DPR Education Commission Supports PMII To Dam Radical And Secular Movements

JAKARTA - Chairman of Commission X DPR Syaiful Huda appreciates the holding of the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII) Lecturer Thought Conference which will be held April 5-7 in Tulungagung, East Java.

He hopes that PMII will strengthen the religious moderation movement in Indonesia which is currently facing tough challenges.

Because according to him, in addition to the Islamic transnationalism movement which gave rise to radical movements, Indonesia also continues to face a secular ideology which seeks to ignore the role of religion in the state.

"The role of PMII is needed so that we can row the Indonesian boat to survive the two waves," said Syaiful Huda to reporters, Tuesday, April 6.

According to him, the Makassar bombers and the attackers at the National Police Headquarters, who are still 26 years old, are a sign that the transnational Islamic movement, which is dominated by fundamentalist scripturalist thoughts, has infiltrated millennial circles.

"This incident is an early warning for all of us about how the Islamic radicalism movement has reached young people. A counter discourse is needed so that this narrative does not escalate, especially among young people, "said the PKB politician.

Apart from the transnational Islamic movement, continued Huda, Indonesia also faces the latent danger of a secular movement that wants to separate religion from the state. Where the secular movement as echoed by communist ideology and liberal capitalism in its various forms also greatly influences the way of thinking of young people.

"The secular movement is as dangerous as the Islamic transnationalism movement. Therefore, PMII and NU together with other entities that carry moderate Islam must work hand in hand to stem the two waves that both endanger Indonesia in the future, "he said.

According to Huda, PMII has extraordinary human resource potential. PMII alumni who are currently scattered in various fields of work professions have the potential to spearhead the spread of moderate Islam.

"So this PMII alumni lecturer thought congress becomes important, meaning when a discourse is needed to keep Indonesia from falling into a form of a secular state or a religious state," said the former Chairman of PMII Bandung Raya.

Huda hopes that the PMII Lecturer Thought Conference will highlight efforts to reach out to the younger generation. Primarily, students or students have a moderate perspective both in religion and in the state.

He emphasized that he was ready to bring the recommendation of the PMII IKA Lecturer Conference to the Ministry of Education and Culture.