The tolerance and harmony between religious communities in Indonesia has received recognition and praise from various nations, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has said.
“They see how we can build the integrity of the nation because there is an agreement on Pancasila. So, they are amazed. We sometimes don’t feel like we are in the spotlight of various nations,” he said here on Tuesday in a release issued by the press, media, and information bureau of the Vice President Secretariat.
The Vice President recalled meeting an Italian film producer who wanted to document the interreligious harmony in Indonesia. The producer and the team visited several areas, including Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mount Bromo in East Java, and the interior of Lebak in Banten to get to know about the life of the local community, he said.
“I was visited by a film producer from Italy. He wanted to see what Islam in Indonesia looked like. He came to Banten to see Baduy, Borobudur, Bromo where the Hindus are. They sleep soundly, surrounded by Muslims, and there is no problem,” he informed.
The producer acknowledged that interreligious life in Indonesia put tolerance first and foremost, as well as maintenance of harmony, Amin said.
“He (the producer) said ‘This is it, Islam in Indonesia, which is very tolerant’. Then a film was produced, there was an Islamic boarding school, and I became an advisor (for the film), it was distributed, screened in Rome, at the Vatican. He said it was great,” he added.
Amin said he also received a representative of the Abu Dhabi-based Association of Muslim Scholars, the Hukama Al Muslimin Council, who wanted to learn about tolerance in Indonesia.
“The secretary general met me. He said he came to Indonesia because he wanted to learn about tolerance in Indonesia. Therefore, now is no longer the time to translate Arabic into Indonesian, but it must be reversed, translating Indonesian to Arabic (in regards to) traditions and the order of life in Indonesia,” he opined.
The Vice President urged all citizens to continue to maintain tolerance and maintain interreligious harmony.
“Indonesia is extraordinary, even about tolerance. In our eyes it’s still not optimal, right? Yet according to other people, (our interreligious tolerance) is extraordinary,” he added.
Source: Antara News