Islam Moderate and Counter-radicalism for Students through the

Personality Development Curriculum

Umi Sumbulah

, Siti Mahmudah

, M. Toriquddin

, Agus Purnomo

Sharia Faculty of UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim, Jl. Gajayana 50, Malang 65154, Indonesia

Faculty of Psychology of UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim, Jl. Gajayana 50, Malang 65154, Indonesia

Sharia Faculty of The State Institute of Islamic Studies, Jl. Pramuka 156, Ponorogo, Indonesia

agus_chalyl@yahoo.com

Keywords: counter-radicalism, ma’had, moderate, personality development curriculum, ulul albab.

Abstract: This study discusses the development of moderate Islamic values and counter-radicalism through the

personality development curriculum (MPK) for UIN Malang students. Efforts to develop moderate Islam

are carried out in regular lectures and student activities in ma'had. The development of moderate Islam in

lectures can be seen in the design, implementation and evaluation of learning. Instilling the values of

Islamic moderates in ma'had is done by training, habituation, and exemplary in everyday life. The MPK

curriculum plays a very important role in the formation of moderate Islamic identity for students, training

them to respect diversity, fostering historical and cultural awareness full of life values, expanding and

strengthening the concept of integration between religion, nation, and state. Islamic moderate values can be

seen in the achievement of MPK competency standards, namely: the development of personality and

attitudes as Indonesian citizens and global citizens, the development of personality and attitudes as Muslim

and Muslim students. Achieving these competencies is manifested in the figure of students who have the

ulul albab personality, namely: having a spiritual depth, the majesty of morality, the breadth of knowledge,

and professional maturity. Thus, the development of moderate Islamic values has implications for students'

ability to counter radicalism.

1 INTRODUCTION

Moderate Islam has often positioned vis-à-vis

radicalism on the right and liberalism on the left.

Moderate Islam in the Indonesian context is

essentially one of the elegant offers in understanding

Islam. This is because being moderate in Islam is not

a deviant thing in Islamic teachings since it can be

found the normative basis and its reference in the

Qur'an, Hadith, and history. The position of the

ministry of religions as a representation of the

majority of Indonesian Muslims, the concept of

Islamic moderation developed in line with Nahdlatul

Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah as the two largest

socio-religious organizations in Indonesia. Both

organizations are a moderate representation of Islam,

not liberal Islam and not radical Islam. Some

research findings confirm that NU and

Muhammadyah are the two major organizations in

the country that develop moderate Islamic ideas and

identities (Suharto, 2014). NU poured policy and

affirmed its identity as moderate Islam in

muqaddimah (preamble) of the organization's AD /

ART in 2010. NU developed ukhuwwah islamiyah,

ukhuwwah wathaniyah, and ukhuwwah insaniyah

carrying national and international interests by

adhering to the principles of sincerity (al-ikhlas),

justice ('adalah), moderation (al-tawasuth), al-

tawazun (balanced), and tolerance (al-tasamuh)

(PBNU, 2011). Muhammadiyah also poured the

ideological line of moderate Islam in the Tanwir

Muhammadiyah meeting in Bandung in 2012. The

Tanwir decided that the ideology of Muhammadiyah

was a progressive Islamic ideology that saw Islam as

a religion of civilization (din al-hadharah). The

identity of Islam as din al-hadharah is one of them

characterized by the nature of wasathiyah

(moderate) to distinguish it from other extreme

ideologies (Nasir, 2015).

UIN Malang as one of the universities under the

Ministry of Religion also means getting a mandate

to promote moderate Islam. Therefore, the campus

develops moderate Islam through the personal

development curriculum (MPK). MPK is grouped

Sumbulah, U., Mahmudah, S., Toriquddin, M. and Purnomo, A.

Islam Moderate and Counter-radicalism for Students through the Personality Development Curriculum.

DOI: 10.5220/0009927413391348

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 1339-1348

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

1339

into four (4) clumps, namely: 1) The family of

Islamic sciences; 2) the nationality and Indonesian

nations; 3) common language, philosophy and

knowledge base; 4) tarbiyah ulul albab (Tim

Penulis, 2015). The importance of MPK

strengthening can also be a counter-radicalism

strategy that has now targeted religious university

students, including UIN Malang. Therefore, MPK is

expected to form a moderate Islamic character for

students, which is reflected in the content and design

of learning. For example, in the study subjects of the

Qur'an and hadith, in addition through a process of

learning that upholds the principles of tolerance and

respect for the opinions of others, democratic and

non-discriminatory, learning materials are also

enriched with the universal values in the Qur'an and

hadith, among them: justice and honesty, unity,

gender equality, tolerance and harmony of religious,

democratic, and human rights. These principles are

part of the values of Islamic moderate.

The development of Indonesian identity and

nationality in MPK was implemented in Pancasila

and civic education courses, which refer to four (4)

pillars of the nation, namely: Pancasila, 1945

Constitution, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in

Diversity), and NKRI. Pancasila is the basic

philosophy of the state which is expected to be able

to solve various state problems because it is

considered Pancasila is a filter of various

ideologies, understandings, and doctrines that are

not appropriate. Pancasila consists of five

interrelated principles, namely: divinity, humanity,

unity, deliberation, and social justice (Sirait, 2016).

The 1945 Constitution is a manifestation of the

collective will of the nation in realizing the modern

constitution that can inspire the implementation of

the values of national and state life, which is

democratic and fair. This Constitution guarantees

religious freedom but not the freedom not to be

religious (Sarhindi, 2017; Parker, 2010). Bhinneka

Tunggal Ika as the nation's motto collects the

diversity of ethnic, religious, racial, ethnic, class,

and other social categories, but remains united.

NKRI is geographically composed of a series of

thousands of islands that are territorially stretched

from Sabang to Merauke. This awareness and

reinforcement of national identity, among them can

be achieved through the development of Islamic

moderate values. This is because, in fact, the four (4)

pillars of the nation are in accordance with Islamic

principles and values. Strengthening students

identity with Islamic moderatism values will lead

them to have the ability to count to radicalism.

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Moderate Islam

The term 'moderate Islam' comes with a theological

and ontological basis, which is part of the universal

teachings of Islam. The term 'moderate Islam' comes

with a theological and ontological basis, which is

part of the universal teachings of Islam. In Arabic,

the term is equivalent to the term "ummatan

wasathan" or al-din al-wasathi (Qur'an, 2: 143). The

term umatan wasathan in this verse means "middle

class or religion". The word "moderate" is the

emphasis that Islam hates violence. Even in the

hadiths of the Prophet is told that when we are faced

with two choices it is advisable to choose the middle

way. It is this attitude that makes the Prophet

Muhammad a moderate figure. It is in this context

that the term moderates finds its roots in the Islamic

tradition. This suggests that this character should be

inherited by all Muslims (El-Fadl, 2005).

Strengthening El Fadl's thesis, Jamil (2013) details 6

characteristics and principles of moderate Islam: 1)

placing the Qur'an as an open book and central

guidance; justice as a spirit in the equality of human

dignity and dignity; 2) develop a tolerance and open

attitude to diversity; 3) the principle of liberation,

religion as an entity that frees people from various

practices of injustice; 4) the principle of humanity,

Islam is committed to building a just society and

upholding the values of humanity; 4) pluralism, the

religion of peace Islam and the view of religious

diversity as the will of God; 5) sensitivity, Islam

brought a great revolution to the paradigm shift

towards women; 6) non-discrimination, Islam

opposes oppression, marginalization, and injustice.

Developing a moderate understanding of Islam in

the Indonesian context is crucial. This is because the

archipelago is inhabited by diversity, both schools of

thought (mazhab) in Islam, religions, tribes, races,

and among groups. The concept of moderate Islam

promotes that Islam is understood contextually,

acknowledging diversity as the natural law

(sunnatullah) whose indisputable existence cannot

be. If these noble teachings and values are practiced,

then Islam will truly become the religion of

rahmatan li al-'alamin, not only potentially, but

actually. In this context, Azra (2006) asserts that

Indonesian Muslims have distinctive and distinctive

social and cultural systems and traditions compared

to Muslims elsewhere. Therefore, Islam Indonesia

has its own Islamic cultural area. Thus, Indonesian

Islam belongs to a large group of moderate Muslims.

This idea has actually been campaigned by Tarmidzi

Taher, Minister of Religion period 1992-1997, that

Islam Indonesia is an example of actualization of

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

1340

ummatan washatan in various aspects of Muslim

life. Because Muslims are the majority population of

this country, the promotion of moderate Islam in

Indonesia's foreign policy is built on Islamic norms

as rahmatan lil ‘alamin (Purwono, 2017).

2.2 Radicalism and

Counter-radicalism

The monolithic perspective is not enough to explain

radicalism as a religious, social, and political

phenomenon because it is a complicated problem.

The concept of radicalism in this paper refers to

groups with high ideologically and fanatical beliefs

striving to replace the ongoing values and systems

(Jamhari & Jahroni, 2004). Radicalism according to

Kallen (1972) refers to a group that dominates its

harsh side against other groups both physically and

symbolically, at both the level of discourse and

religious ideology, as well as the expression of

violence. Therefore, the phenomenon of

radicalization has three characters: 1) emerges as a

response in the form of evaluation, rejection or

resistance to the ongoing conditions, whether in the

form of assumptions, values or even religious or

state institutions; 2) always try to replace the

existing order with another order systematized and

constructed through their own worldview; 3) the

strong belief in the ideological truths they offer. It is

vulnerable to generate potential emotional attitudes

and not infrequently leads to violence and terrorism

(Zada, 2002). This is the meaning of the

fundamentalist term coined by Euben (1999),

namely: contemporary political and religious

movements that seek to return to the scriptural

foundations and reinterpret these foundations to

apply to contemporary political and social worlds.

This formulation emphasizes three important things

in fundamentalism, namely: despite their religious

motivation, fundamentalism also has a political

aspect, thus categorized as a religious-political

movement; fundamentalism is limited to the idea

and movement back to the scriptural religious

tradition which rejects all forms of interpretation, so

they are called scriptural Islam (Liddle, 1999); and

the phenomenon of fundamentalism is one of the

expressions of modernity.

Counter-radicalism is all activities aimed at

inviting all stakeholders to fight radicalism. In

general, radical groups promote radical ideological

narratives to the public. Thus, the goal of counter-

radicalism is to expose and fight radical ideologies,

by educating, promoting, and strengthening their

defenses against the narratives of radical groups, and

empowering people to jointly oppose radical

ideologies (Schmid, 2013). Radical groups use

various ways to spread radical ideology to all

segments of society. Even now radicalism has also

targeted school children in several regions. Those

who are targeted not only in the city as the

beginning of the presence of this group in the 90s,

but also in remote villages. They not only recruit

students but also children and junior high school

students (Sumbulah, 2015). If this is not

immediately anticipated, it can foster an attitude of

intolerance that is contrary to the purpose of

religious education itself (Munip, 2012). This is in

line with Macaluso's (2016) research that the

relationship between education and radicalization

can be ambivalent. Interventions at the secondary

and higher education levels are conducted to identify

the symptoms of radicalization that occur.

Educational institutions should be places where

values are discussed openly, critical thinking and

exchanges of different ideas and perspectives are

encouraged. In this context, it is interesting to note

the findings of Omwega et al (2016) in Kenya, that

terrorist groups seek to recruit young people to their

goals and interests. Therefore, education is one of

the most effective ways to fight terrorist and

extremist seduction among youth. Prevention of

radicalization for students can be done by providing

special resources that are trained in strategies against

radicalism and extremism (OSCE, 2014). Thus

fighting radicalism by developing a curriculum in

Islamic higher education found its relevance.

3 METHOD

This qualitative research was carried out at UIN

Malang. The research subjects were: 1) lecturer of

personality development courses; 2) boarding school

caregivers (kyai); and 3) 2nd semester students who

live in ma'had and have or are taking personal

development courses in their respective faculties.

Data was collected through in-depth interviews,

observation, and documentation. Data analysis was

carried out through the stages of data reduction,

display, and conclusion drawing. To avoid research

bias, extension of the study period and focus group

discussion was carried out.

4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Curriculum Structure of MPK and

Graduate Competency Standard

The personality development course is a curriculum

that contains the basics of students' knowledge,

Islam Moderate and Counter-radicalism for Students through the Personality Development Curriculum

1341

attitudes, and personality. The 40 SKS course

consists of four (4) clumps, i.e: 1) Islamic Studies

(Qur'an & Hadith studies, history of Islamic

civilization, Islamic theology, Sufism, and fiqh);

2)Indonesian-ness & nationality (Pancasila and

Civic Education); 3) Language, philosophy, and

common knowledge basics (Bahasa Indonesia,

Arabic, English, philosophy of science, IAD, ISD,

IBD); 4) Tarbiyah ulul albab: the life experiences in

ma'had (Tim Penulis, 2016).

Table 1. Graduates Competency Standards and

MPK Subjects

Competency

standards

Competence of

Graduates

MPK

Subjects

Standard I

Development

of personality

and attitude

1. Development of

personality and

attitude as citizens

of Indonesia and

global citizens

. Development of

personality and

attitudes as

Muslims

3. Development of

personality and

attitude as a Muslim

student

1. Nationality

Indonesianne

ss (Pancasila

& Civic

Education)

. Islamic

Studies

3. Philosophy

of Science

Standard II

Mastery of

language

skills

1. Mastery of

Indonesian

language skills

. Mastery of Arabic

skill

3. Mastery of English

skills

anguages:

1. B.Indonesia

. Arabic

3. English

Standard III

Mastery of

the subject of

Social

Sciences,

economics,

politics,

science, and

culture

(humanities)

1. Mastering the basic

concepts of social

science and its

usefulness

. Mastering the basic

concepts of

economics and its

usefulness

3. Mastering the

concept of political

science and its

usefulness

. Mastering the

concept of IAD and

its usefulness

5. Mastering the

concept of basic

cultural science and

its usefulness

The basics of

common

nowledge

1. Basic Social

Sciences

(ISD)

. Basic

atural

Science

(IAD)

3. Basic

Cultural

Science

(IBD)

Standard IV

The basic

mastery of

Islamic

science in

normative

and empirical

1. Mastering the

concept of science

of the Qur'an and

Hadith and explore

the content and

substance of his

teachings that

underlies the

development of

expertise in the

slamic Studies

1. Qur'an &

Hadith

Studies

. Islamic

Civilization

3. Islamic

Theology

. Sufis

5. Fiqh

Competency

standards

Competence of

Graduates

MPK

Subjects

course of study

. Mastering the

substance and

methodology of

Islamic thought in

the field of

monotheism,

Islamic philosophy

and tasawuf, to be

used in the

development of

personality as a

student and

graduate candidates

who want to

develop their skills

3. Mastering the

substance and

methodology, able

to make it as a

guide in running the

teachings of Islam

and solve the

problems of

Islamic issues

growing in the

community

. Mastering the

substance and

methodology of the

history of Islamic

civilization, and

taking ibrah for the

development of

expertise in the

study program

Standard V

Experience

living in

ma'had

Experience life in

ma'had in the

framework of self-

development as a

candidate for

Islamic scholars,

developers of

Islamic da'wah that

uphold the wisdom,

diversity,

characteristic of

Indonesian-ness, and

professional clerical

cadres

Tarbiyah Ulul

Albab (a

balanced

character

between a

dhikr,

thought, and

good deeds

aspects)

This MPK curriculum is the basic knowledge,

skills, and attitudes that all students must have, so as

to lead them to achieve four (4) major competence

strengths: spiritual depth, morality, breadth of

knowledge, and professional maturity (Tim Penulis,

2016). Competence of graduates in the form of these

four strengths will be achieved after completing all

student academic obligations during a study at UIN

Malang. Thus, the achievement of this competency

is obtained by the students after completing the

MPK curriculum which is marketed for four (4)

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

1342

semesters, the life experience in ma'had for one

year, and the core curriculum in the faculties,

departments, and study programs respectively.

Table 2. Quality Standard of UIN Graduates

No Mision &

competence

Character

1. Spiritual

depth

1. Have a strong and true faith

commitment

. Developing dhikr and recitation

of the verses and qawliyah and

kawniyah phenomena

3. Have the sharpness of the heart

and distinguish between the good

and bad

2. The majesty

of morality

1. Thinking, speaking and acting in

accordance with the values of

Islamic teachings

. Have a sense of responsibility,

self-esteem, integrity, sociability,

mutual respect.

3. Has a sense of nationality,

diversity, democracy, a sense of

social solidarity.

3. Breadth of

knowledge

1. Think and be scientific and

creative

. Have a high commitment to

science & truth

3. Have the ability to communicate

orally and in writing in

Indonesian, Arabic, and English

. Mastering the basics of Islamic

science (normative-empirical)

4. Professional

maturity

1. Have a professional ability to

carry out the work

. Have a leadership spirit

4.2 Efforts to Develop Values of

Islamic Moderation

MPK is a basic course structure that will lead the

students to get the ability in the form of 4 (four)

robustness, i.e: spiritual depth, the majesty of virtue,

breadth of knowledge, and professional maturity.

These four forces are called the personality ulul

albab, student personality with the dimensions of

dhikr, thought, and pious deeds are balanced and

proportional. With this ulul albab personality,

students are expected to have the strength and ability

to avoid the radical ideologies that are now eyeing

the student's life, not least the students of UIN

Malang. To achieve that goal, the structure of the

MPK curriculum must be developed by all the

students from the faculty and any department as

illustrated in the table above. Some efforts to

develop moderate Islam through the application of

the MPK curriculum can be seen from aspects of

design, content, learning strategies, structured tasks,

evaluation models, teaching materials, and reference

books written by lecturers, as well as practice and

living habits with noble values in ma’had. In

general, the lecturers use active learning strategies

and contextual learning. Among these is through

role play and socio-drama, discussion and debate,

sharing and presentation, direct practice, observation

and field research. Evaluation of learning is

conducted by emphasizing on the assessment

process at the time of learning and combined with

the assessment of results conducted at the time of

examination, both in the middle and the end of the

semester. In the course of civic education, for

example, the learning experience is designed with

the learning model to achieve the goal so that

students are able to understand the diversity of

ethnicity and culture of Indonesia, so the difference

does not cause the occurrence of gaps. This certainly

supports the promotion of moderate Islam, which

emphasizes substance rather than formality and

prioritizes content rather than the container. In this

context, it can be said that substantive Islam is

judged better than institutional Islam, with the

argument that the Indonesian state is built on ethnic,

customary, cultural, racial, religious and intergroup

diversity.

The achievement of the competency standard of

this course through open learning and appreciation

of diversity is expected to support the spread of

ideas and form a moderate Islamic character for

students. It is characterized by several

characteristics: being moderate in implementing

religious teachings; tolerant and respectful of

diversity and dissent, avoiding violence, promoting

dialogue and sharing ideas, accommodating modern

concepts that are substantially good for humanity,

rational thinking, interpreting religious texts

contextually, and using ijtihad method in

interpreting religious texts. With this character,

moderate Muslims are someone who has a tolerant,

appreciative, and cooperative attitude with other

different groups. Apparently, this is the nature of

rahmah (affection) for moderate Indonesian Islam,

which is more theological, not political, which is

often driven away by Americans when interpreting

moderate Islam (Burhani, 2012).

In terms of content and course material, the

formation of moderate Islamic identity can be seen

in the development of moderate Islamic insight and

peace, training the wisdom of dealing with

differences, the integration of insight into nationality

with Islam, the planting of patriotism and the love of

the nation, the strengthening of Pancasila value and

the adaptation of Islam to local culture , as well as

promoting Islamic moderation through the writing of

reference books, and on the efforts of developing

Islam Moderate and Counter-radicalism for Students through the Personality Development Curriculum

1343

rational and contextual thinking methods. Borrowing

Western frameworks and methodologies is also done

as far as necessary and in accordance with the

context of the problem. This methodology is

certainly contrary to the method of thinking

developed by radical Islamic groups.

They typically reject models of contextual

understanding, let alone borrow Western theoretical

frameworks such as hermeneutics, sociology,

anthropology, gender and human rights. This

attitude is chosen as the pattern and tendency of

radical groups, as a form of their rejection of all

systems and ideologies considered by the West. In

addition, this attitude was chosen as an expression of

this group's rejection of a rationalistic interpretation

of religious sacred texts. For this group, the text is

self-evident, so it does not require rationality-based

interpretation with any approach. Radical

fundamentalists reject the methods and ideas offered

by a number of mainstream Muslim thinkers, such as

Rahman (1996), Hanafi (1981), Shahrour (1992),

and Abu Zayd (1996). In this context, it seems the

term used by Liddle (1999) to describe the tendency

of the religious understanding of this group with the

title scripturalist to find relevance. This is because

the ideology of radical groups emphasizes the

strength of their holding to the literal sounds of

religious texts. The text is a closed corpus that does

not need to open a dialogue room with local

dynamics and local socio-cultural developments

(Roy, 1998; Sumbulah, 2010). This is certainly

contrary to the creation of moderation of Islam as an

attitude that is accommodative to local traditions and

local wisdom. In the civic education course, for

example, students are taught about the meaning and

compatibility of democracy, plurality and diversity

of this nation with Islamic values. Thus, Islamic

universities have been able to form public discourse

and democracy in accordance with modern Islamic

values (Woodward, 2015).

4.3 MPK Curriculum and Moderate

Islamic Identity

The findings of this research indicate that the

course of MPK is able to open the students' insight

about the diversity of views, thoughts, and opinions

so that they avoid the truth claim and easily blame

others. MPK forms the basis of the character of the

student to be open to differences, not to monopolize

the truth or to feel the most correct. MPK also gives

awareness to students that life is not one colour, the

truth is also not single. Many differences that should

be addressed wisely so as to create a beautiful

harmony in the context of NKRI. Through the MPK

that has the significance of shaping the character of

moderate Islam, students practice respecting

differences of opinion, providing insight into life-

rich history and culture, training students with

alternative thinking and mazhab in the field of

worship and religion, open to difference, respect and

tolerance, understand Islam completely in the

concept of rahmatan lil 'alamin, and strengthen the

insight about the concept of religion and state.

Imarah, as quoted by Sumbulah (2016) states that

Islam is a religion that comes from God and is

human-oriented. Islam is a religion that not only

carries the mission of divine revelation but also

upholds human dignity, moderate principle and

spreads peace for all human being.

Achievement of student competency standards

can be seen in the indicators: 1) the development of

personality and attitudes as citizens of Indonesia and

global citizens, with the characteristics: have a sense

of nationality, have a spirit of diversity, democratic,

have a sense of social solidarity, have local and

global information sensitivity, and act locally. 2) the

development of personality and attitudes as

Muslims, characterized by indicators: committed,

loyalty and dedication to the teachings of Islam, able

to think, speak, and act in accordance with the

values of Islamic teachings, have a sense of

responsibility, self-esteem, integrity, socialize, and

able to respect each other between religious people.

3) the development of personality and attitudes as

Muslim students, which is characterized by a

scientific attitude, namely love of science, love of

truth, rational, critical, objective, respect for the

opinions of others, and independent. Achievement of

these competencies will greatly support the

realization of a student who has four strengths,

namely: spiritual depth, the majesty of morality,

breadth of knowledge and professional maturity. By

having that personality, students are not easily

influenced by radical ideas. This is because the

ideologies, perspectives, paradigms, and behaviours

of this group contradict the friendly and tolerant

Islamic values, national values, Indonesianness, and

local wisdom. Therefore, students generally support

institutional efforts in developing and promoting

moderate Islam. This is because Islamic higher

education institutions, including UIN Malang, have

a significant role in spreading Islam by adapting

local culture. This is in line with NU's mission as

one of the largest mainstream organizations in

Indonesia, which has the mission of introducing

values tolerance, moderate, balanced, justice, and

brotherhood, which includes ukhuwah Islamiyah

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

1344

(fellow Muslims), ukhuwah wathaniyah (fellow

citizens), and ukhuwah bashariah (fellow human

beings) (Masmuhah, 2017).

The formation of student identity through Islamic

moderate values also requires the foundation of

multicultural thinking, namely: 1) the historical

awareness that difference is a necessity. The early

history of the time of the prophet Muhammad, the

era of the early caliph, and some in the era after that

was a memorable experience for the respect of

differences of opinion. The exemplary should be a

mirror of Muslims not to be easily mutually

reciprocated; 2) the difference is the grace and

richness of the culture that makes Muslims grow full

of dynamics; 3) awareness to choose moderate

thinking among the diversity of schools of thought

that exist, 4) willingness to help each other in

matters agreed upon by all groups; 5) tolerant of the

issues that the scholars debate. This principle, in El

Fadl (2004), is called an authoritative and not

authoritarian attitude; 6) respect the opinions of

others by realizing that truth is very likely to be

found everywhere (Qaradhawi, 1406 AH). Instilling

this moderate spirit and attitude requires a long and

sustainable process. Therefore, this attitude and

character can be instilled through practice,

habituation, and role models of teachers (kyai). In

this context, ma'had has a strategic role in

developing attitudes and characters that show

consistency, obedience, patience, and respect, thus

giving birth to students who are tolerant, inclusive

and far from radicalism.

4.4 Ma'had, Moderate Islam, and

Counter-radicalism

Islamic boarding school (ma'had) is one of the

best fortresses of the Indonesian people in

combating radicalism which threatens the unity of

the nation and the state. All new students of UIN

Malang are required to live in ma'had for one year,

as a period of character formation through very

strong Islamic values. They were not only given

religious knowledge and insight through the

education of Islamic thought, but also language

skills and religious practices in daily life. In this

context, ma'had plays an important role as the light

and guide of Muslims through the planting of true

religious understanding, namely Islam rahmatan lil

'alamin and forming a perfect character (akhlaq al-

karimah). Ma’had that has long historical value in

the course of the Indonesian nation, not only present

as a typical Islamic studies centre but also a

consolidation of the struggle of Indonesian

nationalism. In accordance with the mission of UIN

Malang which leads students to have four (4)

strengths, namely the spiritual depth, the majesty of

morality, the extent of knowledge, and professional

maturity, ma'had has a strategic role in shaping the

character of spiritual depth and the grandeur of

morality. Pesantren caregivers (kyai) are role

models who have a significant influence on the

personality of students. Lately, many Islamic

boarding schools have tried to combine traditional

Islamic values such as Islamic unity, altruism,

decency, and social justice with modern subjects

(Wagener, 2006), as developed by ma'had of UIN

Malang.

First, to realize spiritual depth, students are

taught to be good Muslims, obeying God, and

getting along with others well. Through habituation

and teaching of classical books (kitab kuning),

students are equipped with knowledge of moderate

jurisprudence, theological schools, and schools of

thought in Islam, so that they can fortify themselves

from radicalism. Islam teaches peace, compassion,

and mutual respect, so students are expected to be

citizens who love the country and nation, as a

manifestation of their faith in God. Second, instilling

the grandeur of morality is done by habituation and

example in life in Ma'had. The typical values of

ma’had are: istiqamah (consistent in goodness),

tawadhu' (humility), qana'ah (feeling adequate), and

ta’at (obedient) are among the examples of

characters developed in this institution. Living in

ma'had also makes students learn about discipline

and order, understand the character of others, and

independence in solving problems. Thus, learning in

ma'had seeks to shape the student's personality as an

ideal Muslim, which is balanced between his

adherence to God (hablun min Allah) and social

piety with others (hablun min al-nas). In the context

of preventing radicalism, ma'had also has a vital role

in providing a friendly and inclusive understanding

of Islam. Ma’had has a significant influence in

counteracting radicalism and terrorism as a

dangerous ideology for the sustainability of the

nation and state. This is because radical groups often

act in the name of religion in recruiting members

and disseminating them. Islam as a religion of peace

and compassion for others is shown in a face full of

anger, hatred, and violence, with the justification of

religious postulates. In particular, Azra (2003) also

views Islam Indonesia as a moderate and peaceful

Islam with a smiley face, so, therefore, there is no

problem with modernity, democracy, human rights,

gender, pluralism, developmental trends and other

issues in the modern era. In general, extremist

Islam Moderate and Counter-radicalism for Students through the Personality Development Curriculum

1345

organizations are more sophisticated in utilizing new

technology and recruiting new followers from

various backgrounds that can be accessed through

technology (Hasan 2013). Ma'had as an established

Islamic education institution can take a strategic role

in presenting strong counter-narratives for radical

and extremist groups, so that the students are not

easily exposed to the ideology (Ritchey & Muchtar,

2014).

The open and inclusive ma'had education system

can be a special attraction in the midst of an

indoctrination education model. Inclusive education

is a teaching-learning process that promotes

openness in addressing dissent. In this context, the

statement of Shafi'i (d.204 AH), that: "my opinion is

correct but may be wrong, the opinions of others are

wrong but may be true", to find its relevance. This

attitude is also required by El-Fadl (2001), that

understanding religious texts must be based on

honesty, comprehensiveness, rational, diligence, and

self-restraint. By sticking to these principles,

Muslims will not be trapped in dogmatism or

relativism. Furthermore, the success of the people

out of the trappings of dogmatism will certainly

make them avoid radical and extreme attitude (El-

Fadl, 2005). Thus, the "apostasy" of people of

differing opinions is unethical. Thus, tolerant and

inclusive education seems to be built on the

character of a humble, generous, humility, friendly,

courteous, and respectful person. Tolerant and

inclusive education is the fruit of simplicity, namely

the awareness of self-criticism of the limited abilities

and self-empowerment. In this context, Imam Malik

also emphasized the importance of self criticism in

anticipation of the emergence of dogmatism among

Muslims, as quoted by Qaradawi (2004), that he is

only an ordinary human being who can be right or

wrong, if his opinion is in accordance with the

Qur'an and Hadith then it can be followed but if it is

not appropriate then it can be abandoned.

Tolerant and inclusive education is a process that

encourages students to practice and is willing to see

what others think is worthy of respect and respect. It

is not easy to shape the character of the students to

have an inclusive and open attitude. It requires

systematic and comprehensive efforts that cover all

aspects of their knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Shafi’i is one of the models of authoritative scholars

who emphasize the importance of inclusive

education (El-Banna, 2007). This inclusive

education version of Shafi'i does not aim to

indoctrinate students but instead provides

opportunities for students to think creatively,

independently and freely. Thus, inclusive and

moderate education does not curb a student in order

to have the same thoughts and attitudes as his

teacher but to tolerate the diversity of thought of his

students. Thus, inclusive and moderate education

does not restrain the students from having the same

thoughts and attitudes as their teachers but tolerating

the diversity of their thinking. The attitude of Shafi'i

is different from the attitude of teachers who likes to

spread the threat to the students, especially using the

language of religion, such as science is not barakah

and not useful if dared to be different from their

teachers. Educational doctrines built on scientific

pride can have an impact on the attitude of denying

differences and diversity. Thus, tolerant and

inclusive moderate Islamic education also

emphasizes the importance of emotional control in

addressing differences. Ghazali (d.505 AH) reviews

the importance of emotional control in addressing

differences. For Ghazali (2002), as long as a person

can love and hate the person will not be separated

from emotion and anger. Therefore, the quality of a

person is also determined by how far he is able to

control his anger. In this context, emotional control

can be done through six (6) steps: contemplating the

virtue of forgiving and suppressing anger as in

Qur’an, 3: 134; fearing God's punishment against

anger; avoid negative impacts due to mutual

hostility; imagine a very inappropriate facial

expression when angry; able to rethink the causes of

anger; and realize that anger is pride because it feels

its behavior is in accordance with the will of God.

This expression seems to have a resemblance to the

phenomenon of radical groups who often call the

greatness of God through the recitation of

takbir

with shrieks, shouts, and expressions of anger and

arrogance, contrary to the value of God's greatness.

Education in ma'had develops the noble values of

Islamic moderation by promoting compassion,

balance, appreciation, and away from anger and

hatred towards others. Therefore, the

implementation of the MPK curriculum both on

campus and in ma'had finds its relevance in the

context of counter-radicalism for students.

Achieving these competencies will be better when

followed by counter-radicalism programs through

strengthening moderate Islamic insight, nationality,

and Indonesianness; training in the values of

multiculturalism and pluralism; and cooperation in

various cultural and interfaith dialogue programs

with various inter-cultural-religious cooperation

institutions, both in local, national and international

scale events.

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

1346

5 CONCLUSIONS

Efforts to develop Islamic moderate values for

counter-radicalism for students through the

implementation of the MPK curriculum can be seen

from the aspect of content, learning strategies,

process evaluation models and results conducted, as

well as teaching materials and reference books

provided for the personality development. The

formation of Islamic moderate is trained in the

development of rational and contextual thinking

methods, building historical and cultural awareness

that is full of values of life, developing peaceful

Islamic values, wise in responding to differences,

integration of Islam and nationality, patriotism, and

avoiding takfiri (it's easy to judge infidels to people

of different schools, thoughts, and beliefs). Ma'had

is very instrumental in training students to live in the

values which are formed through training,

habituation, and role models. The relevance of

moderate Islamic values for counter-radicalism for

students can be seen from the success of achieving

MPK competency standards, namely: the

development of personality and attitudes as

Indonesian citizens and global citizens, the

development of personality and attitudes as

Muslims, and the development of personality as

Muslim students who behave scientifically, love

science, love truth, rational, critical, objective,

respect the opinions of others, and independent. The

achievement of these competencies will support the

realization of the figure of ulul albab who has four

strengths, namely: spiritual depth, the grandeur of

morality, breadth of knowledge, and professional

maturity. By having a balanced personality between

the aspects of dhikr, thought, and good deeds,

students are not easily exposed to radicalism because

they have the knowledge and attitude to counter

radicalism.

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