VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia is a country that lives in diversity, having more than 1,100 regional languages, 714 tribes and six official religions, namely Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. This diversity and difference, of course, requires a sense of mutual understanding. Otherwise, it will lead to friction that sometimes triggers disunity.

Islam becomes the majority religion, with the number of believers in Indonesia reaching 88 percent. However, this does not mean that Islam controls all aspects of socio-political life, nation and state. Muslims in Indonesia are very concerned about harmony among religious followers and they have a high tolerance of other faiths.

So far, Islamic scholars or ulamas are considered very instrumental in maintaining harmony and diversity in Indonesia. Throughout the history of the founding of Indonesia, they have been able to maintain the unity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia -NKRI. Their contribution in maintaining unity is also unquestionable. It is not surprising that President Joko Widodo in his speech at Haul Majemuk Masyayikh at Pesantren (Ponpes) Salafiyah Syafi'iyah Sukorejo, Situbondo, East Java on Saturday (03 Feb), said that the preservation of Indonesia's diversity is due to the major role of the ulamas.

The role of the ulamas became a decisive factor in several heroic events prior to and after the proclamation of Indonesian independence. Ahead of the proclamation of independence, the involvement of KH Abdul Wahid Hasyim, the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, in the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI) has an important meaning in maintaining cultural, ethnic and even religious diversity. The tough debate about the Jakarta Charter at that time could be solved well, because of its broad Islamic views, without having to be trapped in the formalization of religious teachings.

In addition, after the proclamation, when there were many separatists in various regions in Indonesia, who want to separate themselves from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, Islamic scholars have played a major role in maintaining, and upholding Indonesia’s unity.

Indonesia is a country with belief in one God, humanity, and a sense of unity and it always tries to solve problems through deliberation, and social justice. It is the duty of the Indonesian nation to keep the state based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitutions ass mandated by the founders of the nation who have struggled to fight for the sovereignty of the nation and the state in the sense of ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ or Unity in Diversity’.