Vice President Supports Saudi To Be A Pioneer Of Moderate Islamic Movement

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin received an honorary visit from the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Da'wah and Extension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdullatif bin Abdulazis Al-Shaykh (Photo via BPMI Setwapres)

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin supports the Government of Saudi Arabia in pioneering the Wasathiyah Islam movement or moderate Islam which is now a serious concern in various countries in the world.

This was conveyed by the Deputy Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi in his press statement after accompanying the Vice President to receive an honorary visit from the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Da'wah, and Extension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia HE Abdullatif bin Abdulazis Al-Shaykh, in Jakarta, Friday, March 25.

"Mr. Vice President provides support, the Government of Saudi Arabia takes a leading position in pioneering the Wasathiyah Islamic movement," said Zainut Tauhid in a press release received from the Press, Media and Information Bureau (BPMI) of the Vice President's Secretariat in Jakarta, quoted from Antara.

Zainut said that during the meeting the Vice President recalled the history of Indonesian scholars who used to study religion in Saudi Arabia. He said that the knowledge gained was very applicable to be implemented in Indonesia with diverse community backgrounds.

"Mr. Vice President said that in the past our scholars who studied in the Holy Land, they were scholars who later had santri, students who later returned to Indonesia to spread Islam peacefully and among them became fighters to fight against the invaders," said Zainut. .

On the other hand, he added, the topic of discussion at this meeting was about increasing cooperation between the two countries. The Vice President views that long-standing cooperation must be maintained and developed in other aspects.

"This relationship has become a long enough relationship and God willing, it will be improved in the future, both in the form of bilateral relations between the two countries and improvements in order to build world civilization," added Zainut.

Regarding the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Zainut, the Vice President appreciated the commitment given by the Government of Saudi Arabia so that the implementation of Umrah could run smoothly. He hopes that this good condition can continue until the Hajj season later.

"The Indonesian government really hopes that this year's hajj season will be given the opportunity to be able to perform the hajj pilgrimage," he explained.

Zainut conveyed that the Vice President welcomed the plan to hold an Asian-level Islamic Conference, in which Indonesia would host the theme "Khairah Ummah" (the best of the people) which is very relevant to social life.

"The Vice President gave directions, this is an important theme to be strengthened, because we want to restore the glory of the Muslims, the khairah ummah, as in previous times, in the early days, namely at the time of the Prophet and his companions," explained Zainut.

In addition to the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Da'wah, and Extension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, present at this meeting the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia Esam A. Abid Althagafi, Religious Attache of the Saudi Arabian Embassy Ahmad Bin Isa Al Hazimiy, Deputy for Foreign Affairs Awad Al Inzi, Director of Foreign Affairs Islam Abdul Aziz Al Hamdan, and Mohamed Abdulwahed Alarifi.

Meanwhile, the Vice President at the meeting was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi, Head of the Vice Presidential Secretariat Ahmad Erani Yustika, Deputy for Human Development Policy Support and Development Equity, Suprayoga Hadi, Director General of Islamic Community Guidance at the Ministry of Religion Kamaruddin Amin, Special Staff for Vice President Masduki Baidlowi. , and Masykuri Abdillah, and Plh. Assistant Deputy for Foreign Relations at the Wapres Secretariat Amri Kusumawardana.