Wasaṭīyah Islam: Traditions and Challenges in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The rise of Islamic purification movements in recent times in Indonesia has become a challenge to the sustainability of national life. Indonesia has a character of diversity that other countries do not have and it has existed for a long time. All social elements can coexist in Indonesia. It was not easy to imagine that Indonesia with the absolute majority of Muslims could be based on Pancasila instead of making Islam the official state religion. This is because Muslims in Indonesia settle themselves as the middle path Muslims (wasaṭīyah) who promote Islam as moderate Islam, smiling Islam, and friendly Islam.Therefore, to strengthen the characteristics of Islamic Wasaṭīyah in Indonesia, the Center for the Study of Islam and Society of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University of Jakarta in collaboration with the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia held the 3rd Studia Islamika International Conference: "Washatiyah Islam: Traditions and Challenges" on 10-11 November 2021 online. This conference focused on four main topics: (1) The roots of the Islamic wasaṭīyah tradition in Southeast Asia; (2) Accommodation for Islamic wasaṭīyah and local culture meetings; (3) The establishment of the Southeast Asian Islamic wasaṭīyah traditions; and (4) Radicalism and terrorism as challenges of Islamic wasaṭīyah.