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In early 2004, LibForAll Foundation launched its
initial programs in Indonesia, due to its
strategic importance
as the nation with the world's largest Muslim population and
democracy. LibForAll's initial partners in Indonesia include some of the most
reputable, and influential,
progressive Muslim leaders in the
country.
The
Wahid
Institute, whose motto is "seeding
plural and peaceful Islam." Its mission is to develop
moderate Islamic thought and to promote democratic reform,
religious pluralism and tolerance among Muslims in Indonesia
and around the world. Its activities include proactive conflict
resolution and defense of minority rights; strengthening
the capacity of progressive Islamic non-governmental organizations;
and programs to promote moderate Islam in local mosques and
communities throughout Indonesia.
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Through the recognition and respect accorded
its spiritual leader,
Abdurrahman
Wahid, the Institute is
uniquely positioned to bring together religious leaders,
statesmen and politicians in the West and the Islamic world.
The head of the Wahid Institute is Abdurrahman Wahid's daughter,
Yenni, a graduate of Harvard University and prize-winning
journalist, whose reporting on the tragedy of East Timor
won the Australian
equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in 1999.
Read a fascinating Wall Street Journal profile of
Yenni, called "Daughter
of Islam: an elegant (and eloquent) foe of Muslim
fundamentalists."
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Abdul Munir Mulkhan (to
the right and below,
with LibForAll's CEO), is a leading Muslim intellectual
whose writings on the subject of Islamic spirituality, pluralism
and tolerance are a source of inspiration for countless young
Muslims. Vice-Secretary of the Muhammadiyah (the world’s 2nd-largest
Muslim organization) from 2000-2005, Dr. Munir remains
a prominent and influential
leader of the 30-million-strong Muhammadiyah. He has
been a member of LibForAll's
board of advisors since its establishment in 2003; a Senior
LibForAll Fellow since mid-2005; and is a professor at Sunan
Kalijaga Islamic State University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
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Munir is also the founder and head of
Yayasan
Falsafatuna (the “Our Philosophy Foundation”), whose
LibForAll-supported
projects include a program to integrate Sufism (Islamic mysticism)
into Indonesia's national religious curriculum, to help Muslim
students understand the value of tolerance and discourage
extremism; conducting an exhaustive survey of Indonesian
spiritual movements and texts; and translating the best of
said texts from the original Javanese and other languages
into contemporary Indonesian.
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Yayasan Darmokusumo (the "Flower of Dharma Foundation")
is headquartered in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Its mission is to teach courses in Javanese and Muslim
spirituality to the Indonesian public—with a focus on elite
opinion-makers and youth—thereby re-enlivening traditional
Javanese spiritual practices and beliefs that give rise
to inner peace and tolerance. Dwijo Martani, shown here,
is one of its Javanese specialists, and a LibForAll fellow.
Yayasan Darmokusumo also promotes awareness of how the
Javanese tradition of religious tolerance represents a
unique form of cultural capital, of great value to Indonesia
and the world.
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A group of librarians from the palace of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuono
X (left, with LibForAll's CEO) have helped with our research
into the Islamization of Java in the 16th century, when tolerant,
mystically-inclined Javanese Muslims defeated an earlier
generation of militant extremists, who were much like Osama
bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
The story of Java's victory over radical Islam is told in
the
Babad Tanah Jawi, which
LibForAll Foundation is translating
into contemporary poetic Indonesian, as part of our campaign
to support local, native Islamic cultures threatened by religious
extremism.
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Education to counter religious extremism:
LibForAll Foundation provides scholarships
that enable poor children to receive a quality education
that teaches tolerance, the dignity and value of each individual,
and respect for different beliefs, while preparing them to
succeed in the modern world. We currently support orphans
and other impoverished children in Central Java, Yogyakarta
and the tsunami-ravaged province of Banda Aceh."In the five years since the fall of Suharto, the Saudis
have dramatically scaled up their presence in Indonesia,
trying
to repeat their success at radicalizing the Pakistani and
Afghan populations.... Al Qaeda recruits in Indonesia come
from Saudi-funded
schools. In many cases, poor kids do not have access to
education and the religious schools represent their only
chance to learn
to read and write. Once there youths are steered down a
dead-end street of violence and hatred." ~ Wall Street Journal
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LibForAll Foundation also works with
popular
musicians such
as the members of Dewa to
counter extremist ideology in the world's most populous Muslim
nation. |
| LibForAll Foundation actively networks and
helps to link moderate and progressive Muslims in Indonesia,
to support one another in the face of heavy criticism from
well-financed religious extremists. For more information,
visit our News and Global Network pages. |
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These activities include a pioneering
Pluralist Network program
whose participants have deep roots in local society, and can
exert an enormous influence on the future development of Islam
not only in Indonesia, but worldwide. |
In the publishing realm, we're also helping to translate
the best work of progressive Indonesian Muslims into
Arabic
and English—and publish them freely on the internet, as well
as in traditional book form. Our projects include this influential
work ( Islam, the State and Civil Society), which represents
the best of contemporary Indonesian thought on a subject vital
to the future of freedom and democracy throughout the Muslim
world.
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