What should Arabs learn from Indonesia?: Indonesia and Arabia have a close relationship, particularly in religious matters. In Indonesia, Islam is the majority religion. Islam is a religion that originated in Arabia. Indonesia initially learned about Islam from the Arabs in terms of theology. However, in addition to social, political, and cultural dynamics, there is nothing wrong with Arabs learning from Indonesia as well. What should Arabs learn from Indonesia?
Introduction
The Indonesian Republic is the largest Islamic country in terms of the number of Muslims, an important part of Southeast Asia. However, the Indonesian Republic has advantages and characteristics that Arabs in the Middle East should learn from, especially when talking about the principle of peaceful coexistence among individuals and building a state. Civil society.
The Indonesian Republic assists the peoples of the Middle East, especially the Palestinian cause. Indonesia supports the people of Palestine with food, medicine and financial aid in addition to the scholarships offered by the Indonesian Republic, especially to the Palestinian people, but this is not only what Indonesia offers. The Indonesian Republic provides a clear example of the nature of coexistence. Peaceful among Indonesians through the concept of a modern state.
This article is a comparison between the nature of peaceful coexistence in the Republic of Indonesia and Arab behavior in the Middle East.Especially when the researcher sees the nature of the forms of violence, whether in Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Palestine, the generations of Arab peoples lack the concept of peaceful coexistence and the modern state, hence we will give examples of the nature of violence in the countries of the Middle East and then will explain how The Republic of Indonesia has resolved this behavior through the concept of peaceful coexistence and the modern state.
The basic idea of ​​this article is eliminated in two points. First, the Indonesian Republic contains a distinct cultural diversity consisting of:
- The Indonesian people are composed of several different ethnicities, some of whom are descended from China, the Arabs or Europe.
- The Indonesian people have many local languages ​​for each city, such as Javanese, Madura or other languages, with a common language, the Indonesian language.
- The Indonesian people are composed of various religious groups, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism.
- The Indonesian people have multiple cultures related to the history of each group or tribe in Indonesia.
- The Indonesian customs and traditions vary according to the tribe or ethnicity within the city or village.
However, the Indonesian people have one strong, cohesive state based on peaceful co-existence among individuals through the democratic rule of the Indonesian people, since what brings together Indonesians is a five-core principle in the behavior of Indonesians.
The second point is related to the Arab people, where the Arab peoples are characterized by several characteristics and features, including:
- The Arab peoples have a unified language, which is the Arabic language that brings together all Arab peoples with different accents between the Arab countries.
- That the majority of the Arab peoples embrace the Islamic religion according to different doctrines and religious ideas.
- That the Arab peoples have almost the same customs and traditions derived from the Islamic religion.
- That the Arab peoples have a common history and a common culture that brings together all the Arab peoples.
- The Arab peoples are one of the origin and race, most of them from the Arabian island.
However, we see that the Arab region is not unified, but contains about twenty Arab countries or more, and here is the question of how to take advantage of the Indonesian model and the possibility of applying it to the Arab region?
The emergence of political regimes in the Middle East is the result of military coups or the existence of a ruling family that is ruled by generation after generation. This prevents a fertile ground for the concept of peaceful coexistence and the building of a modern state, especially that education in the Middle East works to glorify the political leader or ruling monarchy, Which creates a false concept of the nature of the relationship between members of society and the building of conflicts where the use of weapons is strongly required to resolve these conflicts.
The most important thing that brings together the people of Indonesia is the so-called Pancasilaor the Five Principles, which are the basis of the Indonesian Constitution. Hence, we will clarify the five principles of importance. Do the Arabs have such principles, through which the Republic of Indonesia became a civil state based on pluralism and peaceful coexistence?
What should Arabs learn from Indonesia?
The principle of the unification of God.
The principle of unification is agreed upon by the Indonesian people of all sects and religions. The Indonesians embraced the idea that the religion of God and the homeland for all,”There is no contradiction between the principle of monotheism and the Islamic religion,” says NurShulish Majid, one of Indonesia’s most prominent leaders. “The Islamic religion provides for the unification of peoples under a single plural system, and because Indonesia is multi-ethnic, religious and multicultural, the concept of an Islamic state is not applicable in Indonesia, The secular state system is a sophisticated system and is in line with the nature of the Indonesian state.â€
The basic idea of this principle is that there is one God for all religions. This is what the Indonesians have to accept. In other words, accepting the other, respecting different religions, and the specificity of each religion or doctrine. This is what we need in the Middle East. The Arabs from conflicts and fighting on a doctrinal basis (between Sunnis and Shiites).
The most important conflict in the Middle East is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, where the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been considered a political conflict, but Israeli actions are driving a religious conflict between Muslims and Jews, especially when it comes to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The city of East Jerusalem is considered the capital of the State of Palestine, yet we see the Jewish presence in the city of Jerusalem increasing day by day.
Indonesian Unity (National).
The interdependence of the Indonesian people is based on the national identity of the Indonesian people of all sects and beliefs,Indonesian people are the brothers and are united in the development of the Indonesian state. The Indonesian national idea is a strong foundation for the Indonesian people and on this basis freedom has been produced in various political, religious and intellectual forms. This diversity and difference leads to intellectual and living development. In addition, there is a unified national army for all of Indonesia and a strong Indonesian police force capable of extending full control in Indonesia.
Arabs have one language, one religion, a common history, common customs and traditions, one land, but there are about twenty-five Arab countries. The concept of Arab nationalism and the idea of a modern state is not present in many countries in the Middle East. Sectarian conflict among the Arab people, which in turn leads to the continuation of the cycle of conflicts, wars and blood among the countries of the Middle East, through the proliferation of arms and military forces among the communities of the peoples of the Middle East, such as Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Palestine.
The Indonesian people have been convinced of the idea of a modern state and implemented it on the ground. This is an advantage for the Indonesian state and we must learn from them how to convince this idea and establish a strong state on a national basis that brings together the Indonesian people on the basis of protecting, developing and promoting the Indonesian state in all areas of life.
Democracy.
The principle of democracy is a basic principle of the Indonesian people and its participation in the rule of the Indonesian state through various political experiences in the country based on multi-party and political groups. The Indonesian people tried to blend the principle of democracy in the Western curriculum and the principle of consultation in the Islamic curriculum. The acceptance of the principle of democracy among the Indonesian people produced political leaders capable of developing the Indonesian state by understanding the reality and trying to apply the theoretical principles in line with the Located in Indonesia.
The rivalry between the Indonesian parties to achieve security, stability and prosperity is one of the most important results of democratic experimentation in Indonesia. In comparison with the Arab countries, the principle of democracy and respect for human rights is not sufficiently available in the Middle East. The most important demands for which the Arab peoples came up was the principle of democracy, political participation and the peaceful transfer of power. This has not happened so far.
The Palestinian situation is very complicated, especially when it comes to Israeli intervention. The democratic experiment in Palestine was a very successful experiment, but with the Israeli intervention, the result was the failure and the fighting between the Palestinian people, which led to division between the Palestinian people from 2007 until now.
Humanitarian and social justice
Humanitarian and social justice, where the Indonesian state works to ensure equality among all Indonesian people and to provide social, educational and medical services to all sectors of the Indonesian people. This is known as social justice and equality of obligations and duties. It is the safety valve for the Indonesian people. All Indonesians are equal before the law and everyone respects religions and sects. And the customs and traditions of all classes and tribes of the Indonesian people.
As for the Middle East region, it suffers from the lack of social justice. Therefore, we see the great differences between the layers of the Arab society, a very rich layer and a very poor class, which leads to a large number of corruption and the emergence of unemployment and criminal acts and the emergence of all kinds of conflicts, whether religious, ethnic or political The proliferation of weapons is evident in Arab societies.
Conclusion.
The Indonesian nation has been able to maintain the unity of the land and the people through the five principles on which life is based in Indonesia, which has affected the nature of the behavior of the Indonesian people and has become a good, generous, tolerant and diverse people. The Indonesian people have raised their children since childhood to believe in these five principles and to produce behavior based on these Principles.
The Middle East needs the principles of the similarities of the five Indonesian principles so that the true understanding of the principle of moderation in the Islamic religion, and the mixture of religion and the world, is apparent on the faces of the Indonesian people, especially when the smile is that the smile in the face of the other is good and useful, That’s what we need to learn from the Indonesian people.
By Ahmed AlMadani,
References
1. Britannica, E. Ethnic groups. [cited 2017 Sep 6th].
3. The Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas”.
4. Studies, A.J.C.f.P. Democratic Transition in Indonesia. 2015 [cited 2017 Sep 6th].
5. KHALIDI, R., Arab Nationalism: Historical Problems in the Literature 1991),, Oxford University Press and American Historical Association: http://graduateinstitute.ch/files/live/sites/iheid/files/sites/international_history_politics/shared/history_course_support_2013-2014/HI026/Khalidi%20Arab%20Nationalism.pdf.
8. Youth, t.I.S.o.I. Panchasilla. [cited 2017 Sep 6th].
