The British government plans to strengthen partnerships among Islamic organizations in the UK and Indonesia to learn from Indonesia's experience in addressing extremism, promoting tolerance and diversity, as well as moderate religious practice.
The British government has initiated an exchange program in which British and Indonesian Muslim groups engage in dialogue via intercultural Muslim organizations, British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said.
"I want to build a partnership that allows British Muslim communities to also be aware of tradition, interpretation, and teachings of Islam in Indonesia," Malik told journalists on Monday.
He made the statement during a discussion between British and Indonesian Muslims at an event in Jakarta on sustainable working partnerships in countering extremism.
Malik praised Indonesia's diverse understandings of Islam and distinct traditions of theological education through the Koran and Hadith, influenced not only by the Middle East but other parts of the world as well.
The diverse religious practices among Indonesian Muslisms, he added, would bring up challenges, but also stimulate insightful debate among British Muslims in developing their own understanding of Islam and identity.
Akeela Ahmed, a staff member of the working group on anti-Muslim hatred based at the UK Department for Communities and Local Government, said that although most Muslims in the UK were pluralistic and tolerant, there were still a few radical Muslims with an extreme understanding of Islam who isolated themselves from society.
The groups were a big challenge for the government in its promotion of pluralism, Ahmed said, as they were also susceptible to be swayed to commit terrorist attacks or move to Syria to fight with the Islamic State (IS) movement.
"What we could learn from Indonesia is not only how to exist in a plural society, but also how to build our religious literacy," she told thejakartapost.com.
The British government had sent several Muslim groups to Indonesia since December 2015, ranging from representatives of Islamic Centers of UK-based universities to representatives of UK-based British theological colleges.
Two groups of representatives from British Muslim groups were scheduled to visit Indonesia in March while two Indonesian groups would visit the UK as part of the exchange program, Ambassador Malik said.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/
