Member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) Mohammad Saleh said religious moderation in the country is important to be implemented in order to maintain religious harmony.

“We must practice the noble values of Pancasila, where people must be tolerant. They may admit our truth but do not blame others. That’s the principle,” he said after being a speaker in a discussion on Islamic education organized by Commission VIII of the House with the Religious Affairs Office of Rejang Lebong here, Saturday.

He explained that religious moderation must be understood in order to prevent the emergence of intolerance.
Hence, the discussion also invited competent speakers in the field so that religious moderation can be properly understood.

“If the speaker is not competent, it can later lead to misperceptions. We consider moderation in religion to be very important,” Mohammad Saleh, a House member from Bengkulu Electoral District, said .

He considers that Muslims can still uphold moderation and tolerance while continuing to practice the faith and not blaming or vilifying others.

This principle was also supported by the Head of Bengkulu Regional Task Force for Anti-Terror Detachment 88 of the Police Chief Commissioner of Police Imam Subandi after conveying his support for the activities carried out by Commission VIII of the House and the Religion Ministry of Rejang Lebong in an effort to combat radicalism in the region.

“This can be used to support our programs (Densus 88, ed.), one of which we call it counter-narrative, counter-radicalization. It means that we don’t know about the possibility of radical people or terrorists in a place. But the point is that the messages of peace, the messages of tolerance must be echoed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Religious Affairs Office of Rejang Lebong Nopian Gustari stated that the discussion also touched about the implementation of the Independent Curriculum in madrasas and religious moderation.

The discussion was attended by 80 participants from the public and private madrasas, leaders of community organizations and Islamic Youth and Community Organizations,  and the mass media.
The discussion presented speakers from member of Commission VIII of the House, the Head of Bengkulu Regional Task Force for Anti-Terror Detachment 88 of National Police, the Chairperson of Nahdlatul Ulama’s Rejang Lebong Branch, and the Regional Leadership of Muhammadiyah of Rejang Lebong.

Source: Antara News