REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MADRID -- Indonesia's ambassador to Spain, Mohammad Najib, invites Muhammadiyah to engage on the international stage. At the start of his speech during a meeting at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Madrid, Spain, Najib said at the moment the world was not doing well.

“There are at least two big factors why I should say so; the first is the so-called natural factor of climate change. Climate change has a far-reaching impact, and this climate change is happening due to various factors both known to humans and unknown,” Najib said in a speech posted on the Youtube account of the Indonesian Embassy Guesthouse in Madrid on Monday (25/12/2023).

Najib added climate change resulted in unexpected natural disasters and changing seasons. But there is a second more damaging factor which is the human factor. He said there are certain countries that want to dominate, straddle, and exploit the earth's wealth either in the form of oil and gas or various minerals located in different countries.

“What we then do, what we then see, what we then acquire, until now because our understanding of the various or changing political maps of the world we do not fully understand leads to often being trapped, reacting sporadically, addressing only peripheral, not substantial issues,” he said.

He alluded to map changes at the global level. He explained that initially the geopolitics of the world were considered bipolar because there were only two competing major powers sure the Soviet Union which is now Russia and America which was an ally of the North Atlantic Defense Organization (NATO). When the rivalry between the two groups ended after Russia withdrew from Afghanistan, Najib said, the world became a monopoly fully controlled by the United States and its allies.

“This is what (Francis) Fukuyama called in his book The End of History (and the Last Man) to mean that the world is controlled or won only by America and its allies,” Najib said.

In his speech Najib said advances in science and technology were driving new states that had economic power that had implications on political power and then military power. This makes the world now called multipolar or has many influential powers.

“Let's call it China then India, Japan, South Korea are the new countries that are coloring the changing political map at the global level,” he said.

Najib said changes in the power map such as those in World War I and World War II spawned extraordinary eruptions shaking the world. He noted that the first two eruptions were already noticeable and their impact. First is the Ukraine war and second the Gaza war.

“We don't know which other points of fire will erupt later, whether in the Taiwan Strait or in the South China Sea or there may be new points of fire that suddenly appear, nor do we know, the indications are that we can see how much the war in Gaza is now causing the world's most robust institutions, the most powerful ones to be paralyzed,” Najib said.

Therefore, he said, state actors should not be left to fend for themselves. Organisations like Muhammadiyah must take the plunge, because in the current world, according to Najib, state actors alone are not enough, so-called self-help institutions, scholars, and mass media are needed, which must participate in exerting political pressure on institutions that want to dominate multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and so on.

“Well, here is the call for Muhammadiyah, the call of humanity, the call to save our earth, don't let only Westerners think about how to save our earth,” he said.

“Muhammadiyah must also participate in how our world becomes safe, how our world can be fair, and how our world becomes prosperous. No matter what nation and country all mankind in this world is entitled to enjoy prosperity.”

On that occasion Najib invited Muhammadiyah cadres both in the country and abroad to try to capitalize on the Muhammadiyah experience at the national level.

“Try to reflect on how Muhammadiyah schools from kindergarten to university have made a huge contribution to the nation and the country. Muhammadiyah schools have never made criteria that only Muslims can enter Muhammadiyah schools, no, no matter what religion, whatever ethnicity everyone is admitted to Muhammadiyah schools, so is Muhammadiyah Hospital, if there is a sick person who is not asked his religion, everyone is treated and everyone gets the same treatment well try to improve this experience on a global level because now the world needs the role of Muhammadiyah,” he said.

But he also noted that some of the Muhammadiyah leadership in the homeland still looks to the country, because they think there is still great work in the homeland that has not yet been completed. But he also reminded that plunging into the world arena does not mean reducing energy and energy for the Motherland. According to him, entering the international arena can actually accelerate efforts and improve the quality of efforts for the Motherland.

“Because of what, there are potentials at the global level that we can capitalize on to accelerate the improvement of the quality of our charitable efforts in the country. For example, research centers in the world, centers of excellence in science and technology in the world, as well as sources of funds, I see a lot of these sources of funding at the Global level that can be used, because this will provide the mobilization of the Muhammadiyah movement at the national level,” he said.

He reminded that jumping on the global stage is not enough just to promote schools but to expand intellectual capacities such as reading books, interacting with others, interacting with organizations in which foreigners or from other countries are involved.

“Therefore I encourage my brothers and sisters in particular who are in Spain that it is not enough just to study diligently, it is not enough just to read books, it is not enough just to bring home the bachelor's and master's degrees but try to jump into multilateral organizations here, thus sharpening our language skills but also sharpening our ability to argue, therefore I hope that the brothers and sisters who are in Spain are especially financed by Muhammadiyah colleges. try to repay the kindness given by the Muhammadiyah congregation with Struggling, by working hard on how to advance the order and how we serve the nation and the country and the Indonesian people as a whole, regardless of their ethnicity, their tribe and what their religion,” Najib said.

According to him, Muhammadiyah colleges are more than ready to do that because they have institutional capital and human resources and those who have had time to study abroad should be the spearhead.

On this occasion, he also expressed his full support to the leaders of the special branch of Muhammadiyah in Spain who will hold management leadership training in the European and Mediterranean regions on May 11-12 in 2024.

“I hope PP Muhammadiyah as well as all Muhammadiyah colleges in the country can provide this support. Because I hope that this will be a breakthrough in how the Indonesian diaspora abroad moves because if we compare with China or India far away they are already very advanced they are involved not only in multilateral institutions but also in building educational centers in Europe.”

“Moreover, they have also controlled various business sectors in Europe, so Indonesia, which has great potential, should not be left behind, if we talk about the new Islamic world of Turkey which is very advanced, especially if we talk in Germany and the Netherlands they not only have hundreds of mosques but build educational centers and also economic centers,” he said.

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