Serang, November 11, 2025 - Faculty of Ushuluddin and Adab (FUDA) UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin (SMH) Banten has reaffirmed its commitment in strengthening the values of wasathiyah through organizing a Religious Moderation Seminar for FUDA Lecturers and Education Personnel with the theme of “Epistemology of Religious Moderation: Between Text, Context, and Social Reality.”
The activity which took place in the 2nd Floor Hall of FUDA UIN SMH Banten was attended by all lecturers in the Faculty of Ushuluddin and Adab. The seminar aims to strengthen academic and praxis understanding of religious moderation in the world of Islamic higher education, so that educators can develop a balanced scientific paradigm between religious texts, social contexts, and the reality of community life.
In his remarks, the Dean of FUDA, Dr. Masykur, M.Hum., emphasized that religious moderation has become an integral part of the faculty's academic policy direction. “FUDA has consistently integrated the values of religious moderation in the learning process through the insertion of moderation material into a number of courses, such as MK Filsafat Nusantara and Thematic Tafsir. The hope is that students will not only understand religion from the textual aspect, but also be able to read and interpret social reality wisely,” said Dr. Masykur, M.Hum.
He added, “Moderation is not a compromise on religious values, but the ability to place the value of Islamic truth proportionally in the context of universal humanity. Religious moderation is in order to counteract the dehumanization that occurs, so in the future it is hoped that activities like this will be packaged in a more practical manner, for example by presenting speakers of different religions, so that we can understand other perspectives.”.
Meanwhile, Vice Dean III of FUDA as well as Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Endang Saeful Anwar, Lc., M.A., said that this seminar is part of the faculty's ongoing program in mainstreaming religious moderation in the faculty environment. “Moderation must be understood not only as a concept, but also as a method of thinking, behaving, and acting. Therefore, lecturers are expected to be able to internalize the values of moderation in learning, research, and community service,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Endang emphasized that this activity is an important momentum in building an inclusive and dialogical academic culture. “We want FUDA lecturers to be agents of moderation, who transmit the spirit of balance and tolerance in the midst of the social complexity of our society,” he added.
The Religious Moderation Seminar for Lecturers was moderated by Salim Rosyadi, M.Ag., who is also the Head of UIN SMH Banten's Religious Moderation Center. As the main speaker, Dr. H. Suwendi, M.Ag., Caretaker of the Sabilussalam Islamic Boarding School, Islamic Education Expert and also formerly the Religious Moderation Working Group of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion 2020-2023, emphasized the importance of understanding the indicators of religious moderation concretely. “The indicators of religious moderation include at least four main aspects: national commitment, tolerance, non-violence, and acceptance of local wisdom. These four aspects must be the foundation in understanding religious texts and in teaching friendly Islam,” said Dr. Suwendi.
He also added that lecturers have a strategic role in instilling moderation in the classroom through religious literacy. “Religious moderation needs to develop a learning design or religious education that can develop and strengthen multiple literacy or multi literacy to broaden perspectives. The importance of developing religious literacy and humanitarian literacy is used to see religion in a deeper and richer way from a variety of Islamic literature. The learning process in education units is not only to produce students who know or memorize lessons, but what is more important is how the whole learning process can help students to understand what is contained in the material and develop it independently. In the context of managing plurality (diversity), education units do not only stop at helping students to know what diversity is, but also how students can understand the reality of diversity in their own environment and in the community, and are able to interact reasonably in that environment,” he said.
When asked about the relevance of the Love and Ecotheology Curriculum, he added that the love and ecotheology curriculum currently initiated by the Minister of Religion is a breakdown or the translation of religious moderation.
The seminar, which took place in a scientific and reflective atmosphere, ended with an interactive discussion session, where lecturers shared their experiences about the practice of moderation in the tri dharma of higher education. This activity is expected to be able to strengthen FUDA UIN SMH Banten's position as a center of excellence in the development of religious moderation based on science, text, and social reality.
