REPUBLICA.CO.ID, JAKARTA— Vice President (Vice President) Ma'ruf Amin and Grand Sheikh Al Azhar Egypt Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El Tayeb affirm that Islam is not a religion of violence.
It is known that the Vice President received the visit of Grand Sheikh Al Azhar at the Palace of Wapres, Jakarta, Wednesday (10/7/2024).
The Vice President highlighted the importance of cooperation in the spread of Islam wasathiyyah to address challenges, such as Islamophobia. He insists Islam is not a religion of violence, but a religion that is compassionate, tolerant, and respectful of differences.
“We need to show the world that Islam is not a religion of violence. On the contrary, Islam is a religion that is compassionate, tolerant and respectful of differences,” the Prime Minister said.
The president also stressed the need for a better understanding of Islam among non-Muslims, while urging decisive action against acts of hatred against Islam, such as the burning of the Koran.
“We need to encourage a better understanding of Islam among non-Muslim countries. At the same time, we also need to encourage them to act decisively against acts of hatred against Islam such as the burning of the Koran,” the Prime Minister said.
Similarly, Grand Sheikh Al Azhar also stressed the importance of spreading the moderate teachings of Wasathiyya Islam to the Western world in order to create harmony between the Western and Eastern worlds.
“It is necessary that we spread moderate Wasathiyya Islam among the Western world, so that later between the Western world and the Eastern world can again coexist harmoniously,” he said.
He also highlighted the need to combat Islamophobia, especially among young people, as well as organising conferences involving political and religious figures to reinforce Islam's message of peace.
“Peaceful and harmonious relations between Muslims and non-Muslims should be maintained, and Islam should not be viewed as a religion of violence,” Grand Sheikh Al Azhar said.
The Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar appreciates the various conferences that Al Azhar and other organizations have organized to spread the true teachings of Islam. But he admitted that the expected results had not been fully achieved.
“In fact, there have been many conferences and meetings organized by either Al Azhar related to this issue or issue, but unfortunately the expected results are not in line with what has been issued, the results are not as expected,” Ahmad Al Tayyeb said.
He also expects a global conference that can voice the agreement of the entire Islamic world to reinforce the message of peace and togetherness.
“Therefore it is in my personal view that what now needs to be prioritized is to organize a conference that can be the agreement of the whole Islamic world so that later the voice or message that is issued from this conference is a voice that represents the whole of Islam in the world,” he said.
This meeting is a continuation of a previous meeting in Abu Dhabi in February 2024, which emphasized Indonesia's commitment to strengthen cooperation with Al Azhar in an effort to maintain peace and promote a true understanding of Islam in the international world.
