Jakarta, 57% of Muslim teachers are intolerant

37% percent of Islamic teachers admit to making hostile gestures to people of different faiths. 34% would disagree with the establishment of a non-Islamic educational center. H. Moch Qasim Mathar, from the Islamic State Alauddin University of Makassar: "Concern for a phenomenon that the government must fight in a serious and rapid manner".

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - 57% of Muslim teachers in state schools and madrassas in 34 provinces and 767 Indonesian districts are intolerant of fellow citizens belonging to different religious communities. 

This is what emerges from a recent study conducted by the Research Center on Islam and Society of the Islamic State University Syarif Hidayatullah (Ppim Uin) in Jakarta, an institution based in Ciputat (Banten province). 

Saiful Uman, executive director of the university, said that "the research was published with the aim of highlighting the opinion of the teachers on the issues of tolerance and harmony in society". "This - he adds - by virtue of their strategic position as educators and agents of knowledge". However, Uman defines some data contained in the document as "worrying".

37% percent of Islamic teachers admit to making hostile gestures to people of different faiths. Regarding the freedom of non-Muslim groups to profess religion, 56% would not reach any compromise for the construction of their own place of prayer in their own residential complex. 21% oppose any religious event that is not Islamic. 29% of teachers would be willing to sign a petition if their school was led by a non-Muslim supervisor. 34% would disagree with the establishment of a non-Islamic educational center near his home or workplace.

H. Moch Qasim Mathar, professor of the Islamic State Alauddin University of Makassar (South Sulawesi) told AsiaNews that "the study fuels concern for a phenomenon that the government must fight in a serious and rapid manner". The academic suggests "controls on teachers, even before they are hired". According to the professor of Islamic thought, it is necessary to implement training programs to "identify" people who can become teachers, both in public and private schools. "It is a duty - he says - to show them what has happened in the Arab world, in Islamic countries marked by atrocities and devastation".

Listia Suprobo, an activist for interreligious dialogue originating from Yogyakarta, illustrates the activities carried out in two institutes under the aegis of Prakarsa Pendidikan Berparadigma Pancasila (photo 2-3-4). Addressed to teachers of religion, this educational initiative has as its reference point the Pancasila, which is the pluralist philosophy on which the Indonesian State is founded. "Workshops and sessions are organized - says Suprobo - in which participants learn from colleagues from other religions and schools. They share best practices on how to teach religion to students with different religious backgrounds ". "Our main goal is to enlighten participants with an inclusive mindset," the activist concludes.