Deputy Minister Of Religion: Political Contestation Must Not Be Gerus Persatuan

Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi. (ANTARA/HO-Kemenag)

Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi invited all elements of the nation to strengthen brotherhood and not to allow political contestation to erode the unity that has been established.

"Political contestation should not erode national unity and erode brotherhood between the nation's children," said Zainut, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, May 12.

Zainut said the difference between "we" and "they" in the social category often creates distances between groups and groups, one group to another, not infrequently fertilizing hatred, especially in the political year.

Therefore, he said, the attitude, perspective and practice of moderation are relevant as perspectives in seeing the nation's problems and responding to differences among the nation's children.

"Religious moderation is the attitude of the middle ground,washatyyah, not being in extreme poles and not being exaggerated in every way. Everything that is excessive often brings about the unfavorable result, including praising or criticizing through social media," he said.

According to him, a person or group of people will be seen as moderate if they are able to manage differences into energy for progress. Anyone who has different opinions about a problem should not be seen as an enemy, but relatives and friends in thought.

"Even though I don't agree with you, I respect your right to express my opinion and defend it at any time. That's the picture of a moderate attitude in responding to differences," he said.

It is a setback in the nation's culture, said Zainut, when some people stay away from others because they don't trust them, have different schools, have different religious understandings, or have different political camps.

Different people or groups are reluctant to have dialogues and exchange ideas with others because aprioriously put forward defensive and offensive attitudes, not dialogic attitudes.

"Implanting religious moderation insights in the world of education and social media is expected to neutralize extreme attitudes in various ways," he said.