Modern Visions of Tunisia and Muhammadiyah to Foster the Islamic World

MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, JAKARTA – Tunisian Ambassador to Indonesia, Riadh Dridi visited the Muhammadiyah Office of Jakarta on Wednesday (18/1). The Ambassador was accompanied by a diplomat Chaouki Maouley.

President Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir and the Secretary of Muhammadiyah Izzul Muslimin welcomed Riadh and Chaouki.

In the visit, Riadh congratulated Muhammadiyah for the success of the 48th Congress (Muktamar) in Solo. Besides, he wished for collaboration between Tunisia and Muhammadiyah in education, human resource development, and programs to disseminate the vision of modern Islam.

“Tunisia is a country with modern Islamic views. Zaituna University in Tunisia has collaborated with several universities in Indonesia, and we would like to further cooperate with Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah universities. I am proud of Muhammadiyah,” Riadh said.

Riadh believed that cooperation with Muhammadiyah could improve the Islamic world because Muhammadiyah is a pioneer organization promoting modern Islam. Meanwhile, Tunisia and Indonesia have historical closeness, so cooperation may be easier.

Besides, President Muhammadiyah, Haedar Nashir invited Riadh to visit one of the Muhammadiyah-‘Aisyiyah universities to see the quality of Muhammadiyah education.

“We have 171 Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah universities throughout Indonesia and one university in Malaysia. We also have 121 hospitals, and Muhammadiyah has play significant roles in remote areas of Indonesia,” said Haedar.

In particular, Haedar mentioned opportunities for collaboration may involve education, student and staff exchanges, Arabic language development for Muhammadiyah teaching staff, and programs regarding humanity and human resource development.

“The collaboration that Muhammadiyah universities and Tunisian universities aims to improve better relations on how we jointly develop the Islamic world, especially Tunisia,” he added.

“We see that Tunisia and Indonesia have similarities in viewing wasathiyah Islam or moderate Islam. Thus, later Muslims and the Muslim world will not only be moderate, but also advanced in education, science and technology, the economy, and other fields,” said Haedar.