Joko Widodo during his visit to Ukraine and Russia. The VP assessed that this was a real form of Indonesia’s seriousness in maintaining tolerance and peace both at home and abroad.

Closing his remarks, the VP again reminded that practicing Islam Wasathiyah is a commitment and responsibility of Muslims. Also, these two aspects (Islam Wasathiyah and state life), are complementary and mutually reinforcing factors.

“Between Islam kaffah and wathani (state) do not negate (deny) each other, but reinforce each other. This is an important thing for our students to formulate about how we live as a nation and homeland. So that’s what I think turned out to be a model that people are now looking for to build peace,” concluded the VP.

Previously, the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Egypt, Lutfi Rauf, explained the outline of the cooperation that had existed between Indonesia and Egypt, both at the intergovernmental and community levels.

“The relations between the two countries have a strong foundation of history and tradition. Egypt was the first Arab country to recognize Indonesia’s independence. This cannot be separated from the role of Indonesian youth and students at that time who fought for Egypt to recognize Indonesia’s independence,” stated Lutfi.

“The relationship is going well in all fields, including in the fields of politics, economy, trade, education, culture, and other fields,” he added.

In addition to the Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt, also present at this event were the Head of BAZNAS (National Zakat Charity Institution) Noor Achmad, students, and the Indonesian diaspora in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the VP was accompanied by Mrs. Hj. Wury Ma’ruf Amin, Head of the Vice President’s Secretariat Ahmad Erani Yustika, and Special Staff of the VP Masduki Baidlowi. (NN/LHS, BPMI – Setwapres)