Comparative Religion, Tolerance and Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia

Abstract

This chapter discusses the development of teaching and learning of comparative religion in Islamic higher education in Indonesia. In the beginning, the general rationale for studying other religions in formal higher education was based on an ‘Islamic’ perspective, that is, to prove the authenticity of Islam itself. Studying other religions was usually seen merely as a way of supporting missionary activities (dakwah), aimed at conveying the truth of Islam to those who adhered to other religions. Since the late 1990s, however, there has been a gradual but tangible shift in the study of religions in Indonesian Islamic higher education, driven by government policies on religion and religious education that emphasise the importance of diversity for its own sake. The Islamic higher education system now focuses far more on promoting tolerance and religious diversity than it has ever done in the past.