The examples above, although specifically refer to lectures in religion courses, in my opinion could be utilized as one of the methods
in developing ethics of social interaction in higher education institutions in general. The questions and responses of my students above could
provide an outlook that in the context of higher education, we are not only expected to prepare teaching materials that are plentiful in
perspective, various in methods, with tasks which provide the opportunity for students to be able to interact with fellow students on a
deeper level, but we must also be prepared for various critical questions posed by students, let alone if it is related to our own faith. It is in this
context that I felt the importance in understanding our own religious teaching deeply before we could share and conduct dialog with others. I
think it is highly significant for us to consider one of the ground rules proposed by Leonard Swidler on the need to define ourselves in the
context of interreligious relation. It is only us alone who can define what it means to be a Muslim, Christian, or others.
11.4 Education Institution Aspect
Aside from the two aspects discussed above, higher education institutions have a very strategic role in developing interreligious social
interactions, particularly in and around the campus. The swift advance of knowledge and technology simultaneously give way to several
problems. It is not infrequent that the problems that arise need ethical and religious response, hence higher education institution could take the
role in teaching education that is polite, inclusive, nonviolent, and capable of answering the challenges of the advancement of time. This
compels higher education institutions to possess a clear vision which would be translated into mission, graduate competence, and curriculum.
Subsequently, in regards to the teaching of religion, higher education institution should form a consortium of supervising lecturers. This is
important so that supervisors understand the values, aims, and methods
in teaching religion that is inclusive and nonviolent. Because lecturers are at the forefront in delivering education to students, then higher
education institutions need to be convincing that the religious education conveyed also emphasizes historical aspect and not constantly on
normative aspect of religion Abdullah, 1996. Then there are several important questions which must be answered:
in neutral higher education institutions or those that have no religious affiliation, how would lecture on religion be given? If we were to refer
to USPN No. 202003 mentioned previously, then higher education institutions are also obligated to provide religious education in
accordance to the religion adhered by each student and it is taught by an educator of the same faith. The question is that if higher education
institutions provide religious education separately to each followers of religion, how could theological dialog happen among students?
However, in the history of Indonesian education, we note that there have been many private schools and higher education institutions of religious
character that bear a heavy heart in regards to this law since they are of the view that religion, which is the defining character of their institution,
should be taught and contemplated by all of its student learners. Another issue related to this is in regards to acceptance of students
into higher education institutions with religious characteristic, would they accept students who are different with the religion of the
institutions? I think that in today’s globalization era, higher education institutions, particularly those with religious characteristic, are no longer
able to confine themselves and only accept students or lecturers who are of the same religion as the institution. The interest of students from the
United States to learn Islam in Indonesia, or a group of European Parliamentary members who are present as participants of Indonesia
Interfaith Scholarship, for examples, would render an Islamic higher education institution unable to seal themselves off and reject them. The
presence of students or lecturers from various religions should enrich the
perspective of higher education institutions and facilitate in the possibility of conducting interreligious dialog for the academic
community of those institutions. Acceptance of students, lecturers, or several guests from various
religious backgrounds is related to facilities of worship which should be provided by the institutions. I remember my experience when intending
to conduct midday prayer at Monash University, Clayton Campus, Australia. Since I didn’t attend classes there and I lived far from
Clayton, I tried to look for a prayer space. Consequently, I found a Religious Centre which was quite interesting in shape and wide enough
to be used as a place of worship for students from all backgrounds of religion and faith. I think such initiative needs to be considered by
higher education institutions in Indonesia. This is not only important to students or lecturers of various religions who attend the institutions, but
it is also of benefit to the institutions when they receive guests who are present for seminars, workshops, or such events. Provision of a place of
worship that could be used by various religious communities multi faith center could also be a place for the academic community to mutually
interact and cooperate in comparison to worship facilities that are exclusively utilized for each religious community Tidswell and
Franzmann in Engebretson et. al, 2010:389-402. Then how about the rules and regulations which applies, such as
Muslim attire, should it be worn too by non-Muslim students? As a lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, I am frequently asked by foreign
students who wanted to learn or merely conduct research “do I have to wear Muslim attires while I am in the UIN campus ground?” I am often
confused in answering this question because although Muslim attires are indeed one of the student’s codes of ethics, in my opinion, it should not
be applicable to students and lecturers who are not Muslim. The challenges above are a small part of what higher education
institutions confront in managing and providing education in general,
and religious education in particular, as well as in accepting the academic community that comes from a variety of religious
backgrounds. In the future, it should be a matter of fact that every higher education institution possesses a social interaction manual among
academic community of various religious backgrounds which is produced based on the vision and mission of the university, both in
terms of teaching courses and provision of supporting facilities.
11.5 References
Abdullah, Amin. 1996. Studi Agama: Normativitas atau Historisitas? Yogyakarta:Pustaka Pelajar.
Adams, Charles J. 1976. “Islamic Religious Tradition,” in Leonard Binder ed.. The Study of the Middle East: Research and Scholarship in
the Humanities and the Social Sciences. London: John Wiley Sons, pp. 29-56.
Durham Jr., W., Cole Silvio Ferrari, Simona Santoro. 2008. “The Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religion and Beliefs in Public
Schools.” Journal of Security and Human Rights, No. 3: 229-239.
Eck, Diana L. 2005. “Is Our God Listening? Exclusivism, Inclusivism, and Pluralism.” in Roger Boase ed., Islam and Global Dialogue:
Religious Pluralism and the Pursuit of Peace Burlington: Ashgate, 2005.
Eck, Diana L. 2007. “Prospects for Pluralism: Voice and Vision in the Study of Religion.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol.
75, No. 4. Gillespie, Piers. 2007. “Current Issues in Indonesian Islam: Analysing the 2005 Council of Indonesian Ulama Fatwa No. 7
Opposing Pluralism, Liberalism and Secularism.” Journal of Islamic Studies 18 2: 202-240.
Husein, Fatimah. 2010. “Merangkul yang Lain,” dalam Hendri Wijayatsih, dkk., eds.. Memahami Kebenaran yang Lain sebagai
Upaya Pembaharuan Hidup Bersama. Yogyakarta: TPK untuk UKDW. Knitter, Paul F. 1995. One Earth Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue
and Global Responsibility. Maryknoll, New York: Orbit Books. Koren, J. dan Y.D. Nevo. “Methodological Approaches to Islamic
Studies.” Der Islam 68 : 87-107. 1991. Pannikkar, Raimundo. 1999. The Intra-religious Dialogue. New York:
Paulist Press. Pratt, Douglas. 2005. The Challenge of Islam: Encounters in Interfaith
Dialogue. Hampshire: Ashgate. Stewart, Desmond. 1968. Great Ages of Man: Early Islam A History of
the World’s Cultures. Netherland: Time-Life International.
Swidler
, Leonard. 2003. “The Dialogue Decalogue” Journal of Ecumenical Studies.
Tidswell, Toni, and Majella Franzmann. 2010. “Learning and Life- Modelling in the Critical Community: Educating University Students for
Inter-religious Engagement,” in Kath Engebretson, et. al. eds. International Handbook of Inter-religious Education. London and New
York: Springer.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND EDITORS
ALOIS A. NUGROHO, Prof. Professor at Atmajaya Catholic University, Jakarta
BERNARD ADENEY-RISAKOTTA, Prof. International Representative at Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies ICRS Yogyakarta
FATIMAH HUSEIN, Ph.D. Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion and Interreligious Dialog at UIN Sunan Kalijaga
FERRY MUHAMMADSYAH SIREGAR, LC., M.A., Student at ICRS and Research Assistant at Global
HAMIM ILYAS, Dr. Lecturer at the Faculty of Dakwah, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta
M. MACHASIN, Prof. Professor of History of Islamic Culture at Sunan Kalijaga Islamic State University, Yogyakarta; Expert Staff for the
Minister of Religious Affairs in Law and Human Rights; Head of Research, Development, and Training at the Ministry of Religious
Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Board Member Globethics.net MARTINO SARDI, Dr. Lecturer at Muhammadiyah University
Yogyakarta NINA MARIANI NOOR, MA. Student at ICRS Graduate School of
Interreligious Studies, Gadjah Mada University batch 2009. Program Executive at Globethics.net Indonesia
SITI SYAMSIYATUN, Ph.D. Lecturer at the Faculty of Dakwah, Islamic State University Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta. Director of
Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies ICRS TABITA KARTIKA CHRISTIANI, Ph.D. Lecturer at Duta Wacana
Christian University, Yogyakarta
TJAHJONO SOERJODIBROTO, Ir. National Director at World Vision Indonesia. Member of the Advisory Board at Globethics.net Indonesia
YAHYA WIJAYA, Ph.D. Lecturer at Duta Wacana Christian University, Yogyakarta
ZULY QODIR, Dr. Sociologist and Lecturer at Muhammadiyah University Yogyakarta
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