JAKARTA - Nusantara Foundation President Imam Shamsi Ali shared a story about his experience of being summoned by the 43rd President of the United States George Walker Bush to the White House to discuss the latest developments in Islam.
"This incident occurred precisely after the September 11 incident (acts of terrorism in the WTC building). The US government at that time felt the need to summon local figures who were thought to understand Islam to gain a broader perspective, ”he said in a webinar entitled Jihad vs Terror, Saturday, April 3.
Amazingly, Shamsi was not only consulted by the President of the United States this time, but three times.
"From all the meetings and talks, I can catch that prior to the September 11 action the US government did not include Islam as part of their strategic policy," he said.
It was only after the terrorism incident took place that the US paid more attention to Islam and put this important issue as one of the considerations in making decisions, whether for foreign or national policy.
"Since then Islam has had a high profile in US politics," he stressed.
This Indonesian citizen of Bugis descent is widely recognized by the US public as one of the central figures who helped spread the understanding of Islam in a positive way. The efforts he made were considered to have helped local authorities to combat Islamophobia, which was widespread at that time in the aftermath of the September 11 incident.
“Even though my English is still broken with a Makassar accent, I struggle to provide a correct understanding of Islam. Moreover, Islam in Indonesia is known as moderate Islam and this is very helpful, ”he explained.
Shamsi himself admitted that he first came to the US in 1996 after receiving an offer from the Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York to broadcast Islamic teachings to local residents.
In his preaching, Shamsi revealed that he often talked about tolerance in every discussion that was held. This is reflected in the mutual respect of the Indonesian people in carrying out their respective beliefs in the country.
For this reason, he is concerned about the acts of terror that took place at the National Police Headquarters at the end of March. According to him, this incident could be prevented if the community members could comprehend the teachings of Islam comprehensively.
"Islam is Rahmatan lil'alamin. So there is no reason to justify every act of terrorism, "he said.
Hinggi now, he is still actively spreading the word of Islam in this superpower country. In fact, his aspirations to establish the first Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in the US are increasingly being realized.
“I have a dream to present the first Islamic boarding school in America. And Alhamdulillah, we have also received support from Kang Ridwan Kamil (Governor of West Java) in 2019, "he explained.
Based on information compiled by VOI, the Islamic boarding school initiated by Shamsi named Nur Inka Nusantara Madani. The Islamic-style educational facility is said to be located in a small town called Moodus, Connecticut, with a total land area of 7.4 hectares.
Now, the construction of this Rp. 700.8 billion Islamic boarding school is still in the completion stage and is planned to be put into use as soon as the construction process is complete.
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