The first session of the program featured a talk by Javed Khan, who discussed with participants the status of Muslims in New Zealand, as well as the role of FIANZ, the Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand. Some participants were interested to know how Muslims were treated in New Zealand, as there are often reports of mistreatment of Muslim minorities in Western countries. Dr. Khan however was pleased to explain that the 40,000-strong Muslim community in his country has been very well received by the broader community there, and that they have established friendly contacts not only across cultural lines, but also across religious communities.
KH Husein Muhammad’s talk focused on gender relations in Islam. In particular, he drew attention to Imam Nawawi's interpretations of some verses of the Qur'an and Hadis of the Prophet which show signs of promoting unjust treatment towards women, and compared these to other verses of the Qur'an and Hadis of the Prophet which emphasised the equality of women and men. He came to the conclusion that the presence of these different views was not a contradiction in the texts, as the Qur'an is perfect, but rather that those verses and Hadis which promoted violence against women or an unjust view of the place of women were contextual.
Following this, participants were broken up into smaller groups to discuss how concepts of gender roles can help us analyse issues such as women in the workplace, interpretations of religious texts and governmental regulations/laws. The group discussing women in the workplace argued that working outside the home was not the sole prerogative of men, but at the same time an agreement should be reached in the household between husband and wife as to whether she can work outside the home. The second group argued that interpretations of religious texts should become a reference source for Muslims in understanding the roles of women, but they and the religious leaders who convey them should not be considered to be absolute. Finally the third group initiated a discussion on several Indonesian laws, particularly those regarding marriage, inheritance and family law which, while representing an improvement on conditions before they existed, nonetheless still contain some elements of gender bias.
place of religion in politics and interfaith relations between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia. Both argued that as religionNext was a panel discussion featuring talks by Dr. Moeslim Abdurrachman and Romo Benny Susetyo, which focused on the enters politics it begins to lose trust amongst some segments of the population because it is increasingly forced to sacrifice its moral teachings for more formalistic, pragmatic concerns. Rather than playing a role in formal politics, religion - both Christianity and Islam - must return to their original roots as a defender of the poor and weak in society.
Participants also had the opportunity to conduct a dialogue with representatives from a Bangladesh Muslim study tour to Indonesia. The study tour representatives in particular talked about their experience participating in an imam training program in their own country, and how their country has handled issues of diversity and multiculturalism. They emphasised the role of religious leaders as being agents for change, particularly by promoting concepts such as tolerance, health and human and women's rights in Friday sermons at mosques.
Following this participants viewed a short documentary on the violence perpetrated against followers of the Ahmadiyah sect of Islam in Indonesia and were asked to provide their own comments on the film and the issues in it. Many of the participants, while not claiming to be followers of the Ahmadiyah sect, nonetheless felt that the violence which the Ahmadis were subject to at the hands of some Islamic groups was unjust and uncalled for as long as there were other options such as dialogue. In fact the use of violence, even against a sect which has deviated from the Islamic path, was considered to be un-Islamic by many participants.
The final session featured a talk by Dr. Komarrudin Hidayat on diversity in Indonesia. He argued that Islam should be viewed as an absolute, but that interpretations of it and expressions of it a relative in nature, and as a result diversity within the Islamic community is natural and acceptable. Islam itself is strong, it has been created by Allah and as a result can not be destroyed by anything created by humans, whether this be pluralism, liberalism or any other ideology. The presence of these groups with different opinions within Islam does not constitute a threat to the faith but rather a source of strength as it serves to enrich Muslims' understandings of Islam as a whole.
Listed below are downloadable copies of the papers (in Indonesian) provided by speakers throughout the program. English translations will be uploaded in the near future.
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Javed Khan, Opening Speech (English)
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KH Hussein Muhammad, "Hak-Hak Perempuan Dalam Pandangan Islam"
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Benny Susetyo, "Problema Kerukunan Beragama Kita"
Benny Susetyo, "Multikulturalisme dalam Perspektif Agama"
