The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands expressed their appreciation for Muhammadiyah’s work in efforts to maintain inter-religious harmony through environmental action by inviting the Director of Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah’s Program, Hening Parlan, to attend the Indonesia Influential Program (IIP) 2024 activities in the Netherlands on 12-15 May 2024. Activities carried out during these 3 days have a specific theme. The first day had the theme ‘Democracy and Rule of Law’, the second day ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief, and the third day ‘Freedom of Press’.
From Indonesia, only 10 participants had the opportunity to attend this meeting, Muhammadiyah representatives were from Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah. The other 9 organizations are from the Indonesian Institute for Independent Judiciary/ Lembaga Kajian dan Advokasi Independesi Peradilan (LeIP), Narasi, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, the Aman Journalism at Tifa Foundation, Project Multatuli, the Indonesian Center for Law and Policy Studies, the Prasasti Peace Foundation, and the Media & Legal Department at Nahdlatul Ulama.
‘Democracy and Rule of Law’ was the theme of the first day of this series of activities. The meeting began with an opening ceremony from Wim Geerts, Human Rights Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Director of the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah Program, Hening Parlan, expressed her appreciation to Wim Geerts, who paid attention to human rights related to the impacts of climate change. “This is interesting because looking at the results of the COP and the Paris agreement, discussing human rights related to the impacts of climate change is very important. Because there is damage and loss due to the climate crisis, so there is a need for policies that should favor everyone affected,” she said. Hening underlined that the Kingdom of the Netherlands through Wim Geerts expressed special concerns regarding climate change.
The next session was an introduction to the rule of law in the Netherlands delivered by Adwin Rotscheid, Director, Directorate-General for the Administration of Justice and Law Enforcement (DGRR) Ministry of Justice and Security. Regarding legal protection, Adwin said that they have a system to protect the community and obtain defense from the state. It proves that the people are truly protected by law and the state is carrying out its role well. And even if there are private legal aid institutions or NGOs, their portion is very small because the state has done it well. According to Edwin Arifin, Senior Policy Advisor for the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, he said that on average all citizens in the Netherlands already have defenses or rights that are fulfilled by the state.
The next activity was a visit to the Dutch Senate, and meeting Hetty Janssen, Member of Senate for Groenlinks-PVDA. All participants expressed their admiration for Hetty, a 70 year old woman, dedicated to her voters, low profile, and very populist. Mrs. Hetty goes to the office every day by train for three hours and then after getting off the station she rides a bicycle. “I’m amazed because even though Mrs. Hetty is a Senate member, she carries out her daily life like ordinary people, doesn’t always ask for help, and she has a way of discussing things and can communicate with people well. I’m amazed by her serious attitude in defending the people,” said Hening. This could be a good example of how Senate members behave in their homeland.
The theme of the second day’s activities was ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief’. The event started with an Interfaith Dialogue with 4 speakers: (1) H.E. Mr. Mayerfas, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, (2) Ms. Annemarie van der Heijden, Head of Division, South and Southeast Asia, the MOFA of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, (3) H.E. Ms. Siti Nugraha Mauludiah, Director-General of Information and Public Diplomacy, the MOFA of the Republic of Indonesia, (4) H. E. Ms. Bea ten Tusscher Special Envoy for the Freedom of Religion and Belief, the MOFA of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
“I gave a souvenir from the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah book entitled ‘Maintaining Harmony, Nurturing the Nature’ (Merawat Kerukunan, Melestarikan Lingkungan) to Mr. Mayerfas, the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” said Hening. “We also met again with Ms. Bea. Ms Bea said that she had been present in Indonesia to meet the General Secretary of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah, and met the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah team to do a cycling or bike ride, touring to the Muhammadiyah Historical Places in Kauman Yogyakarta,” she explained. Hening added that according to Bea, freedom of religion and belief is something that is very personal and in terms of attitudes or actions it relates to other people, an illustration such as someone who makes batik in Indonesia, like an art that continuously develops according to conditions and circumstances.
On this second day, all IIP 2024 participants had the opportunity to visit two places of worship, the Stichting As-Soennah Mosque and the Mennonite Church. “The mosque here has a close and warm relationship with the local police. “Apart from protecting mosque activities, on various occasions we also share food with each other,” said mosque imam Stichting As-Soennah to Hening (14/05/2024). “This mosque is the largest mosque in the City of Den Haag, and is the center for celebrating Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and celebrating other Islamic holidays,” he continued.
At this mosque, Al-Qur’an learning activities are also held for children aged up to 16 years, converting to Islam, and accepting questions about the conditions for marriage there. Hening said that this mosque is ready to collaborate with all countries including Muhammadiyah, “Because the challenges for Muslims in the Netherlands are great because the number of believers is very small, so if there is collaboration in any form they are very open,” said Hening. This has a relationship with the security forces in the City of Den Haag, the local police are not only security but are friends for those in the minority.
Meanwhile, another interesting thing was when Hening visited the Mennonite Church. “I met a Pastor who said that the most important thing is not just reading the holy book, but that people can implement it in their daily lives, and it will be checked at every church meeting,” she said.
The third day of this activity raised the theme ‘Freedom of Press’. Regarding press freedom, the challenges to media freedom there are almost the same as in Indonesia. “They face challenges with developments in technology and information,” said Hening.
From the series of IIP 2024 activities that she participated in, Hening revealed a number of interesting lessons. “Firstly, we can understand more deeply about the Netherlands from three existing sides, from democracy and the rule of law, freedom of religion and belief, and freedom of press,” she said. Secondly, she added, the state has a very important role where people’s welfare is the main thing, “How their lives are related to public transportation, related to citizen laws for the state, how citizens are looked after in their old age and retirement, many things,” said Hening. Third, regarding freedom of religion and belief, according to Hening, she witnessed that two visits between two religions showed quite good harmony and freedom of religion or belief.
“As the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah, we express our gratitude for this invitation and will maintain good relations with The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and continue cooperation in the future, especially for freedom of religion and belief related to the climate crisis,” continued Hening.
Senior Policy Advisor for The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Edwin Arifin, said that the Indonesia Influential Program (IIP) 2024 is a program specifically designed for influential figures from Indonesia to visit the Netherlands, “We want to provide an opportunity for participants from Indonesia and the Netherlands to exchange and expand views on democracy, the rule of law and human rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of religion and belief and women’s rights, as well as how to communicate these topics,” explained Edwin.
Participants from both countries, he explained, are expected to be able to use the program experience and contacts they have established to enrich their work and continue to be champions of democracy and human rights in their home institutions, and in their broader networks.
Eco Bhinneka is a program initiated by Muhammadiyah in a series of Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action projects or known as JISRA. The Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah’s program aims to maintain harmony by inviting people from across religions to work together to preserve the environment. This program has been implemented from 2021 to 2025. Faith to Action Network (F2A) is a consortium that accompanies the Muhammadiyah organization in implementing the JISRA program in Indonesia.
In Indonesia, Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah is implemented in 4 regions: in Pontianak (West Kalimantan), Ternate (North Maluku), Surakarta (Central Java), and Banyuwangi (East Java). Further information about Eco Bhinneka activities can be found via the website ecobhinnekamuhammadiyah.org, or Instagram: @ecobhinneka, @ecobhinneka.kalbar, @ecobhinnekamuhammadiyahternate, @ecobhinneka_solo, and @ecobhinneka.banyuwangi.
JISRA is a global consortium that works together to foster diversity and promote tolerance across religious groups and beliefs. The consortium consists of 50 local partners in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Uganda and Nigeria. In Indonesia, there are ten civil society organizations that are members of this consortium: AMAN Indonesia, Fahmina Institute, Fatayat NU West Java, GUSDURian Network, Imparsial, DIAN Interfidei, Mosintuwu Institute, Muhammadiyah, Nasyiatul Aisyiyah, and Peace Generation.
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