Ma'ruf Amin encourages NU to strengthen education and economic independence

Maruf Amin who served as Vice President of Indonesia 2019-2024. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The 13th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin encourages Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to strengthen the nation and prosper the country through the development of education, economic independence, and strengthening national harmony.

Ma'ruf said NU is not merely a gathering place, but an organization that has a role in fighting for justice, maintaining security, and encouraging improvements in people's lives.

"So, NU is an organization that fights for justice, spreads security, wa islahindan makes various improvements, wa ihsanindan brings goodness," said Ma'ruf at the "National Halaqah and NU Basic Law" at the Nusantara V Building of the Parliament Complex, Senayan, followed by online in Jakarta, Saturday, as reported by Antara.

In strengthening the community (taqwiyatul ummah), Ma'ruf emphasized the importance of protecting the community from distorted religious understanding while increasing the empowerment of the community in a tangible way.

He encouraged the development of education through the concept of majma'ul bahrain or the meeting of two oceans, namely a strong religious education as well as mastery of science and technology.

"The education that we have to build now is two, namely preparing poor people, people of scholars to take care of. Previously, the guidance of the people. So that it remains in the right understanding, and then, who will build the earth. Yes, who oversees science and technology," said Ma'ruf.

Apart from education, Ma'ruf assessed that economic independence needs to be part of efforts to enrich the country. According to him, the NU people's economic movement has a historical root through Nahdlatul Tujjaryang was pioneered by scholars before NU was established.

In the national dimension, he emphasized the importance of maintaining the homeland (hifzhul wathon) while maintaining harmony through four frames, namely political, juridical, sociological, and theological.

The political framework is realized through commitment to national consensus. Meanwhile, the juridical framework ensures that rules and policies are not discriminatory. The sociological framework optimizes local wisdom to resolve conflicts. The theological framework emphasizes the narrative of harmony between religious communities.

"We are commanded to be pious, all religions are pious, but how to use the narrative of harmony. Not the narrative of conflict," he said.

Ma'ruf also encouraged NU to improve the quality of leadership through al-ishlah, namely the effort to reconcile conflicting groups while improving the direction of the organization so that it remains based on the moderate and dynamic Nahdliyyah Fikrah.

He emphasized the importance of Nahdliyin residents understanding the reasons and foundations for organizing so that they do not just follow the flow.

"In the future, we must build a bashirah, that is, the words of Syekh Nawawi al-Bantani, ala hujjatin wadihatin ghairi amya. On the basis of strong reasons. Why is he a NU? The reason is strong. The foundation is strong," said Ma'ruf.