FOLLOW US
Facilitating Dialogue among Muslims from the UK and Indonesia
Written by Dr. Habib Chirzin, President, Islamic Forum for Peace, Human Rights and Development
Saturday, June 16, 2007
As a follow up to his visit to Jakarta, Indonesia in March 2006, Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, launched an Indonesian-UK Islamic Advisory Group to promote better understanding between Islam and the West.
I had the honor of facilitating a dialogue with the Indonesian-United Kingdom Islamic Advisory Group at Pesantren Darunnajah, Jakarta, on June 13, 2007. The mission of these dialogues is to develop links and promote dialogue between Indonesian and British Muslim organizations about ways to build partnerships across boundaries, including members of other faiths and representatives of civil society.
The expectation is to develop further exchange programs and interfaith dialogues for peace in both countries by involving Pesantren and other institutions.
The 14-member group, appointed by the governments of both nations, visited Islamic organizations and conducted table discussions during their three days of meetings. They met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 15 to present the recommendations which emerged from their January meeting in London.
According to a June 16 report in the Jakarta Post, among the recommendations are “exchange programs to promote the professional development of mosque imams and religious scholars; the translation and distribution of selected Indonesian literature to the UK to correct misunderstood terms such as jihad, democracy and modernity; and youth leadership exchange programs between UK and Indonesian organizations.”
If you find this page helpful and informative please consider making donation. Your donation will help Universal Peace Federation (UPF) provide new and improved reports, analysis and publications to you and everyone around the world.
UPF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible in the United States. Receipts are automatically provided for donations of or above $250.00.
|
Donate to the Universal Peace Federation: Your donation to support the general programs of UPF. |
Donate to the Religious Youth Service (RYS): Your donation will be used for service projects around the world. |
Donate to UPF's Africa Projects: Your donation will be used for projects in Africa. |