Religion and Democracy:Indonesian and Tunisian exchange

Détails

In the view of the multiply of crises which are currently striking the Arab world it is often asked how Islam and democracy can go together. To answer this question it is important to distinguish between the different versions of Islam and their different interpretations of the Koran. The Indonesian-Tunisian exchange on Islam and democracy tends to compare the situations of religious education in Indonesia and Tunisia and to present the relations between religion and human rights and democracy. Particular attention will be paid to the role of Islamic schools. In collaboration with the “Center for the Study of Religion and Culture” (CSRC) and the “Universitas Islam Negeri” (UIN) the country office to Indonesia and Timor-Leste of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) organizes regular workshops on the topic “Religion and Human Rights” with the objective of training teachers of Islamic schools on human rights, tolerance and interreligious peace. In 2015, the project was extended by “Pesantren for Peace” (PfP). It aims at facilitating religious tolerance, peaceful solutions to religious conflicts and a cooperation of moderate Islamic schools (pesantren). The action that is taken includes research, trainings for teachers and students as well as the establishment of an alliance of moderate pesantren. What relevance does the project in Indonesia have for the situation in Tunisia? Since the Tunisian Revolution a lively discussion about the role of religion in society and within the new Tunisian state has arisen and several Salafist groups have been founded. One way to face the rising popularity of radical Islamic ideologies could be the controlled training of Islamic school teachers in order to enable them to deal with all the temptations which make people prone to radical ideas. In fact, the best protection against radicalization might be the promotion of a moderate Islam instead of the suppression of all Islamic activities. So, religious education can play a crucial role in the construction of a functional democracy.